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best of houzz service award 2021!!!!!*!

February 02, 2021 in commercial interior, residential interior

2020 was a bananas year that i think we are all still recovering from… my business came to a standstill last spring and it really made me question whether this was a sustainable line of work for me. thankfully, everything has picked back up again (i think a lot of people began to re-evaluate their homes after being stuck in them for months on end!) and i am finally feeling super optimistic about what’s down the road. so i am especially GRATEFUL for this year’s “best of houzz service" award (considering i wasn’t performing nearly as much service as in a typical year) and all of my wonderful clients and colleagues who make this adventure possible! THANK YOU! x0x0xx

to read about other awards click here or here or here

jennifer rhode STYLIZED KITCHEN (after).jpg

happy new year! x0x

December 29, 2020 in family, exercise, holiday, living room, residential interior

the best way i can describe the last three months is humbling… because i’d had such a slow spring work-wise, due to the pandemic, i decided to enroll in a few classes (three!) to bump up and fill in holes in my design knowledge. two of the courses were technical and between them i learned the adobe suite (illustrator, in design, photoshop), sketch up and autocad. i cannot emphasize enough how far out of my wheelhouse these programs are… i am probably the last person on the planet who still uses a paper agenda to keep track of my schedule and when we have daylight savings my car clock is an hour off for six months because i have no idea how to change it. a few times i have given my first husband a ride when the clock was wrong and he has modified it, which causes me to show up either an hour early or an hour late to places because i have taught myself to adjust for it.

my article on dutch "gezellig" published in boulder county home + garden, winter 2020

December 08, 2020 in family, hank, holiday, living room, pet, residential interior, sofa

as we all struggle through this crazy global pandemic, we are missing the ability to travel and experience the customs and traditions of other cultures. i had so much fun writing this article for boulder county home+ garden about dutch “gezellig” (coziness) and remembering our time living as ex-pats in amsterdam. all three of my sweeties made it into this piece (hank and my darling children) as well as my living room! MANY THANKS (as always) to heather knierim of HBK photography for the lovely photos! wishing you all loads of gezellig as we all bunker down this winter… HAPPY, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! x0x0xx

my article on "decorating with nature" published in boulder county home + garden magazine

October 06, 2020 in dining room, garden, holiday, residential interior

i had so much fun writing this article on bringing natural elements into your home as fall decor. MANY THANKS to the super talented designers and photographers for letting me share their work: emily minton redfield photography, helly swenson duncan of design matters home, lindsay nichols photography, neelam gurm of neelam interiors, gena winter and aubriana kasper of marigold, chris nyce of nyceonephotography, kristin reisinger of spacecraft, heather knierim of HBK photography, kathy peden photography, susan kosonocky of restyle design, d’ann boal of smitten & swoon, lindy williams of westward foundry, rangefinder photography, vanessa empire interiors, nicholas gringold photography, garden studio design and nicole morell interiors. x0x

furnishing children's rooms

August 18, 2020 in family, residential interior

when designing the baby room for my first child, we repurposed a pair of walnut bludot dressers we had used for years in our own bedroom as well as a vintage steel nurse’s desk from an office we no longer needed. we flushed the room out with a simple, white crib and changing table from ikea and hung bright, happy artwork on the walls. as my son got older, we replaced the crib for a toddler bed and later a “grown up” bed, updated the posters and art on the walls to reflect his changing interests (he shifted from a love of animals to james bond and skateboarding.) to this day the dressers and desk have remained in his room - he is now fourteen.

UPDATE on flexible corona homes

July 23, 2020 in dining room, exercise, family, family room, garden, hank, living room, playroom, residential interior

(american gate-leg dining table from 1695-1720 owned by the bowdoin family [founders of college in maine]; photo: historic deerfield)

my dear friend, cait mcquade, who is a museum professional and has extensively studied american cultural history (and has a TERRIFIC blog on the various ways we experience museums) let me know that i am not the first to endorse flexible home furnishings. according to cait: “U.S. domestic spaces in colonial and early republic homes were also convertible. all furnishings were kept against the walls when rooms weren't in use (maybe so as not to trip over things in the dim lighting?). folding furniture, mostly tables, kept the center space open until it was time to play cards, work on sewing, or serve tea.” super interesting!

