Today we’d like to introduce you to Laquita Tate.
Hi quitatate@gmail.com, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My interior design story really began long before I ever called myself an interior designer. I have always been drawn to beautiful spaces. I was the person who could spend hours flipping through home magazines, studying every detail of a room—the furniture, the art, the colors, and how everything worked together. At the time, I didn’t necessarily see interior design as a career for myself. I simply knew that beautiful spaces made me feel something.
My professional journey actually began in education. I built a career as a teacher and school leader, earned my doctorate in education, and eventually moved into executive leadership. Education has always been a huge part of who I am, but after completing my doctorate, I suddenly had something I hadn’t had in years: a little extra time. I began pouring some of that energy into my home.
Our home had been very beige and fairly untouched for years because my husband and I were busy raising our sons and building our careers. I started changing it one room at a time. I experimented with paint, furniture, art, texture, and color. I started thinking less about simply decorating a room and more about how I wanted a space to feel.
I shared those changes on social media, and people began responding to them. Eventually, friends started asking me to help with their homes. One of my first projects was a friend’s daughter’s bedroom, which I actually did for free because I wanted to know if I enjoyed designing for someone other than myself. I loved the experience, and more importantly, I loved seeing my vision become a space that someone else could enjoy.
That was the beginning.
I sought guidance from my friend and mentor, Carmeon Hamilton, and I remember asking her whether she thought I should really start a design business. In true Carmeon fashion, her response was essentially, “What are you waiting for?” That encouragement gave me the push I needed, and in October 2019, I officially launched what would eventually become Laquita Tate Interiors.
From there, I treated every project as an opportunity to learn. I started small, developed my process, refined my eye, and continued educating myself. Education is in my DNA, so although I had developed my design instincts organically, I eventually went back to school and earned my certification in Interior Design. I wanted the knowledge and credentials to complement the experience I was gaining in the field.
Over the years, my work has grown from styling individual rooms to full-home renovations, new builds, and commercial spaces. I’ve had opportunities I never imagined when I was simply sharing pictures of my home on Instagram. My work and home have been featured by outlets including HGTV, Home & Texture, Memphis Magazine, and others, and each opportunity has reminded me how far this journey has come.
Today, Laquita Tate Interiors is a full-service residential and small commercial design firm. My design philosophy has also become much clearer over the years: layered, refined, and intentional. I love beginning with a strong foundation and layering in color, texture, art, lighting, and meaningful pieces that tell the client’s story. Art is especially important to me. I believe a home should feel collected rather than simply decorated, and I want people to walk into a space and learn something about the person who lives there.
My motto has always been “Love the Space You’re In,” and that still guides my work. I don’t believe good design is just about creating a beautiful photograph. A space should function for the people who live there. It should reflect them. It should make them feel something. I want my clients to walk into their homes after a long day and feel like they can exhale.
One of the most interesting parts of my story is that I have never felt the need to choose between education and design. By day, I serve as a Chief Academic Officer, helping create systems and opportunities that impact children and educators. Through Laquita Tate Interiors, I get to exercise a completely different part of myself creatively. On the surface, those careers may seem worlds apart, but I actually see a connection between them. Both require me to listen, understand people’s needs, create a vision, solve problems, and help transform what currently exists into what is possible.
I’m now several years into this journey, and I still feel like I’m evolving. My eye is more refined. My projects are larger. My confidence is stronger. But the part of me that loves design is still the same woman who once sat with home magazines studying beautiful rooms simply because they inspired her.
The difference is that now, I get to create those rooms for someone else.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wouldn’t say it has always been a smooth road, but I also wouldn’t change the journey because every challenge has helped shape the designer and business owner I am today.
One of my biggest challenges has been building Laquita Tate Interiors while maintaining a very demanding career in education. I currently serve as a Chief Academic Officer, and that role requires a tremendous amount of time, energy, and responsibility. There have been many days when I have left school visits or meetings and gone directly to a client’s home, a construction site, or a showroom. Nights and weekends have often been spent reviewing plans, sourcing furniture, answering emails, or preparing for an installation. Learning how to give both of my careers the level of excellence they deserve has required discipline, sacrifice, and a lot of organization.
Another challenge was simply learning the business of design. Loving design and running a successful interior design firm are two very different things. When I started, I had the creative eye, but I had to learn everything else—how to price my services, establish processes, manage budgets, work with contractors and vendors, communicate expectations, manage timelines, and navigate the inevitable problems that arise during a project. I made mistakes along the way, but I learned from every one of them.
I also had to overcome some of my own doubts. I entered the design industry later in life and without the traditional path that many designers take. Early on, there were moments when I questioned whether I belonged in certain rooms or whether I knew enough. Instead of allowing that insecurity to stop me, I decided to educate myself. I went back to school and earned my certification in Interior Design. That’s the educator in me—I believe in continually learning and refining your craft.
