All photos courtesy Barry Williams
If one could step into the imagination of interior designer Barry Williams, I imagine one would find a lavish, carefully curated place of amaranthine loveliness, as well as an endless inventory of ideas.
He brings a photographer’s eye, a perfectionist’s attention to detail, and a historian’s context to his work at Williams Design Inc., a firm he opened in the Dallas Design District in 1999.
Williams is one of the most exclusive designers in Dallas, creating exquisitely appointed interiors for a select register of clientele. His nickname is “the billionaire’s decorator” because he has worked for six. He has no website, because he’s not interested in making himself available to everyone, only those as serious about beautiful design as he is. For years, his business even had an unlisted telephone number.
“I love to get it right,” he said about his design philosophy. “I want to prepare for every meeting with every new client with a lot of energy and care and my desire is to be retained until the last detail clicks into place and the house looks finished and complete and feels good.”
And details are his specialty. For decades, Williams has carried a camera on him all day, every day, to capture and catalogue the elements around him. By his estimation, he has 54,000 photographs that aid his design work.
“I am hugely inquisitive and am always seeking and finding new patterns, colors, techniques, and details. I see new things everywhere all the time,” he said. “I have a nuclear-grade memory and can recall details from far and wide and bring them together in a new way.” Jump to read more!
