As Co-Founder and Principal Designer of Linen & Clove Interior Design in Verona, Kim Schaaf brings a rare combination of warmth, refinement, and deeply personal intention to every space she creates. Her work is rooted in relationships, an eye for cohesion, and a genuine belief that great design changes how people feel in their own homes.
For Kim, design is a collaboration, and the result is always a home that feels like it could only belong to the people living in it.
A Design Style That Feels Like Coming Home
Kim describes her design style in just a few words: timeless, inviting, elevated, and easy to live in.
Her work draws from classic architecture and refined details, softened with a coastal ease she traces back to her roots near Lake Michigan and her deep love for 30A. The result is a signature blend that feels collected, layered, and intentional
She’s equally at home mixing styles as she is mixing materials. Classic bones with lighter, more relaxed elements. Pattern thoughtfully balanced with solid. Warm metals alongside natural textures.
The thread that runs through it all is a sense of calm cohesion that makes a space feel complete.
The Space That Brings Her the Most Joy
Ask Kim her favorite space to design, and the answer comes quickly: the kitchen.
It’s where life happens, she’ll tell you. And few spaces offer the same opportunity to layer materials, finishes, cabinetry, hardware, lighting, and stone into something that’s both beautiful and deeply functional.
She loves the challenge of bringing all those elements together in a way that feels cohesive, where nothing feels out of place, and everything earns its place.
The Design Detail That Changes Everything
For Kim, the single detail that makes the biggest difference in a space is cohesion.
When every element — materials, lighting, scale, color — works together intentionally, the result is a room that feels calm and complete. Nothing is competing for attention. Everything belongs.
It’s a principle she applies to every layer of a project, from the broadest structural decisions down to the smallest finishing touches.
The Design Rules She Loves to Bend
Kim doesn’t believe everything has to match.
Mixing metals, allowing subtle variation across finishes, and resisting the pull toward perfect coordination — these aren’t mistakes in her eyes. They’re what give a space depth. They’re what make a home feel layered and collected rather than showroom-perfect.
She approaches wallpaper the same way: with enthusiasm and discernment. Right now, she’s obsessed with it — but always in the right space, for the right reasons.
The Heart of Her Process
Kim’s favorite moments in the design process are also its bookends: the conceptual design phase and the final reveal.
The early stage, when a vision begins to take shape, is energizing. Ideas start to align, and the story of a space comes into focus. Seeing that vision fully realized on reveal day is something else entirely — deeply rewarding in a way that never gets old.
Her approach to working with clients is personal and collaborative. She builds real relationships, earns genuine trust, and uses that foundation to create spaces that reflect who her clients truly are. It’s not unusual for her to miss the collaboration once a project wraps.
How She Wants Clients to Feel
When a client walks into a space Kim has designed, she wants them to feel calm — and excited to be home.
Not just impressed. Not just pleased. She wants them to feel seen. Like the space reflects who they are, only more thoughtful, more functional, and more beautifully collected than they could have imagined.
Redefining the Meaning of Home
For Kim, home is where she feels safe and completely at ease. It’s a sense of belonging so strong that you don’t want to be anywhere else.
She feels it most when her family is gathered together in the great room where everyone naturally ends up, holding both quiet evenings and full, lively moments in equal measure.
That feeling is what drives her work. Every project, every material decision, every carefully considered detail is her way of giving that sense of home to someone else.
Outside the Studio
Away from the studio, you’ll find her cooking a great meal from farmers market finds, working in her garden, or reading and journaling in the quiet of the morning. She grew up attending the symphony and going to jazz concerts in the city, and that soundtrack still plays daily, especially while she cooks. (Dave Matthews Band makes regular appearances, too, for good reason.)
Her ideal Saturday involves a morning walk, a visit to the market, and everyone gathered by evening. Her perfect day off ends with music playing, a glass of wine with her husband Bob, and sitting outside as the day winds down.
She’s drawn to the scent of fresh florals, lemon, herbs, and sea salt, which inspired the Linen & Clove Signature Candle. She helped create this scent to capture that quiet, grounded feeling she’s always chasing.
Her favorite place on earth is somewhere near a large body of water. The lake, the ocean, and anywhere the pace slows down just enough.
Curious to learn more about Kim and her work? Head to our About page or check out our Design Portfolio for a closer look at recent projects.
