Creative Parents — Kim Kneipp
Melbourne-based interior designer Kim Kneipp muses on her career while being a mother and how the two are intrinsically linked for our latest Creative Parents profile.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson | Photography: Lisa Cohen & Eve Wilson
‘Many of the learnings from designing my own house and raising my own family have allowed me to offer insights into future planning for clients, understanding where they will have congestion, mess, and privacy pinch points at later stages,’ says Kim Kneipp. Photo: Eve Wilson
‘My style explores Japanese wabi-sabi design sensibilities through a Deco lens, which often results in spaces crafted with natural materials, clever detailing and streamlined proportions,’ says Kim Kneipp. Photo: Lisa Cohen
‘I learnt that I am a happier, better mum if I am also taking care of my own creative needs. It’s also important to make a community of other creative parents so you can normalise these feelings,’ says Kim Kneipp. Photo: Lisa Cohen
Kim Kneipp’s wabi-sabi interiors combine light and dark, textural and minimal. Photo: Lisa Cohen
Known for her wabi-sabi interiors that marry light and dark, textural and minimal with luscious greenery, deep, soaking tubs, and cosy nooks, Kim Kneipp launched her own independent design practice after the birth of her first son, Felix, 15 years ago in response to being a single parent. After three years overseas, she had moved to Melbourne and, with family interstate, knew she would need something flexible allowing her to contract and freelance, rather than being tied down to another firm's schedule.
‘I was acutely aware that I would need a lot of flexibility to be able to manage life as a working mum,’ says Kim. ‘Necessity was indeed the mother of invention, and this survival imperative provided much focus and determination to ensure my creative practice would thrive.’
Surprisingly, Kim had never planned to be a designer growing up. Instead, she had a natural love for Italian, math, and accounting. ‘I saw myself as becoming some sort of international businesswoman or lawyer (with secret aspirations to be recruited as a multi-lingual spy), but,’ the designer adds, ‘I was raised by alternative parents with a focus on art and natural therapies.’
As such, Kim found herself drawn to the fashion industry, moving to East Sydney at 17 from a country town in Far North Queensland to study before she found a natural progression from dressing bodies to dressing spaces.
An empath, Kim uses her designs to connect people and the environment. ‘I love the emotional language of space and its power to heal and transform,’ the designer shares. ‘I have a sensory-based design process that I call Design Acupuncture which draws from the traditional Chinese healing craft of finding balance and energetic flow between the elements of Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood.’
‘Family life continues to be one of the best design teachers. Not only does it provide practical, lived insight into the mess and storage requirements of daily life, there is the endless problem solving and rearranging of ideas, attitudes (and furniture) to suit the ages of our kids and their ever-changing needs.’ Pictured: Bent Street Project. Photo: Lisa Cohen
“An empath by nature, I believe in the therapeutic power of clothing and spaces to transform the way we connect to ourselves, the land, and others.”
‘Sometimes you watch through awkward, messy stages, when you wonder if you have made an impact or difference, feeling sad that your hard work isn’t shining through (hello teenage years!) and then there are the times you turn up and see that your efforts have not only been embraced but beautifully elevated,’ says Kim Kneipp. Photo: Lisa Cohen
Bent Street Project designed by Kim Kneipp. Photo: Lisa Cohen
In 2012, Kim took on a project for Hummingbird Eco Retreat; 1.5 hours away from home, she brought her four-year-old, taking advantage of naps, working around the clock. This caught the attention of the Peninsula Hot Springs owners, who asked Kim to work for them to style a waiting room and design their new uniform, which turned into almost nine years of weekly consulting. ‘It was an amazing collaboration over so many years, allowing me to show my design philosophy and multi-disciplinary flexibility,’ says the designer.
With partner Lou and sons Felix, 15 and Max, 8, the family lives in East Brunswick, Melbourne, within the catchment for a local primary school aligned with Kim’s parenting values. Their home features Kim’s distinct style, one she names ‘humble luxury.’
‘I have a salvaged, vintage style, and Lou loves luxury, so it was a great design challenge to unite our styles,’ says Kim. ‘We opted for robust and recycled materials that could handle lots of daily wear and tear and put priority on having a large outdoor garden and play space for the kids. We explored Japanese design sensibilities, featuring a dark textured material palette.’
Kim’s experience designing her home has allowed her to add more depth to her own interiors, understanding how families live and use the space—and also, how to let go.
‘There is a distinct parallel between designing interiors and raising children. In both instances, you lay a solid foundation; weave your personality and values into the framework and steer the voice and style,’ says the designer. ‘Then you must step away and hope and trust that all of the good work you have done will allow for growth and change and individualisation — and more importantly that there is confidence, happiness, and connection.’
With the weeks a careful balance of work and family life, no two look the same. However, Kim shares with other creative parents that you need to be able to work hard to keep the creative life flowing—essential for staying a happier mum! While ensuring boundaries between home and work, the designer concludes, ‘sometimes there is a guilt juggling act between the love for your children and the desire for nurturing your creative life but try not to listen to the guilt.
‘It took me many years to learn how to have clarity and boundaries around working too much. I still find this difficult, as design never switches off,’ says Kim Kneipp. Photo: Lisa Cohen
Walker Street bathroom designed by Kim Kneipp. Photo: Lisa Cohen
