An interior designer with 12 years of experience, Ashly works across all ABA’s markets (community, education, and healthcare) to deliver interiors that inclusively welcome people with their beauty, functionality, accessibility, and sustainability. She is particularly adept at looking beyond colors, materials, and furnishings to consider the story of a space and how it influences people’s experience. Her commitment to projects that positively influence communities is not only reflected in projects such as the new Aptos Branch Library, a personally meaningful project to replace the building her mom took her to when she was a child, but in her volunteer work with the International Interior Design Association’s Northern California Chapter. As a board member and director of its Silicon Valley City Center, she works with interior design professionals like herself to give back to communities through design, innovation, technology, and sustainability. She also teaches interior design at San José State University.
But there is more to Ashly than design. A buoyant people-person, she is the driving force behind ABA’s Fun Committee and a champion for connecting staff in a spirit of camaraderie. As Mary Poppins puts it, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and ‘snap’, the job’s a game.”
To celebrate the firm's 40th anniversary, staff were challenged to share their imagination and design thinking by creating a row house concept. Here is Ashly's.
Statement:
To me, my house is a canvas to paint my life onto and into. This is reflected in one of my paintings being the façade of the house. I maintained the original characteristic of the house, while adding a balcony and rooftop terrace. Being able to connect with the outside is something that is very important to me. Green spaces are also something I prioritize, and this is seen reflected in the window boxes and plants on the rooftop terrace.
When starting to think about how the interior would look, it would be a natural to allow my paintings to bring color into the spaces. Brighter, more vibrant tones on the lower living levels, with more muted, subtle tones on the upper levels where the bedrooms are. Creating a calm, peaceful place to rest at the end of a long day. Plants would be spread throughout the house, bringing natural life into the spaces.
