The Backstory
About EMI Interior Design
EMI INTERIOR DESIGN
EMI Interior Design, Inc. is a full-service residential interior design firm, founded in 2000 by award-winning designer Erica Islas.
A modernist at heart, Erica’s interiors are timeless and fun. “Form follows function” is Erica’s guiding philosophy. She approaches every project from an architectural perspective, never sacrificing usability and comfort. Her interiors are innovative, inviting and ultimately functional. Known for her incredible Kitchens and Bathroom renovations, challenges such as small spaces and children’s rooms are welcome and embraced by Erica and her staff, as they creatively transform some of the smallest most unusable spaces to multi-functional rooms.
Erica’s design work has been featured in Dwell Magazine , Real Kitchens, Real Simple Magazine, HGTV magazine and Smalls Rooms Magazine and most recently Architectural Digest. Erica has also appeared on HGTV design shows and her pro-bono work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times.
EMI INTERIOR DESIGN
EMI Interior Design, Inc. is a full-service residential interior design firm, founded in 2000 by award-winning designer Erica Islas.
A modernist at heart, Erica’s interiors are timeless and fun. “Form follows function” is Erica’s guiding philosophy. She approaches every project from an architectural perspective, never sacrificing usability and comfort. Her interiors are innovative, inviting and ultimately functional. Known for her incredible Kitchens and Bathroom renovations, challenges such as small spaces and children’s rooms are welcome and embraced by Erica and her staff, as they creatively transform some of the smallest most unusable spaces to multi-functional rooms.
Erica’s design work has been featured in Dwell Magazine , Real Kitchens, Real Simple Magazine, HGTV magazine and Smalls Rooms Magazine and most recently Architectural Digest. Erica has also appeared on HGTV design shows and her pro-bono work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times.
Erica Islas
about the founder & principal designer
Erica’s professional design career begins in 1994 where she worked at an architectural commercial interior design firm in Beverly Hills for 4 years, followed by 2 years at a residential interior design firm in Santa Monica where her LOVE for residential interior design began. Having an eye for design and a heart to make a house a home, Erica opened her own design firm in 2000.
Although her passion for design goes way back to as early as she was able to hold a crayon in her hand, it was a accumulation of experiences that led her to where she is today. Erica remembers that for her 10th birthday, she received a Crayola Interior design Drafting Kit ( a toy in the 80’s) from her Grandmother, for Erica this was the coolest gift ever and she drew and drew and kept busy for hours on end . Daughter to a General Contractor, Erica found herself at jobsites after school an on weekends, where she learned a lot about construction just by being around it . Then in High School she was introduced to the art of drafting and it’s then she learned the skill of architectural drafting and pursued her career at her local college. Fast forward to today, Erica is a successful architectural interior designer, winning numerous awards on a national level in the interior design industry . Most recently she was named Viking’s Kitchen Design of the year and published in Architectural Digest in the January issue 2018.
Erica’s favorite projects are full home renovations that are turn-key ready in the end. She takes pride in making sure every detail is executed as per her design intentions on every project as if it was her own home. Erica and her team go over and beyond the expected level of service, giving their clients the VIP treatment always. Erica enjoys keeping up with the latest in design by attending trade shows and training sessions with manufactures and vendors, providing her clients the latest and greatest. Attending & participating in design events and Manufacture / Vendor partnerships is also another favorite of Erica’s, as she loves to share her wealth of knowledge and experience she has accumulated over the years.
