At the bottom of Kirsten Norman’s bio on The Norman Design Group website is a quote from Oscar Wilde: I have the simplest of taste. I am always satisfied with the best! The truth is that while Norman has built a reputation for delivering the very best in designer living, her tastes are anything but simple. With luxury projects ranging from a Baja-chic home in Cabo’s Rancho San Lucas to a rustic Colorado ranch retreat, her portfolio showcases an eclectic design sense born from a life lived around the world.
Born in the Philippines, Norman, who is known to her friends as Kiki, was a world traveler even as a child. “My dad was German, and my mom is Filipino, and I grew up speaking German and English,” says Norman, who has lived in Thailand, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States and Philippines. “My appreciation for different cultures as a result of all the places I’ve lived and traveled to has really shaped my design aesthetic.”
Yet design wasn’t always the path she thought she would pursue. Her mother, a high-powered businesswoman, encouraged Norman to follow in her corporate footsteps. So, after high school, she went off to Boston College, graduating in 1990 with bachelor’s degrees in both marketing and human resource management.
She moved to Hong Kong after graduation, but instead of pursuing a corporate job, she began modeling, enjoying the opportunity the work gave her to travel the world. It was her friends who first recognized her talent for design. “I liked reorganizing and redecorating my friends’ homes,” recalls Norman. “Eventually, my friends said, ‘You really need to start doing this for real.’”
She went back to school to study design at Parsons in New York City and spent the next 14 years designing hotels from California to Switzerland for prestigious companies including international hospitality design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates.
In 2014, she founded The Norman Design Group, where she spearheads the luxurious designs of the branded real estate projects of her husband, pro golfer Greg Norman, and select residential projects. After retiring from his illustrious sports career, Greg—known to the golf world as the Great White Shark—built an international empire, his iconic shark logo on everything from award-winning golf courses, to wine, to apparel, to a global collection of real estate.
She also oversaw the total renovation of the couple’s former home on Jupiter Island, which they tore down in 2018 and rebuilt from the ground up. “We decided we would live on
Jupiter Island permanently instead of moving to Australia or the Bahamas, and we wanted to make this our dream home for future retirement,” says Norman. The 32,000-square-foot, 8-acre estate was completed in 2020—just as the pandemic hit. That’s when the Normans decided that having a massive estate was not what they wanted after all, she says. They sold the home in 2021 and moved to Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, which Norman also renovated.
Now the Normans have once again concluded that a change of address might be in order. Last year, they purchased and combined two condos at the luxury Ritz-Carlton Residences in Palm Beach Gardens, a project currently being developed by Catalfumo Companies on the old Panama Hattie’s site. Norman has been hard at work bringing her design aesthetic (which she describes as “warm and a little bit masculine”) into the 8,500-square-foot space. The project, she says, is one of a kind: “We were looking for a condo, and the product at the Ritz-Carlton was like nothing we had seen. It has beautiful aesthetics and a yacht-inspired quality about it, similar to our Jupiter Island home, which immediately appealed to us.”
To that end, Norman says the overall design of her and Greg’s new home will be yacht-inspired. “The casual dining area is custom-designed and built by the Newport Yacht Collaborative, with the tables extending as they do on a yacht,” she says of her design plan. “I’m very excited to see the finished product.” Her vision combines rich custom oak shelving with bronze detailing and furniture with yacht-inspired elements such as Liaigre’s curved Silencio coffee tables, Colonie feature table, Boréal bench, Aspre sofa, and Caravelle lighting fixtures. Natural textures with a warm, neutral-toned palette create a relaxing aura.
Norman is excited to be working with a number of design partners on the space, including Ralph Lauren, Studio Liaigre, Apparatus Studio, and Italian furniture designer Molteni&C. For example, in the kitchen area—which includes a master show kitchen, wine room, bar, and catering kitchen—she collaborated with Molteni&C. “I chose these designers because of their natural finishes and luxurious simplicity,” says Norman. “The furniture is very high-end and high-quality, but it’s not intimidating. You can still put your feet on it.”
The Normans’ new home also includes a spacious master suite wing with an office, a gym, and private elevator access—plus unparalleled 180-degree views of the Intracoastal Waterway from the expansive outdoor terrace. The Ritz-Carlton Residences boasts some pretty incredible amenities, with the property’s private marina being a big selling point for the Normans. “Dan [Catalfumo] had this brilliant idea to add boat slips, which is like gold in this area,” says Norman. The couple plans to dock their two boats at the marina.
Their new home is slated for completion in early 2026, though the couple isn’t sure when they will fully move in. Trying out the condo life is something new for Greg, who Norman says has never lived in a condo before. It will serve as a “home base,” she says, and give them the flexibility to do things like spend more time in the Bahamas, where they are members of Baker’s Bay. “I’m excited about what the Ritz offers, but I’m even more excited about having no more home maintenance,” says Norman.
For now, she has her work cut out for her. On top of designing her own home at the Ritz-Carlton, she will be lending her talents to additional units at the residences. The developer was so impressed with her work, they hired her to design combined units for other potential buyers interested in larger options. Having recently completed a modern chalet-style house in Aspen, she is also busy with a condo installation in New York City’s Greenwich Village, home renovations in Wellington and at Old Palm Golf Club, and putting final touches on a new home on Jupiter Island.
Next up? Says Norman: “I will be completing the design of our future house in Baker’s Bay and, of course, working on the Ritz. And I hope to spend more time traveling with Greg next year.”
The Ritz-Carlton Residences
When finished, The Ritz-Carlton Residences in Palm Beach Gardens will include 106 luxury condos in three seven-story residential buildings on 14 acres of land. In addition to a 29-slip marina accommodating vessels up to 75 feet, on-site amenities include: a 100-foot infinity heated pool; poolside cabanas; a private waterfront clubhouse with an event kitchen, coffee bar, and game room; a state-of-the-art fitness center with private spa treatment rooms; an outdoor yoga lawn; a meditation garden; a dedicated, 24-hour concierge; and more. To view floor plans and learn more about the residential project, visit
theresidencespalmbeachgardens.com.
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