The Skyline team has had the opportunity to work with some incredible interior designers. Kelsey Haywood, from haywoodmade interiors has created some beautiful spaces, and we were excited to sit down with her to discuss design, custom drapery and her plans for the future!
The essence of haywoodmade comes through so strongly in all of your projects. The colors, the textures, the feeling of ease and relaxation are palpable throughout. When it comes to your design process are there things you start with that help you get to that end point?
First, thank you! Those are truly the goals of our designs and I’m so glad it comes through. I start with the floor plan to ensure everything makes sense and that we are making the best use of the space. From there, I move to the rug, fabrics or wallpaper thinking through how we will layer color and texture in the space. After that, things generally start to fall in place and we are always sure everything we add will perform to the needs of the client!
What has it been like being in the interior design space in Chicago? Has it been challenging at all?
I am self-taught and have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. And, I’ve always loved connecting with people, be it building relationships with clients, trades people or other designers. That proved really useful when I first started haywoodmade interiors. I was able to use the connections in my network as a sounding board which helped the transition be a little less scary. So I guess the short answer is yes, it’s had challenging moments, but for the most part, I have been very fortunate to have a supportive network. I also make it a point to meet with anyone coming to me seeking career advice or is curious about moving into interior design to pay back that kindness.
Let’s talk about the Briar project. When you started designing the space, what were you wanting to achieve aesthetically and how did that affect the functionality?
Our clients loved the accent wall color in their primary (we did, too!) and we knew that would stay along with their existing furniture. Considering all of that, we had color saturation (check), warmth from the existing wood furniture (check) and what was missing was an earthy layer. We achieve this through orange, rust and terracottas in a lot of our designs. Especially when a material looks washed or weathered, we love the way it connects everything. Enter Bohlen, Clay. The perfect fabric that hit just right.
When it came to functionality, the clients wanted room darkening for sleeping and then be able to have light pouring in in the daytime without sacrificing privacy. That made the double rod selection in brass a no brainer!
We are such fans of drapery. But, with fabrics, they could border on feeling ‘trendy’ and ‘of-the-moment.’ How do you keep your selections for fabrics and materials relevant?
The abundance of beautiful fabric can really overwhelm people, even us! In the end, we present options that serve the function first and feel timeless yet push the client a bit. A lot of our drapery selections are block printed which is an old world technique that we think transcends time and brings old to mix with new.
One last question. Where do you want to take haywoodmade this year? Are there projects you’re working on that you’re excited to share?
I would like to see haywoodmade grow further into whole home FF&E projects and new construction. We love to be engaged with a client at the planning stages for a new build or during the search stage in a renovation or FF&E project. Both allow us to create the best layout and think proactively through the design.
I’m really excited for all of our projects in 2024 as well as those we wrapped up in late 2023!
One in particular to keep an eye out for is the progress on our Door County new build project. After almost 5 years working together with our repeat clients, we are able to create something very true to them, but a different take on their aesthetic.
