In 2020, Alton LaDay found himself wondering what he could do to make a difference.
George Floyd’s murder had sparked a national reckoning. Protests filled the streets, the pandemic upended everyday life, and LaDay wanted to add something positive.
He had built a career in Houston and San Diego working in the interior design industry and growing his public relations agency. But he also recognized there were too few books about Black interior designers.
“I’m happy to say that the interior design industry has really made great strides to build inclusion and visibility for people,” LaDay said. “I’m really proud of what we created. It celebrates culture and design, and from what I can tell people really seem to enjoy it.”
“In the House” is an exquisite coffee-table book that showcases more than 30 interior designers and their work. They aren’t listed in alphabetical order on purpose, he said.
“They’re all so different, and we put them in the book that way. I think it builds interest and makes it a beautiful surprise on the next page,” he said.
I met LaDay when we were students at the University of Houston. I even bought one of my first “grownup” pieces of furniture — a beautiful burgundy Asian-inspired armoire — when he operated an eclectic furniture store on S. Shepherd Drive.
He later worked at Gucci in the Galleria before joining the Houston Decorative Center as marketing director. He then went on to start his own public relations agency.
LaDay hopes his book encourages a new generation to see interior design not just as a career, but as a way to shape the spaces, and stories, around themselves.
“So many people go into this industry as a career change, so maybe they might see the success stories in the book and be encouraged. It’s more than being in beautiful spaces all of the time, you get to work with amazing people and you get to be in their most intimate spaces,” he said.
On Monday at 6:30 p.m., LaDay and I will be in conversation virtually with Kindred Stories bookstore, talking about his new book, his creative journey and the inspiration behind it.