About
Interior Elegance
Interior Elegance is an award winning, full service interior design firm
Founded over 35 years ago to provide the highest quality and creativity in interior design services to builders, developers, and private clients. We create a variety of looks specific to the needs of our clients through the knowledge and understanding of architectural influence and design elements.
Since 1984, our firm has continually been awarded and recognized for excellence in the visual merchandising and interior design of models homes and private residences. Our more than 100 awards include MAME, Aurora, Showcase Homes, and merchandising awards.
Past and present clients include:
- Atlantic Homes
- Hannah Bartoletta Homes
- KB Homes
- Lennar Homes
- Maronda Homes
- MI Homes
- Pioneer Homes
- Pulte Homes
- Smith Family Homes
- Southern Crafted Homes
- Sunstate Homes
- Taralon Homes
- Tivoli Homes
- Tripp Trademark Homes
- US Homes
Private residences for team members of:
- New York Yankees
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Tampa Bay Lightning
The Team
Paula Carruthers
Owner & President
An upstate New York native, Paula’s love of design began at the age of 8 when she began designing homes using interlocking blocks. Through support and encouragement from her parents, Paula began painting, rearranging, and designing the family home and never looked back. She studied at Nazareth College and Eckerd College and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts and is a licensed interior designer in the state of Florida.
Paula began her design career in New York, migrating to New Orleans, covering all of Louisiana, before finally taking her to the Tampa area and spanning the entire state of Florida. She became a pioneer in model home merchandising in the early 1980s. She resides in Odessa and, when not designing, loves spending her time on the lake or with her daughters.
Samantha Elliott
VP of Design Development
Samantha’s interest in design began at an early age while working in marketing at a homebuilders sales center. After graduating from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, she began her career in interior design. With over 20 years of experience in design,
Samantha has a passion for color and textiles. From initial concept to completion, she’s involved in every facet of design. Samantha has been a weekly volunteer at E.A.R.S. dog rescue since 2004. She was 2001 Big Sister of the Year with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay. Samantha lives in Odessa with her fiancé and a variety of rescue dogs and cats, where she enjoys spending time outdoors, bike riding, and on the water.
Ericka Dawson
VP of Interior Design
Ericka is a native of Tampa, Florida and a graduate of the University of Florida. She began her career in retail and fashion merchandising before eventually pivoting to interior design. She has a passion for all design, but she found her niche in creating aesthetic and creative child and teen spaces and bedrooms that strike a balance between what the kids and the parents want.
She also has a concentration in specialty spaces throughout the home, including yoga/meditation studios, home theaters, homeschooling spaces, and lounge rooms. Ericka loves reading, traveling, and attending sporting events. She currently lives in Lutz with her husband and three rescue beagles, where she’s always working on new projects in her own home.
You May Never Want To Leave
Our professional team is here to give your space a fresh new look with a custom design and decorating service. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
