By Donna Heiderstadt

Rachel Burger started dabbling in interior design when she was just eight years old after her parents gave her a Christmas gift that year that allowed her to redecorate her bedroom. “It went from lime green and pink to milk chocolate and aqua,” she recalled. At age nine, the Nashville native had an opportunity to sit through an interior design class at Belmont University’s O’More College of Design and immediately began dreaming of attending the school one day. As a teen, she spent several years volunteering through O’More’s summer studios, before beginning her studies and graduating with a degree in Interior Design.

Now, at age 25, Rachel is Lead Interior Designer at Nashville-based JL Design, where her goal is to “create designs that allow others to feel emotion and vulnerability in their own safe space.” Hers is a personalized approach to design, intent on inspiring her clients through lighting, texture and color — and “gathering spaces” such as kitchens are her specialty. “Once I started working in residential design, I fell in love with kitchen design and the transformation that can happen both aesthetically and functionally,” she said.

Rachel, who describes herself as “effervescent” and personally favors a mid-century modern aesthetic with bold colors, is often sought out for her take on current design trends. She’s been featured in numerous print and online articles and counts being quoted in Architectural Digest’s “31 Home Ideas That Will Change the Way We Decorate in 2023” as one of her proudest accomplishments. Rachel also won a silver award from ASID for a small bath that was her first-ever renovation project.

When she’s not designing kitchens and baths or chilling at home with her dog, Whiskey, and cat, Muffin, Rachel enjoys working out, spending time outdoors, socializing with friends and family and trying new restaurants. She also loves to travel and fondly recalls a visit to The Bahamas. “The people were so kind, it was relaxing and quiet,” she noted. Topping her future life goals? Traveling around Europe.