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Today’s workflows aren’t designed for teachable moments. Persistent notifications and never-ending to-do lists are the nemesis of concentrated, constructive feedback. And yet, Bunny Williams finds a way. “I've always felt strongly that, not only do I have my practice and my clients, but I’m hoping that I'm giving something to the next generation of designers,” says the AD100 Hall of Fame designer. If you’re not one of the fortunate talents to have graduated from her nearly-four-decades-old practice (which rebranded to Williams Lawrence in 2023 following Elizabeth Lawrence’s promotion to partner), you’re in luck: Williams recently launched a 35-part online course detailing her design philosophy and professional operations.
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Served in her lingering and affable Virginian intonation, Williams’s stories are seeped in design legacy and enduring advice. Here, she shares her career beginnings at the venerable firm Parish-Hadley, her advice for designers starting out today, and her next dream assignment.
Mel Studach: Congratulations on the Create Academy program. What appealed to you about participating in the series?
Bunny Williams: I met the [team] in New York when they launched Miles Redd’s series, and I thought they were a dynamic and fabulous group with a lot of positive energy about design. I started watching their courses—they’ve worked with Rita Konig and Nina Campbell too—and I thought it was an incredible way of having professionals share their experience with a broader audience. I’ve always felt strongly [about] giving something to the next generation of designers. The same way working with Albert Hadley and Mrs. Parish for so long did for me.
Tell me about those 22 years working at Parish-Hadley Associates. How did they prepare you to go out on your own?
Mrs. Parish and Albert were two entirely different people. Mrs. Parish was not cozy and warm, she was a tastemaker. She was instinctive. She couldn’t read a floor plan, yet she could walk into a room and know exactly how she wanted the furniture to be arranged and sized. She couldn’t express her plans—she would just go get a bunch of stuff and arrange it, and it had magic. By watching her, you learned from her spontaneity. Meanwhile, Albert would measure a table for a dish. He had been a teacher and encouraged us to think. When I would have to present a scheme for a job or a floor plan, he made me draw and explain it. And then he’d say, ‘Hmm, are you sure?’ He was the real educator. From a design standpoint, I’m somewhere in the middle: I want to have the balance and the scale right, and then I want to have the fun of relaxing all with cushions and arrangements.
I was having a hard time leaving. I was trying to negotiate a partnership, which wasn't working. Somebody said to me once, ‘What is your problem? You have all this business, you can start your own firm.’ And I said, ‘I know I'm really good at decorating, but I’m worried about the business. I can’t balance the checkbook. I don’t know what to do with taxes.’ And she said to me, ‘Don’t you know there are people who like to do that?’ I immediately went and found a young lady who had come out of a business background to help me start the accounting department.
The power of delegating.
It’s huge. And now social media and all these other elements that go into the business—the power of outsourcing is huge. I hardly know how to take the picture, let alone remember to post it. You need somebody who is focused on that because it’s their generation, not mine.
To what level do you like to stay informed when you delegate tasks?
It’s important to have a general understanding of how each role functions within your business. I may not have to pay the bills, but I need to look at the balance sheet every month and know what we’re spending money on. I think any good leader needs to know what questions to ask, and then you have the best people around you to implement it.
You founded your firm in 1988. How has the industry changed?
When I first started, we didn’t have social media. You didn’t have Pinterest; you didn’t even have a computer. You had to train with somebody. Design is like an opera set: When the curtain lifts, [all the pieces] have to be there and be perfect, and that’s a skill that you learn working for somebody else. You see the pitfalls, and you understand how to organize your business. So I’m an advocate of that.
What is the one piece of business advice you have for someone starting today?
You need to understand how to run a business. Before you get that first client, consider: Do you really know how to organize the job? Do you know how to do estimates, how to price things? Whether you mentor with somebody or listen to courses, you need to have all of that in place.
We often get questions from early-career designers in our business sessions asking how long it will take to get out of the red.
It’s challenging because you’re managing deposits and timelines and paying your vendors. Even today, I’m a salaried employee. I tell people all the time: The money in the bank of the company is not yours until the job is finished and all the bills are paid. If at the end of the year we’ve had a good year, we can pay ourselves a bonus.
You have the Create Academy series, seven books, the home line—what’s your next dream assignment for Bunny Williams Inc.?
I always have so many things! I would love to see Bonny Williams Home develop into something that is bigger than it is now. I would love to see some retail stores, places where people can come in and get the feeling of design, not just a commercial brand’s point of view. We’re working hard, in meetings now, about how we can have broader reach.
This interview has been condensed and edited for brevity and clarity.
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