Many interior designers who started out designing indoor spaces have come to realize the opportunities the outdoor space holds. Over the past 10 years, the designer channel has grown in the outdoor industry and manufacturers are realizing the potential of these buyers.
Daniel Keeley, president of DK Design, realized the opportunity earlier than most, and he’s made a successful career of being a true exterior designer.
“My mom was an interior designer, so I am sure I got some sort of creative bone from her,” Keeley said. “I had exposure to that world a little bit. When I was in eighth grade, they passed out tree saplings for Arbor Day, and I was all about it. I took a bunch home and planted them in my parents’ yard — I had the gardening bug. After that, we had a family friend who was a big gardener, and I house-sat for her one week, then I worked in a nursery one summer. I kept learning more about landscaping and plants and combined that with my love of furnishings.”
In the business for more than 20 years, his company has found its niche and made the most of it. Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the company is now opening up a second firm in Nashville to serve its ever-growing high-end market.
“I wrapped up a project in Nashville that took about two years, and one of my good friends who was an interior designer on the same project decided to open a store in Nashville,” Keeley said. “In the process of working on that project, I found a network of vendors and colleagues that helped me break into that market.”
Keeley says the thing that has changed the most in his time designing outdoor spaces is that there’s been a huge increase in interest for outdoor living and the attention put on those spaces. The interest and willingness to spend on those items translates to requests from builders and requests for exterior design services.
“The material options have also changed,” he said. “When we went to our first Casual Market 10 years ago, there were no mixed materials, no plush outdoor fabric. There was barely even any woven furniture. Things have become so much more elevated and sophisticated and closer to what we would expect on the inside. Clients aren’t settling for a basic all-aluminum patio anymore.”
While many designers started taking on outdoor spaces before Covid, the pandemic made the outdoor space more important than ever. Keeley says he thinks interior designers likely received a big bump in requests for designing outdoor spaces.
“I do feel like anyone who didn’t think of it that way before Covid certainly started to think of their outdoor spaces as real and valuable and useful square footage,” he said.
Manufacturers have felt this bump, and nearly all of them are starting to offer designer-focused programs — especially with the Casual Market’s move to Atlanta.
“Manufacturers’ willingness to work with designers and give us the attention we need has been better,” he said. “I’ve heard stories that years ago there were signs on showroom doors at markets saying, ‘No designers.’ But that has changed, and now not only are they friendly, but they’re seeking out designers and advertising to them, so that’s a welcome change.”
However, there are some things manufacturers could do better, according to Keeley.
“Manufacturers could be more proactively embracing or engaging with designers,” he said. “I would also like to see more protective pricing for exclusivity so they are not selling out to Restoration Hardware. I think a lot of them are good about it, but I’ve been disappointed by some.”
As the exterior design channel continues to grow, Keeley is excited about the growth of his business and says the recent Casual Market was successful and could be a sign of good things to come.
“I heard someone say recently that anyone who’s in the prediction business right now is probably in the wrong business,” he said. “I hope it continues to be good because I want the industry to thrive.”
