Episode 60: Making Your Space Feel Like Home with Kiki Design Studio
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Welcome to the Thoughtful Realtor podcast. I'm Connie Chung and today I am beyond excited to have Kiki from Kiki Design Studio joining us. Kiki is a fabulous interior designer based right here in LA and she's just known for creating feel-good spaces and really truly embodies that mantra of Feel Good Spaces and Feel Good You!
And we have so much to talk about. It's been such a rewarding experience to have worked with Kiki and also to recommend her to Willowmar clients, friends, and even family members. She brings such a unique creative touch and a level of passion and just warmth in every project that really makes it stand out.
So in today's conversation, we'll [dive] into Kiki's design process, the growth of her studio and interior design company, and plenty of insider tips on how you can transform your own space into something that feels like home. And so whether you're planning a major renovation or just looking for inspiration, you're going to love what Kiki has to share!
So let's get started, Kiki!
Thanks for having me, Connie! I’m excited.
Yeah, [I’m] so excited to chat more with you also because I feel like even though we worked on our project just a little less than maybe two, three years ago, it feels like I've known you for so long and we've gone through so much.
We did.
Like we've gone through the winter together.
We survived.
But before we get into that, let's take a step back and tell us how you got started with Kiki Design Studio and what inspired you to delve into the world of home design.
Yeah. I feel like I have to go really far back. Since I was a kid, my spaces around me, I would just move or turn upside down, or inside out, or just kind of have creative liberty in any space in my house that my mom [or] my parents allowed me to.
That they allowed you to, that’s amazing!
Shockingly, from a very young age. And I remember when I was in high school, she let me start moving the living room around and she'd come home and just be like, ‘Okay, I'm just going to let her do this.’
And I tried one time to bring a bougainvillea, like a trellis, inside to create an indoor plant wall. Didn't go very well, but…
Did you get poked?
I did, but she allowed me to do it. I tried, I failed, but I learned. So from a very, very young age, I always was moving and tinkering in my own spaces. I think the bug was there forever.
I went to FIDM for interior design and then I also went to art school many moons ago. I actually started working with an interior designer at that time, but stumbled into set design for film and TV for many years; and that led me to unintentionally opening an art gallery.
Yeah. It's so cool that you did that.
Yeah. From all the set design and stuff, I was always painting behind the scenes for years. And also helping friends and family with their homes, so it was kind of always lurking. When I stepped away from interior design, and did more, like, art in a linear way.
Back in 2019 or 2018, Dan and I had purchased our first house that we got to build from the ground up. That really brought me back to interior design in a way that I was always kind of doing, but I had left making it my career many years before. And that just reinspired me to take a leap back into it.
So it was working on your own project that really solidified making a career out of it, and then kind of putting to work all of the different experiences you brought.
Yeah, and a girlfriend of mine, she had bought a really great townhouse and she was like, ‘Come help me do this.’ And I helped her do it. She looked at me and she was like, ‘Why are you not doing this again?’ And I couldn't find an answer to that and say why I wasn't, and so I was like, ‘You know what? Screw it. Let's see what happens.’ I felt like all the pieces just fell into place over the last almost five years since I relaunched it.
That's amazing [that] you've been in business for only five years.
Yeah, it's kind of crazy. You know, all these different paths I've tried, they were really great at so much experience, but it's kind of funny when they say that when it's meant to be, it kind of just happens and things just flow naturally in the direction. I feel like that happened with this career that the minute I recommitted myself back to this, everything just kind of happened. I didn't have to force things into place and I've obviously had to work very hard to get here, but it was a natural path instead of, ‘Stop doing this. Turn around. Go the other way.’
That's a really good feeling because then you know you're working in your super power where it's going and you're just riding that momentum; and of course you're working so hard at it but the growth is just so natural because it's so in your wheelhouse!
It's true. Yeah, it was. It was kind of wild. And then at one point I kind of just had been holding on to the reins.
Kiki, now and looking back, is there anything that maybe you were so naive about when you started or some things that you tried out and you're like, ‘Nope, that's not the way to go.’
