the tears (and FEARS!) of a clown! x00x

January 13, 2026 in art

for as long as i can remember, i have been pretty scared of clowns. i don’t like full face make-up for costumes or life as it makes it hard for me to understand someone’s face (probably why i have trouble when my fifteen year old daughter’s application veers into tammy faye - i just love her CLEAN face!) but the white paint on a clown and the exaggerated, big red smile makes my spine go cold. i can’t bear those 60s clown paintings (i won't show you a reference because googling them might give me an anxiety attack) but i see them accidentally sometimes when i am in a vintage shop. i might be admiring a mid century credenza or lamp and i turn around and BAM there’s some creepy clown leering at me. and sometimes i’ve even run into a full figure, life size statue… i can’t imagine how anyone could sleep with one of those in the house. (my position on art for your home is that is should make you feel JOYOUS and lift you up. i recognize that there are important works like picasso’s guernica or munch’s scream that are important to view and contemplate, but when i walk into my kitchen for my morning coffee i want to be greeted by a piece that makes me HAPPY and peaceful, which is why i am such a big fan of sarah kinn… her paintings make my heart feel bigger.)

january's FEATURED QUILT of the month by my mother, ann rhode! x0x0x

January 06, 2026 in art, quilts

(challenge 2024 by ann rhode, 31W x 32L”)

twice a year ann attends “quilt camp” where she meets up with quilting friends for a week of quilt work, creative collaboration and socializing. they often “challenge” each other to design a piece with a certain fabric or pattern. this quilt is the product of one of these challenges. the blue and green background fabric was chosen as the challenge fabric. ann made a series of pillars in different fabrics and heights. she grounded them with contrasting horizontal stripes. for ann, it was a fun exercise and a way to play with value, proportion and pattern.

REPOST: dellwood family home

November 11, 2025 in art, living room, residential interior, sofa

* now that i am relaunching my business in california, i wanted to share some of my favorite projects. this dellwood family home was a wonderful collection of personal mementos, interesting art, a variety of textures and complementary elements and deep, vibrant colors. it was really exciting and fun to pull it all together! x0x0x

november's FEATURED QUILT of the month by my mother, ann rhode! x0x0xx

November 04, 2025 in art, quilts

(violet garden 2021 by ann rhode, 68W x 45L”)

ann describes creating “violet garden” as an exercise in designing an intermittent “fence” or grid that allows you to see the florals behind it. she liked the idea of looking through something to view the unexpected.

violet garden is machine pieced and machine quilted. fabrics and batting are all cotton.

my chautauqua project was featured in BOULDER MAGAZINE! x0x0x

October 21, 2025 in art, dining room, family, family room, living room, residential interior

one of my final projects in boulder was this super colorful, vibrant, whimsical family home in chautauqua. it is so exciting to have it included in this month’s boulder magazine. THANK YOU to heather shoning for the wonderful article, heather burns of HBK photography (as always) for the beautiful photos, sarah kinn, whose art is seen throughout the house and to my adventurous clients who were so much fun to collaborate with on this project. here is a link to the article! x00xx

come to a POP-UP ART SHOW featuring ann rhode's quilts (and to celebrate jennifer rhode design launching in california!) x00xx

October 14, 2025 in family, quilts, photography, art

* i am reposting this story i wrote about my mother’s quilts a few years ago, in preparation for one of her shows to explain her design process. i am so excited for you all to see what she is sharing at our pop-up on october 17th x0x

come to a POP-UP ART SHOW featuring sarah kinn's work (and to celebrate jennifer rhode design launching in california!) x00xx

October 07, 2025 in art

* i am reposting this story i wrote about sarah kinn’s amazing paintings several years ago. her work has continued to evolve creatively and i am so excited for you all to see what she is bringing to california! come see it live at our pop-up on octover 17th! x0x

celebrating the california launch of jennifer rhode design with a pop-up ART SHOW! x0x0x

September 25, 2025 in art, quilts

hi friends! it has been so amazing to be back in my home state of california and i am thrilled about relaunching my interior design business here. to celebrate, we are hosting a pop-up art show featuring:

* the paintings of sarah kinn, a dear friend and boulder based artist whose bright, colorful pieces are all over my house as well as in the homes of many of my colorado clients. she is coming out to berkeley to paint and create in the california sunshine and to share her work at our pop-up. a few of her gorgeous paintings…

my eldorado springs project was featured in home & garden colorado magazine! x0x0x

September 09, 2025 in art, family room, residential interior

i am so thrilled that my eldorado spring project is included in the summer 2025 issue of home & garden colorado. this was an especially rewarding project because my clients moved from the house we worked on together in boulder to a smaller, jewel box of a home in eldorado springs. we had a great time placing their original furniture and layering on new pieces. many thanks to lori tobias for the story and to heather burns for the lovely photo and of course, my wonderful clients! x00x

september's FEATURED QUILT of the month by my mother, ann rhode! x0x0x

September 02, 2025 in art, quilts

(floating, 2021 by ann rhode, 80W x 84L”)

ann created “floating” in another attempt to reduce her scrap bag. the printed strips were all leftovers from other quilts. she estimates over 200 different fabrics were used, which gives a sense of the incredible size of her fabric collection. the scraps were organized by width and then arranged with the lightest value prints at the top and increasing to the darkest at the bottom. the horizontal solid strips were appliquéd in place after.

floating is is machine pieced and machine quilted. fabrics and batting are all cotton.

