Hi cuties—happy (almost) spring! This month for the latest installment of our Trade Spotlight series, I am so excited to introduce you to Katie Goodrich, the founder and principal designer at Ivory & Bone Interiors.
“We have been working with the KKH Trade Program since 2019. Kathy Kuo Home curates a product selection that is very diverse yet all the products are elevated.” -Katie Goodrich, Ivory & Bone Interiors
Based in Newburyport, MA, Katie founded Ivory & Bone Interiors in 2013 with the goal of bringing together a distinctive design philosophy and a wealth of inspiration from her travels. Today, the company offers services in architectural consultation, millwork renderings, trim-work packages, paint consultation, lighting, tile, plumbing and hardware selection, layout planning, and custom furniture design.
A designer after my own heart, Katie draws design inspiration from traveling and checking out new hotels and restaurants (“seeing the world in a new light is so inspiring,” she says. And when she’s not busy at work on design projects all throughout New England, you can find her planning her next travel adventure and spending quality time with family.
Read on to learn more about Katie and her team at Ivory & Bone Interiors, and to see some gorgeous images from their design portfolio!
Tell our readers about your business—what are your specialities and core offerings?
I founded Ivory & Bone Interiors in 2013. Drawing from my extensive travels and family roots in St. Croix, USVI, our work is infused with rich architectural imagery and global influence.
“Ivory and Bone seamlessly blends natural, old-world elements such as patina, cane, mahogany, plaster, terracotta, and marble to create timeless spaces and our own personal design style.”
I firmly believe that there is a reciprocal and powerful connection between the environments we choose to create in relation to our own happiness. When our team leaves a project, we want our clients to feel nurtured, empowered, and elated.
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Where is your business based? Do you take on projects nationwide or specialize in a specific location?
We are based in Newburyport, Massachusetts. We have projects all over New England from Maine to Rhode Island and everywhere in between. National projects we have done before, but are assessed on a base-to-base process.
Do you have a favorite interior design style to work with on projects?
We pride ourselves on being very versatile and bring each of our client’s styles to life. However, we love a client that likes to push boundaries, take risks, and embrace ideas out of their comfort zone.
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How would you describe the style of your own home? What’s your favorite piece of furniture/decor that you own?
I would describe my style as a mixture of antiques, goods collected along my travels, and there’s a lot of animals! I tend to gravitate towards items that have an old world charm and make me feel calm and zen!
“I really like texture, natural materials, chunky trim-work, British colonial style, and deep, rich, full colors like aubergine or olive green.”
I have a pineapple alabaster lamp in my kitchen that reminds me of the Caribbean Islands and historical Europe at the same time.
Tell us about a notable project from the past few years.
I just finished a residential project in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that incorporated a lot of plaster combined with bleached walnut. We sourced a wooden screen from Marrakesh and I built it into a shower wall. Inside of the shower is a mixture of tumbled clay tile and tadelakt, a Marrakesh lime plaster dating back to two thousand years ago.
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What have been some of the biggest joys and challenges you’ve faced in your career in the design industry?
Scaling my business—during Covid my client list was busting at the seams and I was forced to seek help (something that I was not used to when it came to my business). I’m very much a “right-sided brain” person so I needed an analytical person to assist me with operations. I hired Jenna, a close friend who is very much a left-sided brain individual, and she helped me hire more people. That was the start of the Ivory & Bone team!
Are there any design trends you see on the horizon for the year to come? Any trends on their way out?
All white everything is on its way out. More and more of our clients are playing with color or leaning into warm tones (good for us with Ivory & Bone name).
“We are seeing more and more of dark woods, color drenching, wallpapering all walls and thinking about the ceiling as the fifth wall. Less open concepts, more defined spaces, cozy rooms, blended patterns, and moody tones.”
We are also seeing a shift away from resale. People are valuing their homes as sanctuaries. Places that should represent and stylistically celebrate the people within them and their stories.
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What advice would you give someone who wants to work with an interior designer on their home, but they feel intimidated or hesitant? For someone who’s never worked with a designer, what’s the major upside?
If you are looking to hire a designer, look at their portfolio and ask what their overall mission is. Make sure this aligns with your objectives because it is a long intimate relationship. Ivory & Bone for example, goes beyond a shopping buddy. We have extensive experience with color, space, inventory logistics, story-telling, and stylistic harmony.
My advice to potential clients is to yes, trust your gut (you want your home to reflect you), but just like a mechanic, you also need to trust the professional you have chosen—invested in. Sometimes this means stepping out of your comfort zone, letting go of control, and trusting the process.
It also means providing honest feedback, and being communicative. Our most popular rooms in our portfolio are the ones where the client was able to uphold this delicate balance.
Speaking to fellow design pros: what advice do you have about working with a challenging client or overcoming unforeseen obstacles on a design project?
Learning how to say no and when is a very important skill. We are here to make our clients happy but not at the cost of sacrificing the design. We want to listen to our clients but they hired us for a reason and we would be doing them a disservice if we didn’t give our opinion.
Obstacles are inevitable in our industry so taking them in stride, continuing to be solution-oriented, and staying calm is the most important part.
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The Kathy Kuo Home Trade Program
Feeling inspired by Ivory & Bone? If you’re an interior designer or architect you can apply to our Trade Program to enjoy a wide array of professional benefits, as well as access to a thriving community of interior design pros. You can learn all about it HERE, but in brief, KKH Trade members receive: Competitive Trade Pricing, Low Storage Fees, Dedicated Trade Specialist to Coordinate Orders from Start to Finish, and More.