I think the one thing that getting back into this was how much research and intention goes into a design and how many hours really go into the preparation of presenting a design; or your thoughtfulness, or really trying to tap into the creativity. That is so much of the work that if you don't spend enough time really trying to focus on that, I feel like then the rest of the process, you're kind of chasing the design. That's definitely been something I've learned, trying to carve out [and] be intentional with time, but that's also been, ironically, my biggest challenge because running a business, there's so many business elements to it.
We do full project management, so there's so many logistical elements to this job that don't tap into my creative brain at all. I'm constantly straddling this line of needing to be creative, but then [also] running the business, running a project, running the logistics. And that is where I think some of the pinch points often find themselves emerging, but that's when you try to build a team to help you.
Yes, I can totally relate to that, even just running a real estate company and brokerage where you have to tap into that creative side of marketing, the brokerage, and also our listings, and our properties. And then you have to switch to the project management side, or just the tactical, or the client facing [side]. It's all the different brains and hats you have to wear, but sometimes the hard part is switching.
Switching! And I'm definitely a creative first [and] a people person first. So that's my strength. That's my wheelhouse. And so that has been the greatest learning lesson done in this career so far is learning how to project manage and learning how to keep things on track, on budget, on communication, and all those things. So I think those are my two biggest points.
Well, for our home, I know we hired you because there were a couple of homes, there were rooms that we wanted to sort of solidify, but mainly a big part was that project management piece – which I know is not the number one in why you hire an interior designer – but it was so critical because you were really the liaison between us and our contractor.
You helped kind of move things along. You helped us ensure all of our wild ideas or vision really were cohesive because we liked so many aesthetics. Just to hear from an expertise of like, ‘Oh, did you consider this?’ Or I remember the first day you walked into our house. Before you even had the job, you gave us so much insight and value that I was like, ‘Yep, yeah, we should hire Kiki. We already got our money's worth.’
Aww, I know I was in here. I remember that too. I walked in and you were wanting to open up this wall and I was like, ‘Have you considered…’ And I just told them so many ideas. I hope that I didn't overwhelm them. So it worked out.
Yeah, it definitely gave us an insight of, ‘Okay, that's how Kiki works.’ She's so collaborative, so generous in sharing her insights. And I really love that approach because I feel like I do the same. Our jobs are really, [or] at least my job, I see, is to give folks information and help them make the best decision.
Totally. Yeah, I think one of the things you asked me to think about is also like, ‘how do I incorporate being collaborative with my clients while still maintaining the ethos that I identify as a designer and that I've cultivated?’ You know there is a fine line to that and you see a lot of these more established designers who, if you go to them, you very clearly know what you're getting.
That's why you seek that designer, and hopefully you seek that in general, even if they aren't a super seasoned or famous designer. You're still approaching someone because you like what they do. So I think when it comes to clients, when they find me, I hope that there's a reason like they like that I'm a little bit more funky or I'm down for weird stuff.
I don't love things to be perfect and I love color and clashing, and finding spaces and things that aren't delicate. So I hope that that's at least the baseline, and then from there, that's what going back to a lot of the pre-leg work of a design. [It] is really having so many conversations with people ahead of time and being like, ‘What do you hate? What do you love? What is an absolute? What is the thing you never want to see for me?’
Those initial brainstorming conversations, I think, help work through all that. And I think part of my job and why people want to hire me, or a designer, is that my job is to take all the things you say, and all the things you show me, and all the things you love, and textures, or inspirations, and then I end up becoming the funnel. And hopefully what I funnel out is something that you're like, “Yes!”
I think it's finding the balance of hearing, like you guys specifically really loved mauve and green and you were like, ‘We really want this again. We really want to see this incorporated.’ So it was like, ‘Okay, cool.’ Knowing that those are two very important elements for them, how do we find that? How do we incorporate those without oversaturating your house? Because your house had a very light heart in its soul. It feels like this place needed pops of that versus being fully saturated. So I think it's finding that balance.
