Step Inside Sean Anderson’s Memphis Studio, The place Black Interiors Encourage Creativity

His traditionalist design roots and innate southern charm would never be a tell, but Sean Anderson has an affinity for darkness. The tonal, mood-setting kind, of course, that often cloaks the walls and ceilings of his residential projects in deep, dark hues. The effect—just like the Memphis, Tennessee, designer himself—is rich with soul. For proof, look no further than Anderson’s office, situated in a small, boxy building in Memphis’s Midtown district, with its black façade paving the way to the equally cocooning palette inside.

“People think black is oppressive, but it has the opposite reaction for me,” Anderson tells AD PRO. “Black is comfortable and cozy.” Against such a backdrop, Anderson and his six-person team can sprawl out with ease—a significant upgrade from the cramped, single-room office the firm had nearly two years ago. “It just wasn’t working,” Anderson says, “but I love to see how the new place has affected the team. We are inspired every day.”

Like an ever-changing mood board, the office may be better defined as “a moving gallery,” teeming with “weird, obscure things that don’t really fit everywhere but that I like and picked up along the way,” says Anderson, whose clientele is mostly based in the South, with a few recent projects in Utah and New York. Consistently rotating in antique furniture and art from the firm’s nearby warehouse, Anderson assures that “if something begins to feel sterile, we shift stuff around. I like to use this office as a canvas, to show the extent of what we can do.”

More often than not, the pieces create the perfect fodder during client consultations. Or perhaps even a spot in a project, as was the case with an in-the-works bridal boutique, Anderson’s first foray into commercial design. “I trust the process; they will find a home when they are meant to.”