Rockville-based Calming Ground Interiors blends a design aesthetic that emphasizes tranquility with the cultural elements that make each client’s outcome one-of-a-kind. To deliver personalized, beautifully designed living spaces, founder and CEO Tarsha McCrae, Associate ASID, begins each project with a simple question: what makes you happy with design?
I moved to Rockville around 2004 and purchased my first home in the city a few years later. So I’ve been here for about 17 years.
I started Calming Ground Interiors back in 2016 under another name: ‘Catch Decor.’ At the time, I was working full-time in research and program evaluation with the Department of Health and Human Services. Today I’m still with the government and with my business I feel like I work two full-time jobs. But by now I have a team with me, and that has been a game changer.
I am the lead designer. I have a junior designer (and we’re soon bringing on a senior designer), an operations manager, and an editor/copywriter.
Evolving a Signature Design Concept for the Brand
We create spaces that resonate with a sense of calm. Our designs are personalized in a way that celebrates diversity, incorporating the client’s cultural influences to make each design unique to each family. We specialize in creating serene environments that go beyond aesthetics.
In the beginning, as Catch Decor, we had a more whimsical and trendy approach to design. But over time you develop a better sense of your brand. At some point, after you’ve been in business for a while, you look at your projects and can look back on the type of clients that you enjoyed work with, and you start asking: “Who do we want to work with? How do I need my business to be portrayed or branded?” And today we’re much more thoughtful about positioning the company.
Our ideal client is someone who values the intersection of timeless elegance and cultural richness in their living spaces. They are seeking more than a visually pleasing design; they want a home that reflects their unique identity. They appreciate diverse design elements and cultural influences, and they want a design firm that can seamlessly weave these into their interior spaces. In addition, they are willing to engage in a collaborative process, understanding that the best designs arise from a partnership that combines their vision with the expertise and creativity of the design team. Whether it’s a residential project or a commercial space, this client values quality, exclusivity, and the transformative power of a thoughtfully curated environment.
I officially changed the name of the business in 2021 to Calming Ground Interiors because we are all about harmony and diversity, tranquility and design. The name is an acknowledgment of my background, and my team’s background, as well as the clients we attract. So it has become about bringing out each client’s culture, pulling from their history – their childhood, their family – and blending that with more traditional design elements. I try to create with the client something that speaks to their personal aesthetic. We ask them: what makes you happy with design? With each client we are looking to determine: what’s their design style? What are they looking to achieve? We start there.
Serving Montgomery County and Beyond
Most of our clients are near our base, here in Montgomery County: Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Bethesda. But I invest in targeted advertising to households within a 30-mile radius of Rockville, so we also pull clients from Columbia, Northern Virginia, D.C., and Prince George’s County.
Although we are equipped to do virtual projects and can work with anyone, basically anywhere, using the technology that’s now available, our clients tend to prefer the in-person experience. They want us to come in and do everything – take the measurements, lay the foundation and manage all the way to project completion.
We are proud that most of our clients are referred to us by people who have worked with us, people who like what we did for them. And on our website, we have quite a few 5-star reviews. Also, people occasionally find us on Google as well.
Looking to Grow Calming Ground Interiors in Montgomery County
This year I am focusing on the business end of the business. I will be making an effort to meet more builders and developers, or those who are in the home renovation business – adjacent businesses to mine. I’m also looking for business mentors in interior design and general contracting. I’ll be working on the financial side of the business as well, and on refining our policies and procedures so we can continue to enhance our client experience.
I’m on the journey. I’ll be seeking more visibility for the business this year. We are aggressively trying to expand. I know there are many business resources out here that I haven’t had the time to explore as much as I would like to. When there’s client work, that has taken priority over everything.
But that’s what’s changing. My team is freeing up my time to really be the CEO. I realize I can’t be the CEO, the manager, and the employee. It’s just too much. So it’s about growing, and scaling as well. Things are going to be a lot more seamless since I’m not the one trying to do everything. I’ll no longer be the bottleneck.
So growth is what we are focusing on this year.
