When Ellen Norris, owner of Caryatid Interiors, works on clients' homes, she focuses on taking on their style and reflecting it in the décor. "I don't want anyone to say, ‘It looks like Ellen did that,' " she says. When it comes to her own Near West End home, however, she has a very defined look centered on the idea of repurposing.
"A lot of designers like different things because of their history," she says. "I like the ordinary things that could go unnoticed. … I like function. I like repurposing the ordinary." As a result, much of her décor is made up of reworked thrift-store finds.
Although she doesn't always channel this personal passion when designing others' homes, Norris says she does try to incorporate a bit of artisan flair into every project she takes on. "I want to put something different and one-of-a-kind into the homes I work on," she says.
