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Washington Post’s House Calls! It’s My Turn!

1 Mar

I just had the opportunity to be the “designer on call” for The Washington Post’s House Calls column, and it was an absolute blast! You can see my design, which was a sunroom for a family of four in Springfield, VA, here.  This is the lovely illustration of the space, by The Post’s very talented Julius Goyanko.

(image via The Washington Post, illustration by Julius Goyanko, design by Jessica Bonness)

 

The whole process for House Calls is thorough and interesting, so I thought I’d recap it for you briefly. When I was initially contacted about the column, a room had already been selected for me. I thought this one was a great match that allowed me to engage in one of my favorite types of design: family-friendly. I was able to contact the homeowner, who filled me in on the uses of the room and preferences. In this case, they wanted a place to play, relax, watch television (but they watch television primarily in another room), and sometimes even snack in.

I had a great time selecting all of the child-friendly elements of the room, particularly a table that ultimately wasn’t shown in the drawing (can’t show it all!), that has a durable metal top, casters, and is situated underneath a wall mounted chalkboard. There’s also a book nook with comfy ottomans (that can double as middle-of-the-room seating) in a corner where the wall is painted in wide horizontal stripes to add some visual interest. The ample seating and durable fabrics are well-suited to a large family. The television is amidst a wall-collage that conceals it, but still provides a central view; it’s mounted just over a low media console. The coffee table is a gorgeous play table that features pull our drawers to hold toys, magazines, or whatever else lands there. And finally, there’s some lovely art floating around on all the walls (and all of it is very reasonably priced).  Here is the rough, scaled plan I provided to The Post. 

If it appears there have been some minor layout changes between this and the illustration, there have been. Mostly for purposes of representation. (image via JGB Interiors)

 

With the plan, I included a key of items that indicated the sources for furnishings, fixtures, and finishes. This is that collage (without the mountains of text; though, if you have a specific source question, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email).

(image via JGB Interiors)

 

You may notice that many of the pieces are from children’s stores: Land of Nod and Restoration Hardware Baby and Child in particular. One of the tricks I use often, and certainly did here, is to mix up more expensive pieces (like the media console from Gus Modern) with less expensive, unconventional alternatives (like the art on the wall from Urban Outfitters). It’s a sort of “catalog curating” that is full of style, but costs less than it looks. …and can’t we all appreciate that?

I hope you enjoyed this week’s column as much as I did participating in it! I can’t wait to do it again sometime, and I hope to be one of the DC designers who contributes regularly. Many thanks to Megan and Julius at the Post for a seamless and fun experience!


Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Another Sneak Peek: A Peaceful Bedroom!

6 Feb

This sneak peek of a calming, green and neutral-toned bedroom is literally just a tiny peek, but I think it’s worth it.

Are you ready?

Ok. Here we go.

First up is the bed: a gorgeous combination of about seven different fabrics ranging from a lovely suzani print to an elegant lattice to velvets to linens to an off-the-shelf Restoration Hardware print that I had cut to use as cording and flange material. (Phew – that was a lot!) The rug is a simple woven jute and wool – and was a steal if you believe it! – and the fantastic patina-finish bed was existing to the client’s home. I am beyond thrilled with the results.

 

Next up (and last up — I told you it was a super tiny peek) is the fantastic mirror I chose for the wall that is adjacent to the bed. With the reflection of all those perfect textiles in it, it looks, well, perfect!

 

Pulling together fabric collections is incredibly fun, and satisfying when it turns out well. These photos make me so happy! Thankfully, my client feels the same way (and gets to live in the room)!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

Architecture and Design in the Classroom.

