Longtime Success by Design: A spotlight on John Gore of B. Graham Interiors

By: Ashley Daniels

John Gore, owner of B. Graham Interiors, has designed his way around thousands of homes and condos in the Myrtle Beach area for more than 50 years. If those walls could talk, they would resoundingly agree that Gore is a master at making over any living space to perfection.

“I’ve seen a lot of change over the years,” says Gore. “When I first went into business, design was much easier because everything was in suits. You had a living room suit, a dining room suit, a bedroom suit, so you’d place one, or you would order a sideboard, a China cabinet, a table, six chairs, and move on. Now everything is more eclectic. Your table might be from one company, your chairs from another … Things are much more simplified, and I think it’s a much better look. It’s more interesting pulling from different periods and different styles.”

Gore first moved to Myrtle Beach from Whiteville, North Carolina, in 1972. Before his debut in the interior design industry, he taught art, history, and English at Coastal Academy.

“On the sideline, I was working for a designer doing some large contemporary art because, as everybody knows, there’s not a lot of money in teaching,” Gore says with a laugh. “I then decided to venture out into doing my art full-time, the designer offered me a job, and the rest is history.”

That history is celebrated in the success B. Graham Interiors has had over the decades, with Gore as a household name in interior design from the local to the international realm. An Allied Member of the American Society of Interior Designers, he has been featured in “Baron’s Who’s Who in Interior Design”and “100 Designers’ Favorite Rooms.” His personal home was also featured in an interior and exterior renovation seminar presented by Metropolitan Home, and Gore was featured in “Great Designers of the World.”

According to Gore, he thinks clients appreciate his versatility, attention to detail, and his philosophy on creating spaces that reflect his clients’ tastes and personality, balanced with relaxed sophistication.

“If I didn’t like what I do, I certainly wouldn’t be doing it at 78 years old,” he says with a laugh. “I enjoy it very much. I meet a lot of nice people, and I love accomplishing and starting a job from the planning stage, to diagrams, to pulling fabrics and furniture and various things, to the finished product. It’s one profession where you can begin and end, and you can complete something in its entirety.”

Gore shares that one of his more recent projects involved a home he worked on about 20 years ago, redoing it for that past client’s daughter.

“And I have another client that I designed the house 20-some years ago, and now we’re redoing that one as well,” he says, “so I’m actually tearing out what I put in throughout the entire house.”

Gore’s design services aren’t limited to the interiors of homes, however; he also offers exterior design and design for businesses as well. He and his team work with certified contractors and experienced vendors to provide clients exactly what they want when it comes to any of these types of more detailed projects:

• Interior design consultation for residential and commercial spaces
• Outdoor living design
• Color consultation for interiors and exteriors
• Furniture space planning and fabric selection
• Fixture and finish specification
• Product selection and procurement
• Custom fabrication
• Window treatments

Gore says he also enjoys painting on the side, as he used to be a watercolor artist and even won quite a few awards for his work in the past.

“I’ve been painting for quite a few years, but I do that more as a hobby,” he says. “I do sell some paintings here in the store, but it’s more of an outlet for me. … Water coloring is very time-consuming, and you can’t make a mistake because there’s no fixing it, whereas now I do more large acrylic paintings, and if you don’t like what you’re painting, you just cover it up with something else!”

To peruse any of Gore’s paintings or shop for interior décor, furniture, or more, he reminds all that B. Graham Interiors is stocked with a full showroom, located at 1307 Enterprise Ave., Myrtle Beach. For more information or updates, visit Bgrahaminteriors.com.