Digging into the Details

Designer infuses her namesake firm with can-do energy

By: Carolyn Kemmett

For Kateri Babb, it’s all in a name. “My mom thought ‘Kateri’ was Gaelic because her friend’s mother, also named Kateri, was from Ireland,” says Babb. But she later found out that “Kateri,” pronounced Kuh-TAIR-ee, is a Native American name. (Derived from Catherine, it was made notable by Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk/Algonquin Catholic saint.)

The busy owner of her namesake firm Kateri Jane Designs, Babb uses that distinctive stamp, plus her own boundless energy, to personalize her approach to her craft. She was on track to earn an exercise- and sports-science degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, but made a U-turn when she worried she’d be bored within a couple years if she continued on that route. 

“I took stock,” Babb says, “asking myself what I always loved doing while growing up. What came to mind was all the painting, decorating, and furniture arranging I did as a kid. Luckily my mom encouraged it.” 

Babb serves clients all over Western North Carolina, but many reside in Lake Toxaway, a resort town near Brevard dubbed “the Switzerland of America” in the late nineteenth century because of its rarefied air and mountain beauty. 

Infusing gutsy, can-do energy into this long-established community, Babb is not above a thrift-store score — she enthuses about a “fabulous emerald-green decanter with brass elements” she found for a client — and specializes in creating spaces that are at once serene and illuminated with personality. 

How did you begin charting your path to design?

I was lucky to land an internship while I was still at Chapel Hill, with a woman who owned her own firm. I went to her house twice a week for a year-and-a-half and learned so much, like hand rendering, and I got to accompany her on site visits. 

What happened next?

I wanted to move back toward Asheville and landed in Lake Toxaway. While interning for a chiropractor, I walked into a design retailer in [the nearby town of] Cashiers one day, got a job, and wound up staying for seven years. Again, I learned a lot while there, including CAD [computer-aided design] programs, a deeper understanding of color, and gained product-specific knowledge of finishes and construction. 

I was grateful for this experience, but the business was high volume. I wanted to serve clients more personally. … I took the leap after giving my notice at the store before Thanksgiving, in 2021. I connected with excellent vendors, and fortunately I had clients lined up. I’ve been lucky to get my work through word-of-mouth. 

What are some things you do to ease the process on big jobs?

I dig into the details — I’m the one who subcontractors call when issues arise. And I help clients not get stuck on one piece of a project for too long. I encourage them to move on, because the right thing always emerges. I try not to be too rigid, and so I often find things out of the blue for clients.

But this fluidity doesn’t mean you’re not offering real guidance …

Right. Many times, a client might label themselves a “cottage core” fan or a maximalist, but their vision boards will reflect something completely different, though there’s usually continuity. One client loved a bathroom they saw, especially the tile, but we didn’t want to carbon copy their original inspiration image. After collecting samples, we personalized it by choosing toned-down tiles for a cozier mood. 

Aesthetic preferences are client-specific, but what’s yours?

A big thing for me is approachability. Unlike our grandparents’ homes, where we never quite felt comfortable about sitting down, it’s possible to create balanced, layered, polished spaces that are still welcoming and comfortable. 

Speaking of age, Lake Toxaway has typically been known as an older community. Is this still true?

For a time, my husband and I were the youngest in our neighborhood, but over the last five years, there’s been an influx of young families in the thirty-to-fifty age bracket. They’re fun to work with.

Is it a myth that interior-design services are reserved for the wealthy?

Yes. Many believe these services are out of range, but my offerings come at many price points, from hourly consultation for room-layout assistance and room refreshes to complete design for remodeling and new-build projects. I recently helped a client do layout and visual concepts for her husband’s office. It was inexpensive: She could take what I provided and execute it herself.

Kateri Jane Designs, Lake Toxaway, katerijanedesigns.com.