On any given day in New Albany, it’s not unusual to find Keri and Chad Thompson moving together. Whether they’re walking familiar routes, gathering around the dinner table or designing surfaces side by side at their office just off South High Street, the Thompsons’ lives are shaped around connection.
Long before they opened their flourishing design studio, the Thompsons were practicing a way of living rooted in family and a deep sense of home.
Building the foundations
Chad and Keri both grew up in Wheelersburg, a town just outside of Portsmouth located on the Ohio River. They were raised in family-first households, growing up watching their parents tackle life side by side.
Kismet Visuals & Co.
They met and started dating at Wheelersburg High School, staying together throughout college. They both attended Shawnee State University, where Chad studied Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) and Keri studied engineering, becoming official high school sweethearts after tying the knot at the age of 21.The Thompsons have been married for 25 years, mirroring the longstanding bond they grew up witnessing.
“My parents still do everything together,” Keri says. “They have been together for 55 years, his parents for 50.”
Shortly after they married, they went searching for a home in New Albany. In 2001, they built their first house in Albany Park.
“There was no Market Street, there was nothing around right when we first moved here,” Chad says.
During that time, Chad began working in the flooring industry, following a path familiar to him after growing up alongside his father, who spent more than 50 years in the business. When his father sold the company in 2001, Chad stayed in the industry as a mill representative and in related roles, while Keri built her own career as an engineer specializing in quality control.
As the young couple built a life in New Albany, their three children were born: twin sons, Landon and Lleyton, who are 23, and their daughter, Halle, who is 17.
Although schedules were busy growing up, with the kids active on sports teams and Chad and Keri balancing full-time jobs, they prioritized quality family time – something the Thompsons still value today.
From big family dinners to Sunday church, the Thompsons tend to show up as a group; if you see one around the community, chances are you’ll see several more close by.
“I think we’ve always kind of done everything as a family… we’re always known for traveling in a pack,” Chad says.
“We are always all together, which we love, that (the kids) still want to be around us,” Keri adds.
Re-routing
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The Thompons and family
In 2010, Chad’s father was diagnosed with cancer, and to help with the flooring business, which his father was still actively involved with running, Chad and his family moved back to Wheelersburg. Keri got a new engineering job in southern Ohio, and Chad launched Thompson Contract, a stem off his father’s business, which was primarily a labor house focusing on commercial projects. For seven years, Chad commuted between Columbus and Wheelersburg, growing his business in both areas.
Each time the Thompsons came back to Columbus, they drove around New Albany, watching it evolve. Keri says that during these trips, they realized just how much they missed their first home. As Chad’s father’s health improved, the pull back to New Albany grew stronger. However, no serious plans to move had been made.
“I loved my job down there. We weren’t thinking about moving,” Keri says. “And then one day, we had a phone call from a realtor.”
The realtor asked if they’d be interested in showing their house, which was not even on the market. They decided to do it, and in one day, they had a full asking price offer on the house.
Before making any decisions, they went to their kids. At that time, the twins were sophomores in high school, and Halle was in the fifth grade. Once they were sure the kids were on board, they decided to return to New Albany. In June of 2018, they officially moved back.
“That first morning we were back when we woke up, we just (thought), ‘We’re home,’” Keri says.
Thompsons
Simply Quartered
Back in New Albany, Chad continued projects with Thompson Contract, while Keri remained in the engineering field. During the pandemic, many of the contractors Chad worked with began shifting toward higher-end residential remodels.
Thompsons
As those projects took shape, their involvement started earlier in the process, first with pre-budget planning, and then with helping clients think through materials and long-term choices. Those conversations naturally deepened, moving from numbers to selection and intention, and eventually led to the idea of creating a studio centered on thoughtful, curated decisions.
In 2022, Thompson Contract rebranded to Simply Quartered, opening its current studio on South High Street. During that time, Keri joined the team, helping behind the scenes to curate their brand and design the studio.
Over the past few years, Simply Quartered has exploded in success. From features in Architectural Digest and The Scout Guide to an interview on Classic & Curious, the company quickly gained media attention after its launch. With that, their projects grew as well – providing flooring for Muirfield Village, Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse and more.
Simply Quartered reflects a philosophy of intentionality, the idea that meaningful design choices are foundational and prove graceful over time. The studio itself has a Ralph Lauren-esque feel, with designs that cater to timelessness over trends.
“We curate a collection that we feel is a representation of how we see New Albany,” Chad says. “Our goal is basically to put products in the house that can be passed down to the next generation.”
Legacy is at the core of Simply Quartered. The business was born from Chad’s father’s work, and recently, their sons joined the team as project managers.
“It’s great to have the third generation come in,” Chad says.
“They’ll come in from job site visits in the morning and give us updates, and it just doesn’t seem real,” Keri adds. “We’re pretty proud.”
The couple plans to pass the business down to their sons eventually, but for now, they are enjoying the time spent working together on projects.
Rooted in connections
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Along with strengthening their own family ties, Simply Quartered has rooted the Thompsons more deeply in the New Albany community. From their studio on South High Street, Keri and Chad experience the rhythm of downtown each day: the foot traffic, the music drifting in during summer concerts, the familiarity of a place that feels lived in.
Outside of work, their involvement reflects that same feeling of consistency.
They return each year to the New Albany Walking Classic, spend Saturdays at the farmers market and enjoy evenings at the Summer Concert Series. Their commitment also extends to the New Albany Community Foundation and volunteer work tied to their children’s schools.
Their life in New Albany is built around shared meals, familiar paths and generations moving forward together, a lifestyle rooted in legacy rather than momentum. In many ways, Keri and Chad Thompson live exactly as they design, grounded in tradition and shaped by routine.
“We don’t feel like it’s that different to us,” Chad says, “because that’s always been the way we were both raised.”
Megan Brokamp is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mbrokamp@cityscenemediagroup.com.
