As seen in Boston Magazine , March 2004

From the Ground Up
by Kari Molvar

In search of sweeping change, one interior designer chooses to focus on redoing her floors. The finished look add a new layer of style to her entire apartment. Some of us resist change. Kristine Irving embraces it. The interior designer's sleek one-bedroom Beacon Hill apartment perfectly illustrates this point. "Every few weeks I change something in here, " she says casting an eye about. "I make myself dizzy." But while it's usually a case of ennui that spurs most to remodel, Irving's motivation is something
of an occupational hazard. The 34-year-old Reading native owns Koo de Kir, the posh interior-furnishings store that draws piles of attention from designers, editors, and style-conscious home dwellers. And for good reason; Irving's crisp sense of fashion is everywhere on display. Most of the carefully culled selections - which include Emma Gardner, Nambe and Isamu Noguchi - have lived in her apartment before being ordered for the store or for clients.