Keyser Interiors, Inc.

Kori Keyser says her fate was set when she was a teenager and her mother began taking her to designer show houses. Along with visits to historic homes such as Monticello and Fallingwater, these experiences cemented Keyser’s interest in interior design. “Learning about history and design made me realize what I wanted to be when I grew up,” she reveals.

Keyser’s father, a woodworker, contributed to her education by teaching her “how things are made, how they work together,” she explains. “That’s what gives me the ability to walk into a room and immediately see what works and what doesn’t—and how to improve or correct it.”

After earning a BS in interior design and passing the NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification) exam, Keyser hung out her shingle in 2009. She designs residential projects collaboratively with clients. “I spend a lot of time talking to them, gaining an in-depth understanding of how they use their homes,” she says. “Then we work together to create beautiful, functional spaces that represent them as well as the home’s architecture.

“When a project is done,” Keyser continues, “it should feel like a seamless complement to the home, or as if it has always been there.”

See more at HandD.com/KeyserInteriors