client progress

hello..i thought i would check in and show you some progress photos from a couple of projects i have been working on.

first up is a client that i met through working with the nest egg. we have been working hard on a "new to her house" that she purchased this past summer. there is wall to wall seagrass being installed as i type this and her furniture is being delivered on friday! for now...here  is a tease of the before and after of her foyer...we updated it with new tile, paint and dark gray doors. as always... excuse the phone photos:)

before....

after...

another angle...

this project has been so fun and so has my client! i cannot wait to show you more as we make more progress.

remember this photo i showed  you of some fabrics for a clients family room?

well...here are a couple of snippets of that plan coming to life.

i loooooove this room! i am waiting for the built-ins to get done and a few more accessories before i photograph the whole thing.

it really is so rewarding to see all of our (my clients and mine)  ideas, designs and planning come together... especially when we are all happy with the outcome:)

jodie

towel bar talk

i had some extra time on my hands thanks to hurricane sandy. time to think about towel bars...and the alternative to them. i am not a big fan of the standard towel bars you see everywhere. (below is an example of one via pinterest)

 they look good when the towels are neatly folded on them...but how often does that happen? i always found myself  having "show towels" for these towel bars and the towels we used everyday were hanging everywhere else in the bathroom...over doors...on the tub...you name it. so when we bought our house...i took all of our towel bars down and used other things.

in our powder room the hand towels hang on an old antique ladder thing (i really dont know what it is...but its the first thing my husband bought me when we were dating...i am sure he doesnt even remember) whatever it is...it serves its purpose for towel hanging!

here you can see where is sits in the room...

in our master bathroom, kevin made this plaque and i added the hooks. these hooks are not big enough though...and honestly the towels don't dry very fast:(

so when it came to the guest/kids bath we used bigger hooks and spread them farther apart and they work very well.

while we are looking at this guest bath...let me show you a very cool piece that kevin built. i think i have mentioned before that my husband travels a lot? well... for the past 7 years or so he has been collecting all of the goodies from the cool hotels he stays in. unfortunately until about 6 months ago...when he finally found time to build something for them...they were all piled in the linen closet. this is what he came up with...super clever as usual.

cute huh? ok...back to towel bars. i dont really have a lot more to say....other than ...when you arent loving your towel bars...take them down:) here are a few other examples of what to do with your towels...

jodie

goosebumps (6)

yes...the goosebumps series continues! if you are not familiar with this series, you can read about it here.

i know i have said this about suzanne kasler before....and i will say it again...i love her designs. the latest one that i am loving is an open air home she decorated in kenya. this mini compound was featured in the october (i think) issue of house beautiful. it gives a whole new meaning to bringing the outside in...it is basically all open and so well designed. this home is a wonderful example of how to decorate while considering your surroundings. suzanne uses the perfect color palette and furnishings to blend in with the outside...without getting theme-y (like using all things african!)

 i liked it so much i thought i would share...for those of  you who missed it. enjoy!!

that bathroom is so pretty...and the shower...forget about it!

jodie

work

oh hi...how are you? my name is jodie okun and i am an interior designer with a blog. i am hoping that by re-introducing myself, it will remind me that i am supposed to do blog posts when i have a blog. lets have another shot at it...shall we?

i wanted to show you some designs for a client that i have been working with this summer. it has been a fun project and she is so nice and great to work with. she is super busy with her career...so some of our work has been via the world wide web.  i thought i would show the plans i came up with for her family room and master bedroom. we are working out all of the details...but the big pieces have been ordered.

here is the family room plan...

here are the fabrics and rug...this was an instagram photo i showed in the last post

they have a beautiful stone, floor to ceiling fireplace in the room. (you will see in the "after" pictures when it is done) all of these fabrics really bring out all of the natural colors in the stone.

here is the plan for the master bedroom...

here is a picture of the fabrics...

the bedroom walls are already painted a pretty gray blue....and there is a fireplace in there as well.  it is going to be so cozy!

so there you have it! i just wanted to show you that i really am doing something...just not blogging very often.  hopefully that will change in the near future:)

jodie

instagram and news from the garden

i am obsessed with instagram! i know i am a little late to the game....but i love it. i knew it was an app you could use...but i never realized you could follow people on it.  its all about pictures and you can just scroll through and look at pretty things and "like" them. it so much better than twitter (i can't seem to get into that) and its more low maintenance then facebook. plus...you can make your photos look cool:) i actually took that picture of the butterfly!! here are some others i have taken on with instagram...


i went the amazing store  furbish with my friend gretchen on a recent trip to raleigh...

a client presentation...

