An Eye for Design and Business
Elizabeth Reich
Interior Designer
A.S., 1999
Elizabeth Reich earned an accounting degree from Pennsylvania State University, but she ended up not working in the field.
“It definitely wasn’t for me,” she says. Reich was interested in a career in design, and she went on to enroll at Palm Beach Community College.
“When I first thought I was interested in design, I was going to take one class in the evening, just to see if it was something I wanted to pursue,” said Reich. “Naturally it was, and now 23 years later I am still passionate about design and love my job.”
Reich has been working in the design field for almost two decades and has been an interior designer at Jenkins Baer Associates in Baltimore for almost seven years.
“As an associate there, I am responsible for getting my own clients, basically running my own business,” said Reich. “It’s a great fit for me. There are eight other associates there too, and it’s such a great environment where everyone is so supportive of each other.”
Having worked with an architect for a decade, her aesthetic is “not just about making it pretty.” Her technical background enhances her “modern traditional” interiors, with an eye for millwork, built-ins and multidimensional additions that make rooms pop. Her work has been featured in several publications including Luxe Interiors + Design, Style, and Home & Design magazines.
She was recently featured in the Knobs Company’s nationwide expert roundup of 27 award-winning interior designers on the topic of “valuable lessons from veteran designers that have been there, done that.”
She says that while she was a student in PBCC’s Interior Design Technology A.S. degree program, she met a lot of wonderful, encouraging people. “The professors really cared about their students,” said Reich, adding that the skills and knowledge she developed gave her the confidence to take the next steps.
“It’s hard at first to trust your instincts and have confidence in yourself, but that comes naturally over time as you gain experience on the job.”