Definitely. Yeah. Because there's so many times where you'd show us things and I'd be like, ‘Oh, can we have that in mauve?’ And it was like, ‘Connie, not everything needs to be mauve, olive or mustard.’ I didn't realize how much I love that and you, I think, really found ways for it to shine and be the moment in each space.
Like your butler's pantry and the bathroom, right? That little cubby world, because it's also like tucked away, it feels like very much its own little section of the house.
Yeah. Well, I love your design because it does push the boundary a little bit. And I aspire for that, but I do remember in times when we were working on our home design, sometimes I'd be like, ‘Ooh, I love it in theory, but is that too much for our own home?’ Do you get that from clients?
Yeah, I do. I'm working on a few projects right now where that has been… There's one part that I have where they're like, ‘Okay, maybe we weren't as loud as we thought we were,’ and so it's pulling that back. And then I have another client who's like, ‘Give me more,’ and I'm like, ‘Oh my God, I thought that this was, I thought we were already at an 11. Let's take it to a 20. Okay.’ So I'm in two different current projects where I have two different clients who want me to do the opposite.
Yeah. That's so funny. And I think that's what makes you so great and talented is that you are able to really take that feedback and work with it. And that's what makes such a successful client dynamic!
Because I feel like being the design professional – I imagine you have to constantly be ahead of some of these trends too, or even be setting your own trend or forgetting the trends – how do you find inspiration and synthesize everything up?
I feel like I'm going to be so cliche in a way, but I love Pinterest. It is like my dirty little book. It's just so aspirational. You can see like anything. You can type in the weirdest thing, like ‘purple carpet ceiling’ and something will come up! Someone in the world has done something so cool and weird and different, and I feel like it is such a great space to look for anything. I do not like that they've become so ad-heavy. Come on Pinterest, you gotta change that. But…
It's still the go-to.
It's just so great. Even in conversations when I'm with clients on the fly, I'll be ideating and I'm like, ‘Ooh, Ooh, Ooh!’ And then I'm like, ‘Wait a minute. I'll find it. Hold it. Hold the phone.’ And I'll literally pull up my phone and scour Pinterest to find what I need. And I'm like, ‘Like this,’ and they're like, ‘Ohhh!’ It's such a great tool for me to find some inspiration. And obviously Instagram, I follow some really cool people.
It sounds like Pinterest is so great to be able to visualize your thoughts, because you can easily find it. Someone has done the work [and] put it out into the universe.
Yeah. Something like that, that I'm like, ‘We'll take a little bit of this, but we're going to infuse a little bit of this and just trust me. Please trust me.’
For trends though, trends are tough and I feel like I don't like to follow trends. I feel like a lot of people will say that or try and follow that. And I think that's really important. I think it's really important to stick to something that feels good in your heart whatever that may be. So right now, if it happens to be cane, sure, then let's lean into cane. Or maybe you love blush. Let's lean into those textures or those color tones. And then, to go back to the top of my job is: how do I give you those things without it feeling trendy or without you getting bored of it? You know I feel like everyone in the world in real estate can look around and see like from 2010, 2020 all across the country, it was a white box modern farmhouse. That was the build, that is still the build. It is just an architectural aesthetic of a time period, and then everyone's kind of over it. People are looking to infuse more character or something that feels a little unique or different. And so I'm so mindful of that when it comes to designing spaces. And again, even with your home, we infused color, but in a really, I think, timeless way. I haven't been in here in a minute and I'm walking around and I'm like swooning.
Oh, it's still so good.
You know it doesn't feel dated. It doesn’t feel like it will become sad or old or boring or what. It feels very elegant, but playful. And I think that's a fun way to try and find stuff.
Definitely. Yeah, especially in kind of a character home. This one, it's a Monterey colonial built in the 1920s. And I know I already lean towards more modern, but in some ways I feel like, ‘Oh, [I] should have, should have retained, you know, the smaller window panes or whatnot.’ Yeah. You also want to pay respect to the home's architecture while trying to freshen things up and make it fun and timeless because you want to grow into it.