31 Jan

While I was perusing my iPhoto library this morning, I came across photos of the final project I did with elementary school kids back in 2006, when I was still in graduate school and teaching a few afternoons a week at an upper NW charter school for an after-school enrichment program. My class was “Architecture.” That may make you a bit confused, because you see, I’m not an architect. But these kids were eight and they weren’t exactly ready for their M.Arch yet. They were however, eager, focused, sharp, and they impressed me so much with their enthusiasm for learning and their limitless creativity. It took a matter of days before I realized that I could divide them into teams, give them each a box of straws and a handful of rubber bands, and they’d start figuring out how to build stable and structurally sound towers by using trial and error. I didn’t even have to show them first — they got it, and they liked it. Our final project was to build a neighborhood using boxes and “trash” they brought from home – cereal boxes, yogurt cups – the kinds of things that parents of school-aged-children know all about having to save. Their task was also to plan the city so that it made sense and was efficient and safe. Beyond suggesting that they rethink locating the jail next to the neighborhood school, I was able to mostly take a backseat to their ideas; they had good ones. This is what the town ended up looking like:

 

Finding these images is fortunate timing because I’m starting to think about future classes that I’ll be teaching this year – for graduate students, not kids. As heavy and stressful as that can be, I do love it, and I find that once I get some basic themes and a good structure going I tend to find good ideas for class exercises and projects all over the place. They come in the form of podcasts I hear in the car, rise out of conversations I have with vendors about new products, and they’re always popping up in my RSS-feed. As advanced and worldly as the adult students I now have are, I’ve found that they benefit greatly from some of the same exercises I used to give eight year olds. Not because they’re in need of review or an easy activity to keep busy, but because some of the most creative solutions come when your tasks are fun, open-ended, and colorful. In many ways it’s more challenging to work that way.

Being a designer is great, and being an instructor on top of that is awesome. It’s a complementary pairing, and I feel lucky to be able to do the work that I do. In fact, I’m lovin’ it (…get it?).

 

 

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

Stunning Climbing Walls!

20 Oct

This past summer, my husband took me to an indoor top-rope rock climbing class for my birthday. Heights aren’t my #1 idea of a good time but nevertheless I was excited to give it a try. Flash forward a few months and we are both the proud owners of harnesses and belay devices and all that fun stuff. So in short, climbing is awesome, I love it, and you might too.

The typical design of an indoor climbing gym, such as Earth Treks in suburban DC, looks like this:

A typical, though really large, wall. This particular one is at Earth Treks in suburban Washington DC, which is also where we go. It's an awesome experience seeing this for the first time. (image via Earth Treks)

You’ve got your standard sedona-esque walls in that orange-y clay color studded with bright and irregular hand and foot holds. Technicolor electrical tape marked with hand-scrawled ratings and names shoots out of each knob.  These are to mark the courses; if you begin your climb grasping or stepping on a blue hand/foot hold, then you continue up the wall using only the hand/foot holds marked with blue tape.  It’s really a unique experience and it’s exciting and satisfying to say the least. I’m not very strong, but lugging around a 30-pound kid for a year has made me strong enough to climb, and that’s a great feeling.

My husband has always said if we had unlimited land and resources he would build his own soccer field. As someone who never was interested in sports beyond 30 minutes of solitude at the cardio gym, I now think that if I had the same luxury I’d build an indoor climbing facility. And here’s the great news: it need not look like a caricature of Yellowstone!

Here are two very design-centric climbing facilities that took the sport and made it visually stunning, while maintaining true function. These are so neat to me, and I’d love to visit one.

The PekiPeki Climbing Center is an indoor bouldering center located in Tokyo. Bouldering is a type of climbing that uses floor pads but no ropes or belay devices; as such, the height is significantly less at usually no more than 15 feet (versus the top-rope climbs that can be up to 50 feet high). It looks like a climbing GALLERY, doesn’t it?

The PekiPeki Climbing Center in Tokyo (image via PSFK)

Another wall that caught my attention just this week is at Illoiha Fitness Club in, you guessed it, also Tokyo. It’s in the fashion district, and well, that makes sense. Look at it.

