Build&Bloom
Spring 2021
I
24
LOCAL INTERIOR DESIGNER SUPPORTS CLIENTS’ UNIQUE STYLES
Build&Bloom
By Madalyn Watson
11
Standard-Radio Post reporter
Kelly Hallman worked in a Chicago brokerage firm before she switched gears to focus on her passion for interior design. Today, the owner of her own business, Kelly Hallman Design helps clients in the Hill Country area realize the potential of their space. Hallman enjoyed interior design as far back as her teenage years when she would completely redecorate her childhood bedroom.
A ROOM’S PERSONALITY When a client hires Hallman to design a room for them, the process begins with a meeting so Hallman can understand where her clients are in the design process. “If they’re doing renovations in their current house, then it is a great place for that meeting so that we can see the space, and then also find out what works for them and what doesn’t,” Hallman said. Hallman takes all the information she gathers from her clients about their space, their style and their lives and creates a storyboard for the design.
“I’ve always just kind of had an eye where I can walk into a space, and see it differently than it is usually set up and see how When her clients aren’t sure Kelly Hallman is an interior something can be improved designer based in the Texas Hill about the style they want, she asks Country. – Submitted photo upon,” Hallman said. them to prepare images of things they like and make note of the items in their house During her 11 years working in retirement planning, that are already working. her interest in design was on the back burner. After retiring, she moved around before settling down in Fredericksburg where she worked for Red, a home design store in the area from 2011-2016. “Then, that parlayed into being a design liaison between the store and interior designers while also working part time to develop my interior design business,” Hallman said. In 2016, she transitioned to working on her own design business full-time, taking with her what she learned in past experiences. “It was a lot of learning, a lot of reading and researching and exposing myself to books and literature,” Hallman said. “So, there was a steep learning curve, initially.”
“I’m somebody that’s a big advocate for listening to clients, they are ultimately the people that live in this space or they’re the ones that work in the space,” Hallman said. While Instagram and Pinterest are great resources for gathering inspiration, Hallman said she is often inspired by her travels. “Lately, the last couple of years, I’m gravitating toward liking modern, contemporary type of work, but that’s where my eye goes and that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the type of work that I do for clients,” Hallman said. Hallman keeps up with interior design trends, but tries not to incorporate them too much into her designs unless they are what her clients want in their home.
