Fort Myers interior designer Karen L. Benson has opened Inspire, a design boutique that offers furnishings, accessories, gifts and design ideas at 2037 W. First St. in downtown Fort Myers.

Benson has been designing residential and commercial spaces from the Florida Keys to Cape Cod since 1978.

A graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in interior design, her career includes 13 years with two architectural firms and five years with a residential interior design firm. She established Karen L. Benson & Associates Interior Design (www.klbinteriors.com) in 1996 and now has three interior designers on staff.

“Our vision is to create a design boutique that provides inspiration for anyone,” said Benson. “It’s an opportunity for us to share unusual pieces we’ve found in our travels and wonderful things we discover in our work. We have everything from one-of-a-kind, hand-carved furniture pieces from Bali to charming embroidered hand towels.”