There’s something about being at home that sparks the imagination. You pass through the same hallway and think, What if we painted this a color that makes us smile every time we walk by? Or you sit down in the family room and wonder why it still feels like a showroom instead of a cozy retreat. Maybe it’s bigger than that — maybe you’ve lived in your house for years, and despite your best efforts, it still doesn’t quite feel like you.
Thankfully, there are small tweaks you can make to your home to give it your own interior design makeover without starting from scratch. Instead try simple and subtle changes that have major impacts and breathe new life into your space.
Adjust the Kelvin of your lightbulbs so they both match and accentuate the warm or cool tones of your wall paint — creating cohesion that finally scratches the itch of what felt out of place. Repaint the doors in a hallway or single piece of furniture to create a statement piece that anchors the mood you want in a room. Use the outdoors as inspiration and reference exterior decor like local foliage to tie the whole house together. Paint your ceiling a light color, perhaps blue if you’re feeling bold, and pair it with a dark rug to give the illusion of a larger space, almost as if you’re outside. The contrast will actually brighten the room and give it a new aura.
Forming a vision from what you have before buying all manner of items and hoping you can stick them together may just be what transforms your space.
Our homes are our personal museums. Collections of memories made with art, furniture, prized possessions that tell the stories of who we are. But, every museum needs a curator. Someone to help us make sense of the organized chaos and keep our houses feeling like homes, not an exhibit. For that, you’ll need an industry professional — which is where Jennifer Fordham comes in.
From your first meeting with Jennifer, owner and lead designer at Pembrook Interiors, you’ll see how design is literally in her blood. Raised by women with deep roots in fashion and textiles — her grandmother a drapery seamstress, her great aunt a design pioneer at Chanel — Jennifer inherited not just a love for aesthetics, but a respect for craft. She kept this passion with her as she moved through life, reading through the entire Fairfax County Library collection on design in her spare time, all while working a full time job in public policy. Eventually, she invested full time in her own interior design business. The result? A stellar portfolio of clients and recognition in notable design magazines.
Not only does Fordham’s past brighten her future, but allows her to, as her aunt advised all those years ago, “be the brains behind the business.” Jennifer knew that her background in planning and creating timelines would be crucial to the success of her interior design. Her work requires months of time invested into research, and acquiring all the right pieces to create a polished look that’s unique to each client without seeming out of place. “[Public policy] taught me how to imagine, to take a concept and build it out from there,” Fordham said. “And that's what interior design is: it's ideas. Yes, interior design is art, but it’s a ton of project management.”
Jennifer’s process can only be described as highly detailed, and in her own words, “collaborative.” Her in depth questionnaire allows her to truly know her clients, as well as help them understand what’s missing from their house. “You can sense when things aren’t right and it affects how you are in your home,” says Fordham, especially when you don’t have a cohesive vision of what you want. But she is adamant about reminding customers that this doesn’t have to mean tearing it all down and starting over.
Jennifer walks her clients through their space, asking thoughtful questions: What do you love? What do you want to hold onto? What holds meaning? Her goal is always the same: to craft a home that doesn’t look ‘designed,’ but lived-in, loved, and unmistakably you. For her it’s about incorporating what you have and what's important in your home and meshing all those styles together to leave you with what you’ve always wanted your space to be. “By the time [the client and I] get to that design concept,” Fordham says regarding the finished product, “the goal is that it really looks like them.”
For Jennifer, that’s the highest form of praise: when a house is so obviously indicative of a client’s life and personal style, but it’s distinctly beyond what a non-professional could do. Jennifer’s work is deeply rooted in the science behind the art, and a dedication to hours of sourcing and polishing, all to make a house look effortless and natural.
Yes, you can make beautiful updates to your home on your own, a few thoughtful changes can go a long way. But sometimes, when the story feels unfinished — or you’re not quite sure what chapter comes next — it helps to have someone by your side who sees the whole picture. Jennifer Fordham says she is most inspired by “when a house tells a story of the owner.” Maybe Pembrook Interiors could help your home tell yours.
"You can sense when things aren’t right and it affects how you are in your home." It's okay to ask for help when transforming your home into the space of your dreams.