Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Abel.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My career in interior design began nearly 30 years ago, shortly after my daughter was born. I had always had a passion for design and a natural eye for creating beautiful spaces, but it was the opportunity to build my own 6,000-square-foot custom home that truly brought that passion to life. I worked closely with the construction company throughout the process, and as people began seeing the finished home, referrals started coming in. In many ways, that home became the beginning of Abel to Dream Interior Design.
I went on to earn my degree from Sheffield School of Design in New York and quickly established myself as an interior designer in Eugene, Oregon, specializing in new construction – both residential and commercial. Working in new construction gave me the opportunity to be involved from the vey beginning, taking a space from plans on paper and helping shape it into something beautiful, functional and deeply personal.
As Abel to Dream grew, my love of design and creating beautiful, memorable spaces naturally expanded into wedding planning and coordination. I was honored to have couples trust me with one of the most important days of their lives. Whether I was designing a home or creating a wedding, my approach was much the same: listen closely, understand their vision and pay attention to every detail. With weddings, that meant bringing all of those pieces together to create something uniquely theirs-beautiful, seamless and filled with magical moments they and their families would remember for a lifetime.
At the heart of everything I have done through Abel to Dream is trust. Whether someone is handing me the plans to their dream home or trusting me with their wedding day, they are inviting me into a deeply personal part of their lives, and I have never taken that lightly.
What I have always loved most about interior design is the relationship I build with my clients. I listen-really listen-to how they live, what they love, what matters to them and how they want to feel when they walk through their front door. From there, I take their vision and create something that often goes beyond what they imagined was possible. My goal has never been to simply design a beautiful house. I want to create a home that feels magical to the people who live there-a reflection of who they are, filled with the things that make their hearts happy.
When you are invited into someone’s home and trusted to design the spaces where their lives actually happen, you learn about their families, their stories, their routines and the things they treasure. Perhaps that’s why so many of my clients have become lifelong friends. Some of those relationships have lasted for decades, and to me, that is one of the greatest compliments I could ever receive.
Thirty years later, that philosophy is still at the heart of Abel to Dream. Every client is different, every home has it’s own story, and I still love that moment when everything comes together and a client sees their finished space for the first time. There is something incredibly rewarding about taking someone’s dream for their home-or for one of the most important moments of their life-and giving them even more than they knew to dream for.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the most significant challenges came during the housing and financial crisis of 2007-2008. So much of my interior design business, at the time, was new construction, and when the housing market collapsed and lending changed dramatically, that part of the industry came to an abrupt slowdown. It had a tremendous impact on my business and taught me very quickly that no matter how established you are or how hard you work, sometimes outside circumstances force you to adapt and reinvent.
There are also challenges with the very personal nature of interior design. Change can be difficult, even when someone was hired me because they want change. Clients may know that a room no longer works for them or that they’re ready for something new, but letting go of a beloved piece of furniture or something they’ve lived with for years can be emotional. My job isn’t to walk into someone’s home and erase everything that came before. It’s to understand what matters to them, recognize the things worth keeping, and find a way to incorporate those pieces while still moving the space forward. There is a delicate balance between helping someone see what their home could become and respecting the fact that, ultimately, it is their home and needs to reflect them-not me.
Wedding planning and coordination brought an entirely different kind of challenge because on a wedding day, there are no do-overs. You can plan every detail and create a timeline down to the minute, but you’re also relying on venues and vendors and teams that you don’t control. If the tables, chairs and linens aren’t ready on time, the florist can’t place the centerpieces. If tables aren’t finished, the photographer can’t capture the room. Suddenly, one delay creates a domino effect across the entire day.
Those were the moments when I learned the importance of staying calm, thinking quickly and having an incredible tribe of people I could call upon. There were times when we rolled up our sleeves and did work that wasn’t technically part of my coordination contract simply because it needed to be done. My couples’ didn’t need to know there was a problem-they needed to enjoy one of the most important days of their lives. If I could solve an issue behind the scenes and spare them unnecessary stress, that’s exactly what I was going to do.
