Bierly Drake & Steele, INC
Palm Beach | Boston | Nantucket | Vero Beach
In every Bierly Drake and Steele design, is an aesthetic that includes all of the fine and applied arts: painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, graphics, photography, fashion, theater, antiquities, etc.
"We are not tied to the past but interpret it, appreciating it for its inspiration, while at the same time looking to the future for the evolution of ideas. As a result, our projects are a response to these arts."
ABOUT BIERLY DRAKE & Steele
Founders: Christopher Putnam Drake and Lee Bierly (Co-Founder Emeritus)
CEO/ Principal/ Lead Designer - William Bainbridge Steele.
Palm Beach & Boston based Bierly Drake & Steele, Inc,. is widely recognized as an International, Award Winning Residential & Commercial Interior Design Firm. For nearly forty years, Bierly Drake & Steele, Inc. has created captivating & beautiful homes for their clients in Palm Beach, Boston, New York, Nantucket, Vero Beach and worldwide.
Born into an old New England family, Christopher Drake, ASID learned early in life from his parents that the home is a place to celebrate taste, quality and style. With that, the dye was cast. Christopher elected to major in Architectural History at Lake Forest College. He then attended the Sorbonne in Paris where he studied period decoration at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Returning from Paris, he continued this work at Rhode Island School of Design and landed his first real job for Bloomingdales. Following a six year tenure there, he joined forces with Lee Bierly, ASID to form Bierly-Drake, Inc. Drake’s Partner and late Husband, a native Californian, came to design with a totally different perspective. His orientation was architecturally-grounded. His work reflected the ‘light and fresh-air’ lifestyle typical of southern California. Together Bierly and Drake forged a unique aesthetic. Drake and Bierly received the prestigious Ballinger Award from the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach for the renovation and restoration of their Palm Beach Home.
Both were active in the American Society of Interior Designers and received over two dozen merit awards as recognition for their efforts. 2007 witnessed their induction into New England Design’s Hall of Fame. Their work is frequently featured in magazines including Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and Veranda. Unfortunately, Lee Bierly died unexpectedly in 2011.
In 2013, Mr. Drake joined forces with William Bainbridge Steele creating Bierly Drake & Steele, Inc. William Steele, is a native of Santa Barbara and hailing from a deeply rooted Southern family, (a descendant of Robert E. Lee and William Barrett Travis). Will, as known to his friends, moved as a young boy to Vero Beach, Florida. After attending Mercer University where oddly enough studied Pre-Med, he recognized his passion as an entrepreneur and changed his major to business. In 1990 he founded William Bainbridge Steele Designs. Initially focusing on his love of retail he began his career with a home furnishings and decorative accessories showroom in Vero Beach which blended Interior Design, Floral Design and Event Planning. Following many successful Show Houses in Vero Beach, 2014 saw Will’s first Red Cross Show House in Palm Beach. The following year he was again selected by the Palm Beach Red Cross Palm Beach Show House and designed the home’s Primary Bedroom Suite.
Bierly Drake and Steele were proudly selected as one of the Design Firms to decorate the first Kip’s Bay Palm Beach Showhouse.
Nearly eleven years ago Drake and Steele joined forces as Partners both in business and life. They were married in Palm Beach on December 1st 2018. The dynamic duo splits their time between homes in Palm Beach, Boston and Nantucket with their beloved Golden Retriever “Charlie”. As a team they are unstoppable, both challenge and inspire one another in life and design.
