What 23 Years as an Interior Designer Teaches You
Today's my birthday. Twenty-three years ago I graduated from Texas Tech, walked into my first design job in Dallas, and had my car engine implode before I'd received my first paycheck. That felt about right for what this career had in store.
Twenty-three years. Three continents. More cities than I can count. And somehow I ended up back in Colorado, living and designing in Centennial, working on 1970s ranch kitchens and an Illinois farmhouse (I KNOW I talk about working locally, and I truly live that, but if you’re a repeat client that’s renovating your out-of-state family compound then I’m in).
If you'd told 23-year-old me, the one terrified on her first day at a prestigious Dallas design firm, that this is where the path led, I wouldn't have believed you.
The Beginnings
My first real job out of school was at Lee Jofa in Dallas. If you know textiles, you know Lee Jofa; luxury fabrics, to-the-trade only, the kind of place where designers come to source for clients who expect the best.
I was 23, coordinating the sample room, merchandising the showroom, trying desperately to learn the difference between damask and jacquard fast enough that nobody noticed I was still figuring it out.
On my first day, literally my first day, I was driving home to Fort Worth and my car engine basically imploded. Before I'd even gotten my first paycheck. I ended up cashing in the savings bonds my Grandpa had given me every Christmas to buy a new to me car. Nothing like starting your design career by figuring out how to hustle before you've even learned what damask is.
Six months later I got hired at Hayslip Design Associates. This was, and I cannot stress this enough, not a job for someone who wasn't ready. High-profile clients. Huge period accurate homes. The level of custom design and detail is something I didn’t even know existed. The kind of projects where you flew on private planes (no photos, client privacy!) and everything had to be perfect. As high pressure as it gets for a new designer.
I started as a design assistant to the firm's owner. Within a year I was managing projects. Looking back, I have no idea how I didn't completely mess everything up. Probably because I was too scared to make mistakes, so I checked everything three times, still do.
That job taught me that luxury design isn't only about expensive things, it's about getting every single detail right. It's about understanding why crown molding profiles matter and how antiques tell stories and what "discretion" actually means when you're working in people's homes.
Houston
I moved to Houston in 2005 and spent seven years at Sharon Staley Interiors.
Sharon's firm did serious residential projects, 12,000 square foot new construction, historic renovations, vacation homes, everything. I managed projects from programming through installation. Designed custom millwork. Coordinated contractors. Held clients' hands through the chaos of construction while simultaneously making sure the tile setter understood exactly how that mosaic pattern needed to lay out.
The highlight: a 14,000 square foot new construction project in Houston's Memorial neighborhood where the clients got married at the house during construction. We're talking wedding ceremony with framing still exposed and subfloor underfoot. I've never been so stressed about a timeline in my life, but we made it happen.
I also got to design a project in the Cayman Islands. And a hunting lease on the King Ranch that we took a helicopter to reach. And countless Houston homes where I learned that good design solves problems, it doesn't just look pretty.
Going International
In 2011, before officially launching Jamie House Design, I left Sharons and almost immediately took on the most ambitious project of my career: partnering with a Houston architect on an American style subdivision in China.
Wuxi, specifically. A couple of hours from Shanghai. I flew back and forth multiple times, with shopping trips in Hong Kong for furnishings and materials. Worked remotely on high-rise clubhouses in Shanghai. Navigated language barriers, time zones, cultural differences, and the reality that culture differences means a lot of confusion, something very different in China than Texas. I learned to work in meters instead of feet.
Would I do it again? Probably not. Am I glad I did it? Absolutely. Some experiences you can't get any other way.
After China I continued designing homes in Houston from mid-century modern remodels to new constructions in the burbs to many renovations in my own neighborhood The Heights.
Berlin
In 2015 we moved to Berlin. My husband and I had wanted to live there since visiting in 2011, something about the history, the feel of the city, the different way of approaching design and life.
We stayed almost five years.
Berlin apartments are nothing like American homes. Small spaces, old buildings, radiator heat, windows that open in ways that still confuse me. But the design sensibility, the mix of historic and modern, the way people layer vintage with contemporary, the acceptance of imperfection and patina, that changed how I think about interiors.
I designed homes Houston homes from there, and our own beloved Altbau. I figured out how to communicate clearly and directly, both with clients and the locals. I absorbed a completely different aesthetic that still influences every project I do now. Berlin still calls sometimes.
