Natural Grace

Interior designer Kesha Franklin on life, hard work and following her bliss

By Maile Pingel

Designer Kesha Franklin in the living room of a duplex she designed in Harlem. The artwork is by David Diskin.

[Rayon Richards Photography]

“It had been hard for me to say I was an interior designer because I’d not gone the traditional way,” reflects Kesha Franklin on the path that brought her to this day. “But I’ve earned the title,” she adds.

Not a decorator or a stylist. An interior designer.

A painting by Dallas-based artist Kelly O’Neal hangs in the bedroom of an apartment in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill neighborhood. The sconce is from Arteriors. [David A. Land]

The designer chose a work by Dawn Sweitzer for the home’s dining room.

[Rayon Richards Photography]

The designer used gold tones throughout Kaepernick’s living room, including the Arteriors table lamp. [Christopher Stark Photography]

Growing up around her contractor-father’s blueprints and drafting materials, design came naturally and she has happy memories of reading Architectural Digest over his shoulder. “That left an impression,” she says, “but growing up in a Caribbean household, I was pushed to be a doctor.” She may have majored in biology but it was her minor in art that ultimately won out. When she and her husband opened a bar in downtown Brooklyn in the early 2000s, she worked directly with the architect. One day while looking over plans, he asked if she had ever considered being an interior designer. It was a revelatory moment. “It was the first time I saw my work as a spectator and admired it,” she says. “He saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. He acknowledged my talent, my gift.”

With that boost of encouragement, Franklin began taking on small projects for friends and family. She looked into programs at schools, including Parsons and FIT, “but it just wasn’t the right time,” she says. “It was an investment. We had kids. But I knew I had to keep doing this.” Working by referral, Franklin launched The Beautiful Experience, an event production firm that taught extraordinary lessons in how to transform spaces “from nothing into something,” she says. “It was a stepping stone. I did all types of design.”

A modernist chair pairs with a Kelly O’Neal painting in the Harlem duplex’s living room.

[Rayon Richards Photography]

From there, Franklin delved into her own study of design by examining successful designers and identifying what made them special. “They each had a distinct approach and I realized that I needed to really look at myself. What was I best at? Where was I strong?” With self-awareness and a place in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, her vision took shape—and so did her client roster. Commissions came in, and from some pretty high-profile figures, including Amar’e Stoudemire. “I’d started to build a brand,” she says.

Franklin designed a custom tufted bench for her Boerum Hill client’s bedroom.

[David A Land Photographer]

The designer gave Kaepernick’s media room a masculine touch.

[Christopher Stark Photography]

Moments of deep red enliven the soft hues of the Harlem duplex’s master bedroom. The artwork is by Mari Urasawa.

[Rayon Richards Photography]

In 2018, Franklin relaunched her firm as Halden Interiors (named for her paternal grandfather) and she kicked off 2019 with an Elle Decor feature on the Northern California home she designed for Colin Kaepernick. “I’ve been blessed,” she continues, adding that four of her current projects are with repeat clients. And with a new home in New Jersey, she is also focusing a little creativity on herself. “It’s a contemporary house with an open floor plan and wall-to-wall windows. I feel like I can breathe,” she says. With her children reaching adulthood, “this time around, I’m designing for myself and my husband.”

Between work and family commitments, Franklin also devotes time to several passion projects. She is actively involved with Housing Works, which provides life-saving services for the homeless and people living with HIV/AIDS, and she is a member of BADG (Black Artists + Designers Guild), a new global collective of black creatives. “I’m proud to bring more exposure to them,” she says. “It’s everything that relates to the home.”

Looking back on her journey, she is quick to explain that interior design is “less about a pretty room and more about understanding the people who live there.” And when asked what advice she might give fledgling designers as she once was, she offers only encouragement. “There will always be someone who loves what you do.”

A Sonneman chandelier illuminates the Boerum Hill dining room.

[David A Land Photographer]