Thursday, May 1, 2014

Welcome!


Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Jennifer Eanes Foster, and I have been an interior designer for almost twenty years. I absolutely love what I do, and it is such a privilege to be asked to help someone with their home.

Your home is one of the biggest investments you can make with your time and your money. Your home is not just a shelter.  It should be your sanctuary, your refuge, your happy place. It's where you, your family, and your friends make memories.

I started this blog because I think every room design has a story behind it. I love looking at Pinterest and Houzz, but many times the photographs don't have the background story to go with it. Why did they choose that paint color? What did the room look like before? Did they have to buy every single thing in the room, or did they repurpose/reuse some existing pieces?

In this blog I will share the stories behind some of my design work. Maybe it's just me, but I love before/after pictures. They really show you that every single room has potential. I will include some before/after photos from my projects as well as share some design principles/tricks/tidbits you might be able to use in your home. I will also feature items I see when I am out and about shopping for clients.  So many times I see a great piece of furniture/unique accessory/fabulous sale that just doesn't work for one of my clients, but I wish someone could benefit from it. Hopefully, that person will be you!

My first design story is about the kitchen you see above. It has recently been featured in Better Homes and Gardens publications, their website, their Facebook page, their Pinterest page, and many blogs around the internet. There are three things I would like to point out about this kitchen:

1. I designed this kitchen renovation over 10 year ago. I repeat, this kitchen is over 10 years old. It was photographed by Better Homes and Gardens about 5 years ago, but it still pops up in their publications/websites today. Good design is timeless. It shouldn't look dated in a year or two...especially for major investments like kitchen and bath renovations.

2. You don't have to have a complete gut job to have a great looking room. We kept the existing cabinets and layout, but changed the laminate countertops to honed granite, replaced the laminate floor with hardwood, added new subway backsplash tiles, new faucet/sink, new appliances, new window treatments, and a new paint color. The cabinets were in good shape and the layout worked...there was no need to change them.

3.  Don't be afraid to paint the ceiling a color.  I will talk more about this in another post, but if this ceiling had been painted a basic "ceiling white" it would have jumped out at you and ruined the space.  I didn't want people to notice a bright white ceiling overhead. I wanted them to see the warm colors and textures in the space. 

Thanks for reading this post, and if you liked it, I hope you will share it with your friends.

All the best,
Jennifer



1 comment:

  1. I love your new blog, Jennifer! I'm commenting here because, yes, this is my kitchen that you redesigned 10 years ago! I love it every bit as much today as I did then. I so much appreciate today that 10 years ago you offered not only options, but also your very well-considered opinions. You were right on all counts. Thank you!

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