Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Jarski.
Hi Christine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Before becoming an interior designer, I built a career in nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and economic development. I helped nonprofit organizations build support for their missions, worked with businesses to grow and expand, recruited new businesses to communities, and was involved in historic preservation efforts that protected the character and history of the places I served.
While I enjoyed that work, decorating had always been my creative outlet. Long before I pursued formal design training, I was reading design books and magazines, following designers, working on my own home, and helping friends and family with theirs. Creating homes that felt beautiful, functional, and welcoming was how I recharged after work. It was the part of my life that grounded me and consistently brought me joy.
During COVID, I decided to invest in a passion that had been part of my life for years and enrolled in formal interior design training. Once I completed my training, I launched CJ Dean Designs and have continued building my knowledge and expertise ever since.
Today, I help homeowners discover the direction for their home and create elevated interiors that reflect who they are and support the way they live. My previous career taught me how to listen, ask good questions, manage complex projects, and guide people through important decisions. Those same skills serve my clients well in interior design, and I still find the greatest satisfaction in helping people create something meaningful.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but I don’t think most entrepreneurial journeys are.
Starting CJ Dean Designs has required courage: leaving an established career, relocating to western Oregon, and building a business in a community where I only knew a handful of people. Every client relationship, referral, and networking opportunity began with introducing myself and earning people’s trust. At times, the journey has been lonely, but it has also been incredibly rewarding.
What I didn’t fully appreciate when I started was how much resilience and tenacity entrepreneurship requires. Building a business takes time, and there are seasons when progress feels slower than you hope. I’ve learned to keep showing up, continue learning, nurturing relationships, and remain focused on the long-term vision I’m building.
Looking back, I know I made the right decision. Every challenge has strengthened both my business and my confidence as a business owner. While I’m still building the business I envisioned, I’m proud of how far I’ve come and excited about where it’s headed.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about CJ Dean Designs?
My previous career taught me to think strategically, navigate complexity, and guide important decisions with confidence. Today, I bring that same approach to creating elevated residential interiors and thoughtfully designed professional spaces. My role is not simply to design a room. It is to help my clients recognize the potential of their space, establish a clear direction, and create something they could not have envisioned on their own.
That process begins with understanding the people who will use the space. I listen, ask thoughtful questions, and consider both the opportunities within the space and the goals my clients have for their home or office. From there, we establish a clear direction that guides the project as it takes shape.
What I am most proud of is that no two CJ Dean Designs projects are alike. Each project responds to the people, purpose, and possibilities of the space. One of my favorite compliments came from a client who looked around his completed home and said it looked like it belonged in the pages of a design magazine. It was an incredible compliment because it reflected the sense of calm, order, and refinement the finished space created.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
One of the qualities that has contributed most to my success is my ability to see how all the pieces of a project fit together. I look beyond individual furnishings, colors, and finishes to understand how the space, the client’s priorities, and each design decision need to work as a whole. I see connections that may not be immediately obvious and use them to develop a clear, cohesive direction. That ability allows me to create spaces that feel intentional, layered, and distinctly personal.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cjdeandesigns.com
- Instagram: cjdeandesignsddi
- Facebook: CJ Dean Designs-Decorating Den Interiors
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-jarski-design
