Bold. Fearless.
A Little Mischievous

A woman giving a presentation to four women seated at a table in a decorated, bright room with large windows, plants, and artwork.

Summer Thornton Design is a Chicago-based interior design firm known for creating bold, colorful, and beautifully layered interiors that are as fearless as they are timeless.

Founded by principal designer Summer Thornton, the 20-person firm blends classic design principles with a spirited, modern sensibility—bringing personality and soul to every project. The design firm’s work spans North America, with current projects including a modern new build in Miami, a historical residence in Charleston, a private club in New York, a modern vacation home in Cabo, a traditional lakehouse in Lake Geneva and a new construction mountain house in Aspen.

Summer Thornton a woman with blonde hair sits on a green couch in a richly decorated room with pink curtains and floral pillows, smiling and looking to her left. There is a lamp with a patterned shade behind her and a window showing greenery outside.

Summer Thornton 

Principal & Interior Designer

Known for interiors that breathe life into every room, Summer’s work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Veranda, Traditional Home, The New York Times, House Beautiful and more. She’s been named one of the top interior designers in the world with inclusion on the Elle Decor A-List, honored among the Top 50 interior design firms by 1stDibs, and chosen by Sotheby’s as one of the Top 20 Designers to Watch.

Her approach is deeply personal—no two clients are the same, so no two homes should be either. Summer layers color, pattern, and texture in ways that feel fresh yet timeless, often weaving in unexpected details and one-of-a-kind finds. The result: interiors with soul, personality, and a touch of mischief.

The Team

The talented team who brings every project to lifE

We are a multidisciplinary team united by a shared love for great design and the craft of making it happen. Deeply talented, incredibly hard working, and with a dose of Midwestern kindness, we bring design dreams to life.

Summer Thornton – President & Creative Director

Whitney Mersman — Senior Designer

Tony Filippo — Designer

Samantha Statz — Designer

Carol Middough — Designer

Nicole Ross — Designer

Morgan Van Hoof — Junior Designer

Olivia Doty — Junior Designer

Brooke Peterson — Junior Designer

Ella Barton — Design Intern

Josh Thornton – Owner & Managing Director

Josie Pickett — Director of Project Management

Catherine Allen — Project Manager

Emily Menges — Project Manager

Hillary Kennedy — Project Coordinator

Zoe Zook — Project Coordinator

Nora Annunziato  — Project Coordinator

Carolyn Masters — Office Manager

Mary Winslow — Finance Manager

Haley Paszkiewicz — Marketing Manager

Join our team

What We Do

A cozy living room with pink velvet sectional sofa, tiger print pillows, black and white marbled throw blanket, black marble coffee table with candles, gold accents, vintage brass lamp with white floral shades, and golden-brown vertical striped curtains. 
Interior Design

We are first and foremost a full-service interior decorating firm, providing end-to-end interior design solutions. We design homes that are layered, colorful, and deeply personal, with each project tailored to the client. Our firm enjoys collaborating with world-class architecture firms and landscape designers, working as a team to create highly detailed and thoughtful custom homes for clients.

Wood-paneled doorway open to a room with a checked curtain, chair, and reading lamp. 
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

In many cases, clients ask our firm to work across multiple disciplines and serve as the Design Architect on projects, leading all creative direction and architectural design work. With a strong technical background, our team regularly produces extensive technical drawings for interior architecture, millwork, architectural details, and more, that bring a home’s character to life. We then partner with an Architect of Record locally to execute the permitting process & local code requirements.

A living room with a green patterned sofa, pink floral pillow, pink curtains, a wooden coffee table with a curved shape, a pink and white floral bouquet in a blue vase, and a glass decorative dish. 
Custom Furniture

We source and design custom furniture and furnishings. These pieces are made to perfectly fit the space, elevating the interior while reflecting the personality of the homeowner.

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A purple book titled 'Wonderland' by Summer Thornton resting on a polished marble table, with a white vase containing red flowers in the background.

Wonderland —
Adventures in Decorating

Now in its fifth printing

Curioser and curioser—Summer’s first book is a visual feast, whisking readers into a world of technicolor interiors. It showcases her most daring, romantic, and joyfully over-the-top spaces. It debuted from Rizzoli in ‘22 and was an immediate Amazon best seller.

Get your copy 
Summer’s Advice

Do at least one thing your mother wouldn’t

A glass with a painted woman holding a bowl of fruit and vegetables inside a dimly lit, elegant room.
Elegant hallway with black and white patterned tile floor, ornate ceiling lights, and decorative wallpaper, leading to a sitting area with window and furniture.

Reference the past, but don’t repeat it

God’s neutral is green

A green living room wall with a framed botanical illustration, a wall sconce with a floral lampshade, and a couch with floral-patterned pillows.

Remarkable rooms require risk

A luxurious living room with vibrant blue walls, blue curtains, and a large window letting in natural light. The room features a ornate pool table with billiard balls and cues, a plush gray armchair next to a small side table with a yellow lamp, and a black sofa with patterned cushions. There are decorative accents on the wall and built-in shelves filled with books and decor items.

If your neighbors are doing it, you shouldn’t

Elegant living room with a round yellow velvet couch, a glass coffee table with a flower arrangement, a built-in seating area with patterned pillows, a fireplace, and warm lighting.

More
is more fun

A luxurious bathroom with a vintage clawfoot bathtub made of polished marble matching the marble walls and floor. The bathtub has a silver faucet, a white towel hanging over the side, and a small bouquet of white flowers on a ledge above the tub. A large mirror reflects the room, with a decorative wall sconce and a window with a diamond-patterned grid nearby.

Colors don’t clash

Colorful dining room with a floral-patterned tablecloth, filled with flowers, candles, and fruit, surrounded by upholstered chairs, with patterned wallpaper and a large mirror on the wall.

Use pattern & color recklessly

Interior of a colorful staircase hall with pink, orange, and yellow decorated wall murals, hanging lantern-style light fixtures, green and yellow painted stair carpet, and a small hallway with a decorative console table and a floral vase.

Something old, something new, something askew

A vintage wooden desk with a small drawer, set against a blue floral wallpaper. On the desk are a decorative box, a stack of books, and a brass desk lamp with a blue shade. On the floor beneath is a Louis Vuitton trunk with the initials C.S. The room has matching blue floral upholstered armchairs.
A white vase shaped like three human faces with open eyes, holding a bouquet of red anemone flowers, on a white table in front of a blue tufted background.

Beige is for
beginners

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