working hard

i just did a double take when i saw the date of my last blog entry! i have been working hard these last few weeks. i mean, i always work hard...but lately i have been really busy. mostly with a huge proposal i was workng on. i will spill more about that if i get it:)

i also had a chance to go to the washington design center to see keith granet speak about his new book

i had never even heard his name before, but i quickly learned that granet runs a huge design management firm. basically, he advises designers on how to be just as efficient with the business side of their firm, as with the design side.

this really hit home with me. designing comes very easy to me, but the business side is a bit trickier. i dont have the luxury of hiring someone to help me with that (yet!). it justs take more time (and smoke coming out of my ears) for these wheels to run smoothly. however, i am learning that all it takes is time and practice and a good cheering section (thanks kev:)).

granet is also the co-founder of the design leadership summit. where a group of elite industry leaders meet to discuss...what else....design! at the last summit, all of the leaders broke into small discussion groups to talk about what is concerning them in the industry today. each group came back saying the same thing, that the design industry, as a whole, is under valued...that the perception is skewed. this may make some people roll their eyes...but i personally find it to be true. a lot of times i find myself defending my job.  people think it is just a hobby...but for me it is real.

all of this reminded me of a post one of my favorite blogger/designers, lauren leiss of pure style home, wrote a while ago  behind the scenes. she does a great job explaining (without complaining) all of the work that goes into interior design. so if you have some time...read it....it is very informative.

well...i cant leave this post without some interesting photos! so i will show you pictures i took with  my phone on a recent trip to georgetown (in between working hard!).

i am loving this pendant....

i had to take a photo of this...i think i might need to make one!

i am dying to use this light in a project.....

i took this photo to show kevin his next project...i would love a longer version of this shelf in our family room....

a beautiful antique shelf

a trip to georgetown wouldnt have been complete without a visit to georgetown cupcake....and they were filming a special! i may just get my 15 minutes of fame yet!

and thanks to my good friend janice for taking this to prove i really was there:)

i promised myself i would get two blog entries out this week...here is the first. stay tuned for the second....

jodie

time flies

where does the time go?  when i started blogging (way back in may), my goal was to do 4 entries a week...ha! now i try to do at least 2...but lately it has been hard to get 1 done.

my mom came to help with the kids last week so i could get some work done. she always asks if there are any projects she can help with. ummm...yes please! she can sew up a storm (unlike me). so while she was here i had her hem eight panels out of burlap for our living/room dining room windows....now i just need to add the pretty stencil pattern.

and she made this cute little pillow....

 

and this cushion for our new deck bench....

 

and hemmed these ikea panels...

 

these panels are on the stair landing. we are painting this area as we speak.  i will post a better picture of the whole landing when the painting is done. it is all part of our two story foyer. we have put off  painting this area for two years b/c we knew it would be a big job. oh, and mostly because i do all of the painting and i wasn't about to to this......

seriously! i had to go in another room at some points because the whole thing was making me a nervous wreck. i do not like heights! (oh, and i hope to one day change that pendant....but for now it has to stay.)

so that is what has been going on around here....along with finishing up a laundry room re-do, new window treatments for ava's room, finishing tiling a bathroom...the list goes on. i have also been working on some fun client projects and a proposal for a possible new one.(i will post pics on these later) its been a busy couple of weeks! the kids finally start school on tuesday.....first grade!!

thanks for all of your help mom! i am already working on a new list:)

jodie

hello yellow

i feel yellow creeping back into my life lately.

this is not  me... just a picture i found on pinterest:)  in our first house we had a yellow kitchen for 6 years and then for 4 years in italy our entire downstairs was yellow. so after 10 years i was downright sick of the color. when we moved into our current house i didnt want ANY yellow. not even any paint with yellow undertones.  the paint colors i chose for most of our main floor all have gray undertones. the last piece of the puzzle was to paint the foyer. and what do you know.... i chose a sherwinn williams color called "sand".  guess what...it has yellow undertones! so as i was painting this past weekend, i got to thinking about how i started to warm up to yellow again.

(just another pretty pic from pinterest)

i think it started a few months ago, when i was convincing  my daughter to paint her room yellow. i tried to explain that it would be a perfect back drop to add pink accents...instead of painting it pink. this is not an easy task with a 6 year old!  i think i sealed the deal when i told her that i had a yellow room when i was younger (with a poster of a kitten in a wine glass over my bed?). so yellow it is for ava. (its another SW color called "glad yellow")

then i saw this post on little green notebook about a yellow door on jennys girls bedroom. it looks amazing! and then this happened out in front of our house...

the road crew came around last week and changed all the fire hydrants to this color! (they were more orangey gold before).

the list goes on....yesterday i woke up to ann curry in a bright yellow dress on the today show (sorry cant find a photo). and in crate and barrel i saw this diplay...

so all of this brings me to the age old question: "which came first....the trend or me liking it?".  i am pretty sure it is the trend. but it happens so organically it is hard to notice!  what about you....do you feel any colors creeping back into your life?

