About

I was born and raised in Edmonton. Growing up, I was the kid who gave my barbies beautifully decorated homes complete with water-filled ziploc bags for their water beds! As I teenager, I continually re-arranged my wallpaper of NKOTB pictures. My mom would bring people into my room to show them because she was always impressed as to my arrangements! (Gotta love mom). Soon I was re-arranging our family living room and then friend’s bedrooms. Design and Decorating was in my DNA.

Fresh out of high school I was deciding between Interior Design and Psychology. For some reason I had in my mind that interior design only happened in places like New York and London, surely not Edmonton. I had no idea how wrong I was, but none the less, this belief led me to choose an education in psychology instead of design. 4 years later I graduated with distinction and obtained my applied psychology Bachelors of Arts Degree. That was awesome, except that my heart yearned to be creative!! I decided to investigate my theory about interior design in Edmonton and low and behold I found Lori Elms.

The year I graduated I met Lori Elms and she changed my life! She had started her own interior design company here in Edmonton in 1985 and she had made it a success. She was living my dream job. She graciously took me under her wing. She taught me, mentored me and guided me into the design world. I worked with her and began a very hands on study of interior design and decorating. In 2000, I was fortunate enough to snag a design consultant job Ethan Allen Fine Home Furnishings where I continued to learn my craft.

In 2002, I started my own interior design business under the umbrella of Lori Elms Interiors. Not long after I started up, business got put on hold while I had my first son, Julius. When he was about three years old, I dove back into design and found I loved the people I met and the spaces I got to ‘play’ in.

In 2010, I got a little wild. Life in Edmonton got put on the back burner while Julius and I moved to jolly ol’ England for a year. And what an amazing year it was. I had the opportunity to work in a little locally owned restaurant while my son attended school. It was a complete switch up for me. I soaked in everything that is London and loved every moment and when I came back in 2011 I knew that I wanted my business to soar here in Edmonton!

I began to really think about and work on being a local community business. I wanted people like me to know that they could benefit from hiring an interior designer without having to spend their life savings. Interior design is definitely not just for the rich. As I focused on my business and where I wanted to take it life was busy making other plans for me.

In the fall of 2012, I had the most awesome unexpected surprise….baby number 2 was on his way! As a single mom and small business owner this both thrilled me and petrified me.

At the time of my pregnancy, I was working on an amazing little restaurant called RGE RD. Its opening was to occur shortly after my second son’s birth. I worried that I may not be able to complete my restaurant ‘baby’. Before my second son, Caerwyn, was 2 weeks old I carted him off to the restaurant to continue my work and that’s when I knew I could have my cake and eat it too!

I soon decided that it was high time I re-launch myself as myself so to speak. Although still happily in association with Lori Elms Design Group…..

I am officially House of J Interior Design.

Who is House of J Interior Design?

An Edmonton full service interior design company that is dedicated to personal quality work for my clients. Interior design and decorating is at the core of who I am and I want to share that with others and give them my best. My belief is that interior design is not something that is dictated by the latest magazine trend, but rather it is dictated by each individual.

Every space I work in is very personal. I draw my inspiration from my clients and their likes, dislikes, and way of living. The spaces I create very much represent my clients and who they are.

People are affected by their surroundings so their home and their place of work should feel good. What makes it feel good? It feels good when a space is functional. For example We wouldn’t put our dining table in front of the hall entrance because that wouldn’t be functional. That is a really extreme example, but as a design consultant I can pick out the subtle nuances that can make or break the functionality and flow of a space.

A space also needs to be aesthetically pleasing. The definition here truly varies from person to person. The space needs to make sense for them from an aesthetic perspective and a functional one. It is important to me to uncover what my client’s want and need, even when they are not sure themselves!

From start to finish. Inspiring. Functional. Personal. Beautiful.