Yeah, and I think you just nailed it with what you just said. My family also has a real estate background and I love – I geek out over – real estate and I always love watching what you're doing and your success. And it's so important to find a home that obviously works for you and your family, or for you, or your partner or your loved one; whatever your situation is, why you're purchasing or moving into a home or renting. But there should always be a part – I always tell people – even if maybe the exterior isn't your aesthetic, try to honor at least 10%, just a little bit. Like you said [with] this Monterey colonial, you don't want to all of a sudden go completely Mid-century Modern or like [use] harsh linear lines in here and black and white.
It feels very disjointed, and from a real estate value – this is again, coming from the perspective of a designer – when you're thinking about resale, your curb appeal immediately sets people up for a certain kind of expectation. And then a disjointed interior – I mean, you would have more experience about what kind of emotions or feelings people have – when that happens, because you see a lot of that with a lot of builder flips and kind of generic restorations or stuff like that that lose character.
Yeah, we definitely see it a ton. It is a challenge because sometimes you just want to go with the trends of like, ‘Oh, everyone just wants a clean, modern site,’ but it loses that soul. And I do think that's where having a smart [designer and] hiring a designer [helps], or you just remembering, like preserving, there is some design element to just keep the soul of the home. To some extent, maybe it's 10%!
And you don't have to break the bank to do that. Connie just found a really cool piece of art at a thrift store last week, she was saying, and I was swooning over it. You can infuse character in very affordable ways that don't have to be your hard finishes, like a cabinet, your cabinetry or flooring. Something like paint is like the best cheap friend you could ever have in your life, and there's peelings to quality, but there's so many different affordable approaches to things, even light fixtures. You could find a really great local handyman and go online and find a light fixture that's really cool and swap out a light fixture. Those are some small, easy ways to look for character without having to break the bank.
Yeah. Whenever we're getting a listing ready for the market, a couple of the basics are just giving a fresh coat of paint because that can really transform a space, and then even just some light fixtures. That's what we did on our listing in Monterey Park where they had the huge big ceiling fan ones and just switched it with a simple drum that kind of even fits the aesthetic of the home.
I apologize in advance. If you hire me, I will always pull you away from the ceiling fan. I'm sorry.
There are some nice ones! We did scout some for our other Monrovia home.
That's where I'll lose a lot with clients because I don't have to sleep in that room.
Yes!
Comfort is important.
I know, I'm not a fan of a fan. Those are really great tips because sometimes for the everyday home, a homeowner just puts all of their savings into buying a home that the thought of hiring a designer is like the ultimate luxury and sometimes they may not have that. Even [us], it felt it was a big stretch for us to hire one and it wasn't even for the design; it was like for project management.
Which ended up really being a bulk of our work. We worked through two contractors and…
Oh yeah. Let's delve into that!
Let's go! Do we both have PTSD?
Oh gosh. Sometimes I'm like, ‘Oh, what's the next thing that's going to pop up from our home?’ Thinking about our home renovation, there were so many good lessons learned. Brian and I, we renovated a few homes and this was definitely the biggest one which is so cool. And also we were way over our heads. There was a saying I remember listening to and it was like, ‘Oh, yeah that was definitely me.’ It was like, ‘Be naive enough to start but determined enough to finish.’ And I felt like that was our mentality going into renovating this home.
For our listeners, Brian and I bought this home and we actually started the renovation before even hiring Kiki because I was like, ‘Oh, we're just going to renovate a few bathrooms and the kitchen, and we've done that before.’ And then it became, ‘Oh, let's open this. Let's try this.’ And our contractor who I think was skilled in some ways, this definitely was also his biggest project and we kind of came to a head in many ways.
Which led you to me.
Yeah, exactly! Actually, I hired Kiki to help manage this contractor! That was the reason.
Yeah. Initially, you guys came to the table with some amazing ideas that we just helped kind of refine and we completely changed the kitchen, the original plan for the kitchen.
Even our primary bathroom, we changed the floor plan.
