Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Gray.
Hi Jason, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My trajectory towards interior design was unusually unorthodox. After earning a degree from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, I began my career as a General Contractor. The business was thriving until the 2007 mortgage crisis, which hit Atlanta—particularly the city’s east side—exceptionally hard. During the recession, I worked in luxury retail, including roles at Louis Vuitton and Brooks Brothers.
When the market stabilized, I returned to residential construction, building speculative homes in the outer suburbs. While successful, the work felt creatively limiting. In 2017, I made the decision to formally pivot into design and enrolled in the Architecture and Design program at the Savannah College of Art and Design. During and immediately following my studies, I was fortunate to intern with several highly respected residential firms in Atlanta and was ultimately hired by Habachy Designs + Atelier, where I was immersed in high-level projects from the outset.
After several years, I was recruited by another Atlanta firm; however, that opportunity quickly proved misaligned. As a result, I founded my own practice, Gray Brothers Design.
While my academic training was invaluable, my most impactful education came from my years as a General Contractor. That experience has deeply informed my design practice and has become a defining strength of my firm. Whether clients engage me for full-service interior design or fellow designers bring me on to produce construction documentation—which occurs more often than one might expect—they do so knowing their vision will be executed with precision, technical rigor, and a clear understanding of how design translates into the built environment.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For several years now, architecture, design, and construction have been operating in a state of near-constant uncertainty. The pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in the industry, particularly in global supply chains, where unreliable material lead times became the norm. This not only delayed project completion but also heightened frustration for clients navigating increasingly opaque timelines.
At the same time, fluctuating interest rates have softened consumer confidence, causing many clients to pause or reconsider financing decisions altogether. Inflation has further eroded purchasing power, forcing difficult trade-offs even on well-funded projects. Less frequently discussed—but equally disruptive—are tariffs. The issue is not simply their presence, but their volatility. Rapid, unpredictable changes have made pricing difficult to stabilize and long-term cost forecasting increasingly challenging.
Collectively, these pressures have reshaped how the industry plans, prices, and communicates, requiring greater transparency and adaptability at every stage of the design and construction process.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think the key to being a creative is the ability to visualize a completed project before it exists then interpret the visualization for the client in a digestible, understandable format. The final piece of the puzzle is implementation. If you can not follow a design through with sound, construction, you will end up with a denigrated design and an unhappy client. Due to my varied experiences throughout the industry as a whole, I feel I’m unusually adept at achieving a client’s desires on budget and on time.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
In the interior design industry—perhaps more than in most—relationships are foundational. Strong partnerships with vendors, fabricators, and clients are what ultimately determine the success of a project. Throughout my career, both as a General Contractor and as an Interior Designer, I’ve been intentional about cultivating and maintaining those relationships. That long-term investment has proven invaluable, allowing projects to move forward with trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to quality.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.GrayBrothersDesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonmichaelgray221b/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-michael-gray-asid
Image Credits
Personal photo by Matt Lambert
