E23: Interior Design with Love, Empathy, and a 'French-sational' Touch

What makes Catherine Montague with Montague Design a good neighbor?  

Luxury interior design isn't just about beautiful spaces—it's about creating environments that truly reflect and support the people who inhabit them. Catherine Montague brings a distinctly European sensibility to this approach, infusing her designs with what she playfully calls a "French-sational sense of fun."

Born and educated in France, Catherine's path to interior design began unexpectedly during a semester at San Diego State University, where she fell in love with American culture. After relocating to New York and working in home furnishings, she discovered her passion for transforming spaces. This international perspective gives her a unique advantage in understanding diverse architectural styles and adapting her designs accordingly.

Montague Design specializes in comprehensive interior architecture for both residential and commercial projects. Far beyond simply selecting furniture, Catherine's team designs custom cabinetry, fireplace details, wall and ceiling features, and coordinates everything from flooring to plumbing fixtures. This holistic approach ensures cohesive, thoughtfully crafted spaces that balance beauty and functionality. What truly distinguishes her practice, however, is her deeply collaborative process—working closely with clients, architects, and contractors as a unified team.

Catherine's business philosophy centers on three core values: love for her craft and clients, empathy in understanding each client's unique needs without judgment, and bringing joyful energy to every project. Beyond her design work, she leads a giving circle called "Inspired Women, Paying it Forward," raising funds for women's charities locally and globally—a reflection of her commitment to community and connection.

Ready to transform your space with luxury design that truly speaks to who you are? Discover Catherine's approach at montaguedesign.com or connect through Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to see how French-inspired design might elevate your home or business.

To learn more about Montague Design go to: 

https://montaguedesign.com/about/

Montague Design

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a luxuryresidential and commercial
interior designer?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
catherine Montague, withMontague Design, catherine,
how's it going.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Very well.
Thank you so much for having meon the podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Thank you for being here.
We're excited to learn allabout you and your business, so
tell us about your company.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yeah, so we are, as you mentioned, a residential and
commercial interior designcompany.
We offer services from anywherefrom a one-hour interior design
consultation to half a day tofull day, but really our
specialty is renovation, a newconstruction.

(01:06):
So what does it mean is that weactually design all the
interior architecture for theproject.
That includes cabinetry,fireplaces, any kind of details
on the walls and ceilings and soforth.
We select the finishes flooring, walls, again, cabinetry

(01:29):
finishes, vanities, plumbing,tiles, and to ensure that there
is a cohesive design for thespace that we are working on,
and then we also selectfurniture.
And then we place the orders,organize, follow up with
everything and organize theinstallation so that we are, you

(01:51):
know, full service designcompany.
And then, of course, during theproject, we collaborate with
our clients.
We are the architect, if thereis one, and contractor to help
the clients make decisions intimely manner so that we keep
the project going duringconstruction.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Very good.
How did you get into thisbusiness, Catherine?

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well, you can tell from my accent that I am French.
So I grew up in France andstudied international business
and I had the opportunity tospend one semester at San Diego
State University and Idiscovered and fell in love with
the US.
And when I was able to comeback I moved back to New York

(02:38):
and worked in home furnishingsstores and fell in love with
interior design.
So I took classes and startedworking right away into interior
design.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Very good.
Yeah, that's a Chagall ParisOpera ceiling behind me.
You'd appreciate.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
It's a beautiful ceiling, you're right.
Yes, it's absolutely beautiful.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
What are some myths or misconceptions in your
industry?

Speaker 3 (03:04):
What are some myths or misconceptions in your
industry?
I think that a couple that Ican think of.
The first one is the costPeople don't understand the
value of bringing an interiordesign on the project and also
the fear that people may havethat they won't be able to make
their own decision, that they'regoing to be dictated to agree

(03:25):
to decisions that they might notwant.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Who are your target customers and how do you attract
them?

