What started this long and successful career? Kathryn has an early memory of her home burning to the ground on Christmas Day, in 1953. The four-year-old girl was held by a fireman that day, and she remembers the family salvaged a set of building blocks for her to play with.

From that she progressed to drawing house plans on church bulletins. It seemed natural to major in interior design at East Carolina. After education, travel abroad, and work in New York, she returned to Asheville to set up shop in the back corner of Sluder Furniture Company, a fixture of downtown Asheville since 1905, which her parents had bought in 1964. Ray and Sarah Long encouraged their daughter to open her own shop, Ambiance Interiors, in 1977.
Kathryn has been helping people nest in their homes for thirty years. “I love what I do,” she says. “When I help create a space, it’s going to be comfortable and welcoming.” Her specialities are new construction and renovation, working with clients and architects from drawings to finished product. “I function well as part of a team on such projects,” she says. “We get to ask all the appropriate questions before anything is built, which helps avoid mistakes and produces a high-quality environment for the client.”

• Lived and studied in Paris
• Lived and worked in New York
• Travels in France, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Greece, Israel, Turkey.

Services Provided:
http://www.carolinahg.com/Carolina-Home-Garden/Summer-2012/Prairie-Panache/

http://www.carolinahg.com/Carolina-Home-Garden/Spring-2011/Practical-Luxe/

http://www.carolinahg.com/Carolina-Home-Garden/Summer-2009/A-Magical-Place/

Certification and Awards:
B.F.A., East Carolina University, Interior Design
• M.A., University of Georgia, Art History
• NCIDQ
• Winner of 11 awards for Design Excellence from Carolinas Chapter, ASID
• Winner of 2006 Dora Gray Designer of Distinction Award from CCASID