Designer Wesley Moon has achieved the kind of success that typically doesn’t occur until later in a career. From a job opportunity at NYC architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill directly out of school to work for Martha Stewart residential communities, to eventually opening his own firm, Wesley Moon has been hard at work shaping his career since he first decided he wanted to design for a living.

We checked in with the busy designer to find out how he got his first big break, what he would be doing if he were not where he is now, and his biggest “make it work” moment.

Image courtesy of Wesley Moon

TLV: Tell us a little about how you got started? What ignited your passion for interior design?

WM: I’ve just always loved design since I was a little kid playing with my legos and building what I saw in my house plan magazines. I don’t know why. I guess I got it from my mom. Yearly visits to the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC kept fueling that fire.

 

TLV: How did you get your first big break?

WM: I’ve had so many breaks I don’t know where to start! The last 17 years since I graduated design school has been like one big break that’s still unfolding. Each piece builds on the previous one to create my career and name as a designer. Starting with my first job at SOM to my first design project on my own to where I am now with a growing business, four full-time people in my office, and working on a dream project that when completed will elevate my portfolio to the top level with the best of them. I’m always excited for the next step!

Image courtesy of Wesley Moon

TLV: You offer clients some wonderfully unexpected design solutions – what is one of your most successful “make it work” moments?

WM: I feel that’s my job as a designer. I want every project to be special and to have unexpected design solutions. If I didn’t bring those to the table then what am I there for? I think one great example of this, however – where I took a big chance and it paid off – was in my room for the Hamptons Holiday House 2016 where I was assigned a huge bedroom with no wall to accommodate a king size bed. I had to block part of a window and I did so by creating a canopy bed that could be centered without anyone ever knowing there was a portion of the (otherwise enormous) window back there. I got a balanced room that still received a huge amount of natural light. I was really proud of how it turned out and everyone that knew the room before was amazed.

 

TLV: What was the best “mistake” you have made that turned out to be a blessing in disguise?

WM: It wasn’t a “mistake,” per se, but once during an installation, my movers arrived an hour early so they just started unloading the furniture off the truck before I arrived. When I got there, I liked how they arranged the living room furniture better than how I had planned to do it, so I left it that way!

 

Image courtesy of Wesley Moon

TLV: Who was your most influential mentor?

WM: Again, there are quite a few. I haven’t had one main mentor, but I’ve tried to learn what I can from anyone I admire or respect. I’ve learned a lot from my clients. There’s one in particular that I had right when I started my company that pushed me so hard. It was tough, but I learned so much that I have used and built upon to this day. It’s certainly helped me to be even more successful with subsequent projects. I must say that I learned a lot from my mother, but those have been life lessons as much as design related ones.

 

TLV: What would you be doing if you weren’t a designer?

WM: I would love to be a writer. Novels and screenplays. I have so many ideas that I want to develop into stories, but I simply don’t have time. That’s my dream for retirement, I guess.

Image courtesy of Wesley Moon

TLV: Do you have an item/s in your home that is unexpected or unusual?

WM: Many! My partner and I have a lot of collections that aren’t so expected for a young couple. We collect antique religious art and vintage china, among other things.

Image courtesy of Wesley Moon

Favorite home fragrance:

“Nest has amazing reed diffusers that we love to hide around the apartment. My favorite is the Moroccan Amber.”

 

Favorite musician:

“Dolly Parton. I love her songs and her music, but I also admire her for just being who she is and making people love her for it. I love that she writes her own music, produces her own albums… She’s the full package! Plus she’s hilarious and a very nice person too. I want that to be like her but with design – and a smaller chest.”

 

Favorite bar to enjoy a Spring al fresco cocktail in NYC:

“I love the bar on the roof at the Peninsula Hotel. The view down 5th Ave is beautiful.”