Hot Talent: Practical Luxury As a child, Jennifer Wagner Schmidt had a passion for rearranging her bedroom. So maybe it wasn’t surprising that after a foray into public relations, she found her way back to her first love. “My husband and I bought a house and I started decorating,” she recalls. That was all it took. She quit her job and, with some design courses and a brief stint at the Washington Design Center’s Ebanista showroom under her belt, she founded JWS Interiors in 2006. Today, what began as a word-of-mouth sideline has become a full-time job that Schmidt literally “can’t keep up with.” She also regularly produces a newsletter for clients and friends and writes a daily blog, “Affordable Luxury,” that attracts about 15,000 visitors a month.

Schmidt, who is based in Ashburn, Virginia, has a client base mainly of young families with kids. Her goal is to combine luxury with affordability. “With young children and pets, my clients don’t want to break the bank,” she explains. “They want things beautiful and luxurious but functional. I design for practicality.”

JWS INTERIORS: JENNIFER WAGNER SCHMIDT, Ashburn, Virginia. Photography: Jennifer Wagner Schmidt.

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