Every year, Home & Design shines a light on up-and-coming designers who have launched firms of their own. Our 2026 lineup includes Caroline Kofol, Jazmyne Simmons, Matthew Quill, Robin Heller […]

Long fascinated with interior design, Jazmyne Simmons took what she calls “a non-linear career path.” She attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied architecture and also played Division 1 […]

Little did Robin Heller and Jen Levy know as kids growing up on the same street in Baltimore, they’d one day helm a design firm together. Initial pursuits took them […]

Caroline Kofol’s road to interior design didn’t follow a straight line, but it makes perfect sense in retrospect. A native of Westchester County, New York, the designer “grew up in […]

During childhood visits with his grandparents in Upstate New York, Baltimore-born Matthew Quill learned the power of a well-designed abode. His grandfather was a woodworker with a cabinetry business and […]

“For as long as I can remember, I have always loved the act of making a home feel personal,” says interior designer Julia Longchamps. But it was only while taking […]

“I always was a creative, but never knew how to tap into that,” reflects Jenna Morrow. Though she started out in marketing, she loved decorating her home and attracted an […]

The daughter of a Boston interior designer, Lauren Carranza grew up poring over fabric samples and visiting job sites with her mom. Though she loved décor, an independent streak sent […]

As a youngster, Hannah Goldberg took an unusual approach to the “Sims” video game. “I’d design a beautiful house, then abandon the family and start a new house,” she recalls. […]

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but what does it take to launch an interior design business? For Cindy Eyl, the answer was her tight-knit Arlington […]

Jennifer Walter took a circuitous route to launching her firm, Folding Chair Design, by way of a career as a stylist, setting the scene for photo shoots, Anthropologie stores and […]

After growing up in Mississippi with an architect mother and contractor father, CASEY SANFORD decided to study business in college. However, she soon pivoted to a degree in interior design, […]

Sharron Braylock’s mom decorated their Baltimore home to the nines. “She had a very opulent, luxe and colorful style—and still does,” attests the daughter, who was drawn to beautiful interiors […]

Asked whether quitting her job in finance to launch a design firm was a scary decision, Julia Rose Schweyer responds promptly: “No, it felt scarier not to take the plunge. […]

After earning a finance degree and spending five years as an investment consultant in Virginia, Emily Vaughan realized her passions lay elsewhere. A lifelong fascination with interiors led her to […]

Sara Swabb, who hails from Ohio, had a high-level marketing and sales career when she moved to DC to be with her husband. Several years and two daughters later, she […]