pretty sky..

tuka...

love this stool from baker...

this is color infused flooring!! i didnt even use a filter to make it this color...not sure i would ever use it...but it is interesting.

 if  you want to join  the fun on instagram...my handle is jodieokun. (very original i know:))

in other breaking news...our vegetables are growing! here are the red peppers starting to sprout...

look at all of these carrots!

 our first cucumber!

now here is is little lesson for those of you who have never had a vegetable garden (like me)...lettuce doesnt like warm weather. i planted it too late and because of the heat it "bolted"...

seriously...that happened over night...and you cant eat it when it does that...it is too bitter. so i cut it back and we will try again... or i will plant more when the weather cools down in september. it is a very small garden...but there is something so satisfying about watching it grow...and the kids love it! i will let you know when we are actually able to eat something from it:)

jodie

sneak peek: client living room

i know i am supposed to wait to take better photos...but i dont want to! this is a living room/dining room i worked on for my very sweet client. i met her when i worked for french country living years ago. she and her husband loved all things french then and they still do! this time around they wanted to give their space a little face lift. they had some beautiful pieces...but we just wanted to update it. i suggested going with a more neutral palette...which was a bit of a stretch for them...they love color. i am glad they agreed because we are all thrilled with the outcome!

we are still on the hunt for a few key accessories and waiting for the dining table. i took these photos with the lights on (oh no!) and did not properly style it for a photo. excuses, excuses! here is a little before and after. i will take more when everything is truly finished!

we lightened up the walls, added molding to the existing crown and doorway, re-arranged the furniture, bought some new upholstery, a new rug, new window treatments and a bunch of accessories and pillows. i loved working with these clients because they also like to hunt for antiques and artwork on their own. they have wonderful taste and i love the personal touch it gives to their home.

i hope your having a great summer!

jodie

exciting news

ahhh...summertime. i love summer and lazy afternoons by the pool...oh wait...i dont get to do that anymore! i thoroughly enjoyed my summers when the kids were really young and the main event was napping:) those days are long gone though... i am busier with work than ever and the kids are enjoying the pool while at camp.

one exciting reason for my busy summer is that i recently started doing design work for a wonderful local store ...the nest egg, it has been one of my go to resources for clients over the past few years. so, when the opportunity presented itself for us to partner up...i jumped at the chance! the owners ann and sean are so helpful and friendly and so is everyone who works there. i absolutely love all of the vendors they carry
and ann has an amazing eye when buying for the store.

the best part is that i am still able to keep my own business and my own clients (who i love)! so working with the nest egg and their clients is icing on my cake:) i have already met with some amazing people and we have some great projects in the works! if i am a good little blogger (ahem) i will share them with you. if you are local in the DC area...be sure to stop by and visit the nest egg...you will be happy you did!

jodie

purple and gray

hello! i am well aware that it has been over 20 days since my last blog...shame on me. my excuse is that my blog is "broken". you cant tell by looking at it...but it is not working right behind the scenes and i am soooo irritated! trying to figure out a problem with blogger is next to impossible. you cant just call google and get someone on the phone. however, i can still post...but i have been so frustrated with the rest of it i havent even done that!  sooo...here is me getting over it for now.... to talk about a color combination i dont normally use...purple and gray.

i am working with a client who absolutely loves purple (not barney purple as she always tells me). originally she wanted to do a gray and turquoise color combo...but we couldnt seem to come to an agreement on the color turquoise she was going for. so about month in...we switched it up to purple and gray. i have been thoroughly enjoying myself through this process. we are working on the entire downstairs of her new house and using many variations of this color combo. i am quite pleased with how it is coming along ...and i think my client is as well. she is the funniest woman i think i have ever met!

here are some inspiration photos (all from pinterest) that i have been using to get me in the mood...

all of these photos have some beautiful elements using purple and gray. you dont have to love the whole room to appreciate the nice use of this color combo.

here is a photo of some of the fabrics we are using in the sun room and family room area

these are just the basic fabrics...we will be adding some fun pillows as well!

here is the wallpaper we will be using in the living room/dining room...as well as some of the fabrics from in there.

this wallpaper is sooo pretty with a little sheen to it (my client looooves shiny things...i have had to reign her in or i am pretty sure her entire house would be furnished with mirrored furniture:)). it looks very brown in this photo...but paired with the deep purple paint we are using....its beautiful.

of course....famous last words...i will take photos when we are finished!  this has been a fun experience...because it is taking me out of my comfort zone. it is always good to challenge yourself in  design!

what about you? have you challenged yourself with any color combinations lately?:)

jodie