When Southern Interior Solutions outgrew its previous office in downtown Covington, the commercial interior design and furniture dealership didn’t just find a bigger space, it designed and built its own. The resulting second-floor office and showroom at 409 E. Gibson St. is equal parts design laboratory and working headquarters.
“Our previous office was across the street, and we simply outgrew it, which is a great problem to have,” said Andrew McIver, a principal at SiS. “From day one, we designed the new second-floor office the way we always wanted, [with] room to do great work, room for the team to grow and a showroom we use every day.”
For director of design Melissa Edmonds, the process began not with a concept board but with the building itself.
“The first space taught us a lot,” she said. “We learned what we actually needed versus what we thought we needed. This time, we let the building lead. Tall windows, generous proportions, beautiful Covington light — those gave us the bones, and we worked back from there. Every choice we made was the same way we’d make for a client — [with] function first, then design-aesthetic — never the other way around.”
That philosophy is legible in every corner of the finished space. The natural light from the large windows, Edmonds noted, does more than illuminate — it activates the materials themselves.
“I love the balance between the neutral architectural elements and the way color is introduced through the furniture,” she said. “It allows the furniture to become a major part of the design story.”
Lighting and acoustics, often afterthoughts in commercial design, were approached here with equal intentionality, adding a strong architectural element that helped create flow throughout the office.
The layout of the new office reflects a post-Covid understanding of how work actually happens. At its center is a collaborative, living-room-style gathering area that Edmonds described as one of the most active parts of the office. It is used for casual meetings, client conversations, continuing education presentations, material reviews and informal collaboration.
Surrounding that central hub, a range of settings accommodates different work styles, personalities and client needs.
“That was intentional, especially given how much the workplace has changed post-Covid,” said Edmonds. “The office demonstrates how open collaboration areas, private offices, focused work zones and formal meeting environments can coexist.”
One of the standout elements is the formal conference and boardroom, where high-end finishes, integrated technology, modular walls and sound masking come together to create a room that doubles as a demonstration of what SiS can do for its clients.
“It gives clients a firsthand look at solutions that are applicable to many of the environments we serve,” said Edmonds.
The materials library rounds out the experience.
“It is what dreams are made of for an interior designer,” said Edmonds. “It is organized, accessible and highly functional, but it is also a beautiful part of the space. It supports the way we work every day and gives clients a better understanding of how materials, color and texture come together in a finished environment.”
The space is not a static showroom but a rotating, evolving example of how spaces can function.
“Products come in, live with us for a while, and either earn their place or they go into storage,” said McIver. “Since we are constantly refreshing the space, it is always evolving and gives clients the opportunity to experience furniture in a real working environment.”
That approach also functions as a quality filter.
“We are not showing products under perfect showroom conditions; we are using them every day,” said McIver. “If a chair is not comfortable, functional or well suited for the way people actually work, that becomes obvious pretty quickly. You cannot confidently recommend something to a client that you would not want to use yourself.”
Flexibility was a priority from the start. Patrick McMath, a principal at SiS, said the team made deliberate choices to ensure the space could evolve with the company.
“We used modular walls to create flexibility within the space, and we chose furniture solutions in place of permanent millwork wherever possible,” he said. “That allows the office to move, change and be reconfigured over time.”
The commitment to adaptability extends even to leadership’s spaces.
“There may come a day when the team decides my office needs to be repurposed, and that is a very real possibility,” said McMath. “The space should serve the team first.”
When clients walk in, the team hopes the space speaks for itself.
“We want clients to have that ‘wow’ moment when they walk in — the realization that a space can feel warm, polished and highly functional without being overdone,” said Edmonds. “More importantly, we want them to see that thoughtful design starts with understanding their core needs and wants.”
For McIver, designing the firm’s own workplace a second time brought a particular kind of clarity.
“It is one thing to guide clients through those decisions, but it is another to live inside your own work and experience those decisions firsthand and every day,” he said. “There is a real humility in that. Every shortcut catches up with you, and every small detail you get right rewards you over time.”
Those lessons, McIver said, make SiS better for the clients it serves. And for a firm now celebrating a decade in business, with a planned Austin office opening in 2027 and a growing footprint across the Gulf South, the new showroom is both a reflection of where SiS has been and a foundation for where it’s headed.
QUICK LOOK
Number of years in operation
11
Square footage
3,000
Number of Employees
8
Persons in Charge
Andrew McIver and Patrick McMath
Architect
Eskew Dumez Ripple (Building)/Greenleaf Architects (Interior Buildout)
General Contractor
McMath Construction
Interior Décor
SiS
Initial Brand Development
SiS
Art and furnishings
SiS
SiS
409 E. Gibson St., Covington
985-805-6325
spacesthatwork.com
I: @sis.spacesthatwork
F: @southerninteriorsolutions
