Known for creating landmark hospitality destinations like the Hotel Del Coronado and the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Wimberly Interiors brings restraint, clarity and cultural sensitivity to each of their hospitality projects. With the launch of its “With Care” brand refresh, they are reframing interior design services as an ongoing act of care, beginning with the first conversation and continuing throughout the life of a project. Our discussion with the firm’s Global Principal, Margaret McMahon, looks at how “With Care” informs everything from project development to client relationships.
Instinct and intellect
DNN: You’ve spoken about design as both an emotional and analytical process. How do you personally navigate the tension between intuition and structure when leading a team or shaping a concept?
MM: For me, design is a dialogue between instinct and intellect. Intuition often sparks the initial concept, where emotion and imagination live, but structure gives it form and function. When leading a team, I create space for both, encouraging free exploration while also establishing a framework that guides development. That tension between feeling and logic isn’t something to resolve but to harness. It’s where our most resonant and refined work emerges.
DNN: There’s a quiet confidence in the With Care approach. How do you instill that kind of restraint and intentionality in a design world that often celebrates spectacle?
MM: I would say that it is more about deeply listening to the client and their vision for their project. We really take the time to work through every small detail, and, as in every trusting relationship, we occasionally ask challenging questions to drive better design outcomes.
When hospitality meets home
DNN: Much of your work lives in the hospitality realm, but what lessons from residential or even civic design do you find yourself bringing into hotels?
MM: Where hospitality meets home, we draw from the intimacy of residential design and the communal purpose of civic spaces to create hotel environments that feel both personal and inclusive. This infusion cultivates emotional connection and ease, elevating hospitality from service to sanctuary.
DNN: The firm has designed for so many legendary destinations — places that already carry meaning. How do you avoid romanticizing the past while still honoring it?
MM: We always try to honor iconic destinations by understanding their essence, then evolving the narrative through contemporary interpretations. It’s not about nostalgia but rather building upon the past with innovative design that’s grounded in place but forward-looking in spirit.
DNN:. Let’s talk about silence, slowness, subtlety – qualities not often discussed in luxury hospitality. How do you protect that kind of spatial dignity in your work?
MM: This is an important and artful process, and we champion stillness and subtlety as expressions of luxury. Silence, slowness, and restraint allow our environments to breathe and speak softly, amplifying the guest’s emotional response. We protect these qualities by embedding them into the conceptual framework from day one.
Measuring success
DNN: How do you measure the success of a project once it’s complete? Do you revisit spaces over time? What are you listening for?
MM: We consider a project complete only once it’s lived in. Revisiting spaces allows us to listen not only to clients but also to the guests themselves. Success is measured by how flawlessly a space operates and how deeply it resonates emotionally.
DNN: When you walk into a hotel lobby for the first time, what are you instinctively looking at (or feeling for)?
MM: First impressions really count, and when entering a hotel lobby, we instinctively attune to its atmosphere, its light, materiality, movement, and sound. We look for a sensory narrative that invites, calms, and orients. It’s less about a single feature and more about a harmonized feeling.
Designing with care
DNN: With Care frames the design process as a relationship rather than a transaction. In an era of hyper-speed timelines and global clients, how do you hold space for that kind of intimacy?
MM: Our process is deeply relational. Amid fast timelines and global complexity, we prioritize presence and empathy. “With Care” is not just a phrase; it’s a principle that ensures each project is infused with intentionality, trust, and emotional intelligence. It comes very naturally to the whole team; it is just our way of being. Many of our clients come to know this over time as we work together and return to us because they see and value this aspect of our work.
DNN: What do you wish clients or hotel guests understood about what goes into great design?
MM: Great design lives in the details; moments that feel effortless but are painstakingly orchestrated. We wish clients and guests could see the choreography behind the spatial experience: how beauty, function, and story align through constant iteration and dialogue.
The universal desire for authenticity
DNN: You’ve led studios in New York, Dubai, Shanghai, Los Angeles. What throughlines have you noticed in global luxury and what’s beginning to fragment?
MM: Across continents, a desire for authentic experience is universal. The definition of luxury is becoming less about opulence and more about meaning. We apply global threads that we know to be successful, combined with local texture and reference; cultural nuance is more important than ever. What resonates in New York differs from what inspires in Bali.
DNN: In your three decades in the industry, has your definition of luxury changed? If so, what does luxury mean to you now?
MM: Luxury has absolutely evolved. It was once defined by rarity and grandeur, yet now it embraces softness, slowness, and soul. For us, luxury is the freedom to feel deeply, quietly, and meaningfully. It’s less about spectacle and more about emotional resonance.
Navigating creative challenges
DNN: What’s a project — past or current — that challenged you most creatively? What did you learn from it?
MM: Two projects that challenged us most were Rosewood Puebla in Mexico and Rosewood Baha Mar in the Bahamas. At the time, we did not have an established relationship with Rosewood Hotels, and it was important to deliver work that fully captured the identity of the brand. We worked with fixed site conditions and extremely compressed schedules, collaborating with the U.S. Rosewood team, who served as an intermediary to Sonya Chen.
Both projects were very well received. What my team and I learned was how to pivot from traditional presentation methods and create a purely visual approach, rooted in the character of each place. The work spoke for itself without the need for explanation, reshaping how we communicate design intent.
Our most demanding projects are often the most rewarding. Whether navigating extreme climates, tight timelines, or layered stakeholder visions, we learn to adapt with grace. These moments expand our creativity, deepen our collective skill set, and build our relationships with each other and with the client.
Wimberly Interiors’ legacy
DNN: How do you think about legacy, not only in the form of the buildings you help bring to life, but in the team and culture you are building?
MM: Legacy isn’t just about buildings. It’s about the people, practices, and principles we leave behind. We cultivate a culture of mentorship and team mentality, helping the next generation inherit not only knowledge but also vision and care.
DNN: Lastly, what’s inspiring you right now? This could be a material, a novel, an exhibition, or a conversation – anything.
I’m always inspired by travel and fashion, but lately, what has been most interesting is connecting with peers in the industry. Having conversations about the challenges and successes they are experiencing, both from a design and business perspective, is affirming. It reinforces that we are moving in the right direction and often sparks new ideas and approaches. What stands out most in these exchanges is the genuine sense of camaraderie. Rather than competition, there is shared collaboration and encouragement.
About Wimberly Interiors
Wimberly Interiors is a global interior design studio that crafts elegant, welcoming environments distinguished by sensory-rich narratives and a focus on hospitality design. Founded in 2011 as an independent atelier within international firm WATG, Wimberly Interiors’ studios are strategically located in North America, EMEA, and APAC regions. Inspired by their core expertise in hospitality, the studios are comprised of specialists who deliver in many areas, including luxury residential, food and beverage, renovation, gaming projects, and more.
At the heart of Wimberly Interiors is the philosophy of designing With Care. This ethos, present since the studio’s inception, guides a holistic approach that harmonizes aesthetics, functionality, and emotions. Each project responds to its clients’ distinct aspirations, resulting in culturally authentic and bespoke environments. Defined by artisanal-quality craftsmanship, every space is a testament to the collaboration between the client and the studio to elevate a vision.
Since its founding, Wimberly Interiors has designed hundreds of projects on behalf of distinguished clients and brands, including Ayana, Belmond, EDITION Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Hard Rock Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Marriott International, MGM Resorts International, Nobu Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, St. Regis Hotels and Resorts, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and Waldorf-Astoria Hotels & Resorts.Wimberly Interiors is consistently ranked among the Top 20 in Interior Design magazine’s Hospitality Giants survey. Learn more at watg.com/wimberly.
