Cheltenham Interiors is a boutique interior architecture and design studio, located in Bethesda, MD

Our tailored design solutions are crafted to transform your space into a haven of elegance and comfort. By providing access to premium-grade materials, exquisite finishes, and elegant furnishings, we ensure that luxury is within reach. From the initial spark of inspiration to the final walkthrough of your dream abode, we orchestrate the entire process with finesse, turning visions into reality.

Isabel Jackson

About The Designer

Isy Jackson is a member of many industry groups notably:

The American Society of Interior Design (Allied Member)
The Interior Design Society (Professional Member)
PRO (Professional Remodeling Organization) Midatlantic
IES (Illuminating Engineering Society)
Rotary Club of BCC (www.rotary.org)
The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce
Network Bethesda
Isy is the founder of Cheltenham Interiors, an upscale interior architecture and design studio located in Bethesda, MD, serving clients across the Washington, DC metro area and beyond. With a background in Art History from University College London and a Masters in Interior Architecture from George Washington University, Isy's extensive experience includes working with renowned DC designer Kelley Proxmire and with Perkins+Will DC office. She has a passion for seamlessly blending traditional and modern design styles. Her multicultural exposure and family's design expertise spanning decades enable her to create diverse design aesthetics, from traditional to midcentury, art deco, bohemian, coastal, and minimalist modern. Isy specializes in crafting custom features like personalized area rugs, coordinating fabrics and wallpapers, furniture selection or reupholstery, art curation, and lighting. She takes pride in helping clients navigate life changes and her full home renovation expertise and vision to refresh existing historical homes or add style to contemporary homes results in curated, personalized, and harmonious living spaces that tell a unique story and evoke joy.

She far exceeded my expectations!

I was at a loss for making the empty entry room in our new home a space that we will use and enjoy. I solicited Isy to provide a consultation for the living space. She far exceeded my expectations. Isy educated me about design principles as we toured my home. She is sensitive to my needs, preferences, and resources, and is easy to work with. She provided immediate advice and a written plan within the week, prioritized by room/space, with the large and small elements discussed. I immediately incorporated her easy solutions, making sight lines in each room inviting and creating beautiful color and concept themes. I look forward to next steps as I incorporate her recommendations. We will make the main living space a place that we want to share.

EDEN, CHEVY CHASE, MD

Isy's insights are extremely perceptive and that she picks up on details that most people miss.

I have known Isy for many years and have relied upon her interior expertise to redecorate different areas of my home. I find that Isy's insights are extremely perceptive and that she picks up on details that most people miss. Her focus on these smaller details really creates a sum that is much greater than the parts, allowing each space to form a cohesive and homey but also peaceful feeling. When I walk into a space that is designed by Isy, I immediately feel more comfortable and at ease. I am a strong believer that surroundings influence your mental and emotional state. I can attest that Isy's astute guidance helped me to make the hard design decisions that I would never have reached on my own. Now, when others come to visit my home, I am proud of what I see. Isy is incredibly kind, patient, and adaptable as she helps you make important design decisions. I highly recommend her and intend to continue to use her services far into the future.

SARAH, POTOMAC, MD

Our home was ready for a fresh look!

I wanted color on the white walls. Isy came in and had a look. She absorbed our house and then asked lots of questions about styles, likes, color preferences, goals for the project, which furniture stayed, which furniture left, and which furniture to be recovered. Same for window treatments and walls. Most important, “What were the priorities?” During each session she presented options and ideas which sparked many more ideas in my head. Also as important, she also knew when to stop stretching so that the project met the goals! The end result is quite simply --- FABULOUS! The home has a totally new look. It has color on the walls, brings the outdoors inside and has a flow of color and theme throughout the whole home, while keeping individual spaces unique, each with a delightful surprise.

Isy has the skill of getting to know her clients quickly and understand their priorities. Her keen insights and creativity helped create a WOW factor. It was very easy to have her and the team in the house making the magic happen. I will absolutely use Cheltenham Interiors again and would recommend them to anyone wanting new ideas. Invite Isy into your home!

KAY, POTOMAC, MD

She made our dreams come true!

Isabel did an amazing job to make our dream home come true. We moved into a new house and needed a top professional to create a beautiful plan for our interior design. She provided fantastic ideas that fit our style, space and budget. We had some challenging spaces, but Isabel has a creative eye for all challenges. We have small children so we needed a space that is functional and also welcoming. She made our dreams come true! We highly recommend Isabel for all your interior design needs. She was incredible to work with.

LINH, MCLEAN, VA

We are truly happy in our home because of you!

Isy is the consummate professional and I am in awe of her design abilities. We would like to express our sincerest gratitude for your superb decorating services. We are truly happy in our home because you have made it a warm and comfortable place to be. One of the things that makes you so great is that you are able to grasp your clients’ style instead of pushing your own British traditional.

LYNN & CURT, BETHESDA, MD

What a delight to work with!

I hired Isy with Cheltenham Interiors to help me renovate, design and decorate my bedroom. What a delight to work with! Isy is so warm, gracious and super knowledgable. She made me feel comfortable instantly and is such a delightful person! I have been through renovation before and it was terrible. Not with Isy! She was always ten steps ahead and made sure everything went smoothly. I finally feel like a real adult with my new bedroom. Everyone loves it! Look no further - Isy will take good care of you!