REPOST: interact brand design studio

August 27, 2025 in commercial interior, art, office

(the lounge area of the office complete with vintage ads)

* now that i am back in california, i am sharing some of my previous projects… this commercial project was so much FUN. i loved all the whimsy and unexpected “art” like the giant ice cream cones, the collection of vintage soda cans, the big drum and the ad campaigns from another era. work spaces can always have a bit of “silly” slipped in! x0x0x

august's FEATURED QUILT of the month by my mother, ann rhode! x0x0x

August 12, 2025 in art, quilts

(flower power, 20XX by ann rhode, 62W x 62L”)

ann created “flower power” to showcase her collection of big floral prints. when designing it, she felt it needed the darker verticals with the thin strips to give some structure to the piece and to encourage the feeling of dappled light peeking through. the wider horizontal strips provide tranquil pathways across the lighter triangles.

this piece did not end up making much of a dent in her big print floral collection!

flower power is machine pieced and machine quilted. fabrics and batting are all cotton.

REPOST: winter park mountain home x0xx

July 29, 2025 in art, dining room, family, family room, living room, office, residential interior

(incredible views out of the expansive, angled back windows)

* now that i have moved my business to california, i wanted to share some of my favorite projects with all of you bay areas who might be ready for design help. one of my all time favorite jobs is this winter park mountain house. i LOVED this project because everyone from the architects to the builders to the craftspeople and artists were TIP TOP and so good at their jobs. and of course, my clients were especially awesome! x00xx

REPOST: COLORFUL christmas tree drive

June 17, 2025 in art, dining room, family, garden, living room, office, pet, residential interior, sofa

we did an extensive remodel on this family home nestled under the flatirons in the chataqua neighborhood of boulder, colorado. originally built in the 80’s, we updated the exterior with earthy wood siding and local stone, in keeping with the home’s mountain setting.

gorgeous santa fe! x0x0x

April 23, 2025 in art, family, travel

(these sconces were hung down all the hallways of our hotel: inn on the alameda)

five years ago, when my daughter was turning ten, we were supposed to take a girls’ trip with my mother to santa fe. that plan got kabashed with the pandemic and this spring break we were finally able to make it happen. i have never before been to a place so concentrated with art museums and galleries and beautiful shops in a relatively small geographic footprint. it was absolutely exhilirating to be exposed (inundated?) to so many pretty, innovative, inspiring, engaging works of art literally EVERYWHERE we went. and the food was outrageous too… so YUMMY! here are some of my favorite discoveries…

my denver project is featured in this month's DENVER LIFE MAGAZINE! x0x0x

April 08, 2025 in family, residential interior, kitchen, art

i am so thrilled to share that my denver project is featured in this month’s denver life magazine! this remodel was such a joy because we assembled such a terrific team: architect anne marie kaufman of AMPk architecure, sanctuary kitchen and bath design, builders DT construct, artist sarah kinn, photographer heather burns of HBK photography and of course, my wonderful clients. THANK YOU to sahale greenwood of denver life for including this project in april’s edition. here is a link to the article and here is a link to view the full project! x0x0x

first featured QUILT (for sale) by my mother, ann rhode: TEA POTS

April 02, 2025 in art, quilts

(teapots, 2019 by ann rhode 54W x 54L”)

for ann rhode, designing a quilt often begins with a geometric challenge. in creating tea pots, she originally wanted to make a one block quilt with curved seams. ultimately, she needed two blocks to make it pleasing. the emergence of the tea pot was a surprise!

ann used japanese yukata fabrics to build the tea pots, supported by solid fabrics and other small prints. the warm background fabrics offset the deeper blues, greens and reds of the tea pots. 100% cotton fabrics and batting were used. the quilt is both machine pieced and quilted.

contact jennifer@jenniferrhode.com for pricing information. to see the full array of quilts avallable for purchase click here.

my winter park project was included in a HOUZZ article! x0x

May 07, 2024 in art, residential interior

THANK YOU to georgia madden of houzz for including my winter park project in her article “10 Spring Home Upgrades to Do Right Now.” many thanks also to the super talented berly gavin of kimberly gavin photography and natalie warady, stylist extraordinaire, for the beautiful photography and styling of this mountain house. and of course, thank you to my amazing clients for this wonderful opportunity! x00xx

to see more of this project click here

my winter park project was included in an article on houzz! x0x

February 06, 2024 in art, dining room, family room, living room, office, residential interior

the mudroom of my winter park project was featured in an article on houzz called “To-Dos: Your January Home Checklist” i LOVE this because it’s all about new year’s cleaning and organizing, one of my very favorite activities. THANK YOU to laura gaskill for the write up. and THANK YOU again to the winter park team:

architect: scott munn of ma studios

builder: zane bishop of bishop built construction

kitchen design: sanctuary kitchen design

photographer: kimberly gavin of kimberly gavin photography

photo stylist: natalie warady

and my super special clients! this was such a fun project! x0x

we will MISS the beauty and creativity of the incredible LISA HUNT!

January 30, 2024 in art

lisa hunt’s journey to becoming an artist was full of serendipity and bravery. she was brought up in a family flush with creatives… her mother was from roxbury, massachusetts, just outside of boston and lisa’s grandparents and great aunts and uncles all resided on different floors of the same brownstone. when visiting, lisa and her sisters would go from the flat of her grandfather and his second wife, affectionately called aunt muriel, who were frequently listening to calypso music up to the flat of her great aunt edna, a commercial artist - each room of edna’s apartment was painted a different jewel toned color - the art studio, which housed a large drafting table and myriad jars of colored pencils, was a deep blue. finally, the girls might end up in the flat of her adored aunt kaye for a big family dinner. lisa’s mother, asha, having spent many years of her childhood in the brownstone where there was so much appreciation for beauty and the arts, was inherently creative and included lisa in her painting, drawing, sewing and crochet projects.