Raised by a single mother with “exquisite taste,” Los Angeles native Jeanne Griffin grew up loving architecture and design. But a career in design never dawned on her. She studied urban planning at U.C. San Diego, then landed a job as personal assistant to billionaire industrialist and art collector Norton Simon. Working in the Beverly Hills mansion he shared with his wife, actress Jennifer Jones, elevated Griffin’s artistic appreciation to new heights. It was only after she was hired to manage the renovation of a historic San Francisco Victorian for a well-known Hollywood celebrity that she decided to study design.

After she “fell in love with a gentleman from Virginia,” Griffin got married, moved East with her husband and enrolled in the fine arts program at the Corcoran. She launched her firm in 2013.

In her practice, a focus on function is key. “I ask clients, ‘In your ideal world, what would happen when you walk into this room?’” she says. “Pretty is easy. But pretty doesn’t mean anything if space doesn’t work for you.”

Interior Design: Jeanne Griffin, Jeanne Griffin Interior Design, Alexandria, Virginia.