We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Madelaine Mayer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Madelaine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.

The best boss I ever had was ironically at the firm who’s scope of services aligned the least with my interests. Immediately after graduating from my M. Arch program, I was fortunate to receive multiple job offers. I accepted the one that seemed the most exciting, however the firm suffered several losses shortly after I started, and as the saying goes, “last in-first out”. With no unemployment benefits, I needed a new job and I needed it fast. I went back to one of the firms that had previously offered me a position, and the owner, Jim, very graciously agreed to give me a second chance.

Jim taught me volumes about how to be an architect, how to be a team member, how to be a mentor, and how to be a generous human being, in addition to a whole lot about waterproofing and foundation details. Working on a project with him was like being an acrobat; he wanted you to first try and fly on your own, but he was the net that was always there to catch you and keep you safe. I remember one day he asked me to draw a complex roof section detail and bring it to him to review. When I showed it to him he said it was great, and I was so excited that I got it right…only I hadn’t. I got just about everything wrong, but I had illustrated every issue we needed to resolve and all of my knowledge gaps in just one drawing, so he saw exactly what we needed to do and what I specifically needed to learn to not make the same mistakes again.

Jim would bring various reps and vendors into the office for lunchtime presentations and would often pepper them with questions throughout the hour. At first I was confused as to why; surely he knew the answers (this man knows EVERYTHING about waterproofing), and he couldn’t be grilling the presenters for fun. And then I realized he was asking the questions to make sure everyone else knew the answers and understood the type of questions that should be asked when evaluating a product or strategy. He never missed an opportunity to teach and enrich, either directly or indirectly, and while the firm’s scope of services was not my long term interest, in many ways he made me into the architect, mentor, and business owner I am today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a licensed architect, certified interior designer, and the founder of ADROIT, a design studio which helps New Yorkers rebel against all things bland, cluttered, and ordinary, finding unexpected avenues for colorful self-expression. We champion vibrant personality, embrace inventive storage solutions, and take pride in over two decades of interior design excellence. I’ve been featured in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Real Simple, Apartment Therapy, and The Spruce, and was awarded the Apartment Therapy Small/Cool Best Vibe award for my own home in 2023.

After earning my Masters in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology, I spent nearly 20 years in New York’s high-performance architecture world, working in firms of all sizes on commercial and institutional projects, but it never quite felt like the right fit. The environment often involved elegant but interchangeable offices and rigid roles, lacking a personal or colorful touch in both the projects and the job itself. I constantly felt limited in both what I worked on and how I was allowed to work.

That’s what sparked ADROIT.

Starting my own studio became the only logical path forward, allowing me to explore any project type, design aesthetic, software utilization, management style, or marketing strategy. I could only satisfy my desire for creative freedom, personal connection, and ultimate flexibility by making it myself.

Today, ADROIT brings the rigor and systems of large-scale commercial architecture to highly personalized residential interiors. My work is intuitive, expressive, and strategic, layered with smart storage, rich materials, and mood-shifting color. I am passionate about creating practical, peaceful, and personal spaces, and believe that great design finds joy in every detail. I am most proud of helping clients discover and express their unique personalities through their homes, creating spaces that are not just beautiful but also deeply personal, functional, and reflective of their vibrant individuality.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

There are 2 resources that immediately come to mind. The first is “Profit First” by Michael Michalowicz. Reading the book completely changed the way I think about profit, expenses, saving, and business management in general. Implementing it, and taking it a step further for interior design with dedicated bank accounts and credit cards for each project, gives me a much better handle on my accounting and a deeper understanding of exactly what my business is doing in any given moment, quarter, or year.

The second is the podcast “A Well-Design Business” hosted by LuAnn Nigara and her associated books. She talks about everything it takes to run a successful business, from time management to client experience, from team building to social media, and from process to marketing, and she does it with humor, clarity and detail. She’s over 1,000 episodes in and there’s an answer to just about any question you can think of. While she uses the lens of interior design specifically, I think there are valuable and applicable lessons for any product or service based small business.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was the idea that prestige equates to happiness. When I first decided to study design many years ago, architecture felt like the only option. Inspired and influenced by my parents, a doctor and a lawyer, who encouraged pursuing the highest designation in a field, I believed being an architect was superior to being a decorator. Consequently, I spent nearly two decades unhappily focused on drawing construction documents, reviewing submittals, and coordinating engineers. When I started my own practice, my father genuinely asked if I would be happier picking pillows than designing hospitals, and my answer was a resounding yes.

I still draw construction documents and coordinate with contractors, but I have also very happily expanded my practice to prioritize furniture, drapery, rugs, and all of the other components of interior design. My designs are better and more comprehensive, and I am more satisfied than I have ever been because I now include the elements I love that I previously dismissed. Just because something is difficult or prestigious doesn’t mean it’s your only path to happiness. Also interior design is a lot harder and more complicated than it looks, especially when paired with the responsibilities of running a business. It doesn’t matter what other people think is the “better job title”, what matters is being able to spend each day doing what you love in service to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.designbyadroit.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designbyadroit/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/designbyadroit
• Other: Google Business Profile: https://g.co/kgs/QY6TGtR

Image Credits

Credit for Polished Pied-a-Terre (https://www.ad-roit.com/polished-pied-a-terre): Kelsey Ann Rose
Credit for Urban Jungle (https://www.ad-roit.com/urban-jungle): Kelsey Ann Rose
Credit for Ginkgo Garden (https://www.ad-roit.com/gingko-garden): Jacqueline Claire Photography
Credit for Champagne Chambre (https://www.ad-roit.com/champagne-chambre): JWN Enterprises