A Look Back at 2018 Design Work

I used to be so good at documenting every project I finished and walking my readers through the process. But as my project scopes get larger and more detailed, by the time a project is over I am too drained to then spend time getting back into the minutia. My bad. I don't see this getting any better in the future, but I do see a recap of my projects this past year as a nice way to tie it all up in a neat bow. Let's take a walk through memory lane.

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Santa Monica Living Room

One of my most dedicated and charming clients, who really believes I can do no wrong after completing his kitchen remodel, asked me to come back and get his living room to a functional and attractive state worthy of the kitchen. He let me get creative and go to town with a unique sliding panel system that hides his wall mounted television and shows off his museum worthy collection of art. Clients that push you outside of your comfort zone are the best and I'm really into this panel system. Now I want one in my house.

As long as we were getting creative, he also let me put together a design for a modular sofa sectional with three different fabrics. And custom lounge chairs for his office. It was both a massive headache and treat at the same time to design and get fabricated. Yet so worth it.

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Beverlywood Remodel

I started working with the spirited family on their forever home in September 2016 and we finally got see the fruits of our labor by the summer of 2018. With planning, permitting, and construction, the project took about 18 months. Every detail had to "wow" their guests so this was the boldest and most saturated I got with my design work. Ever.

Again, its good to be pushed beyond your comfort level to see what new things you come up with. A little of the client's glam rubbed off on me, while a touch of my minimalist boho aesthetic rubbed off on her, for a new unique beast. Watch out world.

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Brentwood Residence

Another young family who had a not so pleasant experience with the interior designer they hired, and then fired, decided to try again with me. I made extra sure to LISTEN to their requirements for livable, family friendly, midcentury inspired furnishings that would mesh with the freshly remodeled house (not by Veneer). The resulting spaces are very California cool and fresh, with a decidedly warm and inviting midmod base. The entry alone is the stuff of legends. With the dining room being where my layered textured organic modern style got to shine.

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Santa Monica Residence

Its actually quite funny but at the same time I was working with the Brentwood family, I was also working with her friend from High School completely by chance. They didn't know they had both hired me until they saw my Instagram feed and recognized each other's homes. Small world! This house was a completely different style. Its Spanish Modern and also freshly remodeled. It still needed to be family friendly of course (with baby number 2 on the way and 2 dogs) but it had to relate to the Spanish and Art Deco cues of the house. Channeling the saturated glam I picked up from the Beverlywood Remodel, we created a refined and very pretty collection of elegant spaces.

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Westchester Residence

The most serene of the bunch this year was the house I did in Westchester, for another young family (are we sensing a theme?). They wanted to double down on the sunny beachy vibes they had moved from Seattle to experience, and boy did we ever. But with a little edginess and contrast as we do through the airy spaces.

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Brentwood Remodel

Another longer project but it didn't take quite as long as Beverlywood. We started in November of 2017 and they moved in by July 2018. We went really modern and new here. Instead of doing my take on current trends, we made an effort to create new trends by using new materials and proportions. My clients, a young newlywed couple, were very trusting and invested in the creative process. I experimented with custom cabinetry designs, thicker counter tops, and Concrete Collaborative terrazzo slabs and Eskayel tiles. And I LOVED the results. Its a really cool house with a unique sensibility that no one else has and will be hard to imitate.

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Besides these BIG awesomely rewarding projects I also took on a handful of bathroom remodels and a couple of nursery designs. I now notice myself taking a deliberate step away from the one offs. I am mostly interested in the larger scale new construction and to-the-studs full house remodel projects now. I know I'm "leaving money on the table" by not taking on fast smaller jobs, but I realized at the end of the day you deal with an insane amount of stress and logistics and emotions for each job regardless of the size. I have decided that if I'm going to take it on anyway, its only worth it to me personally to do so for the larger scale projects. That's me moving forward in 2019.

Which means you have more of these all encompassing large scale completed projects to look forward to this coming year. They take longer to get through, but are very satisfying to share when they are done. I am currently working on (2) new construction ground-up jobs and (3) to-the-studs full house remodels. All their own flavor specific to the site and client. Yet all my brand of design. There is also a really special modern farmhouse in Dallas I need to get buttoned up and photographed to share with you. And my own home is constantly getting tweaked and adjusted as new products catch my eye that I want to try.

What else -- well, I'm getting more into custom furniture design and hope to develop that product driven focus (along with tile and wallpaper hopefully) in 2019. And of course, our desert house! We bought a 700 SF cabin near Joshua Tree that is currently being renovated and then furnished. Its a dream for us to have this small vacation house and I'll be sharing the development of that as it progresses, bit by bit. We call it Veneer Retreat and I will keep you posted as we get closer and closer to the finish line.