my article on "better bookshelves" published in boulder county home + garden magazine! x0x

July 16, 2020 in art, living room, residential interior

(so thrilled to include the work of designer mark d. sikes [right side], photo: amy neunsinger)

i’m so grateful for the summer 2020 issue of boulder county home + garden… in addition to interviewing me for an article on pattern, they included a piece i wrote on creating artful bookshelves. SO MANY THANKS to heather knierim of HBK photography (as always) for the lovely photos of my bookshelf projects, my clients for allowing me to share them, my dear friend, designer, mark d. sikes and his favorite photographer amy neunsinger and emily sweet of sweetbookobsession for allowing me to include their beautiful and inspiring work as well… ENJOY! x0x0x

boulder county home + garden, summer 2020 ... interviewed for an article on pattern! x0x0x

July 14, 2020 in art, living room, press, residential interior

i was so delighted to be interviewed by ruthanne johnson on how to integrate patterns into your home decor for her article “patterns, patterns everywhere” featured in the summer 2020 edition of boulder county home + garden. MANY THANKS to heather knierim of HBK photography for the beautiful photos and to my lovely clients for allowing me to share their spaces… also so exciting to see the beautiful work of sarah kinn that we commissioned for this entry in print.

flexible corona homes

June 18, 2020 in dining room, exercise, family, family room, garden, hank, living room, playroom, residential interior

last week my daughter had a piano recital on zoom along with two dozen other students. it was great to see her perform (she did a TIP TOP job), but the best part was getting a look into everyone else’s homes. my favorite was the one with the little sister laying on her belly across the top of the sofa with her feet in the air and her chin in her hands. runner up was the cat in the window seat behind the piano napping.

published in voyage denver magazine's most inspiring stories! x0x

June 16, 2020 in residential interior

i am so honored to be included in voyage denver magazine’s most inspiring stories! THANK YOU sarah miller and voyage denver for giving me the opportunity to share my story! x0x0xx

here is the full article

voyage denver

erica green's fiber art

May 26, 2020 in art, commercial interior, living room, residential interior

i first discovered erica green’s work at her “passages” show at the AKA gallery in boulder last year. the viewer was invited to walk between the “walls” of knotted fibers green created that changed from portions so thick with yarn you could not see through them to sparser lengths that allowed you to peek into the next turn. it was an interactive installation meant to engage the viewer both in traveling along the maze-like route and by contributing knots or braids or tears in the fibers at the end of the journey, thereby participating in the art piece and sharing in a collective experience.

kristin colombano's fog & fury felt

May 05, 2020 in art, residential interior

kristin colombano of fog & fury has always been an artist, but the journey that led her to felt making was circuitous and full of serendipity. born and raised in the bay area, kristin studied painting and photography at the san francisco art institute. she began her career working as a graphic designer and photographer. while on a photo assignment for the asia foundation in mongolia, kristin was completely taken by the felt covered yurts - the traditional dwellings of the nomadic people who have been following herds of sheep and yak for thousands of years on the steppes of central asia - dotting the countryside. the yurts are collapsible and are reassembled again and again as the families travel throughout the plains. felt is employed as the cover because it is light weight for easy travel, insulating, durable and fire resistant.

corona "gezellig"

April 21, 2020 in art, dining room, family, family room, hank, living room, pet, residential interior, sofa

one of my sweetest, most poignant learnings from living in the netherlands for nearly six years is the idea of “gezellig,” the dutch word for coziness. gezellig applies to social concepts like inviting or friendly people, parties, situations and meals, but what i have been really thinking about lately as we all “shelter in place” is how the dutch instilled gezellig in their homes. in a land where it rains at least a portion of most days, our amsterdam neighbors knew how to create welcoming spaces to retreat within and enjoy their families, while the rain drummed outside. corona is pushing us all inside now and we can learn from the comforting, warm interiors of the dutch.

