Kelly Zerbini — Interior Designer

“Don’t waste your money on generic furniture. There are so many interesting shapes, materials, and colors — why settle for boring?”

— Kelly Zerbini, interior designer


An Excerpt from “/be-spok/[bespoke]: a philosophy of beauty” by Beth Benton Buckley:

From childhood, Kelly Zerbini was surrounded by art and design. Her parents encouraged creative activities like sewing, paint-by-numbers, and summer art classes, while her godparents are architects in Chicago. Being taken to their studio classes in Mies van derRohe’s Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology at a young age made indelible impression, and Kelly was especially excited about the possibility of a career where she could see an idea through from conceptualization to its final stages.

She followed that dream to the University of Cincinnati’s highly acclaimed College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, majoring in interior design. Initially set on a more commercial route within hotels and restaurants, Kelly took an internship at Clodagh Design, where she was exposed to the world of high-end residential design —and never looked back. Today she is partner and design director of Arthur Dunnam for Jed Johnson Studio, designing homes that make owners and their guests feel a unique mixture of luxury and warmth each time they enter.

Photography by Nick Johnson

Photography by Nick Johnson