We should have a fabulous cocktail party on our deck to celebrate Friday. We’ll hire a photographer to be on the roof taking our pictures. Someone will have to wear a fabulous hat. Bowties are not optional, gentlemen. I’ll be in a yellow mumu caftan. Someone must bring their kid to sit around & look bored. & someone must paint the deck in a spectacular pattern or the shot will be ruined!

So it really does sound quite fabulous to me. Party of 1 or party of 20 I’ll be on the deck for happy hour! Now to get through today, Fridays are easy. OK actually Fridays always turn out to be the busiest & most hectic, the real work gets done on Friday. So let’s get to it! Happy Weekending!

xx, Jamie

This is a fun little project that I thought I’d share. It’s an engineering office that moved into a builder’s old sales office. The building’s built to look like Southfork ranch. So we stuck to the ranch theme. It’s also just outside of Houston, so the ranch attitude fits. But it’s a young progressive company so it can’t by your grandfather’s ranch style. It has to be more urban ranch. The budget is low. So the plan is to design in phases. We’re entering phase 2. These images are the changes in phase 1, the construction phase.

I had to rework the space from an open sales floorplan to space for private office & conferencing. The space is amazing for the company, it even has a pool! There’s 2 full kitchens, a living room with huge limestone fireplace, formal entry & an entire upstairs of open work space.

Now we’re talking about making the space feel done. It works now. The plan is good. They have a place for every butt. But now we’re making it look professional. Less frat house, more progressive start up. So here’s what I’m thinking….

So maybe when we’re closer to done I’ll show you the floorplan & how it actually changed. I always love to see that in other designers projects. I could have gone nuts with the theme but I’m trying to keep it low profile. I don’t like working in themes very much, seems cheesy to me. I like to hint at or give a nod to the ranch idea. No real animal heads either, that grosses me out. The cow hide is real however, I’ve had to work that out with myself. It’s the perfect solution so the layering of the rugs makes it ok to me. Don’t ask. It doesn’t make sense to me either. I’ll share more as it moves forward!

XX, Jamie

This week my agenda is completely full with post-its added to each page to fit in more to-do’s & appointments. May is always this busy. It’s like we all realize that the year has flown by & we want to use May to catch up. Or maybe that’s just me.

I’m spending the week relearning schedules & routine. I’ve inadvertently gotten out of the habit of prioritizing what I actually need & want to get done & do. Giving too much to everyone else & having nothing left for myself. I’ve been so scattered this entire year, like I’m chasing it. So I’m taking the advice of Twyla Tharp in The Creative Habit & forming routines. It feels against my nature but it’s working. I have more room for creativity. I’m slowly adding something to the routine every week. I’ve added morning workouts & blogging the past couple of weeks. This week I’ll be adding actually following what I write in my agenda instead of going with the urgent items that seem to always pop up. I’ll fit those in, but sticking to my agenda is top priority. There’s so much to do & I want to be able to do it & have time for a real life. Gotta make those goals. Let’s do this! GO Monday!!

XX, Jamie

While reconstructing/designing my new website (with a fabulous designer of course, I am no graphic designer) I am considering looks & images & feelings to portray. Along with that comes me considering upping the level of my closet. I have a tendency towards vintage/ thrift/ estate sale shopping. So while I find some amazing unique items, I need to supplement them with new clothes (like from a store, an online store, because in real life I don’t go to stores unless it’s for clients. online shopping is where it’s at.). I need to look less hobo & more refined hobo. You know, consider my image more. I’m just not sure when I frantically run out of the house each day that I look, um, professional you know. & also fun. I certainly don’t want to look stuffy so I probably go too far in the other direction. A bit like a hobo, yep actually that’s it exactly. When you get dressed do you consider what your clothes are saying to the world? Or even more fun than that do you think of it as a costume, like you can be another person for a day?

Plus clothes are so fun! I love that bright colors are back in style. I love maxi skirts! & I LOVE palazzo pants! I need to get more palazzo pants! & these shoes, I adore them. But are they ever not back-ordered? What are your spring/ summer fashion must haves? I also need cute sandals. Suggestions?

XX,   Jamie

After taking a much needed break from blogging & even reading blogs, besides an occasional peak at Post Secret & my fav I Love Life, I’m back to blogging! In order to stay fresh & interested I need to blog about more than interiors, Jamie House Design blog will be more lifestyle based. It’s what I’m into, it’s what I like reading about, so I’m going to blog interiors, fashion, entertaining, cooking/baking etc. I have some fun ideas & plans. The site redo is well underway. I have fun travels & stories to share. It’s going to be a good time.

XX, Jamie

I’ve been working on lacquering my cocktail table Craigslist find. It’s a sweet vintage bamboo table with a glass top I picked up for $35. Lacquering is rough. It’s been a lot of work & it’s still in progress. The end result will be absolutely worth it. I can’t wait to get it styled. Styling is my favorite. I’ll highlight different styling examples this week. Everyone has a certain way of styling, a certain look. Here’s some things to keep in mind when styling your cocktail table…

• Use your favorite big beautiful books to add heigth, to create different levels. I usually take the paper covers off, the actually book is usually much prettier.
• Adding a living plant or flowers, adding life to the center of your room creates so much life in the space. Using a great planter is key.
• Using beautiful boxes to store the little junk that lands on your cocktail table. I love these for an inexpensive option.
• Trays. I always use trays to keep items orderly. Plus there are so many beautiful trays out there. I use trays on nearly every surfaced that I’ve styled, they just pull the look together.
• Something interesting. A cool piece of art or sculpture. A ceramic piece. Something vintage & unusual. This is to add your personality to the tabletop. Something to say, this is me.

Do you have any tips for styling cocktail tables?

The weather has been dreadfully rainy here lately & yesterday was finally sun shiny beautiful. {I’m not complaining about the rain btw….in August when everything is shriveled & burned I’ll be dreaming of it!} I just love spring in Houston & can’t wait to start working in the yard again. I have big plans this year. I’m going to make some flower beds & hopefully a stone patio for a fire pit….also a table. We currently have 2 exterior dining chairs & no table. & 2 more chairs would be nice. I mean what sort of designer doesn’t design her own home?? One that pits everything into the client’s homes, that’s what sort. Click the images for the sources. What do you have planned for your garden this spring?

Closet design is so personal & fun. I dabble in it when necessary. I have a dear friend that designs the most amazing closets, check her out here (if you’re in Austin hire her!). I work with closet designers quite often as there are so many details to work out in a custom closet. Always try to organize your clothes to make it easy for you to get dressed. For me that means that I have to see everything. Slim line hangers are a lifesaver!  If you’re lucky enough to have shelves for your shoes consider using glass shelves, it makes it easier to see what you have. Keep your scarves hanging so you wear them. Lucifer Lighting offers lit closet rods, the most brilliant idea I’ve seen. Sometimes in a corner it’s hard to see what you have (I won’t even tell you my solution to this, embarrassing), but with these rods everything is perfectly lit. Brilliant. Check out The Glamourai’s closet tour for tips on maximizing space in a tiny closet. I’m working on mine & will share that as soon as it’s finished. As always click the image for the source.