Story by Maudie Heard
Photos by Michelle Peterson
To call interior designer Ashley Webb’s portfolio “innovative” is an understatement. From modern kitchen designs to contemporary bedrooms, she has a vision for it all.
Ashley, an interior designer and co-owner of The Black Brick Co., is a BYU-Idaho interior design graduate who went on to open her own interior design firm and a home dècor business.
Ashley’s passion for interior design can be traced back to when she was a young girl.
“I can remember I had this friend in elementary school and her mom was an interior designer,” Ashley says. “Every time I went to her house, she wanted to play and I would say, ‘Can we rearrange furniture?’”
Interior design is the art and science behind the design of a home. At first glance, we see a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing home, but what did it take to get there? The process of an interior design project can be overwhelming for one person to tackle alone because of the science behind it. Harmony, balance and color theory are just a few of the things that interior designers consider when designing a home.
“I love the opportunity it gives me to get creative, find new things, research what the best products are and to bring something new to my clients that they may not have thought of themselves,” Ashley said. “I can provide my clients with something that they love and that is unique to them.”
Ashley’s own home was recognized and won the 2017 Idaho Falls Parade of Homes.
“The builder and I were standing in the entryway before the parade began and he said to me, ‘You should put out some business cards just to see what happens,’” Ashley said. “I was hesitant but I printed off some business cards from my home computer and put them out.”
The Parade of Homes is an annual event that showcases new and remodeled homes, hosted by the Eastern Idaho Home Builders Association. Ashley has participated in the parade in 2017- 2020 and 2022. “It’s awesome to work with a client who trusts you and lets you spread your wings to do some cool and creative things,” Ashley said.
After graduating from BYU-I, Ashley took a break from interior design to focus on her family but returned to Idaho Falls in 2017 determined to find their dream home. “We couldn’t find the dream house we were looking for,” Ashley says. “We had already moved 12 times and this time I said, ‘This is going to be our forever home.’”
She and her husband ultimately decided to build and design their dream home.
During the building and design process, the wife of the builder suggested to Ashley that she show off her home in the Parade of Homes. “We had actually gone to school together and she said to me, ‘This will be a cool house and you should show it off,’” Ashley said.
What followed the 2017 Idaho Falls Parade of Homes would reignite Ashley’s passion and career in interior design.
“I took a long break but once we moved back to Idaho and our kids were older, I thought, ‘What now? What do I do while I’m here?’” Ashley said. “So the Parade of Homes was what jump-started my work in interior design.”
Interior design can have several different looks from traditional to modern to contemporary to colonial or farmhouse. Ashley’s style as an interior designer can’t be squeezed into one box. “I don’t like to stick to one specific style,” Ashley explains. “When a client comes in and says they are drawn to a colonial or traditional style, I stay in that box but a lot of times for me, it’s about mixing different styles.”
By now, you are probably wondering, why hire an interior designer when you can do it yourself? The variety of styles and home dècor trends can be hard to keep up with but with professional help, it can make the process of designing your dream home a whole lot easier.
“A lot of people think, ‘Why would I hire someone when I can do this myself?’, but I think a lot of times people struggle to make decisions when it’s their own house,” Ashley said. “We actually call it the fainting goat syndrome because people get paralyzed by their decisions that they just don’t do anything.”
Not only can interior designers help your vision come to life, but they can also help save money in the process.
“The benefit of having a designer can be time- and money-saving,” Ashley said. “I’ve gotten calls from clients halfway through a project and they’ll say, ‘I’m making all the wrong decisions or my floor is the wrong color.’ If we were involved from the beginning of the project, we could have caught those mistakes early on.”
It also helps to know the best technology, the best new products and what appliances are going to last the longest, Ashley added.
“We have the knowledge in the field and we can provide clients with the best options,” she said. “Those decisions can be overwhelming but a designer can come in and bring what they want to life.”
Ashley knows that finding the best products, appliances or home dècor can be challenging. In 2022, she and one of the interior designers on her team, Megan Mitchell, decided to open The Black Brick Co.--a home dècor business that’s stocked with high-quality products and materials.
The Black Brick Co. gained its name from its Brick for a Brick program, where they donate one brick with each purchase to help build a home for someone in need. In 2022, they donated $23,000 to the “To Ukraine with Love” foundation and they were able to build a home for a family in need. “It's something we are really proud of, we wanted the company to be something that does good,” Ashley said. The Black Brick Co. is giving the community another option to browse and find quality furniture, rugs, kitchen products, wall dècor, plants and more.
“My goal for Ashley Webb Interiors and The Black Brick Co. is to continue making the home building process smoother and happier for clients,” Ashley said. “We are growing The Black Brick Co. with better vendors, better manufacturers and providing a better experience for our clients.”
For more information head to, www.ashleywebbinteriors.com or www.theblackbrickco.com.