Indoor Climbing Wall by Nendo in Tokyo, Japan (image via Toxel)

I question whether the frames are moveable, which is kind of essential for a true climbing gym (as you re-route challenges and move them around fairly frequently), but I suppose that’s not the point of this installation. Especially given that the climbers are ascending the wall in business casual garb. Here’s another shot of the wall, designed by Japanese firm Nendo.

A close-up of the monochromatic foot/hand holds and the subdued, striking aesthetic. (image via Toxel)

I also like the looks of this wall, outdoors in Kathmandu. I love the authenticity, the understated elegance, and the ruggedness of it. This type of installation would fit in an indoor space very seamlessly in the right kind of residence. 

Wall in Kathmandu (image via asianoffbeat)

Which one is your favorite? …or would you rather have a custom-built soccer field like my husband?

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

A Little Free Advice…

12 Oct

In the few years that I’ve spent in and out of homes in the DC area, I’ve encountered a lot of the same issues and concerns from clients. Some are headaches, and others are really easy fixes. Here are a few of the simpler issues that people often deal with when decorating, and how to combat them cheaply and painlessly.

If you’re overwhelmed with colors learn a little bit about them, especially in terms of warm versus cool hues. There’s no rule that you need to match your art to your rug to your draperies, but a red sofa that’s more like red-orange next to a red wall that’s more of a dark magenta isn’t going to look coordinated or good. Pick up a paint fan and flip through it, noticing subtle differences. Or grab some watercolors and mix them yourself; it’s a lot more clear WHY that blue looks out of place when you see what’s it made of…and that it isn’t all just blue pigment.

Don’t use flat paint. Just don’t. Painters like it because it covers easily, cheaply, and with fewer coats. But it shows every single fingerprint, scrape, and oil spot…and unlike eggshell or semigloss paint, you can’t just wipe the flaws away. Unless you’re one of those people who lives alone and is home only two hours a day, I guarantee you won’t be happy with a flat finish.

Lighting is often overlooked but it’s actually a huge factor in how you feel when you’re in a space. If you’re not in the market for installing better lighting or purchasing expensive fixtures the best thing you can do is install dimmers. They’re not expensive and you can usually do it yourself. Not only will it feel cozier and fancier, but dimming your lights will cut your energy bill.

For all of your row house and condo dwellers: dark colors aren’t off limits at all. Your space is what it is, and if it’s small there’s really no reason not to embrace that. Small is comfortable, intimate, and warm. So you want to paint it a deep eggplant but are worried that will close up the walls? Balance with some light colored furniture and a neutral rug and be on your way. Think that you can only fit a sofa and a chair in your living area? Try two smaller sofas facing each other for a great conversation arrangement that maximizes space. You can do it just like those folks in the burbs do, but with smaller pieces.

If you are planning to have children in the future, you actually don’t need to avoid all things glass and white and expensive. It’s entirely possible to make informed choices and take precautionary measures with your beloved pieces, and you’ll end up a lot more satisfied in the long run. Three of my favorite magic materials are acrylic, leather, and microfiber (and microfiber is much more interesting than it used to be…check out Room and Board’s options).

If you’re going to end up consulting a decorator or designer, don’t paint first unless you’re willing to potentially repaint or limit your options. We appreciate the ambition, but it’s not very helpful toward the end goal.

Hopefully these are useful tips to you. If you remember nothing else, just stay away from flat paint!

 

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

Missoni For Target Takes DC By Storm!

14 Sep

Early Tuesday morning, as the first Target stores around the area opened, Missoni Madness took over in full force.

Just a few of the lovely colorful offerings from the most recent designer-collaboration. (images via Target)

The Washington City Paper describes how all of the shoes at the Falls Church Target were gone in just eight minutes, and how Columbia Heights was virtually sold out of all things zig-zag in about twenty minutes. Apparently the website even crashed. As if that weren’t enough hoopla, you can already find Missoni for Target items on eBay, marked up insanely high. I can’t say I’m surprised, and I can’t say I would have had the energy to fight the masses and brave the lines this morning (especially with a sick kid and a raging headache myself)!

