M Streets neighbor talks about discovering the world, her interior design career

South Dakota. India. Vietnam. Texas. If you ask Charlotte Comer, these places played a key role in her development as an interior designer. Each place influenced her design style, processes and excitement about the industry. In her over 50 years of experience, the M Streets neighbor has acquired a strong list of clients both domestically and internationally as well as a strong sense of purpose behind her craft.

What was your earliest memory associated with interior design?

I started sewing when I was 5 with my grandmother. I grew up in a textile mill town in North Carolina. We used to go to all the mill outlet stores to buy our fabrics, and I just love fabrics.

When did you start formally pursuing a career in the industry?

I wanted to major in home economics in college. This was in a time frame when women were just nurses, school teachers and secretaries. My mother was a fifth grade school teacher. She told me I couldn’t major in home economics, because there was only one home economics teacher in high schools. They came and got the job, and they stayed until they retired. So, she made me major in elementary education. Later, my husband was in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, and we went to Guam. I got a job with a drapery, a place that sold window treatments and wallpaper. I worked there for three years. Then we came back to Fort Worth, and I decided I would get a design degree at Texas Christian University.

Over the years, what have you decided is the best way to approach a new project?

I go out and see the house, and I take pictures. I wait for them to hire me. The first thing I do is always a to-do list, and it’s by rooms — an outline form so that it tells me all the things that are in the actual space. Then, just at first thought, I add some possible things for them to think about for the space, because I want to know if they’re open to it.

You’ve lived in and traveled to many places. How has that impacted your work?

You learn by exposure to people who have and have not. And by travel. Travel became the most influential thing. I had traveled the United States. I knew the history of the United States. I’ve seen all the national parks. But we went to Guam, and we were exposed to other cultures. We went to Japan. We went to Hong Kong. We went to Thailand. We went all these places. I went to India because I had an Indian friend in Guam, and I was so fascinated. I grew up looking at National Geographic, and so all of a sudden I was experiencing things that I had seen in National Geographic.

Have you maintained contact with clients you met while living in different places?

Yes. I have one client from 1977. She lived in Cleburne, and I worked on her house. Now, she lives in Dallas, and she’s still my client. I have lots of clients from the five years that I lived in Rapid City, South Dakota. All somebody has to do is contact me by text or by email or by phone. Or if they’re moving to a new place, and we start the process all over again.

What are the key components of your approach to a new project/client?

You have to listen to people and it’s important how you present what they’re going to see — what they’re going to feel when they walk into a room.

What is one of your favorite reactions from a client?

I had a client say ‘I just want you to know that coming into my house makes me smile.’ And no matter who it is, how much money they have or don’t have, it’s all about making that client smile. So, if you have that kind of job, wouldn’t you want to continue? Wouldn’t you want to do that kind of job?

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.