Josh Petty Design
Josh Petty
Interior Designer
Josh Petty believes the best design is something you feel the moment you walk into a room, before you can articulate why. It is about proportion and natural light, about balance and flow, about how a space moves through your body and settles into your bones. This philosophy drives everything at Josh Petty Design, a Dallas studio that treats every project as an intimate collaboration, beginning long before a single design decision is made.
The process starts with curiosity. Josh and his team invest real time in understanding not just what a client likes aesthetically, but how they actually inhabit their homes: who entertains, what furniture arrangement frustrates them, which corner never gets used and why. The design follows from those answers.
Why Josh Petty Design is on our list
Josh Petty doesn't start with a mood board. He starts with questions: how you actually live, how you entertain, what isn't working about your space right now. The design follows from the answers.
He's known to propose the unexpected. A formal dining room becomes a moody peacock teal cocktail lounge. A space designed for a console table becomes one where two girls can play volleyball. When clients trust the process, Josh tends to take them somewhere they didn't know they wanted to go.
Q
Tell us who you are and what you stand for in your work.
A
Every project is completely unique to the individual client. We take the time to really get to know our clients before the design process begins. Not just their style, but how they actually live in their space: how they entertain, what isn't working, and what truly inspires them.
At our core, we're problem solvers. We love thoughtfully pushing our clients outside of their comfort zone when it comes to design, because our goal is to create spaces they're completely in love with. Spaces they never want to leave.
Q
Tell us about a working relationship that felt exactly right. What made it work?
A
We had a retired bachelor as a client who really didn't have a defined style. He even told us upfront that he didn't know what he wanted. But he had great taste and a real love for travel, so we used those two things as our starting point.
He wanted to begin completely fresh and not bring a single thing with him, which gave us a totally clean palette. From the very first presentation, he fell in love with the design and wanted everything exactly as we presented it.
To this day, his home hasn't changed at all. Every accessory and detail is still in the same place. He treats his home almost like a museum because he's so proud of it. And that, to us, says everything.
“He treats his home almost like a museum because he's so proud of it. And that, to us, says everything.”
Q
How do you design for the way a family actually lives, not just the way a home looks in photos?
A
We had clients with two very active girls, and initially we had designed a beautiful moment: a console table, incredible lamps, and a gallery wall of family and travel photos.
After presenting it, the clients shared that this was actually the space where their girls play volleyball when they can't be outside. So instead of forcing our original vision, we pivoted and designed the space around how it's truly used.
That decision made all the difference. The girls are so happy, and the space works for their real life, not just how it would have looked in photos. That's always the goal for us.
Q
Walk us through how you read a room. What do you look for first?
A
When we first walk into a space, we immediately take in the proportion, natural light, balance, flow, and overall feeling. To us, great design isn't just about how something looks. It's about how it moves and how it makes you feel the moment you walk in.
These five elements guide every decision we make. When they're thoughtfully considered and aligned, the entire space feels effortless and cohesive.
Often, these are subtle things a client may not consciously notice or think to point out, but they're what create that sense of warmth and quiet sophistication. You may not be able to immediately define it, but you feel it. And that's what truly sets a space apart.
“You may not be able to immediately define it, but you feel it. And that's what truly sets a space apart.”
Q
Tell us about a project that has stayed with you.
A
One project that really stayed with us was a dining room we transformed into a cocktail lounge. Our clients had a formal dining room at the front of their home, but they weren't formal dining people. When they entertain, they prefer to have friends over for cocktails and then go out to dinner.
So we proposed something completely different: turning that unused dining room into a dedicated cocktail lounge. We color-drenched the entire space in a deep, warm peacock teal to create a cozy, moody, almost speakeasy-like feel. The goal was for it to feel intimate, a little unexpected, and very inviting.
In the beginning, they were a bit nervous about the idea, which is completely understandable. But once it was finished, it completely shifted how they use their home. It's now their favorite room: cozy, layered, and full of personality. It just feels right for them.
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