My first headshot, by Brooke Schwab
Coming Home (Or: Why Colorado?)
We moved to Denver in 2020 and settled in Centennial. After Berlin, Shanghai, Houston, the Cayman Islands, why here?
Honest answer: I’m from Colorado Springs, but I’ve always loved the idea of suburban Colorado. And I love Centennial. I want to work on projects near my own home. I wanted to understand local architecture deeply, the 1970s Centennial suburban homes, the Victorian cottages in Old Town Littleton, the new constructions in Castle Pines, not just visit occasionally from somewhere else.
I spent 15 years designing internationally. It was incredible. I learned things I couldn't have learned staying in one place. But at some point you realize: I want to be the designer that’s settled, family first, who has a stake in the place you live, who loves this area too, who's at the same tile shops and hardware stores you'd go to, who can recommend contractors because I've seen their work.
So now I work exclusively in South Denver suburbs. Within 20 minutes of Centennial. That's it. No projects in Boulder, no work in the mountains, no traveling to other states. I wanted to understand local architecture deeply; the 1970s Centennial suburban homes, the Victorian cottages in Old Town Littleton, the new constructions in Castle Pines; not just visit occasionally from somewhere else. After 15 years designing internationally, I wanted to be the designer with a stake in the same place my clients live.
In 2025, Centennial residents voted me their Platinum Interior Designer and Platinum Interior Decorator, two different categories, same neighborhood. That meant something to me. Not because of the award itself, but because it meant people here know my work.
What I've Learned
Twenty-four years in this career, here's what I know:
Good design solves actual problems. It's not about making things look pretty (though they should). It's about making your kitchen function better, your primary suite feel like an actual retreat, your living room work for how you actually use it.
Local knowledge matters more than I thought it would. When I work on a 1985 Centennial split-level, I know that era's floor plan challenges because I've solved them before. When I renovate a Craftsman bungalow in Littleton, I understand what details are worth preserving. You can't get that from flying in occasionally.
The best projects feel like the client, not like me. I have aesthetic preferences. Everyone does. But when someone walks into their finished home and says "this is exactly me," that's success. When they say "this is so you," I've failed.
Mix sources strategically. Commercial tile plus handmade accents. New lighting for basics, vintage for statement pieces. Budget materials where nobody looks, investment materials where it matters. This creates homes with layers and personality. Every time I choose natural materials over synthetic, or suggest leaving a wall in its original plaster rather than drywalling over it, that's Berlin talking.
Mid-century modern renovations are my favorite. Something about the clean lines, the connection to landscape, the opportunity to honor what's good about the original architecture while making it function for modern life. Give me a 1965 ranch any day.
What I'm Doing Now
I'm designing homes in Centennial, Castle Pines, Highlands Ranch, and Littleton. Kitchen renovations, primary suite additions, whole-home transformations, historic restorations. Projects where architectural thinking matters as much as aesthetics.
I offer three ways to work together; consultation for people who want expert direction but will manage execution themselves, partial design for specific phases, full-service for complete management. All three can result in homes people love. They just serve different needs.
I source from everywhere, local Colorado craftspeople, vintage dealers, Etsy makers, trade-only showrooms, custom fabricators. Whatever creates the right result for that specific project.
I work with people who value quality over trendy, who want their homes to feel like theirs (not mine), who understand that good design takes time.
Twenty-Three Years Later
That 23-year-old walking into her first design job in Dallas had no idea what she was signing up for. The international projects, the moves, the learning curve, the occasional helicopter ride to a Texas ranch. The beautiful creative people that are forever etched in my heart, clients, colleagues, and tradesmen I’ve had the pleasure of working with.
But here's what that 23 year old got right: she chose a profession where you're always learning. Where every project is different. Where you get to solve problems and make spaces that improve people's daily lives.
Twenty-three years in, I still love it.
If you're in Centennial, Castle Pines, Highlands Ranch, or Littleton and thinking about what your home could become, I'd love to hear about it. Start with a discovery call, no commitment, just a conversation.
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About the Author
Jamie House is an award-winning interior designer serving Centennial, Littleton, Castle Pines, and Denver’s South Metro. With a Bachelor of Interior Design from Texas Tech University and over 20 years of experience in luxury residential design, she specializes in kitchen and bath remodels, whole-home renovations, and historic restorations. Her work has been featured in Country Living, Houston Chronicle, and Design Sponge.
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