I think that’s one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned throughout my career: the client doesn’t need to see every problem; they need to know they can trust you to find the solution. Whether I’m designing someone’s home or coordinating their wedding day, I’ve always believed that how you handle the unexpected says as much about you as the finished product does.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
One of the reasons I started Abel to Dream Interior Design was because I believed beautiful, thoughtful design should be accessible. I saw designers charging fees that put professional interior design out of reach for many people, and I never believed creating a beautiful home should have to cost someone an arm and a leg. Great design isn’t necessarily about how much money you spend-it’s about knowing where to spend it, where you don’t need to, and how to make every element work together.
Abel to Dream offers residential and commercial interior design, with extensive experience in new construction as well as transforming and reimagining existing spaces. One of my favorite parts of what I do is walking into a room and immediately beginning to see what it could be. I look at the entire composition-scale, furniture placement, lighting, color, texture, artwork and the way the room flows-and begin putting those pieces together in my mind.
I also don’t believe a redesign means everything a client already owns has to go. Sometimes a treasured piece of furniture, artwork or something that has been in a family for years is exactly what gives a room it’s soul. I look at what my clients already have, what they love and what is meaningful to them, and when it makes sense, I find a way to incorporate those pieces into a completely refreshed space. A beautiful home should still tell the story of the people who live there.
I think what sets me apart most is that I don’t design for my portfolio-I design for my client. I don’t want every finished project to have a recognizable “Kim Abel look.” I want it to look and feel like the very best version of them. That comes from listening, asking questions and understanding not only what someone thinks they want, but how they actually live in their home.
I’m also very conscious of budget. There are places where investing in quality makes an enormous difference, and there are other places where you can create an incredible look without spending a fortune. Part of my job is knowing the difference. I love finding an unexpected piece, repurposing something a client already owns, or combining investment pieces with affordable finds in a way that makes the entire room feel elevated and intentional.
What I’m most proud of after nearly 30 years isn’t one particular house or project. It’s the trust my clients have placed in me, the friendships that have grown from those relationships, and knowing that I’ve helped people fall in love with their homes.
Abel to Dream isn’t simply about creating beautiful spaces. It’s about helping people see possibilities they couldn’t see on their own-and then bringing those possibilities to life.
Any big plans?
After nearly 30 years in this business, I absolutely want Abel to Dream to continue to thrive. There is still so much joy for me in helping someone take a vision they have in their mind and bringing it to life in their home. I don’t think I’ll ever lose the excitement of walking into a space, seeing what it could become and then watching that vision actually show up in front of us.
At this stage of my career, though, I’m also looking forward to allowing Abel to Dream to evolve. Following an injury that made some of the physical demands of wedding coordination more challenging, I’ve become increasingly interested in expanding the consulting side of my business. I have nearly three decades of experience, relationships and knowledge that I can bring to a project without necessarily having to be the person doing all of the heavy lifting.
At the same time, I still want to take on the projects that really excite me. I don’t see myself completely walking away from design because it has been such a big part of my life and I genuinely still love it. As long as I’m able, I want to continue choosing projects that inspire me and allow me to do the creative work I’m passionate about.
I’m especially exited about what may be possible as Klamath Falls continues to grow. I would love the opportunity to become involved in larger-scale development and new construction again-whether that’s working with builders on new neighborhoods, helping establish the design direction for model homes, or being involved from the beginning of a project when so many of the important design decisions are being made. New construction played such an important role in building my business early in my career, and I would love to bring everything I’ve learned over the past 30 years back into that world on an even larger scale.
Ultimately, I don’t have a finish line in mind for Abel to Dream. As long as I’m still excited by the work, still inspired by the possibilities and still able to make a meaningful difference for my clients, I want to keep doing it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.abeltodream.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abeltodream
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ED2e6Xo4q/?mibextid=wwXlfr