artful bookshelves

April 14, 2020 in art, family, family room, living room, residential interior

in this time of "social distancing" and "shelter at home" when we are meant to remain within the confines of our houses we probably have a bit more time. it is the PERFECT opportunity for interior improvement projects. channel your boredom and extra energy by reorganizing your bookshelves to maximize their visual impact. thoughtfully arranged bookshelves add life, color, warmth and intimacy to a room. bookshelves can provide amazing insight into your loves, interests, travel, collections and favorite authors, personalizing a home and making it unique. following are tips for turning what is often only a functional aspect of a room into something that enhances, informs and brightens the space.

eco-friendly home products... boulder county home + garden, spring issue

March 31, 2020 in dining room, family, family room, living room, residential interior

i am a bit abashed to admit that my children are the ones who have pushed me to consider how the product choices i make for my home effect the environment. because of them we now have a collection of metal straws (BIG ones so they can be easily cleaned with a little brush), reusable bowl and cup covers that look like my grandmother’s shower caps (used in place of plastic wrap) and cloth napkins for everyday use, rather than paper ones. i DO cringe each time they rub spaghetti sauce or jam on the napkins because of course that means they will need to be washed. “mama, you HAVE to let us wipe our hands - that’s the whole point” they say. so it was serendipitous when i was asked to write an article for boulder county home + garden on eco-conscious home items and furnishings. i had so much fun discovering these kitchen and home decor products that are both visually delightful (MUCH prettier than my shower caps!) AND support conservation and sustainability. THANK YOU to dot & army, MoMA, marley’s monsters, Khala & Co., minna, archive new york, area home, leah singh and coyuchi for your beautiful, creative and thoughtful designs.

best of houzz 2020 service award

February 25, 2020 in commercial interior, residential interior

i LOVE to get prizes… i think this stems from the fact that i wasn’t a sporty kid and didn’t participate in activities that got rewarded with trophies or medals. i may have gotten a couple of “participation” ribbons the summer i was nine and did swim team, but i never placed. so i am thrilled and GRATEFUL to receive this service award again from houzz. i DO wish they would send me a big, fancy ribbon with my name on it or some kind of statue, but an email notice is nice as well. x0x

published in boulder county home + garden

November 06, 2019 in art, dining room, living room, quilts, residential interior

i am so excited that a piece i wrote about using textiles as wall art is the cover story for boulder county home + garden magazine’s fall-winter issue. THANK YOU to heather knierim of HBK photography for the beautiful photos, to my clients for allowing me to share these projects and st. frank and the super talented fiber artists: my mother, aysun and aysel demir of wallknot and designs by filia for their creations.

(*the editor did add two artists to the article - the first and last projects included in the story are not my projects.)

shayna's abstracts

October 15, 2019 in art, garden, residential interior

shayna larsen has been doing realistic, soulful watercolor animal portraits for some time. the aspect of the medium shayna finds most compelling is that she doesn’t have full control… she can make a suggestion with her brush and then the paint goes where it will, generating a life of its own.

alexander calder inspired mobiles

October 02, 2019 in art, residential interior

alexander calder is largely credited with creating the “mobile,” a suspended, kinetic sculpture in the early 1930’s. while other artists were also experimenting with moving art (notably man ray’s “obstruction” constructed from wooden coat hangers in 1920 or aleksandr rodchenko’s “oval hanging construction no.12” also from 1920), calder explored and experimented with the art form for decades, creating some of his most recognized works. his mobiles were so dubbed by friend and fellow artist, marcel duchamp, when he was visiting calder’s studio in 1931, “mobile” being a french pun meaning both movement and motive.

living room with bludot ottoman

color, texture and warmth in south boulder

September 04, 2019 in art, dining room, family, living room, residential interior, sofa, family room

we created a clean interior envelope of white walls and light blonde flooring to house the eclectic mix of bold colors, varied textures and warm woods in this south boulder home. the owners, a young family of four, decamped from northern california to the front range bringing with them a collection of bright, mid-century graphic prints. these vivid, compelling pieces inspired the color palette in the downstairs living spaces. a gold-hued print set the tone for a family room done in burnt orange and golds featuring a tweedy cayenne loveseat, an orange powder-coated side table and a geometric felt rug.