Karen Mills Interior Design, Inc
As an interior design firm, we specialize in creating time-honored living experiences that tell your story and connect with you on such a deeply personal level that your home becomes a place of healing, restoration, and renewal. We begin by listening intently – to you, your lifestyle, your vision, and the way you want your home to feel. From there we craft a thoughtful master plan and guide you confidently through each step of the process. Together, we help you move beyond an interior that no longer serves you and create a home that reflects who you are, how you live, and brings to life the home you’ve always dreamed of.
Our Design Studio
We believe interior design should tell a compelling story – yours, while also saving you time, reducing stress, and helping you avoid costly mistakes.
But we also believe it should be a collaborative process that meets your functional needs, reflects your style, and enhances the architecture of your home.
When you partner with Karen Mills Interior Design, you become more than a client: you become an important part of our lives and the heart of our creativity.
Karen has a passion for helping people live better …
Karen Mills, president of Interiors by Design, Inc., and former host of the nationally acclaimed design show Living Large, has a passion for helping people live better, whether it’s creating an extraordinary living experience that can engage the senses and nurture the soul or giving back to her community.
Design Icons international book publishers
A Note from Karen
I’m on a mission to help people live their best lives whether that’s through beautiful interior design, sharing the secret to living large, or helping rescue lost children through my charitable cause.
GROWING UP
Growing up in a family that valued the arts, music, adventurous travel, and community service set me on a lifelong trajectory of creativity and helping others.
Even as a child, I was drawn to design and experimented with designing some of my own clothes, never imagining that those early instincts would lead to interior design school – and ultimately to a career in both television and IBM, before founding my own design firm.
Looking back, those childhood experiences were more than childhood interests. They were the beginning of a journey that taught me to see creativity as a way to tell a story, connect with people, and make a meaningful difference.
STARTING A NEW BUSINESS
When I founded my interior design firm in 2003, I made a deliberate decision to be intimately involved in every detail of the design process and to develop deep personal relationships with clients. My goal was not to just create beautiful spaces, but to understand our clients- their dreams, stories, and lifestyles so I could create spaces that perfectly reflected who they were and what they needed.
Not long after launching my firm, however, a wonderful opportunity changed the trajectory of my career. I was recruited to host Living Large, an interior design and lifestyle program where I could also utilize a college degree in Radio/Television/Film.
MY NEW DESIGN SHOW
Once Living Large begin airing on multiple stations, sharing interior design on my program became intertwined with my design work, propelling both areas into a globally recognized brand. Living Large, in an exclusive partnership with HGTV, featured network television personalities, movie stars, and high-profile guests with national brands underwriting the program making it one of the most popular U.S. lifestyle shows of it’s time.
OUR BUSINESS SUCCESS
As Living Large expanded, so did the reach of our design firm. Our work became internationally recognized through award-winning design projects, global design publications, speaking engagements, an award winning blog, and extensive media coverage. Our work and expertise have been featured more than 175 times across prominent media outlets, including ABC, NBC, CBS, Elle Decor, Forbes, and the Washington Post along with international design books that recognize our firm among the leading designers and firms worldwide. What began as a passion for creating deeply personal interiors evolved into a multifaceted design and media brand with a global audience.
AWARDS AND CHARITABLE CAUSE
In recent years, I have been honored to receive the international 2021 Enterprising Women of the Year Award, the national 2022 KNOW Women 40 Over 40 Award, and recognition as a 2024 Marquis Who’s Who in America honoree, along with additional honors recognizing interior design, business leadership, and community service. Yet one of the accomplishments closest to my heart has been launching Karen’s Kids, a charitable initiative dedicated to helping fight child trafficking. For me, success has never been solely about the rooms we create, the shows we produce, or the recognition we receive. It is also about what we can do with the opportunities we’ve been given—and how we can use our voices, resources, and platforms to help others.
BEYOND DESIGN
After decades in design, television, radio, business, and philanthropy, I remain just as curious as that creative child designing clothes at home. And today I see every project as an opportunity to not only create a beautiful interior, but also as an opportunity to tell a story, reflect the people who live there, and create a place that feels like home. Beyond interior design, I treasure time with family and friends, exploring the world through global travel, discovering new cultures, and continuing to find meaningful ways to give back. philanthropy, I remain just as curious and inspired as I was as that creative child designing clothes at home. Today, I see every project as an opportunity to create more than a beautiful interior. It is an opportunity to tell a story, reflect the people who live there, and create a place that feels like home.
Transform Your Living Experience Beyond Interior Design
Luxuriously designed interiors can both function well and be aesthetically beautiful. But a transformed living experience transcends time and space to create a joyful respite of peace – a place you never want to leave.
Ready to transform your living experience from ordinary to extraordinary?
ADDITIONAL ACCOLADES
SPOKESPERSON & SPEAKER
Former spokesperson for Sherwin Williams, Ferguson, Kohler, G.E., and Bedrock International among others.
Keynote or design expert speaker at multiple home remodeling/build shows, Speaking of Women’s Health Convention, Eastern Accents event, KCRAR realtor convention, and much more.
Charity speaker for numerous events including Kansas City Royals Luther Dummy Taylor Day at Kauffman, U.S. Department of Health’s first fitness festival, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, Boulevard of Dreams, and Newhouse Domestic Violence Shelter among others.
RADIO/TELEVISION/PRINT
As host of the renowned Living Large interior design and lifestyle program (2005-2013), Mills sought out and featured celebrity guests and experts including movie stars and network television actors broadcast on Entercom Radio station network and underwritten by Sherwin Williams, Kohler, Ferguson, and G.E among others.
Former face of World Goin Green TV Network (2008) and host of Living Green interior design program with Karen Mills produced by Outpost Worldwide with sponsors Sprint and Kohler.
Articles written by Karen Mills have been featured by Forbes magazine (5946 views), Home Entertainment Today magazine (a Robb Report publication), and Houzz magazine along with regional and local magazines.
Appear regularly as an interior design expert for television, radio, and in print media around the globe.
BLOG
Karen Mills award-winning interior design blog has subscribers in over 140 countries and is featured by Sherwin Williams and numerous media outlets around the world including local Kansas City magazines.
Named Top 100 Interior Design Blogs for 2015.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Besides Karen Mills’ charitable cause Karen’s Kids, some of Karen’s community service has included 2010 design chair for the Symphony Designers’ Show house that won a national award, leading the IBM Mentoring Program for at risk teens, marketing director for Team Impact anti-drug, anti-alcohol program, fundraising for United Way, serving as a board member for City of Olathe Green Council,, ambassador for the Kauffman Performing Arts Center, board member for New Friends, and leading an emotional trauma team to help people thrive.
Let’s Get Social!
Contact Us
Interiors by Design, Inc
Leawood, Kansas 66224
karen@karenmills.net