Design From Many Perspectives with Uploft Interior Designer, Anita Magyar

I could not be more excited. We are spotlighting in a few upcoming episodes

some designers who work for me and who work at Uploft and who help to make our team so special. And today I have a

designer so talented, so experienced, Anita Maguar. Welcome to the show.

Hi everyone. Thanks Betsy for inviting me today. I look forward to uh talking with you today. Well, you know during my

podcast episodes typically what I do is I answer people’s questions. They write in with pictures. We get into it. But I

realized talking to you right before the show, they don’t really know exactly what we do. And sometimes, you know,

they might be listening and might want to be designers themselves and don’t even know what it takes to get here. So,

can you share a bit about your background? Like, what made you want to be an interior designer? How long have

you been doing this? Tell us just a little bit more. Okay. So, uh, I guess I was always

creative when I was a kid. I was definitely one of those people who would like rearrange my room, like plan it out

on a napkin and just literally shove furniture around the room andor things,

you know? So, I kind of was like that as a kid. I didn’t know that was the beginning of design, but I guess uh I

realized even in college when I finally was in design, one of my roommates noticed that like I even styled, she

would say my deodorant and my, you know, my just things on my dresser and I was like, I do. So I guess it just naturally

was in me just to like want to make things beautiful, take even something as simple right as deodorant and put it in

the right perfect spot. So then I just continued um you know my love of just this natural gift and going to design

school. So I went on to design school for interior design. I also have a background in set design. So I added

that to my repertoire. And eventually because of those backgrounds, I also got to develop home products in the

industry, which was also fun because now I got to work like behind the scenes, not just in front of the scenes with

clients, like selling products and showing them products, but also designing those products that they live

with. So I got to understand how those were made and, you know, just where they came from from around the world. And it

was just nice to then be able to place those items into people’s homes. So, I liked my background of like just I guess

a variety design. Anything design related is my obsession, I guess, like and home. Like I just everything I do

has always been kind of around the home. Even when I did set design, it still felt like little mini homes to me. Even

if it was a character’s place or space or something. So, well, and I think what’s so inspiring

about your journey is that it tells people there are so many ways to drop

into this career, not just working for a design firm. There’s like lots of

different places and industries that use interior design. And I think knowing the

background of pieces like where things are manufactured, you know, knowing those sort of specific

dimensions and materials and fabrication techniques is so illuminating for the

rest of the job. Even when you’re shopping at Crate and Barrel, you kind of have a sense of what went in to

making that drum in table perhaps. Yes. And also just seeing the people

make it, right? Then like I had here’s an example. I was in a factory in China and they were just wrapping, you know,

the cellophane around a a lamp shade. And I know if if you work at Bets’s firm and you’ve ever done an overhaul, an

overhaul is when the designers come and we unpackage everything like it’s Christmas. And one of the things we all

have to do is every lampshade has cellophane wrapped around it and it’s meticulously wrapped and we have to cut

it perfectly so we don’t damage anything. And sometimes you’re doing it and like, why is there so many layers of

this cellophane? Well, I actually watched somebody wrapping it by hand and now every time I do it, cut that off, I

think of that person who actually wrapped it so perfectly. So, us as a designer got to get it to that house

perfectly and clean and, you know, and now get to open it up like, like I said, like it’s Christmas almost. I cut off so

many of those and I have never thought about the person who does that cuz shades are so delicate and so easily

damaged that it really has to be treated with kid gloves. So now you’ve got me

thinking more about people who even put it in the box, right?

Yes. It’s I think a home products there’s something about home products that just go back to I think perfection,

right? Like the perfection of making it like getting it from in, you know, into a package in a box, shipping it, getting

it to a client, and then how we set it up. Also, I think what you and I do, we we perfect, right, that it’s in the

perfect spot or location or so. Yeah, I think it just goes down to that right from the beginning, you know.

Definitely. And you know that is a perfect segue into tell us about your time at UPL. So, how did you even hear

about the firm? What made you intrigued and want to kind of learn more? Tell me.

