Southern Interior Solutions (more commonly known as “SiS”) — co-founded by Andrew McIver and Patrick McMath in Covington in 2015 — helps area businesses with furnishings, modular walls, storage, signage, millwork, accessories and more. In December 2020, the company relocated during the height of the pandemic, when many companies were vacating their offices and working from home.
“[It was] a testament to how much faith and opportunity we believed the city of Covington had to offer,” McIver said. “Nestled in the heart of downtown, we are in the perfect spot to grow SiS in a city that is also undergoing some growth of its own. Covington is in the middle of this renaissance of development, particularly since COVID-19, and we feel the growth of our company aligns with the growth of the city. We are grateful to be a part of this community.”
Because SiS provides furniture solutions for other companies, it only made sense for the co-founders to design the new office space they found — still in Covington — themselves.
“We did all of the interior space planning and selections,” McIver said. “The interior design of our office is constantly evolving. We may host a client in our space for a meeting, and it’s not uncommon for them to buy something in our office that really isn’t for sale. Even though this change is often unplanned, it means our office always feels new and fresh, which keeps the team excited and engaged by providing opportunities to design our space in their own way.”
SiS created an open lounge area with comfortable seating as the main focal point. This space allows the team to have both client and internal team meetings in a setting that is casual yet central to all the surrounding private offices.
“Having this space has increased the flow of creativity and new ideas between our team, clients, architects and contractors by offering a relaxed environment that removes the formality of a conventional meeting,” McIver said. “With this space as the hub of our office, it allows the team to join in meetings and help with projects in which they might not be directly involved, simply because the meeting may be right outside their door.”
In addition to the open lounge area and private offices, the SiS workspace features a full kitchen, a materials library, a conference room and a dedicated demo space for their vendors and partner brands.
“This demo space—currently shown as a patient exam room—allows our partner brands to showcase new products, and our clients the opportunity to ‘kick the tires’ with mock-ups built specifically for their projects,” said Melissa Edmonds, director of design at SiS.
A standout feature is the conference room table — built by Highpoint, North Carolina-based Darran Furniture — which is made from a hand-selected, 8-foot solid slab of acacia wood cut 3 inches thick.
“The table retains the slab’s natural live edges, cracks and divots, reinforced by handcrafted butterfly joints,” McIver said. “This table has served as a significant conversation-starter (and ice-breaker) to many meetings over the past three or four years.”
The new SiS workspace provides a comfortable ambiance, both for clients and team members.
“It’s important that we retain the feeling of excitement, as well as comfort, when walking into what we consider to be a fresh take on an office environment and functioning showroom,” said McIver.
SiS employs registered interior designers and offers space planning, design, specification, procurement and installation for the corporate, healthcare and education markets.
“We are the most innovative commercial furniture dealership on the Northshore, working closely with clients, architects and contractors on selections, design, procurement and installation services,” said Edmonds. “We design and space plan in the latest 3D software, so our clients can experience their furnishing solutions well before procurement and installation.”
Southern Interior Solutions 404 E. Gibson St., Ste. 2A Covington // 985-805-6256 // spacesthatwork.com // linkedin.com/company/sis-southern-interior-solutions
@sis.spacesthatwork // @southerninteriorsolutions
