Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanna Kerr.
Hi Shanna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! Thank you so much for having me here today. Well….I was born in Taiwan and lived in a few different countries around the world before settling in Southern California. As a child of immigrants, I was always supposed to be a doctor or a lawyer and that was always my intention. But life somehow got in the way and through various twists and turns, I now find myself doing work that brings me incredible joy, work I believe I was always meant to do, as an Interior Designer. I love solving the Tetris puzzle that is a floor plan to make sure the flow of spaces works for all the ways it will be used. I love creating order out of the chaos of various needs from building codes & utilities to logistics & schedules to wow focal points & just pure beauty. Most of all, I love connecting with people in a deep and meaningful way so that I can create the perfect space for them. So here I am, over 25 years later… still doing the work I love. Every project is unique and special with its own pleasures and challenges. I am never bored and I have no intention of stopping.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Haha!! I can’t imagine anyone who thinks their path is smooth and easy! I would honestly say that there have been many challenges along the way. Challenging people, impossible schedules, long recessions, etc. they have all been challenging. However, the last couple of years have definitely been the hardest. Everyone in the world has gone through a terribly traumatic pandemic that has changed all of our lives in moment. I have to give huge kudos to my team, the vendors and consultants we work with and most of all….our clients who have all come together to overcome the unique situation we all found ourselves in. We all pulled together and figured it out, doing amazing things in the last couple of years to make things work safely for everyone involved. It’s all incredibly inspiring actually.
As far as lessons, one of the most difficult things during the pandemic was the masking. I totally understand how important it is so we all did our part obviously. But I never realized before how difficult it is to read a person or get a feel for what someone is thinking or feeling with that part of their face covered. I never realized how dependent I was on that. Funny the things you learn.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I would say that most people do not really understand what it is we do as Interior Designers so I spend a lot of my time explaining that. They know about the luxurious fabrics, the pretty wallpaper, and the elegant chair in the corner. But they don’t always know that we work hand in hand with the architect on a project to lay out the spaces themselves. We work on the design of the ceiling, the lighting, the custom cabinetry, custom doors and moulding to really make things truly unique and pull together seamlessly. After that, we then work on the finishes and items in the space like carpet, paint, sofas, and tables, etc. It is all incredibly detailed and everything layers on top of everything to create that really finished overall look. This process can take years from start to finish so it is incredibly important that we decide what our goal look & feel is before we start and that becomes our guide.
Otherwise, we can get lost along the way and make mistakes which can be expensive or delay the project. Another thing that differentiates us from other studios is that we don’t have a singular specific style. As you can see from our portfolio, we have experience in a ton of different styles. Whether it is a house or a hotel or some other type of project, I am not going to be living there. It is not our house or our hotel so our personal style does not matter. It is about what that client or the customer of that client wants. Their vision is what we dig deep to find and then distill into the best version we can create. That also means every project is unique since every client is unique. We don’t just pull out the same old file folder of pictures and sources and press repeat.
There is an incredible amount of detail to what we do and it takes so much time, time to really figure out the right design choices and time to document it properly so that everyone understands the intent of the design.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I think one of the silver linings of the pandemic is how it really made us all realize what makes us happy, and not just happy but also fulfilled. This work is truly one of the things that feed our souls. It is so much more than just a job. Meeting with people, getting to KNOW them, and then creating a space that makes THEM happy and becomes an integral part of their lives is my “why”.
Also, I think it really crystalized for me how much joy I receive from surrounding myself with the people that I care about and respect. I am rather introverted so that came as a bit of a surprise. Obviously, my family and friends are obviously incredibly important to me. But also my team, the consultants and vendors we depend on, and our clients. I even missed the ones that I get frustrated with sometimes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.smdainc.com
- Instagram: @smdainc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smdainc/
- Twitter: @smdainc
- Other: Pinterest: @smdainc Houzz: @smdainc
Image Credits
Credit: Skylit Photo
