Ashley Jenkins: Web-Savvy Style

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Decorati took a few moments to catch up with the colorful, energetic designer Ashley Jenkins.

.What prompted you to become a designer and how did you get your business started?

I had always worked around antiques and collecting due to my families businesses. My mother and step mother owned antique stores, and loved going to auctions and visiting private collections for resale. My father is a commercial real estate developer. My relatives are interior designers and contractors. So for me it was actually the path of least resistance. I was determined to own my own business, so I took the leap and have never looked back.

Now that you know what it’s like to be a designer, would you choose this profession again? If not, what would you be?

Yes, my only change would be to have an abundance of money and be able to travel frequently to collect furniture and furnishings regardless if I have a client or have a place to put it and be able to have a family who is up for it. Also, to be able to run my business more like a European with long lunches, and a relaxed approach to my projects verses coordinating the daily three ring circus. I also love the grand dame stories of folks like the brash Rose Tarlow or colorful and ingenious Tony Duquette.

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Ashley’s Materials & Inspiration Board

What inspires or influences you?

Art, food, thoughtful conversations, kindness, architecture, gardens.

Describe your dream project.

Hum this is a hard one!! Loose and plentiful budget and time frame, total trust in my abilities, and taste. Decorate a Private Jet, yacht, then design a quaint Bed and Breakfast.

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Ashely’s Favorites Products on Decorati
Grand Pauline by Studio Printworks	Windsor Chair by Andrew Hollingsworth	2022-86 Sofa by O Henry House	Aimee Cabinet by The Farmhouse Collection
Danica Bench by Ironies	Verona Chandelier by Ironies	Ajiro Hues by Maya Romanoff	Mykonos by Niba Rugs
Concierge Chair from Buck House	Bench from Center 44	Lacquered Bed by Doris Leslie Blau	Crocodile by Valtekz

If you could have anyone (living, dead, or imaginary) decorate your home who would it be? Why?

Super tough question! If it is a home in the Los Angeles County Hills, it would be Schindler with a Noguchi garden, and Martha Graham would be dancing about.

How will the design industry be different in ten years?

Items have become so accessible that I think we are really seeing in the media when there is actual design implemented versus accessible shopping. Definitely more “green” or sustainable design practices with repurposing antiques or near antiques, and less pillaging of limited or protected resources and species. In general, better design practices.

Do you have a signature look or solution? If so, please describe it.

Hopefully a clean, fresh, creative, livable, and balanced expression of interior design that respects the architecture that houses.

How has the web changed your business?

It has kept me in the office a lot more shopping, and helped make my projects end more quickly and more efficiently.

Any tips for designers under the gun, completing a high-speed project?

Use Decorati!! Get a laptop!! Sleep in the next season. Bears do it!

How has having worked in a family owned furniture business influenced the way you design today?

Wow! It has totally influenced me. Where do I begin? Understanding clients; learning how to be creative and have the same respect and time for the small client vs. the Big Client. The process of building and development of commercial buildings to the private home. I really cannot see how I could do what I do without my family’s influence and support. This is why I teach interior design and architecture. Most people do not have the type of support that I do and this is my way of giving back to my community.

What is unique about designing homes in San Francisco?

Small spaces! The clients basic respect for historical and eclectic design.

License to brag: What was your most recent stroke of “Designer Genius”?

I saved my clients a boat load of money by purchasing all design and building materials in the United States and shipping the items to the United Kingdom.

Room photographs by Ed Ritger.