Kerrie Kelly has a successful career as an interior designer. Her trademarked motto, “Everyone Deserves Great Design” has served her professional development and her business, Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, well. In addition to creating “authentic” spaces for her design clients, Kelly has written two books: Home Décor: A Sunset Design Guide and My Interior Design Kit. She is involved in numerous industry organizations—ASID, Houzz Pro Advisory Board, National Kitchen and Bath Association—and she is one of our Furniture, Lighting & Decor editorial advisors.
Kelly has also been named one of the Top 200 Design Influencers in the Home Design Industry by fixr.com and she is the Interior Design National Spokesperson for Zillow, Inc. In addition to her design organization affiliations, the talented Kelly has multiple brand connections, having launched product lines with TileBar, Feizy Rugs, Zeev Lighting and GO Home Ltd. That’s quite the resume.
Next Steps
The interior design community has been good to Kelly, she says. At one point she had a staff of 12 employees focused on residential and commercial design work. However, like the evolving nature of the design business, she is adapting her business model to help other designers and industry players elevate their brands.
“We’re seeing how people embrace technology,” she says, adding that it has allowed her to structure a smaller team and “do what we love in the industry.”
What she loves includes helping companies market themselves more effectively within the design industry, such as creating content for clients and helping them with social media campaigns. “There are products out there that designers need to know about,” she notes.
That’s not to say Kelly is done designing. She continues to hone her craft and stay on top of today’s trends and opportunities. “The beauty of our industry right now is that it’s not cookie cutter,” she says. “We do a lot more of what we like to do and get to shape our own careers. It can be really exciting and fun.”
The Power of Community
When Kerrie Kelly followed her dream to become an interior designer, she quickly realized the importance of community and education. As a student, she joined the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). “ASID has helped me grow in the industry,” she says. “It’s elevated what I’ve done in interior design. It has helped me grow, and relationships at a national level have complemented my career.”
As a member, Kelly has come up through the ranks of the organization—sitting on various committees, as a spokesperson and as a local chapter president—helping other designers along the way. She’s currently a Fellow, the Foundation Trustee and a Board member at a time when ASID is working on innovative ways to support the evolving interior design industry. “We’ve taken a look at the structure of design itself. It has become a global topic, and we want to see how this organization supports that global idea,” Kelly adds. “Just when you think you know what to do, the industry changes. Designers need access and education,” something ASID provides.
About ASID
Founded in 1975, the American Society of Interior Designers is the oldest and largest organization of its kind, and it believes that design can positively impact lives. With 13,500 interior designer members, 6,000 industry partners, 5,500 student members and 350 chapters, ASID impacts lives as well.
The goal of the organization is to use education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach to advance the interior design profession.
The organization adds that it leads interior designers in shared conversations around topics that matter: from evidence-based and human-centric design to social responsibility, wellbeing and sustainability www.asid.org