Okay. Well, I was at a phase in my career the pandemic happened and I knew I just needed to not really reinvent

myself but add to my repertoire of skills and one thing I had avoided was technology. So, I pushed myself to go

back to a a pro program that specialized in uh technology for graphic design and

marketing. And as I was developing, you know, my website and just, you know, portfolios and just learning a lot more

about technology that I just wasn’t doing. I then stumbled upon your company somehow. I don’t know if it was just

researching design firms and just kind of trying to like see what it how did other people talk about themselves. And

then when I went into your site, I was intrigued because I had never heard of it. And then I it was local and then I

saw a part-time job. So it all just I felt like it was very kismmet. I really wasn’t looking for a job. I was really

just improving my skill set and then that was actually I was finishing those

that degree that certificate within a month and it was almost like as if I was supposed to go right into your firm. So

it just and that is how it sort of happened. I reached out to you and I uh it all help it helped because I also

just learned everything technology-wise to be able to be efficient in your position as well that you were looking for,

right? It was fresh and you were used to that technical language so you could kind of apply it even if you know some

of the programs were different to what we were doing. And I think that’s so fascinating. I did not know that you

weren’t looking for a job when you found us. That is so funny. Yes. I just literally I think it’s

because I saw it and then it just all like lined up and that’s where uh Betsy knows this about me and I’ll just I’m a

Buddhist so I also feel like things don’t happen for no coincidence. It just somehow something lines up right I guess

when your heart and soul is ready and and I was done with technology and I was ready to apply it to be honest. I was

done with the school part and I really wanted to do the you know apply it into design now and all of a sudden it just

lined up with your opening and it really it was the best thing. It was kind of and to be honest I don’t think I wanted

to do technology. I really wanted to still be an interior designer and the job working for you is I got to do what

I do best and I got to use these new technology skills. So it it really actually just worked out. So,

well, it’s kind of like if you build it or if you learn it, it will come. And you weren’t even sort of looking for that next piece, but you knew you wanted

these skills. So, that’s so intriguing and hopefully inspiring for other people who are like just amassing skills, but

not quite sure what they want to do with them, right? And I I just adise to never give up

learning. Yes. Well, I think you’re a great model for that because even speaking within

our firm during our monthly meetings, you’re now teaching interior design. There’s so many different facets that you still have your hands in. And I love

that you can balance it all while working part-time here. It’s just such a rich tapestry of experience. But when

you are taking an interior design client, when you’ve got a client for Uploft and you’re about to go visit

them, what does that look like when you’re leaving your house? What does a day look like when you’ve got a client?

Okay. Uh Okay. So, uh well, I have ADHD, so it definitely creates a a dopamine

and I have like a little energy, right? Each time I have a client, I feel like this kind of little excited buzz and it

allows me to just kind of do my I call it my husband calls it my panic dance like in the morning where I just I got

to get this ready and that ready and make sure then after I have the perfect outfit on and I’ve had my coffee, then

I’m like I got to make sure I get that bag with the tape measure, my computer, and not to forget the mouse, right? Like

all the little things so I can get to my job efficiently. And then when I um most of my work is usually uh like over over

a bridge, so I also have to make sure I get there early enough to um get there on time. And when I do, then I I always

just look at each job as like a I guess like a new challenge or a new little mystery because you never know like what

house you’re going to, the person you’re going to meet, and also besides me helping them as a designer, like what’s

their vision and their like function needs for their spaces. So I feel like I take my background as well as what

they’re looking for for their home and space. And then I kind of get in there and the first thing I do with the client

is we just go around and you know we get to know their space like what what do they like about it? What don’t they like

about it? And I get to hear some of the things maybe they want to keep or possibly just re reuse or refunction in

the space. And then after that I go into measuring the space so we can get floor plans and really get the space defined

so that the next steps of sourcing items is a lot more efficient and perfect in terms of scale and size.

