Grace Kaynor splits her time between New Orleans and New York City, gathering creative fuel from both, inspired by the buzz of a metropolis as much as the watery, wild spaces of a coastal, small city. Her university education is split between art history and political science; she earned not only a law degree, but also a master’s in the history of decorative arts. She’s worked at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Brooklyn Museum of Art before taking a publishing editorial role at “Magazine Antiques.”
A life-long learner, Kaynor decided, just prior to her 40th birthday, to enroll at the illustrious Parsons School of Design, graduating and then training under Cullman and Kravis mentee, Jennifer Flanders.
With all this education, when pressed, it’s not a professor or a design luminary that made this bold, brassy, New Orleanian such a powerhouse in interiors. It’s being raised on Third Street, Uptown.
“Honestly,” she exclaims, “my mom and dad had great taste. I grew up with their antiques. I was surrounded at a very early age with parents and friends’ parents who just had gorgeous taste. After spending 18 years in the New York design world, I like to meld those two aspects.”
She opened Sotre on Magazine Street, showcasing her dynamic style and offering luxury, bespoke textiles like Matouk and Sferra, that aren’t available anywhere in the city. At Sotre, bedding is really the anchor, but visitors will find moments to elevate any home, from fragrances to pajamas to soft robes.
“The shop is really a passion project; a collection of what I love. People often come in and are exhausted or overwhelmed by bedding choices, and we can create a whole fresh look and combination for them. We also have gifts, towels and I can source things,” she says. “I’m designing all the time, and Sotre allows me to do that for people outside of my clients.”
Clients looking for full interior design services have sought Kaynor out for nearly two decades. She’s helped with the styling of the James Beard-awarded Dakar Restaurant on Magazine Street, but trends mostly residential. One of her favorites? A bachelor who challenged Kaynor to create a masculine, interesting abode on General Pershing. She’s worked farther afield too, with projects in Florida, Maine and even an upcoming pad in Bordeaux, France.
No matter where she is or what she’s working on, for Kaynor, New Orleans is an eternal spring of inspiration, born of landscape and of ancestry.
“I think especially here, in New Orleans, people have inherited collections from families. We preserve the legacy of furniture here, where they might not in other places. People have a reverence for architecture here that is above other places. That informs how we all live in these spaces, alongside the climate, the humidity, the light and the heat. It informs my work, too.”
