Our designs flourish when we take the lead, foster a vision, and connect them to the rhythm of our clients' lives.
For over 18 years, Chris Shields has approached his design projects holistically. He is analytical and inquisitive. Both qualities inform his understanding of his client’s needs, surroundings, and aesthetics, and both are called on when Chris creates interiors that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also profoundly personal.
His journey into interior design began after a decade in the Tech Industry, where he developed a strong foundation in structure and strategy. After completing a second degree in Interior Design, this blend of technical acumen and creative vision led him from Kansas City, Missouri, where he was raised, to San Francisco, California, where Chris began his interior design career. He got his start at the distinguished Kneedler-Fauchère showroom, gaining invaluable experience in customized fine furniture and textiles, while learning from and collaborating with many of the country’s most respected designers and gifted artisans.
In 2014, driven by a vision to create homes imbued with love and warmth, Chris established his own interior design firm: Christoper Shields & Co, where clients are at the heart of everything he does. Focusing on their ideas, tapping into what moves them, and creating clarity for their vision are the ways Chris cares for his clients.
The desire to evolve his craft has led Chris to ongoing coursework at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, business development through The Pearl Collective, and travel in search of new inspirations. This dedication to lifelong learning lets Chris design projects that resonate with his clients' aspirations and deliver spaces that enhance their lives.
In his free time, Chris and his husband (and their pup, Teddy) love inviting friends and family over, having laughter and joy fill their home. These gatherings have proven a principle he embraces in his design practice… that love flourishes in togetherness. Chris heads to the great outdoors of Colorado whenever possible for hiking, skiing or lounging with a book. It’s where so much of the inspiration for his designs is centered, and his joy is renewed.
I believe good design has the capacity to grow love. Our lives are enriched by our experiences, what we collect, and the people we bring into our homes. Designing beautiful homes that inspire togetherness, capturing moments and memories, hence growing love, is why I became an interior designer.
I think of my own style as dynamic and naturally evocative… A feast for the senses. I achieve my style with an essential core of natural elements like hand-forged metals, woods with expressive grain, rich leathers and fabrics with subtly in texture and weave. I bring these all out by rooting them in deep colors and highlighting in intriguing jewel tones. Our interiors are inspired by sculptural objects, stirring artwork, and furnishings grounded in craft and comfort.
Style breathes life into spaces turning them into a home, and my work, the joy of it, is the journey to do exactly that for my clients.
For me, I’m looking to create experiences for myself and others that connects to all the senses and brings us together. I’m heavily influenced by the melodies and rhythms of music as the foundation for the interiors I create and the stories they will capture. For as long as I can remember I’ve lost myself in the adventures and emotions of movies and music. I’ve always put myself in the scenes and imagined how I’d be a part of it. Today, I do this for the designs I create for my clients by imaging how they will live in their spaces. Finally humor… for its visceral response and raw expression of happiness. These are the things I love, and I design homes that grow love.
I love the unexpected moments in life that take your breath away. I am fundamentally grounded by nature’s ability to astound us, and I luckily live in a state with incredible beauty.
I find fulfillment and expression by being in nature and tuning into my senses and connecting with my emotions. Whether camping at a pristine alpine lake or absorbing the rhythms and stimulation of a boisterous city, nature in all its forms drives my creativity and imagination.
Our client discovery process brings out what inspires you, and our design work results in interiors where unexpected moments are realized – this is a home that grows love.
Inspired by nature, I love grounding projects in deep, rich earth tones to give them foundation… think of the hues of the west and desert southwest landscape deepening at sunset or how they soften at sunrise. I use the fresh and airy colors of a daytime sky to make a room feel expansive… think of the colors of the rolling grasslands on a breezy day and the soft clouds that stretch for miles around. Expressing these colors in a space to define it and bringing in highlights of jewel tones and glints of metallic finishes to add interest and energy, bringing life to a space and are some of my favorite palettes to work with.
Our best projects include both design and decoration, and our firm has extensive experience and education in both. I tend to use the language of soft changes and hard changes, when describing the differences. A “hard change” impacts the physical structure of a space, adding or subtracting walls, windows or focal point features like fireplaces and staircases. We see these as design changes. A “soft change” impacts the elements added to a space whether in layout, furniture selection, color, art and accessories. We see these as decoration changes.
Before there were “designers,” there was the “Renaissance Man” – part Architect, part Naturalist, part Scientist, and I have identified with and have loved learning about people like Leonardo da Vinci… His original thought and nature-inspired inventions have astounded me. The designers who inspire me the most tend to understand two significant things: one, the moment in which they are creating, and two, the precedent from where they draw their influence. People who stand out to me include the classicists Vitruvius, Palladio and Sir Christopher Wren, the game changers Frank Lloyd Wright, John Lautner, Billy Baldwin as well as Charles and Ray Eames, and a host of contemporaries whose books I pour over and line my library.
What drew me into the world of residential interior design is the deep personal connection our clients have with their homes, and the visions they have for their future. It is why we describe our method as heart-and-soul centered, and we take the time to explore your inspirations, experiences and values that we transform into designs we reveal to you.
Clients do tend to discover and work with us due to their alignment with our style notes as seen in our project photos and descriptions, but from there everything is made personal and tailored to who you are. We always lead with our best picks and ideas based on our getting to know you... and we always have great options for consideration that give you the ultimate choice in what you bring into your home. We design for you, and your home will become your "signature look.”
