Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggie Griffin.
Maggie Griffin is the owner and founder of Maggie Griffin Design, a Gainesville and Atlanta-based design company. In addition to over a decade of interior design experience, she holds a degree in Furnishings and Interiors from the University of Georgia. As a college student, Maggie had the pleasure of studying abroad in Florence, Italy where she studied The History of Fabrics as well as Retail Design and Merchandising. Equipped with a command of architecture along with a mastery of textiles, Maggie uses her knowledge of scale and symmetry and her understanding of modern sensibility to turn houses into homes and dreams into realities.
Her work is marked by playful patterns, colorful fabrics, Southern charm, comfortable upholstery, and a pinch of chinois. She insists that she gets just as excited about a ground-up new-build as she does a fun lamps-pillows-artwork styling day right before a party is hosted. This, of course, is a hallmark of Maggie’s design passion and interior style. You’ll notice her giddiness as she pulls fabric swatches, and if you have an antique sideboard, you absolutely must reuse in your dining room reboot, you’ve captured her heart.
Over the years, Maggie Griffin Design has been featured in several shelter publications and blogs including Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, Ballard Designs’ How to Decorate Blog & Podcast, Home: Living in North Georgia, StyleBlueprint, Style Me Pretty, Cottage Journal, Atlanta HOME Magazine, Southern Home, Christmas Cottage, and Holiday Home. In 2015, she had the distinct pleasure of being selected as a participating designer in the first annual Holiday Designer Showhouse at Sea Island. Designing the iconic cigar room was an immeasurable honor and a “pinch me” moment for Maggie as a Southern designer.
In addition to her interior design repertoire, Maggie is an accomplished artist whose work can be seen in Dinner on the Grounds by friend and colleague, James Farmer. Maggie is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, the Gainesville/Hall County Chamber of Commerce, The University of Georgia Alumni Association, the founder of the Gainesville Tour of Homes, Sacred Roots Farm Board of Directors, The Southern Living Designer Network, and a graduate of Leadership Georgia.
When she’s not tackling design projects or meeting with clients, you’ll find Maggie volunteering regularly within her community. Perhaps her favorite job, however, is that of wife to David and mother to her two boys, Henry and Samuel. You’ll often find her family enjoying time together on their cozy deck, at their Highlands, North Carolina cottage, or with their extended families in south Georgia. When asked about her favorite room in her own home, Maggie says the answer is simple – her kitchen. “It’s where I cook for my family, swoon over my children’s artwork, and happily entertain our friends and family.”
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I feel very blessed to have had incredible projects, amazing clients, and a wonderful team along the way. That’s not to say its always been easy. In any service industry, client interaction is a part of the daily process. Personality differences, expectations, etc. have to be navigated with great care, and can sometimes be a bit of a clash. We’ve found that extensive communication upfront can help ease some of those stressors, especially when there is a great deal of trust placed into your designer, and hard-earned money being spent.
Asking for a list of expectations, a few favorite images of our work, and having a conversation with the potential client has helped to provide direction and focus for us and for our clients. For those who are starting out, there is such a learning curve when it comes to dealing with tricky situations, and I am happy to have gotten over some of those humps, after all that time (I hope!)! I have found that even with matters of opinion, there is always a kind way to state how you feel, and when it comes to delivering news that may be unfavorable to a client, we’ve found that honesty is always the best policy.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
At Maggie Griffin Design, we love having fun and creating relationships with our clients. Beautiful spaces, where you can truly live, love, and play is our goal. We offer full-service interior design to give our clients a place to feel rested and rejuvenated. Southern hospitality, graciousness, and a comfortable, modern-traditional approach direct us through every step of your project, whether large or small. From ground-up new builds, renovations, and interiors projects, we believe your home should be stylish, chic, comfortable, and that you should use your best stuff every day.
What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
For any woman starting her career in interior design, its important to hone in which areas you’d like to specialize. Is it commercial design? Do you love CAD work? Designing kitchens and baths your thing? Is it sales? Or do you love residential interiors? It’s not as glamorous as it all seems sometimes… there’s a lot of schlepping, of finessing clients, and dealing with logistics.
My advice is to work for someone who does what you want to do so that you can see how much work it takes to run a business, how to bill, how to structure the calendar, how to manage a website, how to attend industry events. You’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if you’d rather work for yourself, or for a larger company.
Contact Info:
- Address: Maggie Griffin Design
470 Boulevard
Gainesville, GA 30501 - Website: www.maggiegriffindesign.com
- Email: maggie@maggiegriffindesign.com
- Instagram: @maggiegriffindesign
- Facebook: @maggiegriffindesign
- Other: Pinterest: @maggiegriffindesign
Image Credit:
Brian Bieder
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