Despite growing up in landlocked Tennessee, Will Meyer and Gray Davis have become global experts in coastal luxury and residential “retreat” living. Since the late ’90s, the two have garnered acclaim for their savvy residential designs and knack for what fashion designer Jenna Lyons describes as “elegant but not fussy, strong but not cold, personal but not a mess.”

In fact, Lyons’ 3,500-square-foot SoHo artist’s loft in New York City is one of those properties that stands out in the duo’s latest monograph.

Called “The Language of Home,” it showcases their work across seven residential projects and one yacht, from city penthouses and lakeside retreats to coastal sanctuaries, culminating in their first luxury yacht project. The book, to be released Sept. 22, reflects their philosophy of creating modern homes tailored to their surroundings, with a focus on comfort, memory-making and understated luxury.

At their initial meeting, Lyons presented Meyer and Davis with a cantankerous vision made up of random photos of mushrooms next to saddles, faucets next to disco balls, moldings next to dog doors. The photo dump might have prompted many designers to plan their exit, she explains, but Meyer and Davis stayed. “It was the first time I was able to do exactly what I wanted. That freedom can create a level of chaos and lack of decision-making. They were able to absorb all of my varied desires and create a more holistic vision,” she tells WWD. The duo embraced her vision, crafting a Parisian-inspired family home with antique marble mantels, plaster moldings, oak parquet floors and a shoe closet with graduated shelves for heel heights.

Despite being the go-to for residences within marquis hotel chains like the Four Seasons and W, Meyer and Davis remain true to their brand mission, deeply rooted in creating inviting homes with ample space for building lasting memories.

“’The Language of Home’ is both an expression of our evolution as a design firm, and a return to the foundation of our practice,” Davis reminisces in an interview with WWD.

Other projects in the monograph include Davis’ Copake Lake Modern house, a glass-wrapped retreat that recalls his Tennessee childhood summers by the lake; Meyer’s own Nashville Stone House, which marries Cotswold architecture with Scandinavian minimalism, and Casa Maya, Meyer’s vacation villa in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Each home reflects the studio’s commitment to blending refined aesthetics with the natural environment, creating spaces that feel both personal and functional.

In an interview with WWD, the duo explained that, although they both attended Auburn University in Alabama, they didn’t become friends until they moved to New York City. The two embarked on separate paths while staying in touch along the way. Meyer trained with Peter Eisenman and then worked at Gwathmey Siegel, during which Charles Gwathmey became an important mentor. Gray worked with John Saladino, and later at Aero Studios — with Thomas O’Brien and Bill Sofield — developing a strong background in residential interiors, retail and hospitality.

“And it kind of evolved. I think within about a year, year and a half, it happened,” Meyer points out, referring to when they opened their global architecture and interior design studio in 1999.

Despite having lived in New York City for most of their adult lives, one can’t help but notice their polite Southern gentleman demeanour, their ever-so-subtle Southern drawl and friendship that has been built over time in part by their own language of back and forth drawings.

“Will is great at taking a pencil and creating these beautiful perspectives that really present the big overarching ideas,” Davis muses.

“Gray draws these beautiful plans and elevations,” Meyer says, adding that the duo went back and forth for years before the completion of Casa Maya, which rises 20 feet above the surf of Puerto Escondido and is defined by its unique L-shaped floor plans, its 25-foot-high palapa roof, the oval-shaped pool with broad arched entry steps.

Casa Maya was one of those projects built on a dream, the result of Meyer’s optimism, made possible by the supportive nature of their professional relationship and friendship.

“I love that I’m outside when I’m inside,” his wife Kerstin says in the book. “I can be having a private moment and still see my kids or friends by the pool. It’s solitude and community all at once,” she notes, pointing to elements like partitions made of breeze blocks that cast dramatic diagonal shadows as the sun moves through the day.

Kerstin also helped bring the duo closer to the local community and its craftspeople as they incorporated plaster work, palapa roofs and Indigenous textiles, ceramics, woodwork and stonework in a way that feels both refined and restrained. They say the house was carefully designed to connect to the site, with every room facing the Pacific Ocean and the structure raised to catch ocean breezes, while still feeling “edited,” “simple” and true to Oaxaca. They ultimately frame it as “one of the most perfect and pure forms of a house” and “a work of art.”

“Our residential work informs our hospitality work, but our hospitality work also informs our residential work,” Davis notes, adding that the two spheres borrow from each other more and more as the hospitality and branded residences boom continues to grow. He describes it as “a dialogue between those two sides of design,” adding that “you see residential drifting toward hospitality, and you see hospitality drifting toward residential,” and that “that overlap is where we explore. That’s our space.”

The nautical world, however, was something brand new. Even so, they clinched the 2025 International Yacht & Aviation Award for best interior design for their first project in the field: Seawolf X with Rossinavi and Fulvio De Simoni Yacht Design. Conceived as a luxury home at sea, the 140-foot catamaran blends the signature elements they honed in the world of hospitality with expansive indoor-outdoor living areas, while also incorporating home comforts like a private office, a warmly lit, wood-wrapped staircase and a fitness area.

Contemplating the future of their studio and new horizons, more than half of the firm’s current portfolio is dedicated to residential projects (inclusive of branded and commercial residential), while approximately one-third encompasses hotels, resorts and mixed-use hospitality developments — reflecting the firm’s ability to translate the principles of luxury living across sectors.

“We understand the way people want to live today because our work spans both luxury hospitality and residential design,” Meyer says, recognizing that the studio hit its stride at a moment when hospitality and residential design are increasingly converging around shared values tied to longevity and wellness. “We’re interested in where those overlap. That’s our area of exploration, where hospitality and residential come together.”