Laura Jansone is originally from Latvia, a small country in NE Europe. She to the United States college golf at East Tennessee State University where she studied interior design and was recently inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. After Jansone graduated she decided to play golf professionally, which is when she moved to the Destin area so that she could practice all year round. She played professionally for 9 years on the Ladies European Tour, Symetra Tour, LPGA, and Australia LPGA. Jansone was the first person from her country to play professional golf. After nine years of traveling and enjoying the pro golfer lifestyle Jansone wanted to settle down, get married and travel less for business. She has now been in Destin for ten years.
“After remodeling our own house I realized how much I missed interior design so in February of 2020, just before Covid hit us, I opened my own interior design company Scenic Interior Designs,” Jansone said. “At the same time, I was working as an assistant golf pro at Santa Rosa Golf and Beach Club. Now I’m splitting my time between being an LPGA professional golf instructor at Kelly Plantation Golf club (Strano Golf Academy) and making homes more beautiful with my interior design work. People often ask how do you combine those two fields, I say ‘I love them both and I’m good at them both.”
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
My husband Dan and my dog Roo Roo live here with me. Dan is a firefighter and EMT for Walton county. We adopted Roo Roo from Alaqua Animal Refuge. My Latvian family are still in Latvia. We FaceTime regularly and try to visit each other at least once a year. My parents Vilmars and Santra own a business, my older brother Martins has his own film production company and my little brother Nils is a world-famous aggressive inline skater. I have a very creative and athletic family so it’s always fun when we get together.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do? How did you get into your industry?
I used to play golf professionally for 9 years and now have my own interior design business and teach golf at Kelly Plantation Golf Course. I have always loved both design and golf since I was a little girl. So getting a golf scholarship to study interior design was the best combination I could ask for. I love being creative, being hands-on, and making stuff. The best of course is the final product when people see their beautiful homes. I can help create more functional spaces and make the clients feel a certain way while in the room by my design choices. With golf, I love being outdoors and sharing my experience from my tour years with other golfers.
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
I’m a big fan of Cantina Laredo happy hour, I love Dewy Destin on the water and Real Thai.
Q: From where are you originally, long have you lived or worked in our community and how did you end up here?
I’m originally from Latvia and moved here in 2011 for winter golf practice to prepare for my first pro season and just never left. It was supposed to be just for the winter but as we all know once you come here you don’t want to leave. I moved here because a friend from the Latvian golf federation met an American -Latvian whose son Norm Tums was the golf instructor at Sandestin Resort at the time and we made a deal for that winter for me to practice at Sandestin. My Latvian connections got me here.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Larry Zeliadt. He let me stay at his house when I first moved here to practice when I didn’t know anyone here. His war stories as a pilot and life experience stories are always like out of a movie scene. He sold his house to live on a sailboat.
Q: When you have free time, what are some of your places to go and things to do here locally? When guests visit, where are the first places you take them?
The beach and paddleboarding in the gulf are a must.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Work to live, not live to work- Destin is an easy place to do it.
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
I know I have traveled more than most people (visited 38 countries) but I feel like there are so many more places I need to go to. Mediterranean cruise, Iceland, Japan, Mauritius, Bahamas, Greece, Venice would be some of the must enjoy experiences.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to learn in the near future such as a skill, art hobby, or sport?
Play golf left-handed, extra challenge.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
The beach!
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Grow my design company, grow my family and still live close to water here or some other awesome beach town in the world.
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I tiled our master bathroom (floor, shower, and walls) all by myself. I don’t just pick out pretty tiles, I know what and how it works, what is possible, and what materials we should avoid for specific locations/purposes.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My family and my competitive and perfectionist personality.
Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Family, dog, comfort.
Q: Is there anything you would like to add or like people to know about you or your business?
I’m all about passion, quality, and details in my Scenic Interior Designs project and all the golf lessons I give.
