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diveRSity in deSignworking with a mixture of styles, this entryway shows Brown’s ability to blend a diverse array of designs and still create a cohesive look.

By karina tiMMel

Kenneth Brown DesignBeing one of la’s most sought-after in-

terior designers doesn’t change the fact

that kenneth Brown, principal of kenneth

Brown design, will always be a South-

erner at heart.

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k enneth Brown’s designs have long been acclaimed for his ability to blend warm, Southern hospitality with clean Southern California lines, which has led him to work with such high-profile clients as Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Mia Hamm. “Our design philoso-

phy is to create tailored interiors that reflect comfortable living, with respect to the architecture of the house,” Brown says. “We are capable of working in many design styles, and we don’t find ourselves stuck with repeating the same design over and over.”

Brown founded Kenneth Brown Design 12 years ago, after attending Loui-siana State University for interior design and working for an LA-based firm that focused on hospitality projects—something he still enjoys taking on. His company, which specializes in high-end residential and creative commercial projects, stands out because of its inclusive approach. The team incorporates its clients in the process as much as possible from the project’s inception, in order to understand their expectations and tastes. “My experience has shown that people are often not educated with design, and I find that they create a wall around themselves,” Brown says. “They may either be embarrassed or not confident in their choices. We try to get them to a level where they are confi-dent.” To ensure personal attention, Brown limits himself to five large projects at a time, helping him maintain his hands-on approach.

Brown finds inspiration everywhere—mainly from the home itself and from pieces that have some sort of meaning to the client. For example, he worked on a Palm Springs project for a client who grew up having tea with her grand-mother and kept a gorgeous vintage set from the ’50s in her home. “When I found how much of an emotional connection she had to the tea set, I used that as a starting off point for the entire home’s design,” Brown explains.

As for current economic trends, he notices that people don’t mind spending money on their home right now, as long as they are spending it on quality items. “Because of this economy, people had to slow down, and they are tak-ing their time where their homes are concerned and are appreciating atten-tion to detail in products,” Brown says. “I’m seeing a lot of beautiful, custom work out there.”

With attention to detail and customization of the clients’ personal tastes, it’s no surprise that Kenneth Brown Design has made a name for itself as one of the leading elite home-design firms in the country today—combining qual-ity craftsmanship and unparalleled creativity into each of its projects.

Further developing his firm’s brand, Brown launched his first product line on QVC a year and a half ago with the idea of bringing affordable home décor to

ARTFUL AMENITIESBrown’s love of modern abstract art is often the only source of color in his designs, as seen in this black-and-white furniture palette.

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MULTIFUNCTIONAL DINING AREABy flanking the break-fast area with built-in bookshelves, Brown was able to create a space for both enter-taining and working.

“I am very fortunate to live out here in LA, where people have large budgets, but I come from Louisiana, where people don’t have the same access. I wanted to develop products that people like my family could afford.” kenneth brown, principal

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people on every budget. “I am very fortunate to live in LA, where people have large budgets, but I come from Louisiana, where people don’t have the same access,” Brown says. “I wanted to develop products that people like my family could afford.” The successful line, called Kenneth Brown Design Directions, offers consumers affordable home décor options—primarily bedding, accesso-ries, and bedroom furnishings. “I’m continuing to develop new product lines for QVC, which will come out in April and May,” he notes. The second prod-uct line he launched in 2009, Kenneth Brown Baby, focuses on baby bedding and is sold exclusively at Babies ’R’ Us. “I was inspired by the birth of my first daughter, Harper,” Brown says of this line.

Brown’s work has also been featured on his two hit TV shows, HGTV’s reDe-sign and TLC’s Over Designed. “What I learned is that design on TV is meant for entertainment, and while it was a great experience to showcase my work, at the end of the day, what you see on TV is not what happens in real life,” he explains. “There was a huge surge of design shows, but there was no one regu-lating what info is put out there—if you can’t produce honest, good design on TV, it’s not worth doing.”

As for his plans for the future, the designer admits, “I fight the growth some-times. My fear is that it grows too much.” He adds, “I want to continue offer-ing a balance with my work—to always have a fun residential project going

SIMPLE YET SOPHISTICATEDOne of Brown’s signature design elements is using interesting textures and minimal patterns to enhance the architecture of the home. For this mid-century-style home in Hollywood Hills, Brown selected clean-line furniture upholstered in a rich charcoal fabric. “The goal of the design was to create a treehouse effect by allowing the view to act as the art in the room with little distraction from the design,” Brown says.

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on in a couple of places in the country and product lines that are accessible, which is why we are a good match for QVC.” In addition, Brown is in the pro-cess of building out his first retail store in LA, which will offer high-end cus-tom pieces and serve as more of a laboratory for Brown instead of a planned moneymaker. “I wanted to open a store where I can do what I want to do, but there’s less pressure if I’m not trying to sell something,” he says. Most likely, he’s being humble again—the store is sure to be a big hit, just like everything else he touches.

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The Right Piecesone of kenneth Brown design’s recent projects in Rancho Santa fe, Ca was for a young family of five who enjoy entertaining company. the family’s Spanish-style home was given a complete remodel and addition to grow the space from 5,000 to 8,000 square feet. Brown worked to inject the interior décor with youthfulness, including black-lacquered walls with chrome accents in the study; a large, outdoor, poolside entertaining bar; and Mid-Century Modern fur-niture in the casita (a pool house that was part of the addition).

the following products were chosen because they help marry the young fam-ily’s modern taste to the old-school Spanish-style home with simple patterns and a reliance on the selected color palette: 1. lawson-fenning’s griffin armless chairs (lawsonfenning.com) 2. Mcewen lighting Studio’s Barrel Mica chandelier (mcewenlighting.com)3. Mecox gardens’ concrete dining table in pool house (mecoxgardens.com) 4. Custom headboards by kenneth Brown design (kennethbrown.com)5. donghia’s wabi Sabi alta lamps (donghia.com) 6. dana John daybed in bronze vinyl with square nailheads (danajohn.com)

donghia’s wabi Sabi alta lamps