BOTL Winner Spotlight – Kelly Cruz Interiors

Kelly Cruz Interiors

by Lori Helms photography provided by Kelly Cruz Interiors

It was something as simple as a questionnaire filled out by a young college student that launched a decades-long career for the winner of our “Best Interior Designer” category for 2022 — Kelly Cruz Interiors.

Cruz had enrolled at Ohio State University and, once her answers to a questionnaire that helped new students weed through the myriad degree options available to them pointed her toward the interior design program in the College of Architecture, she’s never looked back.

Now in her 26th year owning her own design firm based in Davidson, Cruz says whether she’s working on a homeowner’s single room redesign, a whole-house do-over or new construction, one business practice has become her standard: the joy of getting to truly know her client and their goals.

“I love my clients,” she says and, even in just a brief conversation with her, one can tell that is truly a genuine sentiment. “They’re all so different, and you end up learning so much about them.” She speaks often about the need to create client partnerships, which she says happens by her paying close attention to their needs while at the same time earning their trust. Cruz says while she has done some commercial projects, her clientele is mostly residential and her real focus is on custom furnishings. She says when it comes to a particular design style, however, you really can’t put hers in a specific category. “I’m all over the place,” she says, laughing at herself a bit. “I like it all, and I can achieve it all.”

It’s that kind of flexibility and confidence that has made her popular not just here in the Lake Norman area, but with clients throughout the Charlotte area and as far flung from here as the beach, Boston and Florida.

Her clientele’s tastes are as varied as the places they call home, but Cruz says it’s actually quite basic when it comes to the art of pleasing them all.

“People are just people,” she says, whether you’re the wealthiest homeowner in town or anywhere else on the socio-economic spectrum. “We all have the same emotions, and there is just a whole lot you can learn about them if you simply listen.”

Learn more about Kelly Cruz Interiors by visiting www.kellycruzinteriors.com or call Cruz at 704.895.2530.