Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Kennedy.
Hi Christopher, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am just a Golden State guy through-and-through, born in San Francisco and raised on the Central Coast. Sprawling ranch houses, draperies blowing in the breeze, afternoons in the pool; these things are in my blood and my soul. I’m especially fond of afternoons in the pool. Because my father was older when he had me, at age 56, he retired when I was quite young. After my parent’s divorce, I spent summers and winter holidays with him. We would swim in the pool much of the day, happily doing laps and frolicking. We took road trips to Hearst Castle and the Oregon Coast. Monterey’s Concours d’Elegance was an annual pilgrimage.
My father had a relaxed and easy, yet memorable, way about him. He was an entrepreneur, a member of the Air Corps before it was the Air Force and even a semi-pro boxer. Born in 1920, he survived the Great Depression and served in the California Conservation Corps. He taught me to take care of my possessions. He taught me to live each day to the fullest, to always keep my car clean, and to approach life as a grand adventure. I am told that I get my sense of adventure and entrepreneurship from my dad.
And I am told that I get my manners and compassion from my mom. My mother was a social worker. Born just before the polio vaccine, she was never supposed to be able to walk or have children. She learned to walk, but could never run, and she had me. She taught me how to dress and to make a good first impression. She taught me that kindness is free and that a style is always in style.
I wanted to be an architect since I was about ten years old. My dad gave me my first book on Frank Lloyd Wright shortly thereafter. I went to college in the midwest at Drury University, getting a Bachelor of Architecture degree and a Masters in Business Administration. I spent summers interning at Walt Disney World and had my sights set on being a Disney Imagineer.
After graduate school, I knew I wanted to return to California and decided to move to LA. A series of unforeseen circumstances made me decide to turn down Disney and take a job in — wait for it — business and finance. I had a newly minted MBA, after all, and the tech boom of the early 2000s was in full swing.
I stuck it out for a few years. But of course, the tech bubble burst and then, in my late 20s, my dad passed away and my mom got very sick. I realized that life was too short not to do what you love. I took a leap of faith and moved to Palm Springs with my new boyfriend, a sweet travel nurse from Louisiana named David.
I guess it was just fate that I found myself in the hotbed of midcentury architecture, and I started my own interior design firm.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I guess the road is never as straight or as easy as we expect, but I have had an amazing time. We have been in Palm Springs for 20 years this year, and it has been an incredible community in which to “grow up” personally and professionally.
Losing my parents by the time I was in my early 30s was hard. We cared for my mom for the last several years of her life. I think that fate, or God, or the Universe — whatever you believe in — sent a nurse into my life to be my partner for a reason.
Professionally, we have seen housing booms and housing crashes (my industry is tied to housing a bit, of course) and have ridden out all the waves. We have expanded our interior business to include a retail store and product licensing under our brand name, sold nationwide.
Everyone has struggles that we don’t see, and it is really easy to forget that. I do my best to remember, and it helps me to treat people with kindness, patience, and compassion. My struggles are modest compared to many.
In general, I just feel incredibly fortunate to live in a beautiful place and to do work that I love. I do my best to wake up every day in gratitude and to go forth with good intentions. If I can leave every house, and every situation for that matter, a little better than I found it…then that is a good day.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
“A Golden State of Mind” describes my attitude towards design – and life. With a belief that surroundings should inspire and that good design impacts our lives for the better, our team creates dazzling interiors and products that are refreshingly exuberant.
We specialize in new construction and full renovations for residential and commercial clients. In addition to our work in the desert, we have completed projects in New York, Vancouver, Seattle, San Diego, Beverly Hills, and Pacific Palisades. We are currently working on projects in Florida, Cabo San Lucas, Newport Beach, and Sedona.
Our midcentury-inspired design got a good bit of press and attention over the past decade. I even penned a book on our designs, titled Making Midcentury Modern (Gibbs-Smith Books, 2017.)
I believe that nostalgia — and design, for that matter — is more than skin deep. I believe in traditions. I believe in rituals of hearth and home. I believe in chopping vegetables, wrapping presents, and setting the table. Call me sentimental.
I miss the days when people got dressed to go on airplanes — or even just for dinner. I miss the time when families sat down to dine together; when people would talk and not just text; when kids could stay outside and ride their bikes until sundown; when our country was less fractured; when common courtesy was, well, common.
Perhaps that is why midcentury modern design has had and continues to have, a hold on the American consciousness. From television shows to TV commercials to the fashion runway, what many critics have called a “trend” seems to have no indication of slowing down any time soon.
But my designs are in no way a time capsule. We create distinctly modern interiors that embrace the grace of the past, using the best of modern technology while looking optimistically toward the future.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Palm Springs is magical. Whether you believe in energy or God, or lay lines — or all of those things, as I do — there is clearly something magical in the air. It’s palpable. You feel it as you drive in from LA and exit Highway 111. Your shoulders just drop; your energy shifts.
Of course, the midcentury architecture of Palm Springs inspires me and informs my work daily. All cities have midcentury architecture; pockets of it, at least. Palm Springs is special because the midcentury design makes up such a large percentage of our built environment.
The natural beauty of Palm Springs is likewise incredible. When I get stressed out, I just take a hike. Five minutes from my door are incredible hiking trails, and within about 1o minutes, I am transported to a landscape that looks a bit like Mars. It helps me put everything in perspective.
Interesting and creative people have been attracted to Palm Springs for nearly a decade. The city celebrates diversity and creativity. You can come as you are.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christopherkennedy.com
- Instagram: @christopherkennedyinc
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChristopherKennedyInc
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/christopher-kennedy-palm-springs
Image Credits
Photo Credit (all): Public 311 Design