The whole floor plan which I'm so happy about. It feels even bigger than what we were originally going to do with your shower to the corner.
Yeah, definitely. I think that's something for folks who are listening to know. Designers are not just about the finishes. It's really about the use of the space and the layout of it. That is so powerful.
I could not agree with you more. I work with a couple of contractors who hire me for some projects and one of my main purposes is to help with floor plans and I geek out on floor plans because functionality, flow, logical placement of X, Y, and Z are so important and oftentimes people just don't think about it.
They're like, ‘I have a box and I need a fridge so the fridge is there, and blah, blah, blah, here's this thing and that thing,’ then no one's holistically thinking through it. I think that's also the benefit if you can't hire someone like me is that I'm zooming out constantly on everything and making sure there's through lines. It's the microscopic and the macro simultaneously.
Yeah, it's a challenging task and skill because there were times where like, ‘Oh, what's gonna be the lining in our tiles? What's a Schluter?. I learned all these fun key terms, like a Schluter or a jolly that is like the tile that kind of can also be the trim.
It was so nice to just be like, ‘Kiki, what do you think?’ and to just lean on you as a professional to say like, ‘Here are the options. This is what we'd recommend.’ And it was like, ‘Yep, I trust your instinct because I know you're keeping in mind the big picture.’
Thank you. I appreciate that. Again, with your project you guys had, it did become so many different avenues. Keeping the mauve and the green and the blush and those mustards, like all these colors of where you're like hero colors, how are we plopping those through, right? So we were really intentional, like in your primary bathroom we saw that in your flooring inside your shower floor, right? We did the really cool blush. Then [for] your formal living room, we did the ceiling in a nice little touch. So it's like these subtle pops, but yeah, it is that thrill.
Oh yeah. So we brought Kiki in actually midway through our project, which I know is not ideal because we had some designs already in our head. We bought some tiles, we had a contractor, we ordered our windows and doors, so I imagine that was a big challenge for you to work with what we had going on.
[I’m] curious for you. What was the biggest challenge working with us?
You guys were a dream.
You do not need to say that!
I mean, very, very genuinely, you guys were so… You know, I felt so bad for you guys during the course of this project because you're already delayed. You were already dealing with the different setbacks and struggles. And when we had to work through that first contractor, we later than found a lot of the shortcomings of his work in terms of like: he didn't connect the pipe to the main in the city, and then we had the backup overflow in your primary, and had to trench to your front yard because they never connected the sewer line.
Considering you guys had one blow after another, after another, you guys kept such a positive – I'm sure maybe you didn't feel that way inside – but you were as zen as you could be through some real big trials and tribulations, which as someone who's running a project, that's the worst part of my job. [It] is delivering terrible information that is not only outside of my control, that I can't fix, that I can't make it better. And I can't make you not spend any money on this problem, so I basically have to just be the bearer of bad news.
And then I'm also the person who has to help you navigate. It's a role where I hate wearing that hat, but I think that's another benefit of having somebody like me working for you is that I can work through those things on your behalf to maybe resolve without you having to financially take a hit or deal with it.
It alleviates some emotional, mental burden of just, you know, you have a family, you both have careers, you have a life happening outside of a renovation that is overwhelming at a lot of points.
To sum that up, I think you guys are really great considering a lot of the stresses that came during the course and the delays. And then I hired a really great landscaper and day one, his crew jackhammered the back patio slab and a small ricochet hit your brand new patio doors you waited nine months for. So, you know, that was fun. That was a fun Hong Kong trip.
You're reminding me of all the things we experienced that I tried to black out from memory! That's true!
Each project's hiccups are like permanently imprinted; every project for the last five years. Everything that went wrong on any project I've ever touched is imprinted. It's like, how do I never do that again? What can I do to never let that happen again? That one was a new one.
That one was a new one, yeah, rocketing, and…
… hand burning the door.
Oh yeah, that was tough.
Shattered. Everywhere. Maybe you can insert here a picture of the shattered glass. Insert the image.
