What started this designer's long and successful career? Kathryn has an early memory of her home burning to the ground on Christmas Day, in 1953. The four-year-old girl was held by a fireman that day, and she remembers the family salvaged a set of building blocks for her to play with.
From that she progressed to drawing house plans on church bulletins. It seemed natural to major in interior design at East Carolina. After education, travel abroad, and work in New York, she returned to Asheville to set up shop in the back corner of Sluder Furniture Company, a fixture of downtown Asheville since 1905, which her parents had bought in 1964. Ray and Sarah Long encouraged their daughter to open her own shop, Ambiance Interiors, in 1977.
Kathryn has been helping people nest in their homes for over thirty years. "I love what I do," she says. "When I help create a space, it going to be comfortable and welcoming." Her specialties are new construction and renovation, working with clients and architects from drawings to finished product. "I function well as part of a team on such projects," she says. We get to ask all the appropriate questions before anything is built, which helps avoid mistakes and produces a high-quality environment for the client.
Is your home a cottage that needs sprucing up? A "builder's specialty" that needs some character added? Have you outgrown your Master Bath? Downsized? Upsized? Thinking of a renovation? Building your dream home?
Your project to create comfort in your home is important to us.
Our interior designers, Kathryn Long ASID and Linda Constable, each have over 30 years of experience. They are naturally creative but (and this is quite unusual in the field of interior design) have organization skills.
Consultation always begins with an in-depth interview. What are your dreams and ideas for your home? We encourage sharing photos from magazines or other visual tools to help define what MOOD or ambiance is desired for your interior design project.
The next important step is SPACE PLANNING. Even a "one room" interior design needs to begin with a good space plan for furnishings. We most often use 1/2 scale which is easy to visualize. Getting the scale and proportion right is essential. Kathryn and Linda are masters at this tricky step in interior design.
Other design services we excel at include:
Cabinetry design
Material and finish selections
Moulding and fireplace design
Fixture and appliance selection for baths and kitchens
Tile selections and designs
Paint colors for interior and exterior
Window treatment design
11 Awards for Design Excellence from CCASID
Dora Gray Designer of Distinction
NCIDQ Certified 1977