Though I didn’t personally make it to the debut my mom did, and I hear she has lots of fun goodies for me: including BOOTS! Are they these? I hope so!

Missoni for Target Rainboots (image via Target)

Did you go bright and early? If so, what did you snag? If you didn’t, what are you coveting from the website?

 

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

Earthshaking Gothic-inspired Furniture Finds!

24 Aug

As you probably already know, we here in DC had an earthquake yesterday. It was “only” a 5.8, which in earthquake-speak is just a moderate event. But let me tell you: while alone, on the third floor of a just-kind-of-well-constructed residential building, in a room with glassware and precariously positioned flat screens and an eight foot tall floor mirror (that was mounted to the wall, but I kind of forgot about this in the heat of the moment), it doesn’t feel very “moderate.” It feels scary. I spent most of the 30-some-odd-seconds standing with limbs extended in my entryway, positioned like a goalie in soccer about to catch a ball, not really knowing what to do. Then I called my husband. Then I went to get my son from day care, which was a good idea because everyone was pretty shaken up; except him of course, because he slept through it while he was ON THE FLOOR. Once I returned home and turned on the news it was clear that the event, though geologically significant, thankfully didn’t make much of dent in terms of injuries or structural damage. Ahhhh…perspective!

So this brings me to the theme of my post today: the most significant damage in DC seems to be at the National Cathedral, which lost three of its pinnacles and has a central tower that appears to be leaning. The cathedral’s Neogothic architecture is unlike anything else in Washington. I find it to be stunning; the arches, the buttresses, the spires and the intricacy of the stonework are all lovely and unexpected in a city full of Classicism. When I was a kid and we would go there for Christmas Eve services at midnight, I’d spend a few hours outside miserable in the cold and surrounded by mostly boring adult conversation, but always admiring the architecture and picking out the faces in the stone with my dad.

The Cathedral, undamaged. (image via Washington National Cathedral)

Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of furniture pieces that are inspired by Gothic architecture, and this day seems as good as any to share a few with you. Hopefully, should you choose any of these for your house, none of the details will break off  in the next “big one!” Enjoy all the spires, the arches, and the delicious quatrefoils (love them!). 

Clockwise from bed: Ferret Bed by Noir Furniture (image via NoirFurnitureLA); Gothic Hall Bench from The Antique and Artisan Center (image via FirstDibs); Quatrefoil Decorative Pillow by Lacefield (image via LaylaGrayce); Gabby Lighting Athena Chandelier (image via LaylaGrayce)

 

Hope you have a wonderful, uneventful day!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

West Elm Pop-Up Shop Opens in Georgetown! Hooray!!

15 Jul

West Elm’s Pop-Up Store opened Thursday in Georgetown at 3333 M Street NW.

Photography by Studio Saldana

A far cry from the hulking behemoth of organic bedding and chocolate-wood veneers that used to exist downtown, this is West Elm‘s littlest store and arguably their most charming one. As such, it carries a limited amount of furniture and focuses instead on their collection of textiles and accessories. You’ll find a lot of one-of-a-kind items here: hand-printed ethnic print pillows, vibrant throws made from recycled saris, and gleaming glass mosaic wall decor from India that’s traditionally used to panel elaborate buildings. There are also tons of soaps, candles, and little items that you’ll probably be happy you purchased on an impulse. I got a candle in my little gift bag that smells so good, even my husband approves: Paddywax’s “Library” scent.

Sure, you’ll also see a lot of these things in the catalog and online, but here you can PICK THEM YOURSELF in an environment that feels a lot more like a 14th Street boutique than a mall store. If you’re like me you’ll want to spend half an hour pouring over the dozens of unique blankets so that you can pick the perfect one: at $99, they’re priced pretty well compared to similar finds elsewhere.

Photography by Studio Saldana

Though the official opening day was Thursday, the opening celebrations are going to be Saturday, July 16th. All day Pleasant Pops will be giving out their popsicles outside of the store, and for the first two hours there will be prizes on some of the popsicle sticks: 25% off? a $1000 gift card? …in any case you get a delicious and free treat.