Yeah. Well, I actually think I mean I’m not an ADHD expert, but I think that

this job kind of works well with that in the terms of we take these quick projects, the turnaround is quick. There

is a lot of attention to detail and hyperfocus, but it’s for a short time and then you’re able to bounce to the

next one and it’s going to be different and yet the same, right? Our framework and the way we work is the same, but the

client’s going to be different. The space is going to be a new challenge. the style that they want is going to be

a totally different look. So for me, it really fits my personality too and the

fact that I like new challenges. I don’t want to do the same thing every day, but I also don’t want to not have any sort

of context for what I’m going to be doing. Like I like that routine of going in

measuring blah blah blah. It gives me some sense of security that I know the steps, but within the steps there’s

going to be surprises. Yes, I I agree. And I I now that I’m

teaching, they’re actually teaching in the college level uh about awareness, how to teach people with ADHD or to

create spaces with those people in mind. And now that I’m aware that I have it, I didn’t know my whole life I had it. It

was more a pandemic like I’ve discovered it then. So it really is something that

once you are aware of it that this is the ideal job. It’s allows a lot of people with ADHD have like you’re right

hyperfocus. I can go on that computer, which I avoided, which I can do really well for you now at this job. But I

could go on there for hours looking for things, but then I also have moments where I love meeting people. I love, you

know, talking with people. So I do when I go to their homes and I get to know them and their space, that part’s

exciting and I have also this knowledge to share with them. So I’ve learned when you have a a ad a

sorry, you’re you like to be in the driver’s seat, right? And I feel like design is my driver’s seat. I can come in and help somebody solve a problem.

And I do agree everything is like a little challenge. And I love that that it’s never the same. You know, I don’t I

don’t get bored. And with ADHD, you can get bored easily. And I’ve done this career. I don’t even want to say it out

loud, but 30 plus years. So, and I’m still not bored. I still love learning and challenging myself and meeting new

people to design for. Yeah. I’ve been doing it for 20 plus years, and I’m never bored. Uh, well, that brings me to

my next question. What is one of your favorite spaces or a very memorable space that you’ve designed?

Okay, so uh I kind of tweaked this in a little bit. I because my background is so diverse. One of the favorite things I

think because I do spaces over and over. So I do so many of those. So when I do something a little different, I had

actually got the opportunity to design um what we named we had products that we designed for one of my companies and

everything had a name and this was called the graffiti sofa and it was this gorgeous French sofa that you would see

in like a Marian Twinette movie, right? And the the company where the French sofa came from actually all the

furniture came from this factory in France. And so it was a very delicate piece with 24 karat gold uh damsque

fabric on it. And we decided we were doing this for a client. And I just kept staring at that furniture. I was like,

“Well, what if we did something like I don’t want to say obnoxious, but just rebellious and different was to put

graffiti over it.” And that’s what we did. So we got a piece, this piece of furniture, and then we had an artist tag

it and put graffiti on the face of it. And it was the coming out piece for our marketing for our new company to kind of

grab attention. And we did the gift show in New York and this graffiti sofa. Like it it kind of became they photographed

it. It became part of the gift show marketing in New York at the trade shows. And we felt just it was just cool. It was taking beauty but then

bringing like that street energy to it. And it was still beautiful. I have to say you could sit on it. It didn’t ruin

it. It just took it to a whole other level. Well, that goes along with a lot of what I say on this podcast that when

you put two opposites beside each other or in your case, integrate them into one piece like this beautiful, delicate,

ornate, expensive sofa, and then put something like graffiti, cheap spray

paint that people are doing on the streets, you know, and combine these two disperate ideas. It can make something

super designerly or super interesting.

Whereas if you just would have had like a beautiful fabric on that sofa, that was expected and it’s kind of the same

idea as the sofa itself, but putting something that’s so opposite the idea of the sofa onto the sofa made the piece

more interesting. So that’s what I’m always telling people like think about opposites even when you’re styling,

right? Like I wouldn’t put a white um marble piece next to a white ceramic

lamp because they’re too similar. the idea that nothing will stand out versus if I put, you know, a black marble

something next to a white ceramic lamp, then we’ve got some conversation. So, I love that idea of doing something

unexpected and just elevating it. Yeah. Visual interest. I always think

it’s fun and I think it’s fun like also to as a designer to allow and to clients

who do this without a designer is to allow yourself to play, right? Because that’s the key is if you sometimes take

it too serious, it just can be stressful, right? I mean, we’ve both have been in the business long enough

that if uh you don’t add a little humor and a little, you know, whatever cuz it could be stressful waiting for things to

come in, waiting for, you know, a delivery person for a few hours. It’s opening up cellophane lamps could be

stressful. But I feel like if you just make it a little fun and exciting and sometimes not so serious, it just it

helps even when you put something like you said unexpected next to the lamp that just maybe makes you smile or maybe

it’s something from your kids that they made for you and and it just ju just juxtaposes that perfect space or perfect

room. That high low or that bit of whimsy. Exactly. Exactly. And speaking

of where do you find cool items specifically in the city? Is there a

resource where you love to find something unexpected, a hidden gem, if you will?

