Design Uncensored with Christopher Kennedy
On the first Design Uncensored of April, Stacy Garcia sat down with Interior Designer Christopher Kennedy, of Christopher Kennedy Interior Design. Almost as if the New York weather was prepared for his Palm Springs style, it was a beautiful day complete with the sounds of an ice cream truck indicating that we’re finally de-thawing from another New York winter. To put it simply, Christopher Kennedy is the King of Color, even though he does share with us that he actually feels like “I use less color than people think.” He has a well-rounded resume featuring his experience as an interior designer, lifestyle expert, shop owner, product developer – the list goes on. Read on for our top takeaways from the epsiode!
1. Being fired was "the best thing that ever happened" to him.
A west-coast native, he received both his Bachelor of Architecture and MBA degrees from Drury University in Missouri. He began working in marketing and design for Walt Disney world, and eventually went on to become a design assistant with the Patton Design Studio (formerly Steve Chase Associates). From there, he was pushed out of the nest and challenged to fly, reflecting on it as “the best thing to ever happen to me.”
2. A Palm Springs State of Mind
It’s impossible to speak with Christopher and not inquire about his Palm Springs style. Was Palm Springs a life-long dream, was it always the plan? He describes spending only one weekend in Palm Springs before deciding to call it home. “If you’ve been here, that’s more than enough time to fall in love with it, right?”
Palm Springs is also the central theme of his retail store. He describes his beautifully curated collection as a way to bring a little bit of Palm Springs into your home. He explains, “There’s everything from big furniture to jewelry to barware and it really just helps you bring a little bit of our gracious vibe to wherever you might be.”
3. What's he up to now?
Now, in 2021 – Christopher has a lot of exciting adventures, like his new home and his new website. During the first part of the 2020 quarantine, Christopher decided it was time to do a new website. He gave purpose to this time and wanted to look back and be proud of how he handled it. During this time, he crafted a website that was all about his clients.
We wrap up with Christopher sitting in his new home (in the thick of renovations), next to the bones of a bar. He explains that we might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of his completed new home on his YouTube channel, and hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to have a drink with Christopher when his bar, and beautiful new Palm Springs home, are complete.
