Manhasset Living expert Kevie Murphy of K.A. Murphy Interiors is here to tell readers about the process behind laying the groundwork of a room: the perfect custom rug.
K.A. Murphy Interiors is a leading design firm in the greater New York area and has been published in major design publications such as Traditional Home, Cottages & Gardens, Modern Luxury, and even the design section of The Wall Street Journal. In addition to their office in Manhattan, Kevie keeps close to her roots. A Port Jefferson native who raised her four children here in Manhasset, she also has an office on Hillside Avenue right here in town to closely cater to her Long Island home projects, which span the whole of the North Shore, the Hamptons, and beyond.
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To Kevie, the right rug is the thesis of a design story, setting the color and texture foundation that informs the rest of the room, and she works with her favorite local manufacturers to create the perfect custom piece for every space she transforms.
“There’s not necessarily a linear process in design. Every project and every client is different, and the most important thing is making sure there is inspiration and energy behind the first steps rather than a rigid process,” Murphy says. “But once the vision is set, our execution is extremely precise and we carry every detail through to completion. However, some things do not change, and if there is any element that truly makes or breaks a space, it’s the rug.”
In their “Quogue Generational Getaway” project, a spacious and breezy vacation home meant to host large family gatherings on the beautiful coast, Kevie created a stunning custom runner to span the massive foyer. Made with indoor/outdoor materials to handle kids, dogs, dirt, and the like, it features ocean toned stripes of blue and green that set the stage for a pace of family fun. Adjacent to the rug is another custom runner that follows the grand staircase in a deep blue, tying in with the deeper blue stripes of the foyer rug.
“We needed something big, coastal, but still classic and fun. As a designer, part of my job is thinking beyond what may be on any showroom floor and building something from scratch. That’s part of what makes even a seemingly minimal design still feel like luxury, because you can feel the time and detail behind a custom rug as it puzzle-piece fits the space,” Murphy says.
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Kevie is a researcher at heart. Having been a lawyer before she was a designer, she worked as an attorney at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, and her interest in detail and process has not left her with the change of career. She tells Manhasset Living that the process of building a custom rug does not just concern itself with color schemes. That is only the tip of the iceberg. The real work comes with knowing the materials, and to Kevie, it is a science as much as it is an art.
“You have to know what you are working with materially to know that something is going to be sustainable for the client and their happiness long term. Something like polypropylene is often the wisest choice for a high traffic area, and part of our job is showing clients how a synthetic can still look beautiful, timeless, and most importantly lasting and useful. We know how to make it work for the long haul,” Murphy says.
Kevie and her team work across the full span of materials, from synthetics to natural fibers like silk, wool, and jute. They also often create custom hair on hide rugs, using hand dyed hide pieces and bringing them together like a mosaic with different colors to bring out the various elements in the room.
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“We never want our clients to feel the labor that goes into this work. We want them to tell us their dreams and then, poof, there it is. But once you open the door, you begin to see how many hours are spent, how many people are involved, and how many logistical puzzles go into creating even one custom rug,” Murphy says.
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For their “Sister Suite” project, K.A. Murphy Interiors created a divided room with custom bed bungalows for a pair of sisters. They used a custom wall to wall carpet that uplifted the feminine floral energy of the space, subtly enough to almost read as neutral. With ultra thin stripes of red, green, blue, pink, and orange, it brings out the wall coverings and creates a cozy space for the pair of girls to play comfortably on the floor.
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The interior designer is not just the decorator, but the creative visionary, the project manager, the budget manager, and the on-the-ground supervisor throughout the whole project. Months before any rug is ever laid down, the designer is already scoping out the right colors, textures, and people to work with to make it happen.
Not only is your home project a project in itself, but each element in your home is its own project as well, from a fabric-wrapped ottoman, to a grand rug, to the trim on your pillow. Kevie and her designers at K.A. Murphy Interiors thrive on that juggle. And in the end, it often all comes back to the same foundational element that quietly holds the room together: the rug.
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