Well, years ago, of course, I just uh before the internet and all of this, I’m I’m a little more old school than you,

so I used to always just be in the D&D building and a lot of the little kind of private boutique shops around there for

rugs and things and and I loved going to it. It was definitely just a higherend, more exclusive part of the design

industry. But nowadays, I also just love like working with you. I actually source

a lot online and just finding these kind of new and different websites and there’s just so much now being curated

out there by designers. But like besides those elements of design, I always still even recommend if you get the chance to

just go flea marketing. Like I used to go to Brimfield um in Massachusetts and

it’s a big huge flea market outdoors and it’s like for me cuz I’m in New York

it’s like a little drive out there and you camp out for the night but it’s just so fun. And you if you are obsessed by

by it, you could go at 4 in the morning. I’m a little bit more like a 10 a.m. with a cup of coffee, but you just walk

fields of a little bit of grass and dust on your feet and just find cool things. So So that sometimes is just my favorite

part is to go somewhere where not everything’s brand new. Yes. Or in my case, because going

somewhere can be daunting with everything going on at night, I troll the online auction sites. I troll them.

Yeah. I’m pretty much on there at least three to four times a week at night for at least 30 to 40 minutes. And there’s

just these online auctions and I just bid bid bid on any little random thing I find. But I like have a max bid of $3.

Sometimes it’s not even worth the gas money it takes for me to go pick up this $3 item. But they’re just fun little

expect unexpected whimsical things that you’re never going to find on a website.

So yeah, you got to find things that are just different. And I agree cuz if we stay on I think if we stay at the

sources that we’re all used to or that we expect to find good design it we

don’t find the unexpected right so it is nice to go out of like you know whether it’s online that’s like another way of

like just going to a flea market and finding something that somebody once loved and now it just needs new love.

Yeah. And it almost has that extra layer of interest because it has memories. It has a patina. It has a story. So I

that’s why I love thrift stores. and now online auctions. But yeah. Well, what is

your favorite place online to look for something unique? You mentioned websites. Is there one in particular

where you’re like, I always go to this website and find something cool? Well, I love Lulu and Georgia, even

though not everything always gets shipped exactly perfect from there, but I just love their stuff. I’ll, you know,

just say why there’s like a like I have like I don’t know if you can tell, but I have like a little bohemian side to me.

My husband reels that side in because it’s not him. But I do love things just that are unexpected or colorful and just

sometimes one of a kind. And they do have some like really great curated pieces there like unusual rugs as well

as some just cool pieces of furniture. So I do like that. And and Anthropology would be my other like little place to

find those. Like I I look at it as one of a kind or like as if you collected the piece and found it at that flea

market, but it’s brand new and uh just a little different and you don’t have to leave your couch. You can just click and buy and it comes.

Yeah. Cuz even with the auction, you got to go drive and pick it up. So that is a benefit of anthropology. Yes. Um and

what is something one element that you’re always trying to include in every

design? Is there something that’s on your checklist where you’re like, I must add a little bit of this?

