Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background as a designer.
Hi! I’m E, owner and principal designer of Norton Interiors, a full-service interior design studio based in Washington, DC. We specialize in livable luxury, taking a lifestyle-first approach to create spaces that feel beautiful, functional, and effortless. Building a personal connection with our clients is a big part of our design process and what makes each project feel so unique. I started my career in finance while pursuing my passion for design through classes, small projects, and house flipping before making the leap full-time. Today, I’m fortunate to help clients in Washington, DC and across the country create homes that feel deeply personal, thoughtfully designed, and meant to be lived in.
What inspires your design work?
Being based in Washington, DC, we're incredibly fortunate to work with clients from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences. It's such an international city, and that diversity is a constant source of inspiration for our work. We love drawing from our clients' cultures, traditions, and personal style to create homes that feel deeply personal and one-of-a-kind. Whether we're designing for a busy family or a single professional, the goal is always the same: to create spaces that reflect who they are and support the way they live.
Can you share a recent project where you featured Atlas Homewares hardware and how it enhanced the space?
We recently renovated a 100+ year-old townhome in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, DC. While the home had beautiful historic bones, our goal was to make it feel fresh, functional, and livable for a young family while honoring its original character.
In the receiving room, we designed a curved seating area alongside a small-but-mighty built-in bar for effortless entertaining. The bar features brass pulls wrapped in rich brown leather from Atlas Homewares' Zanzibar collection, adding both warmth and texture. Because the room was inspired by the family's travels, the leather detailing felt especially fitting, with its collected, well-traveled quality. It's a great example of how thoughtfully chosen hardware can elevate a design and add another layer of personality.
What led you to choose Atlas Homewares for your projects?
I've always known Atlas Homewares for its quality, which is a big reason we continue to source it for our projects. Hardware is one of those details you use every single day, so it needs to hold up over time while still looking beautiful. We gravitate toward pieces that feel thoughtfully made and add a subtle layer of character to a space, and Atlas offers a range of styles that work well across many of the homes we design.
What advice do you give to clients—or fellow designers—when selecting decorative hardware?
We always recommend, whenever possible, that clients actually get to touch and feel the hardware before making a final decision. It’s something you’re using every day, so beyond how it looks, it really comes down to how it feels in your hand and how it functions in real life.
Do you have a go-to collection or finish from Atlas Homewares? If so, why?
As I mentioned earlier, the Zanzibar collection really stands out to me with its thoughtful mix of leather and metal in multiple colorways. I love the combination of materials – it feels elevated but still really versatile, which makes it easy to use in a lot of different spaces. We used it in a bar setting, but I could just as easily see it working in an office, bedroom, or even a library.
Have you ever mixed and matched hardware styles or finishes in a project? If so, tell us about that process.
Yes – we’re definitely fans of mixing and matching hardware styles throughout a home. The key is keeping the undertones consistent, so even if you’re mixing something like brass and nickel, they still feel like they belong together. When it’s done well, it makes a space feel more collected and layered, rather than overly matchy-matchy. It can often feel more natural and intentional and keeps things from feeling too one-note.
What kitchen and bath trends are you currently loving? How does decorative hardware play a role in that?
Right now, I’m loving that clients are embracing color, especially in kitchens and baths. I’m working on a project where just about every room is designed with a bold color, and it’s been such a fun departure from the all-neutral spaces that many people gravitate towards. When you’re designing with that much personality, hardware becomes another opportunity to have a little fun too – whether that’s with an unexpected finish, a unique shape, or an interesting mix of materials. It’s a small detail, but it can really help bring the whole design to life.
Where can people follow your work or learn more about your design services?
You can see our work and book a virtual consultation with us on TALD or a discovery call nortoninteriors.com and follow us on Instagram @norton.interiors.
