meet kip

EVANSVILLE, IN 2008

"Readers' Choice Award" and "Best of Evansville" winner, Kip Farmer brings 20 years' experience to clientele with his clean functional concepts and a sophisticated eye for style. His upbeat and to-the-point design philosophy have led to one of the most rapidly growing followings in our Tri-State area. His project base continues to expand with clients from select cities in Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Wisconsin.

Along with his work in interior design, Kip currently contributes feature articles for the Evansville Courier and Press and maintains an informative design-related blog, featured on their website, as well as tristatehomeshow.com. Kip is known for his long-running column "Design in Mind," for Evansville Living Magazine, and also developed the recurring "Design 101" segment featured on 14 WFIE Newswatch Sunrise.

Kip graduated with honors from the Southern Institute of Interior Design. He completed additional training, working as a design assistant at Richard Tubb Interiors of HGTV and CNN fame in Birmingham, AL.

Returning to his hometown of Evansville in 1990, Kip accepted a position with Evaline Karges Interiors and was later employed by Kimball International. His work has been featured in national design publications as well as show houses in Birmingham, Evansville and Indianapolis

Although most of his work over the past two decades has been residential and commercial, some of it has been palatial and even aeronautical. Working through a translator, he once designed the palace home of a sheik. On another occasion, he selected the interior appointments for a multi-million dollar corporate jet. Most of the time, however, his clients' needs are closer to what most people would consider home - usually a home that's in transition. "I often get a call when someone is overwhelmed," he explains. "Starting with the challenge at hand, great design comes from the process of finding solutions for the client."

As an experienced design consultant, Kip knows that personal space is just that - personal. "People are impacted by their surroundings; they care a great deal about their environment," he asserts. That's why a tour of your existing space - and a conversation about it - come before talk of mere style and decorating preferences. "Once you begin to know people and how they feel about their space and its function, you can start to understand how their lifestyle translates into design."

While finding solutions may be the motivation behind Kip's designs, one cannot miss his distinctive style, color sense and keen ability to pull a space together with flair. His unique environments reflect a clean uncomplicated environment that melds Kip's talents with clients' own personalities and preferences, taking their style to the next level. "It's you only better...wait...no, that's actually a hair color ad, isn't it?" he quips.

Kip's easygoing personality, good humor and his familiarity with the often laughable experiences of family life are added assets treasured by his clients. "I have a full appreciation of a $200 per yard Clarence House fabric; I also know that special heartache of watching it covered by someone's oatmeal. Sometimes you have to 'get real' and strike a balance when designing for families," laughs Kip.

Kip is married to his high school sweetheart, Maria, and the couple has three sons - Jackson, Elijah and Spence. Along with the joys and challenges of family life, Kip serves on the board of directors for the University of Evansville Theatre Department and is an active supporter of the Evansville ARC and the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, inspired, in part, by his own child's struggle with autism.