THE JOURNAL
Notes on a well-made home.
Design thinking, renovation wisdom, and the quiet details that make a house feel collected, from the Studio 1049 desk.
Before You Begin: The Quiet Work That Comes Before the Tile, the Layout, and the Paint
The most important work of any renovation happens before the tile, the layout, and the paint. I've put everything I wish every client knew at the very start into a free guide, and today I'm sharing it, plus a few of the ideas inside that change how you begin.
Project Reveal: Modern Rustic Kitchen
This young family of six had completely maxed out their kitchen storage and didn’t have room to eat meals all together. See how we solved these problems while bringing the outdoors in to this Modern Rustic kitchen!
Understanding Your Design Project Timeline
Chances are good that if you’ve never worked with an interior designer, it can be challenging to wrap your head around the entire process from start to finish. We often hear questions along the lines of “So how long is this project actually going to take us?” The short answer — it depends.
Kitchen Planning 101: How to Get Started With Your Renovation
When it comes to a home design project, there’s nothing quite as exciting — or as daunting — as tackling a kitchen. And after almost ten years in the business, with just about as many kitchen projects now under my belt, I’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to make this central hub of any home as functional as it is beautiful.
Project Reveal: Sunny Porch Addition
As someone who primarily focuses on interiors, it always feels like a rare and special treat when my design work has the opportunity to spill across the threshold to the exterior of a client’s home. These projects are most often focused on things like patios and pool rooms, but today I get to share a fun before and after for a completely different type of project — a new porch addition!
5 Questions Interior Designers Hear All The Time
A few weeks back, we hosted a fun “Ask Me Anything” through our Instagram stories (Currently saved in our "Fun Stuff” highlight reel in case you’d like to take a look!) where we got to answer many of your questions on topics ranging from paint colors to mixing patterns. As expected there were a few repeat questions, and it got us thinking about the handful of questions Interior Designers always seem to get.
Spend vs. Save: Part Two
I’m sure you’ve heard it mentioned before that kitchens and bathrooms have some of the greatest impacts on a home’s resale value, and that’s for several reasons. For one thing, you spend a ton of time in these rooms. They need to be as functional as they are beautiful. Second, they are anything BUT evergreen, meaning our collective design tastes and styles are more likely to change faster than the actual hard materials and fixtures in place degrade and need to be updated.
Spend vs. Save: Part One
In this age of online discount codes, two-day delivery, and instant gratification we’re all more than a little suspicious when it comes to paying the full sticker value for just about anything. I mean, there’s a reason the “S” in “MSRP” stands for “suggested,” right? Now don’t get me wrong — I love a bargain as much as the next gal, but my time and experience in this industry have taught me there’s a painful amount of truth packed into the old phrase “You get what you pay for.”
8 Myths About Working with an Interior Designer—Debunked!
Today, I thought I would talk to you about some common misconceptions the general public often has when it comes to working with an interior designer. Like I mentioned in a previous post 25 benefits of hiring an interior designer, there are a few myths floating around about what it’s like working with a full-service interior designer. I’m here to debunk those rumors and hopefully set the record straight by providing some honest insider information!
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Chances are good that if you’ve never worked with an interior designer, it can be challenging to wrap your head around the entire process from start to finish. We often hear questions along the lines of “So how long is this project actually going to take us?” The short answer — it depends.