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Jessica Helgerson doesn’t just decorate houses—she brings them back to life.

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Among designers, she’s quietly revered as a master of space planning—able to rework a floor plan with the precision of an architect and the grace of a stylist. But as we learned in our latest Office Hour, her talent for reworking floor plans is matched not only by a deep respect for a building’s original soul, but also by a sharp instinct for running a thoughtful, well-structured design business.

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From structuring space to setting client boundaries and expanding internationally, Jessica offered up a refreshingly transparent look at how she creates both homes and a healthy studio. Below, we’ve distilled the most resonant takeaways from our conversation.

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Prioritize Four Corners and Good Bones

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Jessica treats space planning like anatomy. “I think of floor plans as the skeleton,” she explains. “Even if the skin is lovely and the jewelry is fabulous, if the arm is twisted, it’s much harder to function.” Without good bones, the decorative layers can only go so far.

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She shared her preference for rooms with square or near-square proportions, and a clear spatial logic—especially when it comes to bathrooms. Packing fixtures like showers, compartmentalized toilets, or bathtubs at the ends, she explained, can avoid awkward “hallway” effects in the leftover space. And when it comes to defining where one room ends and another begins? Four, clearly-defined corners are a must to avoid confusion in color transitions, wallpapering, or space definition.

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Treat the House Like a Client

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“Every project has two clients: the homeowner and the house itself, ” says Jessica, who shared her process for working with different types of homes: the character-filled historic, the stripped-bare remodel, and the new build.

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Her guiding principle? Listen. Whether that means honoring existing details or creating an invented narrative when nothing original remains, she treats the home’s architecture and the client’s wishes as coequal sources of direction.

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Know What You’re Good At—and Delegate the Rest

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While Jessica is happy to stay far away from spreadsheets, she acknowledges that building a successful design studio requires infrastructure, and she sees value in having junior team members start in the trenches to understand the full scope of interior design work. “Not everyone agrees on what’s fun,” she says. “Some people love Excel—that’s a blessing.”

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Her business relies on a studio director, a procurement lead, and a finance director to handle operations—and her philosophy centers on aligning team roles with individual strengths rather than forcing creatives into operational tasks that drain their energy.

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Stick to Your Process, Even When It’s Unpopular

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When she opened a studio in Paris, Jessica encountered a very different business model: clients expect low flat fees, and contractors offer designers kickbacks.

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She politely declined. "We’re sticking with what we know," she said. That means hourly billing, no kickbacks, and full transparency—even if her quote looks higher upfront. The result? Clients who trust her, and trades who know she’s not double-dipping.

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Big Projects Require Clear Boundaries

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As her studio has grown, Jessica has removed herself from initial client conversations to avoid emotional decision-making. “I don’t even participate in client interviews anymore,” she explains. “I get too excited and say yes to things I shouldn’t.” Now, only vetted clients with aligned goals and realistic budgets make it to her desk—a sign of just how strategic design business management becomes at scale.

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With a clear operational structure and boundaries in place, the team can handle complex, high-touch projects without chaos. And for Jessica, that means more time doing what she loves: space planning, conceptual direction, and keeping the studio culture calm. Her goal for 2026? “No big ambitions. I just want to be a decent human, keep the stress low, and garden more.”

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And that, perhaps, is the ultimate goal: a practice built with intention, and a life to match.

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