Interior Designer Gary Inman Looks Ahead As His Firm Grows

As one of only a handful of recognized Innovators and the Designer In Residence at High Point University, interior designer Gary Inman, has infused his classes with professional insights and expectations, bolstering the experiences of the university’s interior design and fashion merchandising students, according to a news release.

University officials said his efforts have brought industry recognition to up-and-coming young design talent from his top-level courses. Now, Inman, the assistant professor of the practice of interior design, has announced plans to return full-time to his professional interior design business at the close of the current academic year.

Inman maintained his work as a designer while balancing the rigors of his professorship. While teaching, he and his team brought new projects to fruition for clients such as the Washington Duke Inn, The Mayton Inn, The Durham, and private residences for CEOs and industrialists.

“From 2021 onward, our business has only expanded,” said Inman, who credits long-standing client relationships as one factor for his success. Additionally, his clients said they appreciate his connections to the home and furnishings industries that help him secure resources during periods of delay or shortage. That level of dedication brought several new projects to the firm, and Inman said he is eager to, once again, be fully immersed in design work and the client journey.

“The complexity and scale of our projects are part of what I find compelling,” Inman said. “Being immersed in it every day — often for years — then seeing how every client conversation and each design decision creates life and vibrancy in the finished space. That brings me immense satisfaction. I look forward to engaging myself in that level of detail again.”

Inman said he also looks forward to a return to his personal sourcing journeys, a global endeavor his teaching schedule largely curtailed. Upcoming buying trips for European antiques, fine art, tapestries and handmade objects are already in the works.

His company, Gary Inman Interior Design and its residential brand, Gary Inman Home Couture, headquartered in Richmond, VA, creates luxury and bespoke interiors for a roster of distinctive hotels, resorts, and homes throughout the country.

Devoted to the art of fine living, Inman’s work extends to product design and development in furnishings, wallcoverings, accessories and custom creations. He also serves as a hospitality consultant and is a sought-after consultant for historic properties. His work for clients includes the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Estate, Hilton Hotels, the 2,500-acre Millstone Manor Estate among many others. His projects have been recognized with 18 ASID-IIDA awards, and Inman garnered the coveted Elevate Award as the Top Luxury Hospitality Designer.

While his tenure at High Point University is wrapping up, Inman said he’s leaving the door open for future educational opportunities. “I see design as a talent that is only fully realized when it is shared with others,” he said. “Utilizing my expertise and experience in an academic setting over the last four years has been a passion fulfilled for me. I hope to explore other options to foster exceptional students at some point in the future, maybe similar to my role as Guest Lecturer at SCAD, Savannah College of Art & Design, or as an instructor.”

Inman was tapped to be a member of High Point University’s Innovators program, bringing business and creative leaders to mentor students across an array of disciplines. He  joined other Innovators such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak; author and leadership expert Dr. John C. Maxwell; Google’s Teena Piccione; and, Cynt Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, to elevate the education of HPU’s student body.

Inman is the first and only person to-date selected as Designer In Residence. As the assistant professor in the practice of interior design, Inman teaches courses from the History of Design; Building Materials; and Design Communications to more intensive studies of Professionalism and Business Principals, Visual Merchandising Studio, and Building a Luxury Brand.

Reflecting on his time teaching for HPU, Inman says, “It has been an honor to help guide the next generation of creative, talented designers from academics into a lifelong pursuit of design. Teaching has been fulfilling and I am grateful to have been able to make an impact on the design community’s future. Now, I am eager to put my entire focus on design again.”