Welcome to Murphy Lane Interiors!

The Studio

Oct 1

Hi, I’m Makenzie, the designer and founder behind Murphy Lane Interiors.

If you’ve been around for a while, you may know me from one of many different corners of the internet. I’ve shared pieces of my life online for over 10 years, and in many ways, this space has grown and changed right alongside me.

What began as sharing my home, our renovations, and the things that inspired me, eventually uncovered something much deeper: a genuine love and fascination with the way our surroundings shape the way we live.

A little about me

My love for design first took shape through renovating my own homes. Those projects gave me an opportunity to experience firsthand how thoughtful decisions about layout, materials, lighting, architecture, and furnishings could completely transform not only the way a space looked, but the way it felt to live there.

The more I explored design, the more I wanted to understand it.

So I made the decision to pursue design seriously. Over the next several years, I studied the principles behind good design, developed my technical skills, deepened my understanding of construction and the design process, and began shaping the ideas that would eventually become Murphy Lane Interiors.

At the same time, my life outside of design was changing, too. I started a family and became a mother. My priorities shifted, and so did my relationship with home. It quickly became less about creating something beautiful for the sake of being beautiful and more about creating a place that could hold a life. And somewhere within all of that growth, both personally and professionally, the philosophy behind Murphy Lane Interiors began to take shape.

Designing Beautiful Spaces for Life’s Best Memories

This is the phrase at the heart of Murphy Lane Interiors.

For me, it means creating homes that are beautiful without losing sight of the people who actually live inside them. Because our homes are where so much of life happens. Christmas mornings and movie nights. Bringing a baby home for the first time. Friends gathered around the kitchen long after dinner should have ended. Quiet mornings, busy weekdays, celebrations, ordinary Tuesday nights, and all of the seemingly insignificant moments that become part of our story.

A well-designed home should make room for all of it.

I don’t believe my job as a designer is to give every client a slightly different version of the same beautiful home. My job is to understand how you live, what you’re drawn to, what matters to you, and how you want your home to feel, then bring the experience and creative vision to translate those things into a space that works beautifully together.

I’m drawn to warm, layered interiors, natural materials, beautiful craftsmanship, interesting textiles, old pieces alongside new ones, and rooms that feel collected rather than decorated.

That perspective naturally informs my work, but it isn't a formula. The goal is never to make your home look like mine. Or hers. Or his. It’s to make it feel unmistakably like yours.

Making good design more accessible

There’s another belief that has become important to what I’m building with Murphy Lane Interiors: good design knowledge shouldn't be reserved for only those who can afford to hire an interior designer.

Professional interior design is a luxury service, and there’s a reason for that.

When my clients hire me, they aren't simply paying for a beautiful home. They’re investing in creative vision, professional expertise, space planning, sourcing, problem-solving, coordination, and the countless decisions required to take a space from an idea to a real life space. And perhaps just as importantly, they’re paying to not have to carry all of those decisions themselves.

But there’s a difference between having access to a designer's service and having access to design knowledge. I don't believe the latter needs to be a luxury. That’s part of what I want to share through The Design Journal.

Alongside my client work, I’ll be sharing the principles and practical information that can help you make more confident decisions in your own home: understanding materials, choosing the right proportions, navigating renovations, mixing finishes, sourcing pieces, and learning why certain design decisions work.

Some people want a designer to develop the vision, navigate the details, and take that enormous decision-making load off their shoulders. Others love doing the work themselves and simply want better information to guide them.

I think there should be a space for both.

At the heart of it

Murphy Lane Interiors has grown out of a genuine love for design, but the philosophy behind it has been shaped just as much by everything that's happened outside of design.

Building a career. Starting a family. Becoming a mother. All of it has made me believe a little more deeply in the same thing:

Our homes are the backdrop of our life’s best memories and as such, should be a beautiful reflection of who we are and the lives we lead.

It’s the philosophy I bring to my clients’ homes: to create beautiful spaces that authentically reflect and support them.

So whether you’re here because you're looking for a designer, searching for guidance for your own home, or simply love beautiful spaces as much as I do, I hope you'll stay awhile.