Warm Looks on a Fast Track

Designer Emily Richter has accelerated ideas about livable modernism

By: Alison Fields

Designer Emily Katherine Richter has a social conscience and strong opinions. She’s spent more than two decades creating interior spaces for both private homes and a variety of commercial spaces, including restaurants and hotels, and says she’s never had an unhappy client. Since 2014, she has led EKR Interior Design in Asheville.

What brought you here?

I spent nine years in Washington, DC, after college and got a wide variety of experience there. I decided to leave in 2011 with plans to move to San Francisco. A college friend of mine had settled in Asheville; I came for a visit and got a job with a local architect. Needless to say, I never made it to San Francisco. I became a solo designer in 2014 and have never looked back. 

Your aesthetic is not all over the place. It is unusually well-defined …

I am a modernist at heart. I like things to be minimalistic and functional. I am not cold or stark in my approach, though. I love to provide comfort and interest. I’ve traveled extensively, and Europe has a special hold on my heart. The way that old and beautiful structures can be modernized, and the juxtaposition of old and new, is such an achievement to me, when done well. The purely modern buildings there embrace history while acknowledging when the old way doesn’t work anymore. 

There is no fakery, no living in the past. I think we need more of that here. 

You work on both residential and commercial spaces. What practical considerations are common to both types of projects? And what aspects are notably different?

For hospitality and commercial projects, my residential experience allows me to bring a certain warmth and comfort that those kinds of projects can miss out on. And my commercial experience helps me think about residential projects in a more practical way, more focused on timeless[ness] than trendy design. 

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing residential-quality furniture in commercial spaces. It ends up falling apart and looking terrible very quickly. Longevity and functionality are big considerations for me. I want the design to hold up, and I don’t believe in throwaway design. Fun is also important. Boring interiors and taking life too seriously are not the way I work.

What’s your working process like?

I like to get as much information as possible about client priorities, and then I go to work. It helps to be good at reading between the lines and really listening to what they want. I have never left a first meeting without an established direction. Then it goes into making it happen. I interpret client wishes through my 22 years of design experience. I have never had a client who wasn’t delighted with the result. Overall, I want the process to be fun and enjoyable for clients and myself. If that’s not happening, something is off track. 

Do you have any favorite projects or favorite parts of projects you’ve worked on?

I don’t play favorites with projects. If I did that, it would keep me from evolving as a designer, and that is something that’s so important to me. 

Is there any kind of project that you’ve never worked on but would particularly like to?

I would love to do more work that involves out-of-the-box thinking and progressive projects. By progressive, I mean design that seeks to solve problems in our greater society. I believe that everyone deserves dignity and a place to live, and I would love to help design alternative ways to house people. I think there are too many shortsighted solutions to these issues, and more effort should be used in creating good design for everyone. By helping people understand what density and smart development could do, I think so many of the divisive attitudes about growth can be dissolved. I am also a huge proponent of a nationwide high-speed rail system for the U.S., and would love to design train-car interiors and stations. 

Is there anything you wish more knew about interior design?

You can do more than you think with less, specially in terms of space. … It’s as much about knowing what to leave out as what to include.

EKR Interior Design, 54 Scott St., Asheville. For more information, call 828-424-5427 or see ekrinteriordesign.com.