Designer Spotlight: Erika Thompson of JL Design

By Emily Griffin
Photography by Showcase Photography

Erika Thompson, interior designer at JL Design and mom of two, has conquered creating gorgeous, clean spaces that are suitable for anyone – even her busy clients and their growing families.

Design was not Thompson’s first career, but when she realized she was passionate about it, she dove in head first to make her dreams a reality. She went back to design school later in her life, her supportive husband by her side all the way, and began pursuing the new goals she had set for herself.

Thompson found her job at JL Design through a friend from design school who was working there at the time. She not only loves the designing aspect of it, but she also loves the environment she is surrounded by. The team own Jessica Davis has developed has given her support and positivity.

“I’ve really established my own little thing here with Jessica, with JL Design, and it’s great,” Thompson says. “We work really well together. We’ve created this team here where we all love and support each other and there’s no jealously. There’s no underlying negativity. It’s a great team environment.”

As each designer has their own style, Thompson says that her underlying theme in all her designs is simple: clean.

“I like clean lines, I like textures,” Thompson says. “Clean contemporary mixed with some different, more unique pieces and textures is generally what I work to achieve.”

Being a parent herself has given Thompson a lot of insight into what a family home should look and feel like. She gives perspective to new parents and helps them create a space that is visually pleasing while functional and realistic for a family dynamic.

“I work with a lot of families and parents who either have children or are expecting, so I do a lot of family friendly living spaces,” Thompson says. “I always tell my families, ‘You cannot pretend like you live in a magazine house and like you don’t have kids.’ When they tell me they don’t want to see any kid things around, I remind them that their kids are a big part of their life so we should just incorporate that instead of pretending they don’t exist.”

Thompson is an expert when it comes to effortlessly hiding toys and coloring books. She finds happiness in coming up with these solutions that benefit her clients and their kids.

“It’s all about smart storage and materials that are kid friendly. Being a mom, it’s like second nature to me now and I find a lot of joy in designing family friendly spaces, playrooms, and nurseries. I always get really excited when someone has a project like that for me.”

While she wants her clients to like the way their space looks, what’s more important to her is how they feel in their home.

“At the end of the day, I do what I do because I want my clients to be really happy in their home and to feel comfortable, because we do spend a lot of time there,” Thompson says. “I’m a huge proponent of if you don’t feel happy and comfortable in your own home, you probably won’t feel happy and comfortable outside of your home.”