Designer Natasha Eustache-Garner on How Fashion Shapes Her Work
The former fashion designer talks about inspiration, home makeover shows and how interior design saved her life
This article launches an editorial series for pros highlighting home professionals in the Houzz community and their work. The photos show a selection of Eustache-Garner’s designs. Answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Natasha Eustache-Garner’s journey to becoming an interior designer started with a miniature sewing machine. It had been a gift from her mother when she was 5, given to keep her occupied as her mother sewed their family’s clothes. Working on her child-size Singer with her mom’s fabric scraps sparked a lifelong love of design.
Before the Atlanta-area designer started her firm, Interiors by Natasha, she spent more than two decades in the fashion industry, designing for small boutique companies and large international brands like Girbaud and Ralph Lauren. It’s an experience she says still drives her work.
“Every design that I create, I look at it from a fashion designer’s standpoint. So I’m able to pull from that texture, fabrics, color, all those little things that I learned. I always pull from that side of me,” Eustache-Garner says. “Now, being able to bridge the gap between the two sets me apart from a lot of people. And I’ve had more than 25 years’ experience in the fashion industry, so that in itself definitely has given me some foundation.”
Natasha Eustache-Garner’s journey to becoming an interior designer started with a miniature sewing machine. It had been a gift from her mother when she was 5, given to keep her occupied as her mother sewed their family’s clothes. Working on her child-size Singer with her mom’s fabric scraps sparked a lifelong love of design.
Before the Atlanta-area designer started her firm, Interiors by Natasha, she spent more than two decades in the fashion industry, designing for small boutique companies and large international brands like Girbaud and Ralph Lauren. It’s an experience she says still drives her work.
“Every design that I create, I look at it from a fashion designer’s standpoint. So I’m able to pull from that texture, fabrics, color, all those little things that I learned. I always pull from that side of me,” Eustache-Garner says. “Now, being able to bridge the gap between the two sets me apart from a lot of people. And I’ve had more than 25 years’ experience in the fashion industry, so that in itself definitely has given me some foundation.”
Q. What was your path to interior design?
A. After I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology, I got a job working in the fashion industry right away. I went from assistant designer to senior designer and from womenswear to menswear. Around 2006, I was traveling the world, but I got burnt out. I was no longer really enjoying fashion design.
I decided to move from New York to Atlanta, where I had friends and family. I was only here for two or three months and my mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer, so I went back to help her out. After six months she passed. And I just fell right back in place in New York and went back into the fashion industry. Two years went by before I decided to move back to Atlanta and marry my boyfriend, who lived here.
I had to figure out, OK, what is it that I want to do? A lot of my husband’s friends and family were asking me for decorating advice. What do you think about this color? How would you put this together? What kind of furniture would you put here? And I found that I really enjoyed it.
A. After I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology, I got a job working in the fashion industry right away. I went from assistant designer to senior designer and from womenswear to menswear. Around 2006, I was traveling the world, but I got burnt out. I was no longer really enjoying fashion design.
I decided to move from New York to Atlanta, where I had friends and family. I was only here for two or three months and my mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer, so I went back to help her out. After six months she passed. And I just fell right back in place in New York and went back into the fashion industry. Two years went by before I decided to move back to Atlanta and marry my boyfriend, who lived here.
I had to figure out, OK, what is it that I want to do? A lot of my husband’s friends and family were asking me for decorating advice. What do you think about this color? How would you put this together? What kind of furniture would you put here? And I found that I really enjoyed it.
A couple of months later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So that kind of threw a wrench into everything. I needed something that would give me a reason to get up every morning. And I found that it was interior design. I enjoyed helping people. I enjoyed tapping into that part of myself. It still was creative. I would still be able to pull from my fashion background and incorporate that into my designs. I enrolled in interior design school during my time at home recovering.
I decided to start my own company. It was really hard because it was an industry that I wasn’t used to. I reached out to different organizations here in Atlanta, and that opened the door for me to meet other designers. That gave me a window into what my business was supposed to look like. And it took off from there.
It had a lot of pitfalls, a lot of starts and stops and figuring it out. But I have to say that I found a new love. I really did.
It had a lot of pitfalls, a lot of starts and stops and figuring it out. But I have to say that I found a new love. I really did.
Q. Where do you look for inspiration?
A. There’s no place where I don’t look for inspiration and that’s probably because of my fashion background. So if I’m driving and I see a car, it may spark something. If I see something in nature, a butterfly, it sparks something. Architecture is a huge influence. Art.
Even though I’m not working in the fashion industry, I keep abreast of the trends and how I can implement them. I saw feathers on the runway one season, and I tried to figure out how I could incorporate that in a living room or a bedroom. And I found some pillows that had feathers on them.
A. There’s no place where I don’t look for inspiration and that’s probably because of my fashion background. So if I’m driving and I see a car, it may spark something. If I see something in nature, a butterfly, it sparks something. Architecture is a huge influence. Art.
Even though I’m not working in the fashion industry, I keep abreast of the trends and how I can implement them. I saw feathers on the runway one season, and I tried to figure out how I could incorporate that in a living room or a bedroom. And I found some pillows that had feathers on them.
Q. What’s your favorite room in a house?
A. If I had to pick one that would be the most creative for me, it would probably be the bedroom or the living room. Being able to give someone a space that they can truly live in.
Kitchens are probably the bread and butter, but there’s not too much texturing you can do. But a living room, a bedroom — those two rooms create the most joy. Because I see it on my clients’ faces when they enter their bedroom, and they’re like, “Wow, this space is tranquil, it’s calming, it’s beautiful.” It evokes so much more emotion.
