Emily Svenningsen

Emily (MLE) Svenningsen graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in 2017 and Bachelors of Architecture in 2018. She earned her Masters of Fine Arts for Interior Design from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2023 where she achieved Graduate Fellowship and received an IIDA BOB Award and IDA Silver Award. Sprinkled in with her impressive academic accomplishments are a Presidential Scholarship, concentrations in both poetics and drawing, and a brief stint studying Marketing. She worked as a Design Equity Interior Designer and Design Tactician in Washington, DC before joining the team at Kaplan Thompson Architects as an Interior Designer.  

During her schooling, MLE worked as both a baker and a line cook, a background that has shaped her personal motto: all design must be considered from both sides of the kitchen door. “When we only think through the lens of one stakeholder,” says MLE, “we miss a lot of things. Yes, investing in the look and function in front of the bar brings in more customers, but investing just a fraction of that cost in back-of-house elements like the dishwasher, prep line, and storage unit can improve performance, quality of services, and quality of life for the workers who spend more time in the space than the patrons themselves.” Thinking through both experiences allows more equitable, purposeful, and sustainable design for all; or in other words, a better project! 

When asked about her favorite design elements, she shared her excitement over uncovering a curious corner or complex connection and the perfect resolution of their union; a mortise and tenon joint in a well-designed chair, a custom metal track that becomes more art than structure for a decorative lighting fixture, or two facade materials butting together seamlessly at a window sill. MLE notes that if she was to be a particular design element, she would be a joinery detail because “it’s the little things that hold together the bigger picture”. Her simultaneously whimsical and meticulous approach also loves a fry reglet, some colored grout, and color-drenched spaces. 

A self-described chronic doodler, MLE is almost never spotted without a red pen in hand and a page of outrageously skillful and adorable drawings before her. She hopes to someday launch a wallpaper collection, which we plan to give her a jump-start on by pinning tiny samples of her work up all over the office walls. She is also a serious crocheter with an affinity for making extremely long hats. We have not yet made plans to have her produce these in bulk with our branding colors and logo affixed, but if enough folks demand it we will certainly consider.