We had the good fortune of connecting with John Rattray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Opening Craighall Interiors seemed the natural next step in the progression of my career. For over ten years I had worked as an interior designer for another local design firm and had been employed within the Design Industry for nearly fifteen. By that time, in Spring of 2023, I had developed the skill set and confidence required to tackle the demands of business ownership in this competitive and often fickle industry and was hopeful I had made enough connections to support my transition. I knew the only way I would be able to achieve my long-term goals as a designer was to branch out on my own. With independent ownership over my brand comes a level of autonomy that allows my personal ethos and practices around the design process to guide each project without distraction. Leaving a comfortable position with an established firm in order to start my own business was a challenge I was not necessarily ready for, but I forced myself to face the discomfort head-on, and I am extremely grateful that I did. As they say; “Leap, and the net will appear.”

What should our readers know about your business?
My business, Craighall Interiors, began as what felt like an almost involuntary reaction to an ever-growing, internal urge for me to enact change within my personal and profession life. Its creation resulted more from intuition than it did from a strategically planned decision. After nearly fifteen years in the interior design industry, and over ten as a designer with a local noted design firm, I knew it was time for me to create something “new.” (Or perhaps, more importantly, something of my own.) It was only in the stillness of its newness that I actually took pause and began to truly contemplate what I was hoping to achieve from this endeavor. I knew what I wanted to bring along with me, with regards to habits and practices from my previous role with my former employer, but what, I asked myself, did I want to do differently?

Within my deep love of interior design and the decorative arts, I have always found myself most drawn to antiquity and the innate mystical allure of ancient things and early spaces. From European travels through great country houses, opulent palaces and crumbling castles to annual visitations to local important historic homes and museums, I am ever fascinated by the beauty of early architecture and the luster that patina adds to time worn things.
As a creator of new spaces, I work to imbue each environment with objects and materials that create an atmosphere of age and an intrinsic sense of importance and history. Weather preserving early structures or collaborating to erect new ones, I knew it was imperative that the design ethos behind Craighall Interiors would focus heavily on the inclusion of classic architectural forms, timeless and organic materials and keenly selected antique furnishing that play to the architectural dialogue they reside within. It is this driving principal that I hope sets myself and my brand apart.

Here, within the guidelines of Craighall Interiors, I work to create spaces that are as inviting and comfortable to inhabit as they are original in spirit and pleasing to look upon. I long to conjure up environments that are transportive and ethereal; fitted with precious belongings and cherished by those who dwell within them.
I hope that, in doing so, my work will be recognizably my own and invariably attributed to Craighall Interiors.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Any friend of mine visiting Detroit knows they are a captive audience for my zeal and enthusiasm around the dense architectural and design history the city holds.

If asked to plan their itinerary, I would begin by insisting they stay at the Shinola Hotel on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit. I marvel at the hotel’s impeccably appointed rooms; It’s hardwood floors, modern stained millwork, beautiful marble surfaces and bespoke Waterworks bath fixtures echo the refinement of great European Inns, all with a distinctly modern American dialect. The in-house Evening Bar and San Morello Restaurant are both ideal amenities and close at hand.

The week’s calendar would be filled with day trips to local parks like Belle Isle and Palmer Park, cemetery tours of Woodlawn and Mt. Elliot cemeteries and perhaps a boat ride up the Detroit River and into Lake Saint Clair – weather permitting.

After touring the numerous pre-war architectural gems the city has to offer – from the Guardian Building, the Penobscot, and the Book Tower to name a few – I would take our history tour beyond the city limits and into the surrounding suburbs to showcase the magnificent mansions famous Detroiters once inhabited. The Henry and Calara Ford House (when reopened), Edsel and Eleanore Ford House, Meadowbrook Hall and Cranbrook House and Gardens are a house lover’s dream come true and beautiful example of how the families that built Detroit into a modern metropolis lived in their ‘private’ spaces with friends, family and a wealth of guests and house staff.

A trip to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield village would be a must! (And, of course, Historic Fort Wayne – if the schedule allows.)

Finally, if time permitted, I would insist we pack up the car and head North!

After a stopover on Mackinac Island, I would escort my guests onto the Upper Peninsula to the Historic Townsite of Fayette, Michigan; a transportive ghost town set against the limestone cliffs of Snail Shell Harbor in Lake Michigan’s Big Bay de Noc. Once a bustling community in the late nineteenth century, the former iron town is now a haunting yet tranquil abandoned settlement that calls to mind the historic ruins I’ve visited on my travels to Norther England and Germany.

With so much history and design to marvel in, I can assure you, my guests would return home with a whole new appreciation for Detroit and the great State of Michigan.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Every aspect of my development as a young Interior Designer in the professional world of design has been guided, informed and resulted from my time working with Kevin Serba of Serba Interiors. Far more than an employer, he provided an environment for my talents to flourish; always supporting my growth and celebrating my achievements. Through him, I absorbed a wealth of knowledge and acumen few possess. With him, I learned how to best navigate the terrain of this ever-changing landscape. Because of him, I am able to practice my craft with skill and confidence.

Website: https://www.craighallinteriors.com

Instagram: @craighallinteriors

Image Credits
All Interior Images: Justin Maconochie – Maconochie Photography

Headshot: Uncredited (My Friend Brad)

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutMichigan is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.