I usually like to add a little bit of color. And also, I like, as you can see, organic things. So, even if it’s a faux

plant or it’s just a pillow and color that’s on a very neutral uh interior, I

still like some sort of color. And it doesn’t mean you don’t, you know, some designers just love it all texture uh

neutrals, but I still like one little pop of color. And it doesn’t have to be a lot, but if we can do more color,

that’s usually my preference. But at least color is always something I like to add. Clients are often, especially I

find that they’re a little more open now, but even 5 years ago, so resistant to color. I mean, it was like pulling

teeth to try and convince them that we could do something other than gray. Are you seeing with your clients that

they’re more open or were you always able to convince them that color was a

good idea? Uh, I usually can convince people at least a little bit of color, sometimes

more. And I think because I also intuitively combine design, like I had somebody who was just going through a

divorce and she was going to do something in gray and what she already had in the other space and just cuz it

was easy, right? She had it. She knew it was comfortable. And I was like, wait, this is a new chapter in your life. And I was like, maybe we should change the

color of that couch and just do it a little differently. And just by bringing it up, she also felt that. But I also

felt like it was a change, right? It was, you know, she’s in a new space and a new chapter for her life. So yeah, I

convinced her to do color that I don’t think she originally would have wanted to do it. And we did it. And then it did create a new fresh space for her moving

forward. And I think even calling that out and saying, I’m not just doing this to change something up. I’m doing this

because it could signify this next chapter. It could bring up new emotions for you in this space that maybe you had

some bad memories in. Right? So really setting that intention with her I think

makes her value and understand the design a bit more than just saying I want you to incorporate color.

Yes. And sometimes I look at it this is how I kind of think of the the parallel if you know Mary Poppins the movie when

Bird takes everyone’s by the hand and says we’re going to jump into the sidewalk now. Right? and they go from

like black and white into a colorful world. So, I try to do that with people and of course not everyone wants full

color, but I feel like if I can take your hand and guide you and bring color into your life without it being like I I

obviously can handle it. So, I don’t do that for everybody cl of my clients, but I at least give them little bits of it

just so that it just makes it happy and cheerful in a space as well as feeling, you know, maybe elegant or sophisticated, too.

Yes. And it’s such a lowrisk element, but I love that Mary Poppins analogy. Now you’re making me want to go watch that clip again. That’s so fun. I I saw

it, you know, maybe when I was five or something. So I need to go watch it again because I feel the exact same way about color. You probably know that. But

uh now what’s your Uhuh. Oh, what was that? Just say I think it’s cuz most people because you and I deal with color

every day, we’re not as scared of it. And I think clients sometimes they don’t know what is that the right color, can I

mix this color with that color? And they just might overthink it. But I think you’re right. I think we let them we

allow them to put some color in and we know how to mix it up for them a little bit better. Yeah. Well, I’ve always been a color

addict, so I don’t even know. I never had to convince myself that color was a good idea. Uh but I do push it on

clients. So, I like the idea of thinking of myself more as a steward who’s allowing them to jump with me versus

just shoving color on them. I feel like I just take a rainbow and be like, “Take it. You’re taking this rainbow.” So, I

I’m going to I’m going to look at that clip, but what’s your number one design tip besides incorporating color? Is

there something else that you really feel everybody should do or some people

should think about? Uh I I don’t know if it’s that I use it

every like it’s a tip that I use when I need to use it is uh like for example if

you go into a space or hallways or areas that there’s not like a lot of light and it could just feel dark and maybe you

know unlike my space you could feel the light coming in. But if it just doesn’t have those natural qualities I like to

use lighter rugs or even a larger light piece of furniture whether it’s the sofa because I feel like it adds fake light.

So, that’s a term I use a lot is fake light that, you know, you can just take a dark hallway and even before turning

the light switch on, that lighter rug just adds that brightness that it just makes the space feel a little bit uh it

just gives more light to the space overall, right? It brightens it up without even needing a lamp right there on all the

time. I love that. And I know you work in mostly suburban spaces. Sometimes

you’re working in urban spaces, but what is the most common challenge you see? Because people think, at least on the

East Coast, our suburban spaces are often times as small as apartments. For

instance, my child’s bedroom is as big as a bedroom in an apartment that we lived in because the houses are

historic, a little bit older. They’re not sprawling. We’re kind of close together in Westchester and the

Connecticut suburbs. So, what’s a challenge that you’re continually seeing?

