Today we’d like to introduce you to Killy Scheer.
Killy, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I’m a proud born and raised New Yorker who relocated to Texas in 2010 in search of more balance and more sun. Always creative, I did theatre and dance as a kid, eventually attending LaGuardia High School of Music, Art & the Performing Arts – also known as “The ‘Fame’ School” – where I spent half the day studying classical voice and the half in college prep courses. I attended the University of Michigan as an English major, who sidelined in choirs and small theatre productions while also writing editorials for The Michigan Daily.
With little career direction following college, I moved to San Francisco to try a different coast and stayed for four years. There I slowly discovered my love of interior design, first through a job with a real estate marketing firm, then as a journalist for a commercial real estate publication, and finally as a sales associate at a high-end furniture showroom while I took introductory design classes at a local college.
Within a year I applied and was accepted to Pratt Institute’s interior design program and moved back to New York to earn a master’s degree and cut my teeth at various architecture design firms, including Jonathan Adler, Fawn Galli, The Phillips Group and Studio CMP.
After five and a half years, it was time for a change (I couldn’t take one more winter), and Austin was calling my name. There I spent three years as a senior designer at a high-end residential firm before launching Scheer & Co. Interior Design in 2013, with the belief that spaces should feel both elegant and familiar – perhaps with a dash of whimsy. The firm takes an intellectual, researched-based approach to design, collaborating with clients to curate spaces that reflect their personal narratives, spirit and aesthetic.
In addition to my interiors practice, I’ve been a contributing writer with several design publications, including Houzz.com and a lecturer in the interior design department at Texas State University. An architectural, design and decorative arts history enthusiast, I have participated on several committees with Preservation Austin and was a member of Inherit Austin’s board of directors for three years.
In the evenings you can find me throwing around heavyweights at the gym, and on weekends, I’m most likely hanging out by a body of water.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
What I love about design is that it’s usable, liveable, tangible art. People move through designed (and, sadly, undesigned) spaces all day every day, and how those spaces feel and function impact our mood, productivity, and so many other things. I love that I can help people work more efficiently or feel more energized or relaxed in their homes or offices.
From full renovations to staging and styling and everything in between, we work with clients in a variety of styles and budgets for residential and commercial clients.
Our work has been featured in Luxe Magazine, Tribeza, Austin Home Magazine, House Beautiful, HGTV, Design*Sponge, BuzzFeed, Scout, Apartment Therapy, Oprah Network, Elements of Style, One King’s Lane, CultureMap Austin, SF Gate, Austin Business Journal, Houzz and VETTA Home. Killy has also appeared as a guest on several podcasts and radio shows.
Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
I can’t speak to artists’ challenges as much as I can challenges specific to designers, and those are many. Our biggest hurdle – and one that will likely never change –is that doing our job well (on time, on a budget, executed as planned) hinges entirely on everyone else involved doing their jobs on time, on a budget first. We can’t install the finishing pieces (wall or window treatments, furniture, accessories, etc.) until all the construction is done, paint has dried, and dust has settled. If the schedule is thrown off just a little, it has a snowball effect that often comes crashing down on us.
On a general note, our industry, along with so many, faces the challenge of keeping up with unrealistic expectations set forth by some TV shows that imply great design can be executed in a matter of days or weeks. This could not be further from the truth, and it’s hard to recalibrate expectations when our clients see unrealistic timelines and immediate gratification.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Our website is the best place to see our completed work: www.scheer.co (no “m” – I promise that’s not a typo!)
And the best support comes in the form of either hiring us or referring us!
Contact Info:
- Address: 3003 Manchaca Rd.
Austin, TX 78704 - Website: www.scheer.co
- Phone: 512-270-9322
- Email: info@scheer.co
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/scheerandco
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/scheerandco
Image Credit:
1. Matthew Williams
2-3 Killy Scheer
4. Erin Williamson
5. Casey Dunn
6. Killy Scheer
7-9 Buff Strickland
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