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

goosebumps (5) & gardening

recently i had a day to really clean out my desk and files...it felt so good! i found a folder marked "blog ideas" that i didnt even know i had. it is great idea if i would remember to look in it every once in a while. anyway, in the folder i found an article from last spring about a garden that made me swoon. seriously, look at this....

those gates!  i love the design...dont you just want to sit down and have a delicious summertime meal there?

take a closer look....

i am definitely keeping this one in my "dream house" files. it was designed by lisa bynon, a landscape designer. i googled to find out more about her...but really only came up with other bloggers who wrote about this same article last year.

one blogger in particular stood out and i have to share the link to her blog august fields. sara used this same article as an inspiration for a garden and she and her family did an amazing job! be sure to check out her garden along with many other pretty things.

we started a little veggie garden of our own this year too. ahem...it doesnt look exactly like the garden above..but its a start:)

once again kevin came to the rescue...or he rescued wood (trex this time) from a dumpster and used it to make a raised bed for me. we put it on the other side of our house...that we never really use.... beacause it gets geat sun.

of course i had help...finally ethan gets some face time on this little blog:)

and of course my faithful sidekick...

here is a view of the whole garden, with the little markers ava made that lasted about 10 seconds in the rain!

i will have to keep you posted on the progress. these were taken a few weeks ago and now we already have some carrots popping up. it really is satisfying to see things grow from seeds. the kids are loving it!

jodie

girls room re-do

hello strangers! remember when i talked about liking the color yellow way back in this post?  well...i finally did get a chance to use in in my daughters room. ava wanted pink walls and  i know you are supposed to let your childrens creativity shine through and all of that, buuut...i just gave her a gentle nudge in another direction...a yellow direction. luckily we are both happy with the outcome! i finished this little re-do last october...so i thought it was about time to share it.

here is what her room looked like when we started...



it was on its way to pretty...but with a few small changes...look at it now.

boy do i need to take better photos...but you get the idea! obviously the furniture placement didnt change...but the walls and some pieces of furniture were painted. we also added the pom poms (ava helped me make them) and the window treatments.

here is a photo of it last fall that my friend desi took when she came over to take my blog photo.  the old comforter was on the bed...

thats how you take a photo! i hadnt really "styled" it at the time...so it looks a little messy. nothing like its usual state! (ava takes after her daddy in the cleaning up department)

these next three are some other photos that desi took....you definitely need to go and check out her blog she is a very talented and creative photographer.

 

here is part of the other side of the room that isnt so photogenic...but ava loves to read in her bean bag chair.

here is a closeup of the back of the book case that we stenciled...

and another little spot...

sometimes ava does clean her room (when i ask) and this is where she takes after her mommy...she makes a list! this is what i found on her bed the other day after i told her to clean up...so cute!

ok..here is one more shot of the room...just because.

last but not least a photo of the girl who lives in the room...another desi photo. that is paint on her hands:)

ok....i hope you enjoyed! i will try to take some photos of ethans room soon...i re-did that last fall too!

jodie

man of many talents

i am talking about my husband. he really is one of those people that is good at whatever he sets out to do...its very annoying! one of his talents is photography...and he is really good at it.  we have many of his photos blown up and framed around the house. i keep thinking i will take pictures of them and blog about it...but i havent. so instead i am going to share a link to his blog that he updates every once in while with beautiful photos.

kevin has taken many photos during our travels while living in italy and he is also very fortunate to travel a lot for work, so he usually brings his "good camera" with him to capture some shots.

here is one of my favorite photos that he took while on a trip to africa....

he has an amazing eye for detail and sees beauty in things i would never think of photographing. if you have a minute check out his blog nukoland...you wont be disappointed!

jodie