Eco and budget friendly flooring……yes please!

Remodeling can bring a lot of stress to homeowners - 

I know this because I am often asked to help stretch a budget

to accomplish a lot for a little.  We are very fortunate

to live in a time when there are SO many finish options as 

well as so many sources to get the most for your hard

earned dollars!  

Earlier this week I talked about online sources for

 bathroom remodels. Today I want to talk about a great 

online resource for online flooring, GoHaus.

Let's face it - most homeowners prefer hardwood

floors.  Am I right?  But installing new hardwood

can prove costly and labor intensive.  It's a difficult

project to DIY and requires leaving your home while 

the floors are stained.  For these reasons, many

homeowners are considering other products that offer

the look of wood but offer easier upkeep,

DIY installation, lower cost and are considered

a sustainable and green product.

A general contractor I work with, recently convinced me

to check out 'LVT' (Luxury Vinyl Tile) flooring. The vinyl planks

come in various widths and lengths and mimic the look and

texture of real hardwood!  I was skeptical but checked some out

in person and fell in love! Luxury vinyl planks from GoHaus

can be installed in every room of your home as they

are humidity resistant and meet strict indoor

air quality emission standards. Vinyl plank flooring

from GoHaus is made from recycled materials and

are 100% recyclable.

Yes, this kitchen has luxury vinyl plank flooring from GoHaus!

Doesn't it look great?

Besides luxury vinyl plank flooring, GoHaus offers engineered

wood flooring and tile flooring too!  The porcelain tile

that mimic wood are fabulous!  GoHaus makes it 

easy to make choose your flooring by offering up to 6 free

samples shipped directly to you.  And by avoiding the 

middle man(manufacturer direct), pricing is very low.

Go get your flooring on!

Affordable Photography Art for your Home

Many, many, many years ago, what seems like maybe a lifetime

ago, I worked in the development department at two

different art museums.  While my role was to raise monies

for the museum's exhibits and operations, I LOVED working

near the galleries where I would sometimes steal away in the 

middle of my day and wander amongst the beautiful works of art.

I really attribute my love for the random/orphaned vintage pieces I 

collect to working in art museums.  

I have found that many of my clients seem to 

be really challenged when it comes to  choosing art for their own homes.

It's hard for me to imagine (have you seen my gallery walls?).

As much as I try to encourage my clients to collect pieces that

speak to them emotionally or are found on their travels, sometimes 

we just need to get beautiful and appropriately scaled art on the walls.

A great source I have recently turned to for affordable art is Photos.com by Getty Images.

Photos.com by Getty Images is fresh content built on the vast Getty Images

photography collections.  You can order your image in one of four image

sizes and also choose one of five framing options so your art

comes ready to hang in your home.

I am particularly fond of the abstracts and simpler images.  You can find them HERE.

Do you struggle with choosing what to hang on your walls?

Check out Photos.com by Getty Images!

Getting my office right for me…..

One of the scariest parts of helping others in their homes is the risk

of getting it 'wrong'…..Thankfully, I really don't think I have made

many mistakes in client homes - at least that the client would 

describe as a mistake. Right clients?

But when I hired myself last year to design myself an office

in my own home, I made a mistake…..well sort of.

My mistake was to follow a trend, to base my choices on what

others were doing that was right for them, looked great in their space,

especially in photographs on Instagram and blogs…….I painted my

office white - GASP!!!!!!  I know, right?

Now, if this is the biggest 'mistake' I ever make, I realize I am doing ok.

I could say a lot about the influence of social media on our design 

choices - especially those of us who are in this business, but I should

have followed my own advice often doled out to my clients, "do what

is right for you".  But sometimes, designers own homes turn

into our laboratory so I chalk up my white paint experiment to that.

I learned a lot…..

- I like the contrast of lights and darks in a space

- vintage art and objects look great against a dark background

- I prefer my white spaces as the main area color

- custom mixing paint is fun

- painting is NOT fun

- I still like white room, just not in this space

This room is not done (heck, are they ever?).

I am waiting for a vintage Turkish rug.  

I would like a new desk chair, something more

'important' and comfortable.

The walls are generally BM Hale Navy - I had a custom

mixed done that basically removed some of the 

white paint that went into the mix.  The result is more

a darker, inky blue/black.  I love it!

And on another note - I have really enjoyed being back in this

space - one of my goals for 2016 is to blog more

regularly.  I love writing and sharing and having this relationship

with all of you.  So thanks for sticking around!

Have a great weekend!

Where to shop for bedroom furniture when you maybe aren't {GASP!} using a designer!

I have been helping some local clients design bedrooms lately - both master bedrooms

and also a couple teen rooms!  I love to help source bedroom furniture pieces

which can really become costly.  Many of my clients are regular people who are

trying to pay their bills, feed their children, go on a vacation AND

live in a pretty home…… As a designer, I feel one of the most important

things I can give a client is respect for their budget.  Often times,

clients provide me with an overall 'look' of what they want their

spaces to look like and then mention their budget……often I do a little 'gulp' under

my breath when the room is likely described as a designer goods filled 

space and the budget is more of a modest amount.  I know I have my

work cut out for me….. 

Resources are a designers secret weapon.  As I have stated here before, the internet

has opened up a plethora of options for resource discovery! You can really find the

same item at many different price points from a variety of sources, even 

local brick and mortar stores.  A great source I have found for online bedroom furniture

is Bedroomfurniturediscounts.com.

Bedroomfurniturediscounts.com offers superior customer service, FREE white-glove 

delivery (yes, FREE!) and the lowest/warehouse prices on bedroom furniture. 

