Finding space and design inspiration on Norwalk’s Wall Street

Interior Designer Wiliam Lyon came to Connecticut in 2013 to work with a family-owned design firm he became acquainted with while studying at High Point University in North Carolina.

After having built up his rolodex of painters, electricians, project managers and suppliers he decided to strike out on his own. He had already overcome the culture shock of moving far from home and establishing himself in a colder state and was content with running his business from his home until one night at a bar in Norwalk’s Wall Street neighborhood.

“I was downstairs at the bar that’s now below my studio and the owners were like, ‘would you be interested in having a studio space?’ And I’m like, ‘no I’m happy with having it in my apartment,’” Lyon recalled.

The owners eventually wore him down and he was led upstairs to survey the space, drink in hand. Lyon was interested enough to ask about pricing and started weighing his options, realizing that there were real advantages to establishing a physical office.

“I was trying to move my personal life forward by getting a condo or building a house in the future,” said Lyon. By having a separate office, he realized he didn’t need to relocate everything for work even if he found a new home, and that he could consider aesthetic choices outside the context of his own home. Bringing on employees as his business grew or developing a furniture-selling sideline would also become easier with the added space.

“As I started developing the space and working with contractors to put in built-ins and kind of make it my own I really started falling in love with the idea that when I walk into this space I can also leave it at the end of the day and my OCD won’t go crazy if it’s a mess,” Lyon added with a laugh. “I can just kind of shut the door and walk away and go home.”

He’s also found it a boon to his business since boba tea, Greek restaurants, Peruvian restaurants, and more are all in walking distance so there are always options when clients are taken out for lunch.

“Everything’s kind of right here, it’s great to kind of meet and go through fabrics and then go grab a quick bite to eat and come back. I feel like Wall Street in general is interesting, it’s a fascinating area with a lot of artists, a lot of stores, there’s an apothecary down the street, there’s also a designer across from my studio. When the weather gets really nice if I need a mental break I’ll walk down and go through an antique shop, it’s just a really cool area to kind of feel the pulse of Norwalk,” Lyon said.

“It’s just a great, tight-knit area.”

According to Lyon, that unexpectedly friendly attitude is also apparent in the region’s design sensibilities.

“Maybe it’s just the area in North Carolina I lived in, but I feel like people are more social here,” Lyon said, “I feel like there’s more social parents. It’s always like ‘Oh, bring your kids over too!’”

“People here have mom nights, have huge play dates, and are open to meeting new friends. I don’t have any clients that are parents without their own individual thriving social life. They care about what their home looks like and how it functions when people come over.”

To enhance that functionality Lyon said he is also working to incorporate both high tech and simple utilitarian designs paired with quality materials.

During Covid, Lyon said, everybody was focused on comfort above all else, alongside the home office. “But I feel like now it’s an attitude of ‘we want to love every inch of our home.’  Whether they are still working from home or they go into the office, I don’t think people are as work-focused.”

In Lyon’s view dining rooms are becoming popular again but are increasingly informal. Entry ways need to take into consideration how many pairs of boots the family has, as well as provide space for digital calendars and assistants that are keeping busy families with complex schedules all on the same page.

Lyon described keeping abreast of the latest technology as a key consideration for his designs.

“We do kind of techie mudrooms, we do playrooms. You can put tech anywhere and you can make your life easy in any room with adding technology,” though he noted that many clients prefer to keep it simple.

“When it comes to going for tech with gusto,” Lyon continued, “that’s when I have to go and visit people in showrooms and see what their products are like, visit their workrooms, see how their motion furniture works and really educate myself. Because it’s constantly changing, I need to know what’s new and what’s going to be best for the client.”

Lyon also noted that he was eager for his upcoming exhibition in March at The 203 Project, a showcase of interior design with a sustainability bent hosted by Connecticut Cottages and Gardens. He will be joining other designers in reimagining the interior of a Darien home. His responsibility is in the Garden Wing, which is a space for which he is still discovering the best design.

“It’s changing every day. It keeps getting turned upside down. We’ve probably redesigned the room, I think, five times.”

The 203 Project runs from March 21 to March 24. For more about William Lyon Design visit his webpage at https://www.williamlyondesigns.com/