IRIS, OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA, VA

I’m impressed with the work and highly recommend

Cheltenham Interiors delivered a fantastic plan for my space, blending style and functionality seamlessly. I’m impressed withe the work and highly recommend them for any design project

PAIGE, BETHESDA, MD

FAQs

The answer - it depends! Each client is unique and we can work with our specialist tradesperson personal organizer or our estate sale partners to arrange de-cluttering prior to redesign
Yes we work with the best kitchen specialists available depending on your vision. If you like sleek contemporary kitchens we can help you with the entire process and arrange products from Arclinea, Thermador, Gaggenau, Monogram, as well as contemporary and traditional options available from Bosch, Miele, Kohler, Konst Siematic, Poggenpohl, California faucets & various cabinetry, countertop and tile manufacturers. Each unique project provides the direction in which we can obtain the most optimal outcome. Eg. in one project we installed all stainless steel lower kitchen cabinets which were custom made and extremely durable as per a commercial kitchen. They were still fitting for a home because they were custom made in a shaker cabinet design. This is expensive but getting hard use and replacing lower cabinets can also create perpetual problems.
We have products available from these high end manufacturers, many available exclusively to the trade only, via the Washington Design Center (WDC) or High Point Market in NC:
Furniture: Century, Hickory Chair, Michael-Cleary, Baker, American Eye, Rue IV, Holly Hunt, English antiques, England Furniture, England, Chelsea House, Soho Home, Mr Brown London, Bernhardt, Eichholtz, Erinn V, Ballard, B&B Italia, Calligaris, Bo Concept, Jonathan Adler, Design Within Reach, Ethan Allen, Interior Define, Perigold, Crate & Barrel, CB2, Chairish
Fabric, trim, wallpaper: Liberty, Harlequin, Zoffany, Morris & Co, Sanderson, Osborne & Little, Designers Guild, Nina Campbell,The Vale of London, Jean Munro, Romo, Cowtan & Tout, Colefax & Fowler, Jane Churchill, Julian Chichester, The Royal Collection, William Yeoward, Mulberry Home, Hartmann & Forbes, Scalamandre, Kravet, Lee Jofa, Brunschwig & Fils, Missoni Home, Mulberry Home, Rue IV, Stroheim, C&C Milano, JAB, Manuel Canovas, Ralph Lauren Home, Christian Lacroix, Schumacher, Hines & Co, Thibault, Pierre Frey, Samuel & Sons, Holland & Sherry, Pindler, Fabricut, Stout, Tempaper, Omexco, Ellie Cashman, Artmura, Kaffe Fassett, Crypton,
Carpet & Rugs: Stark, Ashley Stark Home, The Rug Co, Elizabeth Eakins, RuggleUp, Ernesta
Lighting: Savoy House, Visual Comfort, Bella Figura, Flos, Oly Studio
Paint: Farrow & Ball, Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore
Outdoor: Janus et Cie, Bridgeton Moore
Art & decorative arts: from our vast connections in auction houses, antique dealers and appraisers, specialists such as Baldwin clocks, antique & art consignment stores, art consultants, antique & decorative art fair trade show vendors, select online vendors
Some people think one of the perks of working with an interior designer is that you get access to trade discounts but the good designers need to cover their operating costs and make their profit on the markups. The designer’s hourly or fixed fee is only covering their time. Many new designers sell themselves short on this. We usually go by the vendor’s advice as per their other designers, and we strive to be transparent because honesty and integrity are essential to me and the longevity of our business. We always strive to try to offer an improved price to the client than retail for higher priced items, but for smaller or regular orders we are already receiving the maximum discounts from the vendor and all good designers are availing of these as their main source of income. If a discount is asked on our fee to make savings, then we would look at adjusting the service to accommodate client’s budget.
Yes we have a team of technical freelancers based in London and another in Philadelphia that provide cutting edge drafting and visualization renderings that can be built into the client’s budget at an hourly fee.
My business is a Design services and Project Management services firm. I am not a General Contractor or an Architect, albeit I have an MFA in Interior Architecture from GWU. I help clients navigate such relationships and renovations by making selections with them and ensuring the furniture and vision is tackled up front. I also help them once it is move-in ready to furnish and make it a cohesive home that fits their needs. If they need me to style it after furnishing that is also part of my full home service. Therefore I am a designer and procurement specialist of freestanding items in your home. However, I am working towards getting licensed in MD and DC as a contractor to handle your renovations directly (especially paint, wallcoverings, floorcoverings, built-ins, kitchens and bathrooms) rather than providing you with my tradespeople as I do now and charging my consulting for that advice and vision. Only once I am licensed can I legally sign renovation contracts with clients directly. Until then I prefer to work for the client acting on their behalf to decide mutual vision and project direction, working with quality tradespeople to obtain the look, help clients visualize the look, project manage the renovation periodically checking on contractor progress all whilst procuring free-standing furniture, lighting, art, accessories. However, I would emphasize that clients ought to select my vetted tradespeople especially when we are planning large renovations contracts. For large contracts it is essential to use vetted experts ideally out of the PRO Midatlantic group that I am affiliated with in order to avoid disappointment. If clients insist on using their own contractor, I will collaborate only if they are licensed, insured in the project state and vetted to be in good standing. Ultimately, I seek to use quality providers to guarantee high standards and client satisfaction.