How Meyer Davis became a global, 24-hour design firm

Business of Home Podcast

Founders Will Meyer and Gray Davis discuss the 25-year journey of their global design firm, Meyer Davis. They trace their professional roots

Key takeaways

• Will Meyer and Gray Davis were brought together as business partners by a shared architecture professor at Auburn University.
• The firm's design philosophy is 'adaptive creativity,' focusing on project-specific narratives rather than a single signature look.
• Their entry into the hospitality sector was driven by a high-stakes pitch for a Hong Kong hotel, despite the project not ultimately proceeding.
• The firm utilizes a decentralized global structure with large studios in New York, Miami, L.A., and Barcelona to facilitate 24-hour operations.
• They view AI and new technologies as tools for efficiency and exploration rather than replacements for fundamental design skills like hand sketching.

Main topics

• Career origins and mentorship
• Building a global design practice
• Hospitality vs. residential design

Notable quotes

The best idea is the best idea, no matter where it comes from.

Conclusion

The episode serves as an inspiring case study on how embracing diverse

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:03) This is Business of Home. I'm your host, Dennis Scully. Every week, I'll be speaking with leaders and innovators from all corners of the home industry. My guests this week are Will Meyer and Gray Davis, founders of the award-winning design firm Meyer Davis. After beginning their careers at legendary New York offices, Will at Guafmi Siegel and Gray at John Celadino, and later... Arrow Studios, they joined forces in 1999. Over the past 25 years, they've built a global practice whose work ranges from Four Seasons hotels and Oscar de la Renta boutiques to homes for clients like Jenna Lyons. Their new book, The Language of Home, out this month, turns the focus to residential design and the ideas that connect their work across hospitality and home. I spoke with Will and Gray about the importance of staying open to opportunities early on, how they've built an enduring company culture, and what it takes to scale a global design practice. Speaker 1 (1:20) This podcast is sponsored by Lalloy. This October, Lalloy is bringing best in design live to High Point Market, a celebration of standout interiors and the creative thinking behind them. On October 18th at the High Point Market Theater, four finalist designers will take the stage to present a completed project before acclaimed designers Amber Lewis, Jeremiah Brent, and Gene Stouffer, with yours truly, moderating the conversation. Together, we'll dig into the ideas, decisions, and details that turn a beautiful space into a truly memorable design. If you're headed to market, join Lalloy for best in design live at High Point Market. And make an appointment to visit the Lalloy showroom to see the latest rugs, pillows, and new introductions for the season. Visit lalloyrugs.com to learn more and plan your visit. Speaker 1 (2:18) This podcast is sponsored by Resource Furniture. For more than 25 years, Resource has partnered with the design community to rethink what a room can do. Their Italian-made collection of multifunctional furniture is designed as an integrated system, allowing spaces to move seamlessly between working, gathering, hosting, and resting without compromising the overall design. With extensive customization and a consultative process from concept through installation, Resource brings together flexibility to thoughtfully resolved interiors. Visit their showrooms in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary. Or join the trade program at resourcefurniture.com for trade pricing, rendering support, and dedicated project guidance. And now, on with the show. Before we jump into your firm and the book and all of that, I want to go back. So I was chatting with Jeff Dungan not too long ago about his life and times. And of course, he recalls the great times that he had at Auburn. Truth be told, he said school was actually pretty tough for him. Yes. Right? It was tough for me too. Absolutely. But it was great education. Well, that's what he said. I mean, he said, I mean, and both of you, both of you went to Auburn different years, but I don't know the full story, but wasn't it one of your professors that actually brought the two of you together originally? Kept saying, you two ought to work together, even at a time where I'm not sure you were even thinking along those lines. Speaker 2 (4:02) No, so Dennis, you're right. One of our professors who we both had in architecture school would come to New York frequently and he would take a group out to dinner. um, on occasions. And after one of these events, Gray and I were there with, uh, with David Brawley, the professor, and Speaker 3 (4:20) he, Speaker 2 (4:21) towards the end of the dinner, he said, you know, you two guys need to be business partners. And Gray and I had never even thought about that before. And we just kind of, we realized that was a great idea. I don't actually, we didn't know if it was a good idea or not, but we just did it. We, we Speaker 3 (4:40) just, we're like, Why didn't we think of this? And started working towards that. And about a year later, we opened up our own studio down in Soho, in Soho, where we still are in the neighborhood to this day. Speaker 1 (4:54) 1999. That's right. Yeah. So, I mean, it's quite a while ago. And I want to talk just quickly about where each of you went. after school because you both worked for legends in the industry and in architecture and design. And Gray, I know you got out of school earlier than Will, a few years apart. Just a few. While I was in school, Bobby Speaker 3 (5:20) McAlpin, he was my third year professor and asked me if I would be interested in coming in to work with him. in his studio over the summers. And Ray Booth was, he has the same for him too. And so we worked there for a couple of years. And then once graduating, we were working, we reached out to John Saladino. We were working on a house. McAlpin was doing the architecture. John