Our interior designer, Kara Kersten, won several awards from the Kansas City Homes and Gardens Remodel of the Year contest this year, and I thought this might be a good time to brag on her and grill her about her job. Let’s see how she holds up to the pressure.

Lance: Hi Kara, congratulations on your recent awards. What’s the secret to an award winning design?

Kara: Thanks! It’s usually the “wow factor;” something that awes you. In my case, it hasn’t been grandeur or square footage. I think it’s been unique details added that mix things up on top of a design that just makes sense and doesn’t complicate. It helps that I’ve had clients with great style and ideas!

Lance: What’s the difference between a designer, an architect and a decorator?

Kara: A designer is an all encompassing term to describe someone that creates. An architect (also a designer) translates your vision into a beautiful and cohesive set of plans on paper that is readable for someone to build a tangible space from. A decorator works with an existing space, modifying the more temporary items. In reference to remodeling, I would say a designer (or interior designer), works more with the permanent items.

Lance: How is your time spent at work?

Kara: It’s a juggling act of meeting with clients, talking to contractors, calling vendors, sketching ideas, and communicating with my pen/paper. I spend a lot of time helping clients choose products, making sure it all works together, and translating all of that information into plans and drawings for the contractor to interpret.

Lance: What is something most people don’t know about the design profession?

Kara: How detailed it is. There is a huge amount of training that goes into being a designer that is more than just picking out pretty colors and materials. We are trained to understand the psychology of a space and how it affects your happiness and mood, the function of a space and how well it will work for your family, the form of the space and how it will be structurally affected, the performance of your space and how efficient is, the position of the space and how light and time affect it, as well as the aesthetics of the space and what will be most appealing to the eye.

Lance: What is the most difficult part of your job?

Kara: Making everybody happy. It’s an impossible task, but I still chase the dream of trying to keep the homeowner, contractor and even the dog happy.

Lance: How does one pick a good designer?

Kara: Looking at a designer’s previous work is a good indication of their talent, but until you meet them and see how well they LISTEN to you and your needs, you won’t know if they feel like a good fit. In my opinion, a good designer designs a home that reflects YOU, not them. If I were to take a quote from a good friend (ahem… Mr. Lance McCarthy) “I try to create the home you would design if you knew what I know.”