Indies Only: Designer Overseeing Growing Business

Jodi Heifner-DiVietro, owner of JL Design Group, LLC in Oswego, helps clients realize their taste as she tackles interior design projects of all sizes.

Heifner-DiVietro’s projects are diverse. She said her work is split between residential and commercial work. With a health care background, she often works with doctor’s offices but said her true love is children's design.

Residential projects include: kitchen and bathroom renovation, color consultations, window treatments and accessorizing. Commercial projects include a bit of everything, Heifner-DiVietro said, from a one-room office to the Oak Lawn Public Library.

“A lot of listening goes on,” said Heifner-DiVietro of her approach to working with customers. “Getting to know the client on a personal level leads to a good outcome.”

Heifner-DiVietro describes her design taste as warm, worldly, eclectic and well-traveled; however, it’s her job to help the client discover what they like, she said.

“Many clients aren’t sure what they like and need some assistance finding their style and my job is to make sure that happens,” she said.

Heifner-DiVietro recommends hiring a designer to make any remodel process go more smoothly. She laughs that her job often includes marriage counseling and design mediation.

Amy Downing found JL Design Group when she sought a local designer for her large kitchen project.

“I couldn’t have imagined completing the project without her help,” Downing said. “She held our hand…there were so many decisions that happened so fast and her help was invaluable.”

Downing said in addition to bidding out the project and assisting with cabinets, countertops and materials that Heifner-DiVietro went shopping with her to narrow down choices of paint colors and drapes.

Heifner-DiVietro described one especially touching project when she designed a story time room for the La Grange Public Library in honor of a 3-year-old boy who died.

“It was a sad situation. It had been his favorite place to go. I incorporated things he loved like lions, trains and zoo animals. It was a huge success and a great memorial. It was great to work with the family and see joy come out of such a bad time.”

Heifner-DiVietro said she’s reasonably priced and only charges for her time and service.

“I work in the client’s best interest to find the most affordable way to make their dreams happen,” she said. “A couple hours can sometimes make a big difference. It can help save money, time and the client from making wrong decisions."

Heifner-DiVietro worked for large architectural firms prior to starting JL Design Group five years ago.

“The time was right to work for myself and it’s something I always wanted to do,” she said.

Currently, Heifner-DiVietro works from a home studio but she says she’s growing steadily and hopes to have her own office with retail staff.

The JL Design Group website is being updated; Heifner-DiVietro recommended visiting her Facebook page to see more recent work.

 “I am so lucky; I love everything about my job,” Heifner-DiVietro said. “Once a project is done, I love seeing how happy the clients are; it’s a really good feeling.”

She also said she loves the variety and how her field is transient. “Each client is unique and I learn something from every single person I work with, from every project.”

Heifner-DiVietro earned her Masters degree in Interior Design and teaches part-time at Waubonsee Community College and College of DuPage.

Contact JL Design Group, LLC at 630-452-3940; email: info@il-designgroup.com; find her on Facebook.