Saladino was doing the interiors. And so reached out and, you know, It was my first day in New York. Hadn't started looking, didn't have a place to live. Walked up and looked at an apartment on my way to interview at John Saladino's. Got the apartment, went to my first interview, got the job at John's, and stayed there for about four or five years. And it was a great experience. He's so talented. Amazing. And it was a great, you know, great. My first project was working on what's now the Four Seasons on 57th Street. working with Ian Pay's office. You know, it's interesting looking back now what we're doing. It's very similar to what I originally sort of jumped into. Speaker 1 (6:33) What a remarkable moment in your life that you secured your first apartment in New York and then get a job for John Saladino, a legendary figure in the industry. And your whole life just takes off from there. Most Speaker 3 (6:47) people said that's... That's not typically how it goes. That's Speaker 1 (6:51) not Speaker 3 (6:51) your average day in New York? It's Speaker 1 (6:52) very unusual. Speaker 3 (6:52) Yes. Yes. And spent a lot of time working with John on some great, mostly residential projects and a few hospitality. And then from there, went to Aero Studios with Thomas O'Brien and Bill Sofield, which was another kind of remarkable experience. And working on beautiful... residential and hospitality stuff. You know, did a lot of work with Mr. Armani, with the Lawrence on their retail and residential stuff. So great, great experience and really had a major impact on where I am today. Speaker 1 (7:33) Yeah. And I want to hear more about that and how they helped to sort of shape your approach to your thinking, because so much of what your book is about, and I'm eager to get to that. is really about this approach that you bring. And I want to learn more about how you think about that. Will, let's get to you real quick and talk about... the legends that you worked for after school? Speaker 2 (7:59) Well, when I graduated, in school, I loved the work of Peter Eisenman. So I came to New York, I wrote him letters, got an internship, an unpaid internship with Peter's office, and worked there for about six months. Loved being in New York, loved working with him. It was incredible. And what I realized is I didn't really want to leave New York. And it was... Right before I was getting ready to leave, I met Charles Guathmey at an event. Actually, it was an exhibition of Paul Rudolph's work that I went to with some friends. And met Betty Ann Guathmey, Charlie's wife, who introduced me to Charlie. And this was on like a... Tuesday. I met with him on a Friday right before the holiday break. And he said, you've got some good work here, but I'm going to have to get back to you in the new year. And I said, well, I've got my bags here to go home. And when I go home to Nashville, I'm not coming back. And he said, I'll see you on January 3rd. And the rest is history. Speaker 1 (9:09) Listen, buddy, if you don't hire me, you're never going to see me again because I'm going back. That's it. Okay. But he did. So he says, yes, he hires you. Speaker 2 (9:18) He did. And he was a real hero and mentor for me. And I learned so much, got to work on incredible projects with incredible clients and people. But incidentally, Charlie Wathmey and John Saladino were classmates at Yale. Speaker 1 (9:37) Right. Speaker 2 (9:38) in Yale Architecture School. So there's a little synergy there. Yeah. Speaker 1 (9:42) Yes. It's all interconnected. Speaker 2 (9:44) Yes. Speaker 1 (9:44) So your former professor finally convinces the two of you that the two of you belong together. Did you have work? Did you have projects? Did you have people you were bringing along? Tell me what was happening in 1999. Speaker 3 (9:58) It was the two of us and we had one employee. And we actually were very fortunate. We had a private residence that we were working on and a... and a nightclub. So again, two very different types of projects. And we just dove into it. We left on good terms from both of our firms, still stay in touch with them to this day. And we had a loft down in Soho, and we kind of set up in there and started working away on these two projects. Speaker 2 (10:36) We didn't take anybody with us. Look, there wasn't enough work to barely sustain the two of us. Speaker 1 (10:44) Well, so when you guys first got started, did you decide early on the kind of work that you wanted to do? Or did you have any issues getting on the same page about where you wanted all of this to go or what you imagined? Or what was the thinking early on? Speaker 2 (11:01) You know, I think we just, we were, we were. very happy to have the projects that we did. And this would be kind of advice to young people going forward is just to embrace that. Just to take what you have and make the absolute most of it. And as much as you want to have a vision about exactly where you want to go and which projects to do along the way, I think the best advice is just to let that path open up for you. Take the road that... it feels like the right way to go. And I feel like by not sort of. mapping it out too distinctly, it allowed us to grow into the kind of design firm that we really wanted. Speaker 3 (11:47) We were also hungry. We were like, this was our first opportunity. Let's really jump at any opportunity that we had and let's make the most of it. And I think we really put 110 % into what we were doing and we believed in what we were doing. Speaker 3 (12:08) You know, I think, you know, through the years, it's really paid off well. But yeah, we did know and we kind of figured early on, we kind of figured it out as we went along. Speaker 1 (12:19) Well, and did any of your former employers, were any of them very business focused and sort of taught you how to actually set up a firm and how to bill and how to charge and how to make sure you were? profitable and all of that. Did anybody instill that in you guys? I Speaker 3 (12:38) will say that John Saladino was helpful. He said, one of the things that's most important in starting a business is your billing. And he said,