A. If I had to pick one that would be the most creative for me, it would probably be the bedroom or the living room. Being able to give someone a space that they can truly live in.
Kitchens are probably the bread and butter, but there’s not too much texturing you can do. But a living room, a bedroom — those two rooms create the most joy. Because I see it on my clients’ faces when they enter their bedroom, and they’re like, “Wow, this space is tranquil, it’s calming, it’s beautiful.” It evokes so much more emotion.
Q. How does technology figure into your business?
A. For one, I use Ivy. It’s brought me to the 21st century rather than working in all these different platforms. Now I’m more mobile, and I think that’s where technology has helped me out a lot.
I would say at least 85% to 90% of new clients have found me on Houzz. Having them create ideabooks and sharing them with me helps tremendously. A lot of times what happens is I’m talking with people and sometimes I forget that they’re not in this industry. I ask them, “What’s your style?” And they say, “Oh, it’s very modern.” And when they start showing me things or when I walk into their home, it is not modern at all.
People don’t understand that there’s a difference between modern like today versus modern the style. But when they start putting the pictures into the ideabooks, it makes it really easy. If they show me a sofa, OK, that’s the sofa that they like. Now I can see exactly what you’re looking for.
Learn more about Ivy
A. For one, I use Ivy. It’s brought me to the 21st century rather than working in all these different platforms. Now I’m more mobile, and I think that’s where technology has helped me out a lot.
I would say at least 85% to 90% of new clients have found me on Houzz. Having them create ideabooks and sharing them with me helps tremendously. A lot of times what happens is I’m talking with people and sometimes I forget that they’re not in this industry. I ask them, “What’s your style?” And they say, “Oh, it’s very modern.” And when they start showing me things or when I walk into their home, it is not modern at all.
People don’t understand that there’s a difference between modern like today versus modern the style. But when they start putting the pictures into the ideabooks, it makes it really easy. If they show me a sofa, OK, that’s the sofa that they like. Now I can see exactly what you’re looking for.
Learn more about Ivy
Q. Where do you see your fashion background shining through in your interior work?
A. I use all the things I learned in the fashion industry. When it comes to finishes, tiles and things like that, you don’t really pull from the fashion industry. But when it comes to colors, trends, fabrication, fabrics — they do rely on each other. That prism is always there.
Every now and again I have a client who requests something specific, and if it’s something that I can sew, I do. I worked on a nursery for one of my clients and I could not find the right peach curtains for her, so I ended up making them.
A. I use all the things I learned in the fashion industry. When it comes to finishes, tiles and things like that, you don’t really pull from the fashion industry. But when it comes to colors, trends, fabrication, fabrics — they do rely on each other. That prism is always there.
Every now and again I have a client who requests something specific, and if it’s something that I can sew, I do. I worked on a nursery for one of my clients and I could not find the right peach curtains for her, so I ended up making them.
Q. What’s your workspace like?
A. My [home] office is very design-oriented, tons of magazines piled up, and I have a bookcase with a lot of books. I love being surrounded by books. I have fabric swatches hanging on my wall. I may have a pop of color here and there, but for the most part it’s a very neutral, very calming color palette, grays and whites. I don’t like a lot coming at me.
My desk is facing a window so I get a lot of natural light. It energizes me. I feed off it and it spurs my creativity. Being out in nature as well. I have a garden in my backyard, and when I’m stuck and I need inspiration, I’ll garden.
Q. What would you say is the biggest challenge facing the interior design business?
A. People in general have no concept of how much an interior designer costs, and they think they can do it themselves because of the TV home makeover shows. So the challenge is to try to convince someone to hire me and also being competitive with pricing. If I give them a price, they’re going to go on the internet and try to find it cheaper.
A. My [home] office is very design-oriented, tons of magazines piled up, and I have a bookcase with a lot of books. I love being surrounded by books. I have fabric swatches hanging on my wall. I may have a pop of color here and there, but for the most part it’s a very neutral, very calming color palette, grays and whites. I don’t like a lot coming at me.
My desk is facing a window so I get a lot of natural light. It energizes me. I feed off it and it spurs my creativity. Being out in nature as well. I have a garden in my backyard, and when I’m stuck and I need inspiration, I’ll garden.
Q. What would you say is the biggest challenge facing the interior design business?
A. People in general have no concept of how much an interior designer costs, and they think they can do it themselves because of the TV home makeover shows. So the challenge is to try to convince someone to hire me and also being competitive with pricing. If I give them a price, they’re going to go on the internet and try to find it cheaper.
Q. If you weren’t an interior designer, what would you be doing?
A. I’d be back in fashion. Interior design came at a time when I think I needed it the most. It really saved my life. It gave me a reason to get up every morning and it gave me something to be passionate about again.
After my mom died, my world crashed. She was my best friend and she was my only parent, so in that respect interior design really and truly saved my life. But fashion is something that is still in me.
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A. I’d be back in fashion. Interior design came at a time when I think I needed it the most. It really saved my life. It gave me a reason to get up every morning and it gave me something to be passionate about again.
After my mom died, my world crashed. She was my best friend and she was my only parent, so in that respect interior design really and truly saved my life. But fashion is something that is still in me.
Know a Houzz pro with a great story? Email the editorial team at edit@houzz.com and you could see that professional featured in a future profile.
More for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Browse millions of photos for inspiration
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
Name: Natasha Eustache-Garner of Interiors by Natasha
Location: Hampton, Georgia
Type of business: Interior design, sole practitioner
Style: Contemporary with touches of transitional
Years in business: Nine
Number of projects per year: Eight to 10
We recently spoke to Eustache-Garner about how that foundation has also been shaped by obstacles, including losing her mother and facing a cancer diagnosis herself, and how she looks to fashion for inspiration.