JMA Team Spotlight: Teisha Barber
Teisha Barber, an interior designer in JMA’s Kansas City office, is not only a LEED accredited professional but has over 15 years of architecture and interior design experience. She works on a wide variety of project types including corporate offices, data centers, call centers, warehouses, industrial facilities, labs/pharmaceutical facilities, and retail spaces. In her spare time, Teisha is very involved in the arts community in Kansas City as the President of Kansas City Fashion Week. We decided to ask Teisha a few questions about life, design, and what it is like working at JMA.
You are very involved in your local arts community, specifically Kansas City Fashion Week. Working as an interior designer, do you ever take inspiration from the world of fashion? Do you think architecture and fashion overlap?
I am very involved in Kansas City’s amazing arts community! I love to take inspiration from fashion trends and designers. The architecture/interior design and fashion industries overlap in so many ways; color, patterns, textures, structure of garments vs. building structure, etc. Many of our clothing and accessory designers gather inspiration from architecture as well, so I think both industries go hand in hand and I think that’s a one of the main reasons why I absolutely love both.
Where do you find inspiration?
I love to take inspiration for my interior design practices from my work in the fashion industry and also from various places that I travel.
What do you enjoy most about interior design or working at JMA?
I really enjoy working with our clients and helping them come up with a new vision on their projects/facilities. They often don’t know exactly what they’re looking for and I enjoy putting together concepts to show them what their space can be. My goal is at the end of the project to make my client’s work or home environment a pleasant place for them work, live, or have their own clients have a more pleasant experience.
What have you been working on recently?
I’m currently working on several projects including a site’s new security entrance, the transformation of a warehouse into a new furniture warehouse with mezzanine, an administration building renovation with locker rooms/showers, an open office with private office spaces, a 2-story lobby and staircase, as well as restroom renovations and additions at various facilities.
What is one design aspect we don’t often think about, but has a profound impact on our daily lives?
Lighting, lighting, lighting! The right type of lighting is huge in a space, whether you’re designing a warehouse, an office environment, a restroom, or a home. Poor lighting can affect a person’s mood and cause them discomfort, especially if it is where they spend a majority of their time, either at work or at home.
What is your personal design style?
I would say my style is more transitional, as I don’t think I have just one personal style. It always depends on the space I have to work with on my projects. My clients all vary in what they prefer and what we can do within their corporate design standards. I personally gravitate to gray tones over warmer brown tones and muted colors rather than bright colors, but some of our projects call for very bright, vibrant colors to highlight their corporate standards.
My home is definitely transitional and incorporates various aspects of modern farmhouse, rustic, French country, urban modern, and industrial.