About the Designer

Tera discovered her passion for interior design when she walked into a thrift store and saw a small, three drawer dresser that caught her attention. She wondered whether she would be able to refurbish the worn wooden dresser and give it a fresh new look. After sanding, staining, using paint to give the piece a distressed look and adding new hardware, she was astounded at her success on the first attempt. She then took on a few more projects, until she decided it was time for a change in her career. Looking back, Tera realized she should have been an interior designer all along. She was constantly rearranging furniture in her house when she was a child, and her parents let her choose the colors for the walls and carpet in her bedroom. Although her style has changed since the lilac colored walls she chose for her bedroom and the pastel pink carpet on the floor, she loves to be surrounded by places that are aesthetically pleasing and provide a sense of comfort and safety.

Tera holds a master's degree in education from Whittier College, and a bachelor's degree in athletic training from Kansas Wesleyan University. She grew up in Abilene, KS, home of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Greyhound Hall of Fame and former Marshall Wild Bill Hickok. She played softball on the Ike's softball teams, which aided her in receiving scholarships to play softball while attending college. After her third year of college, she took a detour and joined the Marine Corps, where she went through training to become an Aircraft Rescue Firefighter. After returning home from the Marines, she dabbled around for a few years in various educational programs, went to Iraq as a contract firefighter during Operation Enduring Freedom, and returned home in 2007 to finish her athletic training degree.

Tera graduated from Heritage School of Interior Design in Portland, Oregon in 2019 after being a Certified Athletic Trainer for several years and continues to take classes, most recently earning her Home Staging Certification in 2022. Her previous positions as the Director of Health Services at a boarding school and as the Assistant Athletic Trainer at Whittier College taught her an enormous amount about caring for people, customer service, networking and management. As an Interior Designer, she will get to continue her love for helping people, while being able to channel her need for more creativity within her career.

While at Heritage, Tera attended several specialized classes to become proficient in AutoCAD, Sketchup, Furniture Design and Fabrication and Home Staging. Her goal as an Interior Designer is to provide her clients with the best possible experience by listening to what they want, help them make decisions, and put a plan into action to achieve their desired look and feel for the space they are creating. Tera values comfort, safety and aesthetics and wants her clients to feel welcome in their surroundings.

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