Before a wall moves, a cabinet is ordered, or a paint color is selected, someone needs to ask a bigger question: How should this space actually work for the people who live here?

For Anna Janke, WRID, owner of Peridot Design Group, that's where interior design begins.

For more than 20 years, Anna has combined creativity with technical expertise to solve problems, rethink spaces, and help homeowners create environments that function as beautifully as they look. Along the way, she's also spent more than a decade educating aspiring interior designers and helping connect the next generation with the industry they're preparing to enter.

Through it all, one philosophy has remained constant. "Good design is collective."

Finding the Intersection of Technical and Creative

Interior design wasn't Anna's original career plan.

About five years after earning her bachelor's degree, she found herself working in retail and ready for a new challenge. At the time, she and her husband were managing the building they rented in and working alongside friends on maintenance and unit updates. One of those friends suggested she explore the interior design program at WCTC.

From her first drafting and principles of design courses, something clicked. "I loved pairing technical details with the creative process."

Anna completed the program in two years, landed a position through her internship, and began building her career.

By 2012, she had seven years of industry experience and was already developing a business plan. When the owner of the firm she worked for moved out of state and closed the business, Anna saw her opportunity.

She founded Peridot Design Group.

Design Starts Long Before the Finishes

Ask someone outside the industry what an interior designer does, and the answer might involve paint colors, furniture, or finishes.

Those things matter, but they're only part of the picture. "There is a great deal of planning behind what you see," Anna explains.

Depending on a designer's expertise, that can mean space planning, cabinetry layouts, lighting design, material specifications, project coordination, and much more.

For Anna, the work often begins before anyone is thinking about demolition, let alone paint.

She studies how homeowners currently use their space, where it falls short, and how proposed changes will interact. Circulation, clearances, storage, functionality, budget, and the information trades will eventually need all become pieces of the same puzzle.

That's also why Anna prefers to be involved early. "It takes time to uncover the homeowners' wants, needs, priorities, and budget, then work through the layout and selections that help define the project's scope and cost."

A designer can also become a bridge between the homeowner's vision and the professionals responsible for building it, translating ideas into drawings, selections, and details while creating opportunities for everyone involved to contribute their expertise.

Looking Beyond the Obvious Solution

Anna's approach to design is rooted in looking at the whole picture. "You can't look at one piece of the puzzle without considering how it works with everything around it."

On one kitchen project, for example, a large refrigerator was creating problems with the walkway. Rather than limiting the solution to the kitchen itself, Anna looked through the wall. An adjacent laundry room offered an opportunity to create an alcove for the refrigerator. Recessing the appliance improved clearance in the kitchen while giving it the appearance of a counter-depth model.

It's the kind of solution Anna loves finding. "Sometimes the best solution means looking beyond the room where the problem first appears."

Never Done Learning

That curiosity extends beyond Anna's projects. Throughout her career, she has invested heavily in education and professional development, including earning her NCIDQ certification and becoming a Wisconsin registered interior designer.

"There is always more to learn." Products change. Technology evolves. New materials and construction methods enter the industry. Maintaining her credentials ensures continuing education remains part of her professional routine.

But Anna is also quick to point out that formal credentials aren't the only way expertise is built.

"I have a great deal of respect for professionals who have developed their expertise through hands-on experience and years in the field. I learn from them, too."

For Anna, what matters most is a shared commitment to quality: taking pride in your work, sharing knowledge, and continuing to improve.

From Designer to Educator

In 2014, another opportunity took Anna in an unexpected direction. A colleague told her about a part-time interior design teaching position. Nine years into her career, Anna was intrigued by the challenge.

That opportunity turned into more than a decade of teaching across three schools in both part-time and full-time roles. "What I enjoyed most was connecting the textbook to the real world." Anna brought practical examples and industry connections into her classroom, particularly while teaching residential design, materials and finishes, and kitchen and bath design.

Teaching changed her own professional practice, too.

It reminded her that something obvious after years of experience isn't necessarily obvious to someone encountering it for the first time.

Today, that lesson influences the questions she asks homeowners and trade partners: Is the idea clear? Is it feasible? Is it buildable?

This year, Anna stepped away from teaching to spend more time with her family and return her full professional focus to Peridot Design Group. But she's not stepping away from supporting emerging designers. She's simply doing it from a different side of the industry.

Taking Design Beyond the Classroom

One place that commitment continues is through NARI Milwaukee's Student Interior Design Portfolio Competition, featured at the Spring Home Improvement Show. Anna has played an important role in helping the competition grow and evolve.

For her, its value goes far beyond winning. "The competition gave students an opportunity to work toward a real deadline, make decisions as a team, and bring their work beyond the classroom."

The experience gives students something difficult to replicate in a course: an outside audience.

Industry professionals and homeowners see their work. Students have to explain their thinking and communicate why their decisions matter. And conversations that begin around a portfolio can potentially turn into an internship, mentorship, or future job.

"I hope students leave with greater confidence in their abilities and a clearer sense that they have something valuable to contribute to the profession."

Anna has also helped the competition adapt as technology and student needs have changed. Moving toward individual submissions has made participation more accessible to interior design students throughout Wisconsin.

Finding Her Place in NARI

Anna joined NARI Milwaukee in 2019 while exploring another evolution of her business.

Clients were increasingly asking whether they could work with her throughout their entire project, which led Anna to explore her dwelling contractor license and how Peridot Design Group could provide support from design through construction.

NARI gave her an opportunity to better understand the remodeling side of the industry while building relationships with the professionals who make those projects happen.

Today, those relationships create flexibility.

If a homeowner approaches Anna first, she can help explore options and assemble the right project team. If a remodeler, architect, or another small business needs interior design expertise, she can become part of theirs. "As a small business owner, having a community to exchange ideas with, learn from, and collaborate with has been one of the greatest benefits of NARI."

Designers Belong in the Conversation

Anna would like to see more interior designers discover that same community. Her advice to a designer who assumes NARI is primarily for contractors and remodelers? "Come to an event and start a conversation."

Designers are an integral part of the remodeling team, she says, and there's enormous value in developing relationships with the professionals who ultimately help bring their plans to life.

NARI also gives designers opportunities to continue developing professionally through education, certifications, awards, events, and connections with people who understand the realities of running a business in this industry.

"As a woman who owns a small business, I appreciate opportunities to step outside my own bubble and connect." And that's really what Anna's philosophy comes back to.

It Takes a Group

There's a reason Anna chose the name Peridot Design Group.

"The 'Group' in Peridot Design Group reflects that belief. It takes a talented group of people to design and build thoughtful spaces that function well and look beautiful."

After more than 20 years, Anna still loves the moment when all those pieces finally come together and a homeowner can envision how differently their space could work.

There is always another challenge to solve, another professional to learn from, another emerging designer to encourage, and another project where collaboration can produce something better than any one person could create alone.

"We each bring something valuable, and good planning, communication, and mutual respect help us create positive results for homeowners and a better experience for the whole team."

Good design is collective. And for Anna, so is a strong remodeling industry.

To learn more about Peridot Design Group, click here.