The Designer’s Journal: Jessica Helgerson on Creating Spaces That Tell a Story
For designer Jessica Helgerson, great design is a response to the space itself—shaped by its location, architecture, and the people who live there. With a philosophy rooted in creating deeply personal, functional environments, Jessica’s work reflects both timeless elegance and a thoughtful, intuitive approach.
“I always want a space to feel like it belongs to the people who inhabit it,” she shares. We caught up with Jessica to discuss her design process, the joy of working on projects across the globe, and the Schoolhouse pieces she loves to incorporate in her work.
Describe your design style in three words.
One word: Responsive! In the past few years I’ve realized that we are nearly always responding to a combination of the place (what makes sense for that project’s location), the structure (what is the architecture of the building we are working in, and what kind of interior feels right for it), and the clients (who are they, what is their background, what makes them feel at home). It’s a response to this combination of cues that inspires everything we do.
What does your home say about you?
My home is pretty much indestructible, and for our life that is so very useful. My husband and I live on a five-acre farm, right outside of Portland, Oregon on Sauvie Island, and our house is often a gathering place for special events, and a refuge in hard times for friends and family. It feels like something that is more than just ours, and I love that. We have a giant built-in wrap around sofa in our living room, with big windows that open up to the garden, and my very happiest times are when we have a house full of friends with kids climbing in and out of the windows, jumping in the hot tub, running in the grass… and not having to worry about any of it. I love that friend’s kids feel like they can start a painting project in our living room, a cooking project in our kitchen, and that nothing is too precious. I also love that it’s not so perfectly “decorated” that I can’t find a spot for a friend’s painting, ceramics, a drawing, or a love note—things that have sentimental value to me. It’s a living, breathing place, where many people see a little part of themselves when they come to visit.
What are you working on right now?
Lots of projects! Mostly residential, though we do have one restaurant on our plate at the moment too. We’re working all over the country, though the Bay Area has been a primary focus the last few years, which is interesting because before that we were taking on more East Coast projects. We also opened a Paris office three years ago, and are working on a bunch of projects in France now, which is so fun! I’m half French, so working in my other homeland is fulfilling a life-long dream.
We are also launching a rug line later this month, and after that, a collection of ceramic mirrors. Product design is something I’m finding myself falling in love with, and I’m so excited to keep doing it.
What's your favorite Schoolhouse product?
I love so many things that Schoolhouse makes, but my go-to product is the Alabax Surface Mount. I love the simple shape, the lovely colors, and the three size options. In kitchens primarily, where you just need a lot of even overall lighting and you don’t want to use can lights, it is so often the perfect fixture for the job.
