Get to know Edy Keeler
Q&A with Santa Fe Area Designer
Where do you find inspiration when starting a new project?
“I always find inspiration from the greatest desires of clients, as well as their practical needs. Something happens that lights a spark. It combined with influences within both their experiences, and mine. I want ideas about where they could stretch in their imagined perfect lives, to make the spaces interesting as well as functional.”
Where did you grow up? Has that had an influence on your design aesthetic?
“I grew up in my mother’s house…full of color, light, fun and off-beat relatives. Not exactly “anything goes,” but certainly anything interesting will be considered. She was one of thirteen, and the aunts and uncles lived and raised families in places as exotic then as Peru, with mining companies, or Alaska, with the BIA, in Florida running amusement parks on the beach, or Southern California 1950’s start-ups. They all came back to visit us in Oklahoma City with colorful surprises in their suitcases. Our design aesthetic had to be “eclectic” before the phrase was invented. I loved it.”
What would be your dream project?
“To design cooperatively managed, supportive housing, beautifully individualized to whatever extent possible for a soon to be boomer aging population that doesn’t wish to “age in place” for reasons of personal circumstance, finances, or desire. To be part of a team devising solutions for thorny problems of aging reflected in right living spaces.”
Finish the sentence: Every room needs _________.
“a generous transition from the room or area before it. If the room is very different, an interesting visual segue is the best introduction to the new environment. I do not want to be overly “surprised” at home, in an office, or hotel. Sure, surprise is great, but graceful flow is equally important.”