Speaker 3 (03:33):
So we are target customers.
As you mentioned, we are aluxury firm, so we're mostly
high end, but what we've beendoing is really educating people
to answer one of the myths ofwhat it is that an interior

(03:55):
designer does, and so we createda video series called Behind
the Design, where we take theviewers in different situations
during your construction whathappens when we meet with the
contractors?
We just did one with a showroomwhere we take the viewers

(04:17):
through the process of doing abathroom renovation, so we first
select the tile and then weselect the plumbing and then the
hardware.
So we feel like educating ourpotential clients.
It's really a nice way toattract our clients and it's fun
.
We're having fun doing it.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Very good.
Yeah, people love the videocontent and the story behind
these different projects.
Have you ever thought aboutdoing your own podcast?

Speaker 3 (04:49):
Well, yeah, so I actually am developing the
concept of interviewing peoplein our community.
They may be artists, creatorsand doing the video aspect, so I
think it's really interestingfor us and to share that.
We have so many people aroundus who are talented and we might

(05:10):
not again understand what theydo.
So, um, yes, so I think I'mdeveloping that concept very
good.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
I know your work might be fun for you too, but
outside of work, what do youtraditionally do for?

Speaker 3 (05:24):
I like going in nature, I like walking, hiking,
yoga also, and then, of course,when I can, traveling and
explore new areas.
Another thing that I do that isnot necessarily fun, but that
is very dear to my heart and itis fun in that respect is that I

(05:48):
run a giving circle calledInspired Women, paying it
Forward, and we meet quarterlyfor an hour and raise money for
women's charities and locallyand globally.
So it really fills my heart andcomplements my life.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
Oh, I love that.
So let's switch gears.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge that you
overcame and how it made youstronger?
What comes to mind?

Speaker 3 (06:15):
Well, I think that I had to.
I moved quite a few times,living in the US, and every time
I had to start my business fromzero, so it's that that was
challenging, because, again, Ihad to start over, and I think
what the benefit from that,though, was that it opened my

(06:38):
mind to diversity ofarchitecture, to understand that
how people live in differentparts of the country, to really
also understand who people are,really getting to know people.
I had to meet new people everytime, and so now I feel like we

(06:58):
can be very good listenersbecause of it and really connect
with people, no matter wherethey are, and understanding also
the value of integratinginterior design with respect of
the architecture.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
That's very good, and staying true to some of those
elements that would maybenaturally occur in different
architectural styles.
I love that.
That's great insight.
So, catherine, please tell ourlisteners one thing that they
should remember about MontagueDesign.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
Our tagline is that we infuse our designs with love,
empathy and a Frenchsensational sense of fun.
So love, because we love whatwe do, but we also really have a
with deep connection with ourclients.
We really need to have thatconnection to create the

(07:50):
environment, be it residentialor commercial.
The empathy is because welisten to them, really
understanding again who they are, and there's no judgment.
It's really all about them andyou know, once we close the door
, they're going to be the oneliving in that space and so

(08:11):
making sure that they love itand it really supports them.
And then the French sationalsense of fun.
Well, you guessed, frenchsational, because I'm French,
but it's also fun because wewant to have fun and also
because we love to collaborate.
So it's not only collaboratingwith our clients, but also with

(08:34):
the architects, with contractorsand the trade.
The key is to be a team that isgoing to solve problems, create
together.
The design as a team is so muchbetter when everybody is on
board, and so that's really thatpart that we love also.

(08:56):
So that's who we are.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, it truly is a collaborative effort, you know,
coming together to create abeautiful space that someone not
only feels at home in but isfunctional and also inspiring to
be in right.
So how can our listeners learnmore about Montague Design?

Speaker 3 (09:14):
Well, they're welcome to go on our website, and it's
montaguedesigncom.
Also, we are very active onsocial media, so Instagram,
facebook and LinkedIn, and soand then we, you know, they're
welcome to other contact us viaemail or phone call and I'll be

(09:35):
happy to answer any questionsthat they have very good.

Speaker 2 (09:39):
Well, katherine, I really appreciate your time
today and having you as a gueston the show.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward well.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
Thank you so much for having me again.
I really appreciate theopportunity.

Speaker 1 (09:52):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnppittsburghcom.
That's gnppittsburghcom, orcall 412-561-9956.