Team Tiger Lily's
Betsy Knapp
Betsy Knapp is the matriarch of the family. As a wife, mother to four girls and "mom-mom" to seven beautiful grandchildren, it is naturally fitting that her title of the family-run-business is "Grand Dame." With family-togetherness at the core, her love for design roots back to Brooklyn, where as a child she watched and learned beside her mother who created textiles in a knitting mill. A self-taught interior decorator for residential and commercial spaces, Betsy is inspired by the creativity that defined her childhood and as such creates spaces that are intimate while well-suited for communal use.
"I love what I do, Tiger Lily's is like a second home to me" says Knapp. "I try to infuse a bit of family into all my design approaches - whether we story board a wall with pictures; offer an oversized dining room table; or put a sectional in a formal seating room, I take to each project like a mother building values. It is all about sharing spaces and unity."
Before Tiger Lily's was a family-operated business, it was a husband-and-wife collaboration that she helmed alongside he "partner-in-crime," Robert. It was a bit of dream, a dash of luck and a whole lot of passion that helped the two grow their business that opened in the early '90s from a one-room workshop to today's location, which boasts more than 2,000 square feet of design space.
Now, more than 20 years later, the businesses still operates on its founding principles that the client comes first; customer satisfaction is guaranteed and unique, one-of-a-kind production is executed no matter how small or large the size of the project. Betsy's vibrant personality is ever present in her design process where clients not only find a creative partner, but a friend throughout the process.
Samantha Knapp
Advocate for change always being a good thing, Samantha Knapp, interior designer for Tiger Lily's Greenwich, started her career in television as a news journalist. After 10-years of behind the camera she made a change to join the family business in 2009.
Full time daughter and designer, Samantha's teachings are influenced by her mom, Betsy Knapp. Much of her style honors Betsy's traditionalist approach, but offers her signature touch of infusing the "hip factor." She punches-up the ordinary by incorporating hardware and not-so-common elements into home accessories like pillows; mixes bold colors with neutrals; adds raw materials accents to soft textures and has a knack for making what's old, new again.
"When I enter into a home I ask myself, 'if these walls could talk' what would they say to me?" says Knapp. "I look for elements that speak to my clients' personality and through creative craftsmanship try to bring them back to life."
In addition to interior design, Knapp has created her own signature line of pillows, La Maisonette. Like news, it is that extra element or accessory that makes something that is good, great. Her pillows range from $95.00-$450.00 and have caught the attention of magazines like NEW ENGLAND HOME MAGAZINE, SOUTHERN ACCENTS, MIAMI DESIGN, HOSPITALITY DESIGN as well as featured at hotels like the OCEAN HOUSE in Rhode Island and DELAMAR SOUTHPORT for their unique size, style and handmade quality.
When she is not designing, Samantha can be found taking inspiration from the wind and the water be it via meditation or sailing.