I know, there's some good photos we'll have to add into this. Yeah, I can hear you on that, like that client interaction and the communication, cause that is the toughest part. I can relate. We always prepare clients with like, there's going to be hiccups, especially in an escrow and to sort of plan for that, but to know that they can lean on us to really be in it with them and to help problem solve and to just hold that emotional weight.
Absolutely. I've [had] people ask me all the time about getting into this industry and any suggestions I have. I think one of the biggest things I actually tell them outside of being creative or design is you actually have to like working with people. This is a customer service facing industry. Period. Hard stop. If you are not someone who enjoys that or can take that on… Because it is something. You can thrive on it and enjoy it, even if it struggles.
Or it can really weigh you down.
It can.
Yeah. I hear you. For someone about to embark on a home renovation or thinking about just revamping the design of their home, what's the biggest tip you have to making it smooth and successful?
Call me, email me.
Kiki is very responsive.
Yeah, besides starting with me and Kiki Design Studio, I think writing out your must-haves, your maybes, and your dream list, and really categorizing those elements and ranking them, understanding maybe the financial impact that they could have. That could give you a really great scope.
So like kitchens and baths always are going to be your most expensive thing to really gut and start over with. Especially if you're moving plumbing or you're moving electrical, that's some of your biggest costs. If you want to do a full gut and that's in your scope then understanding time and if you're going to be living in this space during this time, which can be very stressful. If you are a family or a single, an individual, it can still be very hard on your life.
I think it's categorizing what's important and breaking those down into three tiers and then really looking at, I'd say, probably your overall budget, right? Coming up with a budget. Then also depending on where you are, one thing I do on every site walk or visit with a new client is hearing their needs, hearing their wants, but also understanding like, ‘Is this a long term home? Do you want to make this an investment property? Are you looking to sell within a year or two? Are you just trying to tweak some things for sale to put this on the market?’ All those answers help me give you back my feedback.
So this is a forever home. [For] you guys, I'm like, ‘This is the time to spend that money.’ If you can spend that money or to make those long term investments that you don't want to come back and revisit, because then it becomes more expensive. You had your walls open, all these things. So do it right at that time if you can. If it's something you might turn into an investment, I'd be like, ‘Let's be smart about the finishes, something super durable.’ Courts, let's look at floor decor. Don’t spend your money on things that you might have to maintain or that can get abused by a renter. So it's all these different lenses that I would have in these initial conversations with somebody who's looking to start a project.
Yeah. Talking about numbers, can you throw some rough numbers of what people can expect on say a typical bathroom remodel or kitchen? And what else to factor into like general for design fees? Because I think some people can, may not even want to reach out to the designer ‘cause they're like, ‘Oh, I don't…’
That's a great question. I'll start with interior design fees. They can range if you start with a really new interior designer between 75/hr up to some of the top are like 300+. Depending on where you are and where you're at financially and who you're seeking, it's a fairly large range.
Some designers charge a percentage of your total budget; others do hourly. I do kind of like a hybrid of a fixed design fee and then an hourly to implement a project management thing because I found out that the best seamless execution of a project is if we can help you start to finish. Because things get lost in communication and it just really helps. I would recommend anybody looking at that – you'd want to hire someone who can help you see it through and order everything and make sure things stay in time and do all the work for you.
In terms of cost for a bathroom – I mean, a tiny bath – you could be looking anywhere… Gosh, this is so hard because it depends on what you want to do. Do you want to just paint and change a vanity?
Let’s say you’re doing the whole thing?
Like a primary bath? Where do you want to take me?
Yeah, let's do the guest bath. Let's just say the middle.
So let's say a guest bath, I'd say the minimum you're looking at, if you could find more inexpensive contractor, materials and stuff, 25k to 30k. And then, I mean, then the sky’s the limit, you know? You want to do marble on the ceiling, sure! You want to do that shaggy carpet ceiling that I found on Pinterest for you?