I’ve also learned that entrepreneurship requires you to become comfortable with things you cannot control. A beautiful finished room doesn’t show the delayed shipment, the discontinued item, the contractor issue, the damaged furniture, the budget conversation, or the design decision that had to change at the last minute. Interior design has taught me how to pivot without losing sight of the overall vision.
Probably the biggest lesson, though, has been learning that growth doesn’t always mean doing more. As my projects have gotten larger and my business has evolved, I’ve had to become more intentional about the projects I accept, the clients I work with, and how I use my time. In the beginning, I felt like I needed to say yes to almost every opportunity. Today, I understand that every opportunity isn’t necessarily my opportunity.
The road hasn’t always been smooth, but it has been incredibly rewarding. Every challenge has forced me to become better—better at my craft, better at communicating, better at protecting my time, and better at trusting myself.
I’m still learning. I’m still refining. And I think that’s part of what keeps this journey exciting for me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Laquita Tate Interiors is a full-service residential and small commercial interior design firm rooted in the belief that your surroundings should tell your story and, most importantly, make you feel good.
Our approach is layered, refined, and intentional. I love creating spaces that feel collected over time rather than overly decorated or designed for a moment. While every project is different because every client is different, my work often begins with a strong, neutral foundation and then builds through color, texture, lighting, natural materials, and art. Art, in particular, has become a signature element of my work. I believe it can completely change the energy of a room while also giving us an opportunity to tell a client’s story.
We specialize in full-service design, renovations, new construction, furnishings, and styling. I especially love projects where I can be involved early in the process and help shape the entire vision—from flooring, cabinetry, tile, lighting, and paint selections to furniture, art, accessories, and the final installation. I enjoy taking all of those individual decisions and making them feel like one cohesive story.
What sets Laquita Tate Interiors apart is the combination of creativity and structure that I bring to the process. My background as an educator and executive leader has greatly influenced how I operate my design business. I am naturally a planner and a problem solver. I understand systems, timelines, communication, collaboration, and managing multiple moving pieces at once. So, while my clients hire me for my creative vision, I also want them to feel confident that there is intention and organization behind that creativity.
I’m also not interested in simply recreating what’s trending. I want to understand how my clients actually live. What do you do when you come home? Where does your family gather? Do you entertain? What pieces are meaningful to you? What do you want your home to say about you? Those questions matter because ultimately, I’m not designing my home—I’m designing yours. I want my point of view as a designer to be present, but I want your story to be even more present.
Brand-wise, I am most proud that Laquita Tate Interiors has developed an identity that feels authentic to me. My motto is “Love the Space You’re In,” and that is more than a tagline. I want to create spaces that people genuinely enjoy living in—spaces they are excited to come home to, entertain in, make memories in, and simply be in.
I’m also incredibly proud that my work has allowed me to contribute to a larger conversation around representation in the design industry. As a Black designer from Memphis, I understand the importance of people seeing designers, artists, makers, and creatives who look like them represented in beautiful spaces and in the pages of design publications. I intentionally incorporate art into my work and love opportunities to support Black artists, local artists, and other creatives whose work adds meaning and soul to a space.
Ultimately, I want people to know that Laquita Tate Interiors is about more than making things beautiful. We create experiences. We create spaces that function well, feel personal, spark conversation, and reflect the people who inhabit them.
My goal is never for someone to walk into one of my projects and simply say, “This is beautiful.” I want them to say, “This feels like me.”
That’s when I know I’ve done my job.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
There are several ways to connect and work with me. For interior design projects, the best place to start is through my website, where potential clients can complete the inquiry form and schedule a Discovery Call. I love working with clients on full-service residential design, renovations, new construction, furnishings, and select commercial projects.
I’m also always open to meaningful collaborations and partnerships with brands, artists, makers, builders, architects, and other creatives whose work and values align with mine. I have been fortunate to build relationships with some incredible brands throughout my design journey, and I enjoy collaborations that feel authentic and allow me to introduce my audience to products, people, and experiences I genuinely believe in.
Supporting Laquita Tate Interiors can also be as simple as following along and engaging with my work. Share a project that inspires you, tell someone about my business, read the blog, follow my journey on social media, or refer someone who may be looking for a designer. Those things may seem small, but for a creative entrepreneur, they make a tremendous difference.
I’m continuing to grow and refine Laquita Tate Interiors, and I’m excited about what is ahead. Whether it’s designing a home, collaborating creatively, supporting artists and makers, or simply inspiring someone to love the space they’re in, I’m always interested in opportunities that allow us to create something meaningful together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laquitatate.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quitatate
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/laquita.tate.206374
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-laquita-tate-36360310/
