During June Total Home & Gift Market, Dallas Market Center celebrated the opening of the new Interior Home + Design Center, the largest expansion of home decor showrooms in more than 40 years. Along with IHDC, The Gallery at IHDC was created. The Gallery at IHDC is a 32,000 square foot, open-daily, shared showroom space. This space is host to curated home décor, home accents, furniture, and lighting manufacturers that work directly with designers and is staffed by Dallas Market Center personnel...
Get to know the DMC staffer behind The Galley, Charles Oglesby. Charles is the Showroom Manager of The Gallery at IHDC, and as such, is an open-daily resource for finding the best items to meet interior design needs. 
Q&A with Charles Oglesby, The Gallery at IHDC Showroom Manager
Tell us a little about your background and experience in the design industry?
I’ve been involved in the design and home Industry for over 20 years. I have been fortunate to have worked with some incredible companies over the years such as Ralph Lauren Home, RH, Pottery Barn, and Williams-Sonoma Home. I also ran my own design company in St. Louis. If I had to pick a favorite, Ralph Lauren Home would win hands down. To this day, I find his designs truly inspirational, and I like the fact that I get to see his incredible lighting collection every day when I walk by Taylors by Jane in IHDC 1D111.
What do you love most about the interior design industry?
At the end of the day, I love how we impact the clients' lives. There is a level of intimacy that happens between a designer and their client that is quite unique. Think about it, the sofa could be where he finds out he is going to be a father for the first time or the dining table hosts the family for holiday meals. It’s very personal, what designers do, and incredibly special.
As the Showroom Manager for The Gallery at IHDC, what excites you most about managing this space?
The diversity of product lines we offer really excites me. We have Robin Baron’s debut home collection, which is incredibly stunning. From the details on her hardware collection to the detail on her upholstery - it’s really well done. Then you look at Spicher and Company, that offers the most amazing floor covering collection all made in the U.S. out of vinyl. I could go on and on, from furniture, fine art, bedding and bath, vintage pieces... there is a lot to see.
What about The Gallery at IHDC is unique in what it offers customers?
With as much product that can be purchased off the floor, there is also the potential for new product to be created and designed. The Gallery at IHDC is a place a designer can come to and have custom fine art, custom furniture, custom floorcovering, custom pillows and bedding made... it’s incredible that when a designer asks 'can I change this' or 'customize that,' and you can say 'yes.'
What has been one of your favorite design projects you’ve worked on with a customer?
I had a customer in not too long ago that is opening a new home store in Baton Rouge, LA and she was looking for textiles. She had just purchased furniture from Bliss Studio and needed bedding that would play back to that aesthetic. What I was really thrilled about was how the pillows and bedding from Cloud9 Design paired perfectly with the furniture she selected from Bliss Studio. I’m incredibly excited to see photos of her store when it opens this fall and see it all fully realized.
What is your favorite interior design trend right now?
I have to say, I am one of those that avoids trends. I think truly good design is timeless. When I would do my own design projects for clients, I would always steer them to product that reflected them, and not what was “fashionable” at the time. The best way to avoid a dated look is to avoid trends.
What makes The Gallery at IHDC unique on our campus and in the interior designer community?
One of the most unique things about The Gallery at IHDC is that it is truly one-stop shopping. A designer can walk into The Gallery at IHDC and complete a home from top to bottom here.
The Gallery at IHDC is open daily and during all Markets. Stop by to source furniture, art, lighting, home accents, and more ready to be purcahsed off the floor or ordered. Source these incredible lines:
- A Touch of Silk
- Amity Home
- Ashore, Inc
- Austin Allen James
- Bougainvillea, Inc.
- Cari Davis, LLC
- Cloud9 Design, Inc
- Farm & Factory Interiors
- Lazur Bespoke
- Robin Baron
- Rose Casual
- Spicher and Company
- UMTD Bath Design
- Wink Gaines Photographer
- Zuhaus