Community Highlights: Meet Kathryn Hampton of K2S Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn Hampton.

Hi Kathryn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The first time I heard about Los Angeles was in the fourth grade when my teacher taught us about “The City of Angels”. I couldn’t believe such a place could exist: a city full of angels! When I was 12, I decided to become an interior designer, and my grandmother bought me a subscription to Architectural Digest. Every month when the magazine arrived, I’d scour every article to learn everything I could – this was before the internet, and you had to wait to get new information!

One day I read that, in addition to residential interior designers, there were also commercial interior designers who specialized in creating public spaces, such as retail stores, workplaces, restaurants, libraries, schools, hotels, multi-family and office buildings. I decided that helping to enhance the everyday lives of people as they move around the world was what I was going to do. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design at Louisiana Tech University, which was also where I learned about the Interior Design Magazine’s Top 100 Firms. Upon graduating, I moved to Los Angeles to land a job at one of those companies and started my career at PHH Walker in Downtown LA.

In 1993, after five years of working with Los Angeles firms, such as PHH Walker, AC Martin, and Carmen Nordsten Igonda, I founded the interior design firm Coe Design, where I designed award-winning projects for the AIA Los Angeles Chapter Offices, Hanna Barbera, and Shu Uemura Retail Boutique, as well as numerous residential and office projects.

In 1997, I joined The Smith Group to build up their Los Angeles interior design practice, working on academic and entertainment projects such as Warner Bros TV Animation, Westside Children’s Center, and CSUN. After moving to Dallas in 1999, I worked on high-profile projects at Gensler for Goldman Sachs, USAA and Fidelity Investments. In 2001, I joined GFF Architects in Dallas as Director of Interior Design, and in 2004, I founded Hampton Design. With extensive experience leading teams on over three million square feet of space, I returned to Los Angeles in 2013 and founded K2S Studio to address the need for senior-level interior design leadership on project teams and enhance the quality of life for the people who occupy these spaces.

I am also a Certified Commercial Interior Designer in the State of California and am actively involved in raising the awareness of the interior design profession through my work with the CCIDC (California Council for Interior Design Certification). Interior design requires far more than a good eye and color pairing: it’s about creating a functional, comfortable space. Certified Interior Designers in California must pass national tests, such as the NCIDQ and the IDEX Exam for California Codes, to ensure advanced knowledge and expertise on all aspects of design – from space requirements programming and planning, the selection and specifications of finishes and furniture, construction administration, and bidding. Certified Commercial Interior Designers can even submit permit plans with the building department for non-structural and non-seismic projects.

I have settled into the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles and enjoy the proximity to DTLA, the Hollywood Bowl, Dodgers Games, as well as the great shopping and restaurants nearby!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In March of 2020, I had just completed a busy year and was looking forward to another one, building on that momentum. Then, everything shut down. At first, as many were, I was a little relieved. I had always jokingly wished the world would shut down for a few weeks so I could just catch up on things! And then everything stayed shut down. I had one project in construction, but all my other project projects were put on hold. It was nearly impossible to reach out and meet any new clients or find new opportunities, so I began to strategize on virtually creating new relationships. Failure was not an option.

In 2021, I was accepted into the City of Los Angeles Small Business Academy, which helps small businesses develop relationships with city departments that hire consultants. Knowing that I’m in a city that gives this kind of support to small businesses makes me proud to be an Angeleno. The city has certain project requirements to hire historically underutilized businesses, and K2S Studio is a certified Small Business Enterprise, Local Business Enterprise, Emerging Business Enterprise and Woman Business Enterprise.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Business has finally picked back up, and I’m reaping the rewards of having continued to build my business during the shutdown. With the rise of virtual offices, workplace design is in a state of flux, as companies are struggling to figure out the best path forward for their employees and what that means for the size and space needed to conduct business. So far, 2022 has proven to be a great year, and I have been busy working on new types of projects – a historic hotel renovation in Louisiana, a 64-unit apartment building in Florida, and several opportunities to join teams on projects with the City of Los Angeles.

I’m excited to see the new opportunities that arise as Los Angeles awakes from the pandemic in 2023. I’m eager to find more projects where companies are looking to create a workplace that meets the needs of the people who spend the most time there – I love working closely with teams to enhance workplace functionality and satisfaction. I’m also interested in more diverse projects, as well. Having recently worked on the renovation of a historic building on Broadway in DTLA, I’m excited to continue doing preservation projects in the historic core of Los Angeles. I am a strong believer in conserving resources, reducing waste, and working wisely, and historic preservation does exactly that – it puts the focus on innovation and revitalization rather than destruction and starting entirely from scratch. I’m also very interested in using my space planning and design skills to join more public housing projects to aid the homeless, as the need for comfortable living spaces for people to thrive is the reason shelters exist in the first place.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I believe that we are always given hints on which paths to choose along the way, and our willingness to pay attention and choose those paths wisely is what people call luck. Skill is the expertise needed when you find important opportunities, so luck is only a matter of keeping an ear to the ground and being ready with the expertise to act when the opportunity comes knocking. I am grateful that the City of Los Angeles has proven to be my Guardian Angel through the years, and I cannot wait to see how the future unfolds!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.k2sstudio.com
• Instagram: @k2sdesignstudio

Image Credits
KI Showroom – Matthew Anderson Shu Uemura – Tom Bonner