A Local Interior Designer Shares Her Gallery Wall in Her Midtown Apartment

After a decade collecting art, Caitlin Rowley transformed her living room into a gallery of conversation starters
gallery wall
Interior Designer Caitlin Rowley pictured above in from of the gallery wall in her Midtown, Detroit, living room.

鈥泪 always wanted to move to the city, my entire life,鈥 says interior designer Caitlin Rowley, who grew up in Fenton. As a student at Detroit鈥檚 College for Creative Studies, Rowley commuted from her hometown for a couple of years, before fulfilling her city dream and moving to Detroit鈥檚 Boston-Edison neighborhood, then to a few other spots in Detroit and Royal Oak. Now she鈥檚 happily living in Midtown Detroit with her cat, Ozzy, in the 15-unit Keyes building, which features four floors of restored apartments, replete with original window casings and trim, plaster walls, old hardware, antiquated radiators, historic doors and doorknobs, and other vintage touches.

The pi猫ce de r茅sistance in Rowley鈥檚 home is her eclectic living room gallery wall, which has a window between two wall-art collections. It features works by artists near and far, amid an arrangement of accents and furnishings that鈥檚 both creative and inviting. That鈥檚 no surprise, as Rowley is an interior designer at Ellwood Interiors in Birmingham.

The art lover says the apartment鈥檚 design goes with her style. 鈥泪 mix a lot of different eras of furniture and that gives it this unique charm, and most of my stuff is neutral, so the walls of art give the space the color.鈥 She鈥檚 been collecting art in the way of originals and prints for about 10 years. 鈥泪 get my art as gifts, from traveling, or from discovering an artist on social media,鈥 she says. 鈥淢y home is a story 鈥 a timeline 鈥 of me.鈥

A Closer Look at Caitlin Rowley鈥檚 Gallery Wall

Surfers and whales and snakes, oh my!

鈥淢y print of surfers, by Leah Reena Goren (8), came from a print shop in California. The whales (9) are Northwest art and were purchased at the Seattle Art Museum. A snake print by Colour Poems (10) was a gift from a friend; I have a snake tattoo.鈥

Hot and cold

Sandra Poliakov created the 鈥淪un Salutation鈥 (11) and 鈥淐alm Woman鈥 (12)art works.

Pop culture

鈥泪 have a [copy of a] print by Keith Haring (13). He is one of my favorite artists from that time period, so it was a thoughtful gift. I like his style (which is characterized by the repetition of stylized shapes in bright, vibrant colors and outlined in black).鈥

Tips of the trade

鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid of things that you feel don鈥檛 go together,鈥 the designer says. 鈥淢ix photography in with the abstract. Mix prints, canvases, and different types of frames.鈥

Favorite pieces

A lucky-13 black-cat piece (1) and an 鈥淓nter鈥 sign (2), both by her brother, Jordan Kabalka, who now lives in Alabama. 鈥泪 am drawn to dark, creepy illustrations, so these are very much up my alley.鈥

I鈥檓 watching you

A wallpaper sample from Maharam displays an eyeball pattern (3). Founded in 1902, Maharam is a leading creator of textiles for commercial and residential interiors.

More items

You鈥檒l also see a cheerful floral work by Hollis Callas (4) and a print of a hand sketch of a triangular structure by Detroit鈥檚 Jeremy Johnson (5). A work featuring a contemplative woman with vibrant red lips (6), by German-born illustrator Hanna Barczyk, also gets a spot on the wall. Meanwhile, a bright, botanical illustration by Sewzinski (7) pulls several colors together.


This story is from the April 2022 issue of 黑料网 Detroit. Read more in听our digital edition.听And听click here听to see more metro Detroit interiors.听