Yeah, I would say that's about right where my sister, my brother, and I are helping our mom revamp. It's unfortunate because the bathroom in her room is the tiniest bathroom of the whole house, and it's the one that is going to be the most used. It's a tiny space and my brother graciously offered to help finance a good portion. He's like, ‘Yeah, it's not gonna be more than 15k.’ And I was like, ‘No, you don't know. Things do add up.’
They add up.
And for our mom, we wanna make it nice, but we're also not doing top of the line things. And the finishes really add up, all the tiles, all the fixtures and you wanna do it right too.
If you're looking at – you know, we both love Bedrosians – they have great tile. Their, probably, average price points are between $8-13/sq.ft. If you're looking at a standard shower, you can be like $2,500 to $3,500 just in the shower tub. That's it. Just right there.
Yeah. That is exactly [what] we're doing. Because our space is so small, we're tiling a lot of the walls too just to really... Yeah. And I took a lot of that inspiration from what you did to our home, so really excited for it. What – and you shared this a little bit earlier – would you say is kind of one tip you have for folks when someone who’s like, ‘Oh, I like nice things, but I don't think of design’; what would you say is the essence of good design?
I like that question. It's funny ‘cause I still, by the way, am a tinker. I just hung up a new gallery wall in my home yesterday and I can't…
You’re still working on your home!
I'm always…because when I had the gallery for a long time. I have so much art. I can't stop buying art. It's like an addiction. It's my addiction. Even in Goodwill, if I find this cool old print – it was like 15 – I have to have it. It's like my heart wants what it wants. I'm constantly changing around and I think that's really fun. Even though I come in and I help make things and set it and forget it, I never tell you like, “Don't touch this. This has to stay.” I think design is that middle ground of like when I walked in today, I said your home feels so lived in and that is like a dream. You know, like I want to help make a space for someone, but then when I hand over the keys, you need to make your touch on it.
Like your home should never look like a magazine unless I'm photographing it. And then that's just for a moment. I think what makes design special or unique is just those little touches like that piece of art you found. No one has that, or maybe five people do if it's a cool print, but you will never know. It's so special to you and I was so drawn to it when I walked in. So I think it's, it's finding those things that are unabashedly you that I also go into each project and I'm like, ‘What do you have? What art do you have?’ I was like, ‘Show me what you have. What have you collected that is important to you that we can draw inspiration from or put throughout your house?’ And I can't duplicate that. That's something you've already done, that legwork from your travels or from your random thrifting and stuff like that.
So I think the biggest piece of advice I could give, or the biggest design thing for me is don't be afraid to be different or to add the things that mean something to you. That’s what sets you apart from the box, the cookie cutter. I love Target for what it's done with approachable design. I think design has become really… Home goods and all these stores that have approachable ways to access design, you can still go there, but how do you put it there at your home that doesn't feel like someone like everyone else has it?
Yeah, definitely. It's adding your personal touch to the space ‘cause it's so easy to just buy something and think like, ‘Oh, that's good design!’ But it's really incorporating your own personal belongings.
I think it's cool to be different. I couldn't stress that enough. Don't be afraid if you find a really weird sculpture or weird object or something, and you put it on a bookshelf or your coffee table. That's the stuff that is cool and fun. And I think that that could be, to me, that makes the design – the design space – the different stuff.
I love that. So where can folks find you Kiki, if they want to get in touch?
You can find – how hilarious would it be if I had like a 1-800 number, 1-800 call Kiki? No, you can find me on my website at kikidesignstudio.com, on Instagram, which is @kiki_designstudio, or through Connie and her team at Willowmar. We're always looking for new clients and fortunate enough that we have some amazing people we get to work with.
Thank you, Kiki. It's so wonderful to hear your insights. It's been a wonder to work with you, and I know so many of our listeners will love hearing this episode and take lots of great nuggets. And that concludes another episode of The Thoughtful Realtor. You can find us at willowmar.com or on Instagram @thoughtfulrealtor.
Let us know what design inspiration you took from this episode. I know I took a lot. If you haven't already, please hit that subscribe button. Share this episode with a friend or leave us a review. That would mean the world. Thank you so much for listening in and until next time. Bye.
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