Fran Keenan
Photo by Annie Schlechter
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? I would live at the beach.
What are three words to describe your style? These questions are so hard for me because my favorite thing is getting to be an avatar in the decorating world as our clients. But, people might recognize a common thread of being collected, comfortable, and inspired.
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? It was a Laura Ashley ripoff mauve room, and then I updated as a teenager to Turquoise and black and white stripes and couldn’t have been more thrilled!
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? With each home, I always have my eye on a statement piece or a “room changer”. For our current house, a modern 1970’s Brady buncher that I’ve tried to send to art school in Paris, I had my eye on a 19th Century French draper’s table for the entry foyer. I’m drawn to surfaces that I get to style and display lovely books with low lighting.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? If I could hire any designer other than myself, I would hire Albert Hadley. His rooms are always fresh but timeless.
No room is complete without books.
People think of me as extroverted, but I am really introverted while I work because I’m thinking so hard.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: I like to keep things bold but graphic and clean in flower arrangements. The single species still feel compelling on the reg.
An hors d’oeuvre platter: I wouldn’t omit anything from an hor d’oeuvre platter! Pile it on – an abundance of anything says luxury.
A bar cabinet: For a bar cabinet, colored glass needs to feel deliberate. It can be a visual hijacking, but other times it is just what you need.
A song for:
Dinner at home: My song for cooking dinner at home would be Earth, Wind & Fire September or The Weepies. For dinner, SILENCE – we are all talkers, if there were music you wouldn’t hear it. Ha!
Working at your desk: Ben Rector
Going for a run: Coldplay is my go to
Biggest Vice? Too much coffee, or Dove chocolates!
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? I would buy shoes or pairs of lamps (1st Dibs).
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Yes. Layered, pattern mixing, and rule breaking at times!
Who is your star crush? Ted Lasso. I love his positive spin and how much he enjoys/loves people.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it?
Swags and jabots, really elaborate window treatments, but I admire when they are done really well! I love using upholstered pelmets and valances, but I am a huge fan of light filled rooms. Growing up in the south, I’ve always been inspired by editing some of those heavily decorated rooms, but not so much that they lose their gusto.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? That’s a tough one because I am constantly acquiring good design books. I love studying old rooms from all the greats, especially Parish Hadley and Colefax and Fowler. Billy Baldwin, Decorates is a personal favorite that is out of print, so I would grab that before the fire!
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Timeless and inspired, reflective of whoever lives there. I love any activity where I can combine and edit elements together; that could be getting dresses, cooking, or decorating a room.
Photo by David Tsay
Your Favorite:
Movie: Shadowlands
Book: Currently, I am reading John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. It’s so good!
Scent: Creed Silver Mountain Water
The fabric you always come back to: I always come back to stripes, all weights, and especially 2 color stripes, they make a room feel young.
Dream project: Any project with Gil Schafer
Meal: Grilled filets, italian mashed potatoes (Ina Garten recipe), and yummy salad with my family.
Drink: French 75
Hotel: The Nomad in NYC, I love Jacques Garcia’s work
Travel Destination: Anywhere warm with lots of magazines!
Artist: Bold abstracts, I’ve always admired Joan Mitchell’s work
A cause near and dear to me: Mwana Villages (@mwanavillages on instagram)
Thing to collect obsessively: Books, graphic pottery pieces, anything hand sculpted especially African or Mexican. I love anything that is authentically ethinic.
Era in the history of design: French 1940’s and Italian 1960’s
Museum: Tate Modern, London
Paint Color that always looks great: Light blue, Farrow & Ball
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Rita Konig
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Yes, just left dog training!
