Jeanie Engelbach
“The ability to create a space that tells the story of who inhabits it, is the foundation of every apartmentjeanie design project. It isn’t enough to be surrounded by what you love, but that your environment truly reflects who you are or what to be.”
WomenWhoBuild, Meet Jeanie Engelbach!
Jeanie is the mastermind behind apartmentjeanie, an interior re-design and professional organization company which has been featured in the WSJ, Forbes, HGTV, 6sqft, Curbed, and many others. It is no wonder, given her 20 years of experience, that Jeanie was named ‘the chaos conqueror’ by Town & Country magazine. Prior to starting her own venture, Jeanie created visual stories for Bergdorf Goodman and ABC Carpet & Home.
ArchNative sat down with Jeanie (virtually of course) to discuss where she draws inspiration for her designs, what he process is when approaching a new project, and her advice for women who are looking to start their own company.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey in Interior Styling?
I remember moving into our new home, just outside of Philly when I was 3 and basically playing hopscotch over wallpaper samples to select what would ultimately would be papering my ceiling. Yes, not the walls, but the ceiling of my new bedroom. And honestly it was a brilliant, yet unconventional decision made by our fancy ‘New York’ interior designer.
The brilliance in papering the ceiling in lieu of the walls is that it allowed me to decorate and design my walls as I saw fit throughout my childhood and into my teens. Knowing that my taste and style would evolve over the years, pushpin holes can easily be masked and repainted. My walls were always creatively colorful and curated, yet clean and streamlined which is still my design approach.
The ability to create a space that tells the story of who inhabits it, is the foundation of every apartmentjeanie design project. It isn’t enough to be surrounded by what you love, but that your environment truly reflects who you are or what to be.
My entrance in the interior styling world was late, career-wise and completely unintentional. Whereas I had always been creative and crafty, I did not have formal training or experience. After leaving the music industry in 2001, I started freelancing in the visual department of Bergdorf Goodman which eventually lead to managing the visual department at ABC Carpet & Home.
What is your approach to each project?
Every project starts with a phone conversation where I really get to hear what the issues and pain points may be. Before meeting for an in-home consultation, the client fills out an intake form that includes questions about the weekday versus weekend routines, hobbies, priorities, expectations, style and basic information. This helps the client hone in and focus on what the desired effect they want and need for the home.
Since apartmentjeanie is an interior styling and home organization service, it’s vital that I see how the client lives and navigates in the space. And not how they want me to think they live. If the project is strictly a re-design, we’ll start with resourcing and researching the furniture, art, accessories, lighting, wall and floor coverings on a shared Pinterest board. Once the majority of purchases have been made and delivered, the apartmentjeanie team will return to the client’s home to style and organize the space.
If there is the opportunity to better organize the home, we’ll recommend scheduling an organization session prior to resourcing so that we can maximize what is already in the home and potentially eliminate unnecessary purchases by repurposing and recycling.
Where do you draw inspiration?
My childhood influences of candy, cartoons, color and comics serve as my biggest design inspiration however very few clients want to live inside Pee Wee’s Playhouse. The clients themselves are often the source of inspiration - whether it’s building an entire room off a piece of pottery from Peru or downsizing a large 2 house into a tiny studio. My creativity is always piqued when I have a design dilemma.
Strong set decoration in films can keep me rapt even if the storyline fails to engage. The original Charlie & Chocolate Factory, Auntie Mame, the creepy house in the first season of True Detective all loom large in my mind.
You also offer space planning and organization services through your company apartmentjeanie, how do you convey to your clients how important this is to a space?
Organization is EVERYTHING! Being organized creates time, money, and the freedom to pursue one’s passion. I’m a highly organized person ,and have always been, however it still requires an effort. I think those who aren’t inherently organized feel as though it is a constant struggle to maintain an organized space. The secret is having structure and systems that are based on realistic expectations and support one’s naturally tendencies.
I like to be frank and direct with clients and if there is a need for streamlining and clutter elimination, I will encourage them to consider getting organized before we can even entertain the notion of design. I can’t fully support a project if the visual chaos isn’t going to be addressed. Fully functional spaces maintain their beauty better!
How do you approach decluttering a space?
When we get the call for organization, usually that person is overwhelmed and stressed by the level of disorganization and needs help now. Our approach starts the same as our interior design process with a call and intake form however, we don’t need to schedule a consultation to assess the situation, we need to book a day of service to alleviate the suffering.
I love stepping into a cluttered, disorganized home because all I see is the potential and possibility. The chaos is a solvable problem. Clutter is nothing more than delayed decision making and often what is needed is accountability and permission to release that which is no longer serving. Decluttering is incredibly therapeutic and it’s our job to create systems and structure for the client that will continue to support that transformation.
Whether it’s a closet or the kitchen - the process is always the same, empty, assess, edit, and expansion (EASE). You can’t properly organize until you empty whatever it is you want to edit. I teach a virtual closet cleaning workshop based on the EASE method. The principle can be applied to every room in the home.
What has the process been like owning your own company? What gave you the initial push to start your own venture?
I am an accidental business owner - it was never my intention to be a boss lady however I had become increasingly frustrated while working at what I had thought was my dream job.
My side hustle at the time - photojeanie (a photo organization & archiving service for print and digital image libraries) had been featured in Town & Country and Town & Country Travel, and was garnering national attention. It didn’t occur to me that photojeanie, which eventually would birth apartmentjeanie, could be a thriving & legitimate company. I was so unhappy at work that I quit using photojeanie as a graceful out, but assumed I would look for employment elsewhere. Within 6 months of leaving my job, I had made my previous salary with just 1 client job. It felt like I was onto something…
I’ve been in business for 20 years now and I often take for granted that I had starting something (photojeanie) that didn’t exist before (professional photo organzation). I didn’t work for someone and decide to branch out on my own, I created a niche industry in which there is now a professional association.
In the early years of the business I continued to freelance at Bergdorf Goodman, for the camaraderie and discount but mostly because it was a nice escape from being the boss for a minute, but by day 3, I would be loopy from the monotony. Even though there are times of expansion and contraction in owning a business, I can’t imagine any other option. I feel compelled and driven to run my own company, at this stage, I am basically unemployable.
What is one piece of advice you have for women entering the field?
Have the confidence to develop your own style, point of view, and process. Don’t be discouraged when friends and family aren’t super supportive - they might not be able to see your vision and will try to protect you from what they see as inevitable failure.
And no matter what field you enter as an entrepreneur - find a business coach who will challenge and encourage you to stretch beyond your comfort.
