CEO & Principal Interior Designer
Pembrook Interiors
McLean, Virginia
Jennifer Fordham founded Pembrook Interiors to serve clients who demand both creative excellence and corporate-level execution—a rare combination she delivers through an equally rare professional background.
Jennifer’s design perspective was shaped by family legacy long before formal training. Her great-aunt designed for Chanel; her grandmother was a master drapery seamstress whose understanding of luxury textiles and precise craftsmanship set an early standard. This heritage provides the foundation for Pembrook Interiors’ expertise in custom window treatments and the subtle details that distinguish truly refined spaces.
Her formal education includes degrees in economics and political science, graduate coursework in art history, and comprehensive training in residential interior design. She holds professional certifications including RIDQC (Residential Interior Design Qualified Certification) and is an ASID Associate. She maintains active membership in the Designer Society of America (DSA) and the Interior Design Society (IDS), where she is part of the new executive committee launching the IDS “mid-Atlantic” chapter.
Based in McLean, Virginia, Pembrook Interiors creates environments where classical beauty meets contemporary sensibility—what Jennifer describes as “intelligent luxury.” The firm specializes in sophisticated interiors that feel both consciously designed and effortlessly lived-in, spaces that achieve that rare balance of formal elegance and intimate warmth.
Central to the Pembrook approach is the art of thoughtful curation: layering antiques, contemporary art, and bespoke furnishings to create environments that feel collected rather than contrived—spaces with the patina of time and the polish of intention. The firm’s signature “bridge element” methodology harmonizes diverse styles while allowing rooms to evolve naturally over time.
“We’re creating cognitive and emotional infrastructure,” Jennifer explains. “These aren’t showrooms. They’re spaces where life unfolds with grace and intention—rooms that reveal new details through daily living and grow more beautiful with each season.”
Pembrook Interiors serves discerning professionals—attorneys, diplomats, executives, physicians—in the DC Metro area and St. Lucia who value discretion, precision, and spaces that support their demanding lives while demonstrating sophistication through lived experience rather than obvious display.
Before transitioning to interior design, Jennifer spent thirty years in energy policy, regulatory affairs, and corporate governance—experience that fundamentally shapes how Pembrook Interiors operates today.
Her background includes senior leadership roles at the Natural Gas Supply Association, where she directed federal policy and energy market advocacy and represented the organization before regulatory agencies. She led the regulatory affairs team at Washington Gas Light Company, a major regional utility. Earlier experience includes energy infrastructure development consulting, and investor relations at NiSource, Inc.
This foundation provided expertise in:
Jennifer completed Executive Education in Leadership Decision Making at Harvard Kennedy School (2018) and earned designation as a NACD Governance Fellow through the National Association of Corporate Directors’ comprehensive governance certification program. She holds Public Trust clearance and has advised federal agencies on emerging policy and technology initiatives and has testified before federal and state agencies.
Jennifer fully transitioned to professional interior design and founded Pembrook Interiors following her policy and governance career.
This dual expertise—design artistry plus corporate discipline—enables Pembrook Interiors to deliver what high-achieving clients need: beautiful, functional spaces executed with the precision, documentation, and project management they expect in their professional lives.
Clients receive comprehensive Strategic Design Assessments, detailed project planning, transparent pricing, and systematic execution. Materials, finishes, and furnishings are personally tested in Jennifer’s own home before being specified for clients—a commitment to quality that reflects both design standards and risk management training.
Jennifer was named Interior Design CEO of the Year 2025 for Virginia by CEO Monthly and is listed in the Architectural Digest PRO Directory.
She regularly publishes original design content through the Pembrook Interiors blog, covering topics from design principles and material selection to the philosophy behind creating spaces that serve as “cognitive and emotional infrastructure.” Her insights have been featured in McLean City Lifestyle magazine and by the Designer Society of America, with photography by Peak Visuals.
Pembrook Interiors
703-336-2886
jfordham@pembrookinteriors.com
pembrookinteriors.com