Photography by Studio Saldana

West Elm will be in this location until at least right after the new year.  Right now they have the Fall line in the store, and Georgetown is one of the first locations in the country to have it in stock. It’s very ethnic and indigo, with lots of hand-blocked prints and chunky textiles. In late September they’ll switch over to their Holiday line, which is apparently going to feature even more one-of-a-kind items and be heavy on the paper mache. They’re loving being in the Georgetown neighborhood and hoping to stay on a permanent basis as 2012 rolls around…just look for them to move to a bigger (but hopefully not too big) space if one comes available.

An awesome mural made of tape...by NYC artist Aakash Nihalani. Photography by Studio Saldana

Photography by Studio Saldana

A few tips for your visit:

- Did you know West Elm offers a 10% discount to college students AND faculty? Just bring your ID (this applies to those of you who are currently in college or teaching it…not those of you who still carry your ID around six years later so you can see movies on the cheap.)
– If you’re buying chairs or hefty items, there is a loading area in the garage under the building, or West Elm offers very cheap same-day delivery!
- I speak from personal experience on this: The massive hill on 35th Street is a great and less-obvious place to park in this crowded area. Just make sure your gas tank isn’t on “E.” I made out fine, but developed a few gray hairs in the process. 

This article also appears on Prince of Petworth.

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

In My Home: A Crash Course in Interior Design!

5 Jul

This July, from the 12th – 28th, I’ll be teaching a class at the Corcoran College of Art + Design called “In My Home.”  It will mark about the 20th time I’ve taught it.  A good friend of mine who is a very talented designer was scheduled to teach it this session, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a teensy bit sad about relinquishing my continuing education duties in favor of moving to more degree courses and delving into my clients’ projects a little deeper. Well, not to worry, because she’s gotten a job in a new city (bittersweet for me) and now I’m happily going to instruct another section of In My Home in a few short weeks! …just bring on more babysitting hours. 

A board from a previous class.

In the class we learn about how to draw and read floor plans, how to choose and place furnishings, and we learn about lighting, materials (counter tops, floors, carpets, textiles, etc…), paint, and different vendors.  At the end you make a board featuring your design scheme, which usually pertains to an actual space in your home…hence the name of the course. One of the biggest assets of the class, in my opinion, is that you’re part of a small group of like-minded individuals who can share tips and inspiration, all while sneaking in a few valuable one-on-one questions to a design professional.  And I won’t even charge you by the hour for the emails you’ll inevitably send me during class to ask about the rug you just found, or if your paint color looks gray or blue!

Confession: I think this young student went on to enter a design program after the class. And rightfully so -- do you see how she painted the board in a fade pattern from top to bottom with interior paint?! I was beyond impressed.

In My Home will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm-9:30pm from July 12th – 28th at the Corcoran’s Georgetown campus (right across the street from the big new Safeway). It’s for non-professionals only. You can find out more and register here.

Hope to see you in class!

Fabulous Picks from West Elm’s BIG Sale!

30 Jun

I’ve been showing a lot of love for West Elm lately, so it’s only fitting that I peruse their major Summer Sale that’s going on right now and give you some of my favorite bargains.

Here they are, in all of their contemporary and colorful splendor:

1.) Round Uplight Table Tamp, $39.99; 2.) Colored Pure Vase Collection, $4.99; 3.) David Stark "Zebra" Rug (it's jute), $129; 4.) Egg Crate, $4.99; 5.) Mediterranian Parfait Cup, $4.99; 6.) Patterned Frames, $12.99 (image via West Elm)

I think I love the egg crate best of all — perfect for summertime deviled eggs! 

What’s even more exciting than these sale picks? West Elm is opening its first ever Pop-Up Shop in July in Georgetown!  Hooray!  I’ll be blogging about the preview later this month, so stay tuned for more details and pictures!

 

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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