jodie

rubbish rescue

my husband truly believes that there is no such thing as scrap wood. he honestly can. not. throw. it. away. if you saw our garage you would know what i mean...but i am definitely not inserting a photo of that here! our neighbor is getting a new deck built. this means jackpot for kevin. so this past weekend he went "pile diving"...not to be confused with "dumpster diving" which is his usual folly. one of the perks of living in a new development is having dumpsters full of wood everywhere. he and the kids are often seen riding through the neighborhood carrying wood!

here is the pile (thank you to my model ethan)

and, no joke, about 2 hours later....look what appeared on the deck!

isnt it pretty? he used some old brackets he had laying around. i love the mix of the natural wood and the metal. here it is with more modeling  (thank you ethan AND ava)

and thats not all.  we have a fire pit on our deck (that didnt make it in the last deck photos b/c it wasnt pretty). this is what it looked like before the the "pile diving"

it was all yucky and rusty. and there was no where to put your feet up on (or your beer:)). now look at it...

ahhh much better! doesnt it look good? we are deciding what color it will be. i think the bench will stay natural, but we might go a little darker with this. it just adds a whole new element to our comfort...

who knew? this man i married didnt even own a tool set when i met him...now he is unstoppable:) i love having a partner in crime. it is amazing what you can do with things people are discarding...especially wood!

jodie

goosebumps (2)

well...here is it...the second addition of goosebumps. this whole house does it for me. when we were moving back to the states from italy 2 years ago i found this house in tradtional home. it is soooo pretty! i think this is when my love affair with orange began! there are just the perfect amount of subtle hints of it in this house. sit back and enjoy...because this is some serious eye candy.

i love the openess of this room...and all of the fabrics and textures. the windows and french door...i LOVE how they are trimmed out in black. this is a perfect blend of masculine and feminine style if you ask me.

i might actually cook if i had this kitchen!

look how they built these beds into the room. i love it! and what about those lanterns on the wall?

i could move right in. i was just re-reading my post and i decided that i say "love" a lot. i guess i am just really trying to get my feelings across....and this word seems to do it. oh well...at least i mean it when i say it:) 

happy weekend!

jodie

ballard bling

i had some time this weekend to look at the latest ballard designs catalogue. i liked what i saw...sometimes they really get it right. of course i love all of their things by suzanne kasler...she always gets it right. but this time i saw some little gems from their regular line that i love! so i thought i would share.

this light is so pretty and timeless. it could be used in many different spaces...

i am totally smitten with this console! so elegant and it is the perfect size.

this bench would be great at the foot of a bed or in an entry way.

look at this cute little storage bench or it can be used as an ottoman. a great blend of style and function...my favorite combination!

i love the design of this sconce... so open and airy.

and last but not least...look at their new "griffin" sofa. it has such classic lines. i love the nail head trim and casters.

catalogue shopping is always fun when a new season is coming! 

jodie

design style

my husband told me recently that someone asked him what my design style is. honestly, i couldnt give him and answer right away. i think that is a really hard question (for me anyway). dont get me wrong...i know what i like...but it is hard to describe. i am not one of those designers that people come to for a certain style. i think i was at one time because i worked for a company called french country living....so of course everyone i worked with was looking for that certain aesthetic.

now i am working for myself and my clients all want different things. my main goal when decorating is to bring their vision to life...whatever style it is. i honestly have never done anything uber modern...but i would love to. transitional is the farthest i have gone in that direction. i love the challenge of marrying my vision with my clients to come up with a design that makes us both happy. with that ,there are times that i concede and let things in a room that may not necessarily be my first choice. but it makes the client happy and honestly for me that is what really matters.

i have one client whose husband always wants to know our "theme"...what look are we going for in a room. for some reason this makes him feel better about it! so we have fun coming up with names for rooms that we are working on. their family room was "ralph laureny" and now we are working on the basement and and we came up with an "english pub" feel (see fabrics above).

here is a little sneak peak into the "ralph laureny" family room...

none of this rambling answers kevins original question.  first of all i like my designs to be cozy and comfortable. for me that is so important. i like rooms to look like they evolved over time...with lots of personal touches. i love neutrals with pops of color. i am a big fan of doing the larger upholstery pieces in a neutral tone and adding in color with rugs, soft treatments and accessories. and most of all a room just has to feel "right" to me....in proportion, style and function.like these rooms i found on pinterest. everything just works in this room(of course the orange accents sealed the deal for me!).

this entry way is the perfect combination of style and comfort...it is so welcoming to me.

so i am feeling pressure to use catchy phrase for my design style!  i really just want to answer "good" that my design style is "good design". however, that doesnt sound very catchy. how about "comfortable chic" or "casually elegant" or  "eclectic traditional" or...i could go on forever, so i will stop here!

how about you...whats your design style? any catchy phrases?

jodie