Uh, I think it’s just getting the right storage into a space, right? Because I’m working with someone who is, you just

mentioned, a historical home, and the closets aren’t as big. I also grew up in that. And if you ever grew up in a

historical home, and you know, your mom basically gets the rights of every closet, so we all had a little bit of

her stuff in our closet. So, the key was how do you have some of mom’s stuff as well as your own? And so one of the

spaces I noticed that especially in a kid’s room or certain areas is you forget about the height the vertical

part of this the room. So, I like to put either bookcases sometimes, even if it’s just a shelf like over a window or

possibly if there’s a desk, maybe put it up above higher so that you can just get some stuff up and out. And it’s not it’s

like free space, right? Because everybody fills the floor plan and fills the room, you know, below with, you know, items and things. But that space

above sometimes it just is a place even if it just you put pretty stuff up there besides books, but it is another part of

the room you can utilize. Agreed. Crawl those walls. Well, Anita, this has been so helpful, so

illuminating. Plus, I mean, I get to know you guys because I talk to you regularly, but it’s nice to get to know

you in a different way. And I don’t even know where you’re from. As you were mentioning, I grew up in a historic home. I didn’t know that. Where are you

from originally? I grew up in Rockland, so I grew up in Pearl River, but it was like a 1920s

tutor style home. And uh and that’s what it was. We just didn’t have, you know, these big closets. Like I’m in a house

now. Um, this I think house is more like 69 or 60 65 it was built and our closets

are so big. I joke like to my husband like you could put a twin bed in them whereas not the house I grew up in it was like we were just never had enough

room because the closets were so small. Well, there are beautiful historic homes over there. Rockland is filled with

beautiful historic homes but um that area I went to see a home in Pearl River because that was my one thing when we

were looking for a house. It had to be a historic home. So it really narrowed my options. Um, but not in that area.

Rockland has a lot of them. And did you get big closets in your home?

Actually, I got big closets. Can you believe it? They must have changed the floor plan a

little bit. Even though it doesn’t look like it, but the closets are really big. But they must have done something

because it’s the first time I’ve had big closets. Huh. Well, then you locked out. I did because in my And also my need for

closets is very low. So, what I think is a big closet, other people don’t, but in my last house in Dobs Fairy in

Westchester, the closets were minuscule. I don’t have any clothes that hang, like maybe I have two coats. Um, everything I

own folds, so my husband gets all the closets and my kids just shove their toys in there. Like, kids don’t hang up

their clothes or at least mine don’t. So, we don’t even use our closets. But anyway, that’s just me.

No, I refuse to hang things. So, that’s a fun fact. If it doesn’t fold, I don’t

want to own it. And I don’t even have an iron. Oh,

wait. That was one of my one of my guilty pleasures was ironing. And I remember my mom loved to iron and

that’s what she said. She goes, “You’re my only kid who loved ironing.” And I said, “I don’t know what it is. There must be something in just getting the

creases out of everything, but if you need ironing done, just pass it my way. I’ll do it. I’ll ship it to Rockland. I

will.” Because I hate it. I was like, I don’t want my husband thinking that I’m going to get near this thing. and I

don’t hang anything up. So, but our closets are packed with his stuff. Anyway, I think I think we derailed. We

got a little too personal. Look at that. But it’s always nice to um meet the face

behind the designer, hear more because I know a lot of people who are listening are certainly inspired by design or

maybe even want to be designers. So, I hope that Anita’s story has inspired you today. If you want to learn more about

Anita, where should they go? If they’re like, “Anita, we need to know more about you. We want to see more of your

designs. Where can we look? At Anita at Uploft. Perfect. Yes, we have her mood boards

there. We’ll be featuring this video on YouTube and we’ll be cutting in some pictures of her work. So, you will definitely want to check it out there.

And Anita, we love having you on the Uplift team. You bring so much experience and you bring so many

different sort of levels of expertise that I’m not only in awe, but I’m

grateful I got to learn more today. Thank you. And I keep learning from you as well. So, it’s pleasure to be part of

the team. It’s symbiotic. Well, we’ll be hearing more from you, I’m sure. But thanks for

coming on today’s episode and um I’ll see you soon. Great. Thanks for letting me share

today. It was a pleasure. Bye bye.

A big thank you to our amazing producer Katherine Heler, to Eton and the MCR House Band, and to Affordable Interior

Design, the sponsor of this podcast, and the premier place to get an amazing look on a budget. Check out affordable

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