Often, the brands available at Bedroomfurniturediscounts.com are available

at your local furniture stores but offered at a much lower price at bedroomfurniturediscounts.com.

Bedroomfurniturediscounts.com sells many popular brands, Bernhardt, Broyhill,

Hooker, Lexington, Paula Deen Home (pictured above) and Stanley, just 

to name a few. 

So whether or not you are working with a designer or not - with a little research and

a visit to bedroomfurniturediscounts.com you will be well on your

way to a beautiful space!

Interior Design…..And other STUFF...

 I have to admit that I was rather (pleasantly) surprised to hear from a number

of you asking where I was and why I had not blogged!  Well, there is no 

excuse, but rather loads of explanations.  As you might guess,

work with clients has really picked up over the last year.  I welcome the work

and feel blessed to do what I love and meet so many great homeowners

who want to make their homes look and feel better!  I have to say, I have

worked with many different design aesthetics this year, but lately it has been 

lots of modern spaces which I am loving!  It has been a nice change

of pace from the traditional….These are a few examples of design

concepts I presented to some local Portland clients recently.

On a personal level - my girls are getting older and busier and I am 

just trying to keep up and ENJOY these quickly passing years.  I think my

Emma was in 4th grade when I started this blog and she is now finishing her

junior year of high school (will be a senior in the fall!) and Abigail was in

1st grade and will begin her freshman year of high school in the fall!

For a majority of their childhood, I was a stay-at-home mom and really

still consider myself that - however, in reality I work pretty much 

full-time now and sometimes miss those days I had fresh-baked

cookies in the oven when they arrived home from school.  So I try to

do both, or feel like I am still super engaged while also pursuing

my own work…because what will I do when they are gone?  It is a balance

I have yet to figure out, and likely will never.  But I do my best to 

be present and appreciate the nights around the dinner table, school

activities, plays, games, the hugs and yes, even the sister fights, wet

towels on the floor, the laundry and the occasional 'teen moments'.

And……most recently, my husband and I traveled to the south of France and

Barcelona, Spain!  Say what????  Yes, indeed.  We were lucky to mix some

business and pleasure in the most spectacular of places.  We spent

just three days in Nice, France and I look forward to going back for

a longer period of time.  The only word that comes to mind to explain 

how I felt about it is 'dreamy'.  I really couldn't believe I was there.  It

met every expectation.

In my last post, I offered a summer design board special and I still have TWO

spots open in July (which has NEVER happened in years past - they usually 

are all scooped up quick)…..SO, if you are interested in having me help

you with a space in your home, please send me an email (jill.hinsondesigns@gmail.com)

and we can go from there!  The cost is $275 per space - $150 when we 

schedule and balance due when the first version of the design board

is submitted to you!

So that's where I have been.  You can always be kept obnoxiously

up-to-date on my life if you follow me on Instagram - jillhinsoninteriors

Inspired by a favorite designer.....

My love for Emily Henderson began when she won HGTV's Design Star.

I loved her quirky, collected style.  She designs to the beat

of her own vintage, mid-century drum shade....ha!!  I'd like to 

think that we could totally be friends - or like sisters, with her the 

cooler, skinier, younger sister - with our shared love of vintage

shopping, vintage art, brass anything, quirky objects, the 

color blue, Portland, Oregon......plus we are both blond, so 

we have that in common!

My house hardly reflects her style, however, I have always

said if I win the Powerball someday, Emily Henderson would be the 

designer I would call to work her magic in the new home

I have built (and renovated) in my head many times over......

So when a fun new client mentioned in our first meeting that 

she really liked Emily Henderson's style I knew I would

love this project.  The client is pretty design savvy herself, a pro at finding 

great mid-century pieces on Craigslist, so

working in a true vintage mid-century piece was a definite. 

The client also had the bed, nightstands and bench.

Early on in the process, I found the great vintage

Persian rug on Craigslist which really brought some great

color and pattern into an otherwise pretty neutral space.

The walls were painted BM Simply White.

The bedside lamps are from Rejuvenation and I think they are pretty fabulous.

I worked with the client to choose art for the smallish gallery wall that was installed.

I finished the space by adding some small accessories, fresh flowers and plants,

a mix of vintage and new textiles and a vintage seascape.  

This project is the perfect example of how the best results come from

trusting, brave clients who listen to the crazy ideas from their

designer - who invest in the designer's time to style the space 

after all the 'big' pieces have been purchased.  

This project was FUN!  And really, I would love to work

more in this style....clients?????

Recent Design Work.......

First, I must say THANK YOU for all the love you shared in the comments section both on my last post and Instagram.  It's always a bit scary to hit the publish button on posts like that - but I am sort of an open book kind of person and figure if I am going through something, someone else must be too.  Writing is something I really enjoy and don't do enough anymore - so it really felt good to pour my heart out in that way.

Moving on to what you come here for......I have been busy with so many clients over the summer.  I find it especially fun to work with longtime clients in different spaces in their homes over months and sometimes years.  Yes, lots of people don't decorate their homes all at once.  Budget and time often require the work to be spread out.  I consider it to be the best 'review' of my work when a client calls me after some time and asks me to help with a new project/space in their home.

 The first design is for a basement playroom/adult hangout space - a client who has their only TV in their basement so this is where adult may watch a movie and their two young kids play, do art and read.  The space had to be functional but aesthetically pleasing too.  I took into consideration the colorful toys that would be included in the space so tried to keep the space pretty neutral.

The second space is for a energetic, young, modern family who LOVE color!  The wife stated she wanted to walk in her home and feel j-o-y.  She also has a plant business so I took into consideration their would be lots of those in the space.  Because they have three young active boys, the clients didn't want to invest a lot into furniture but needed stylish pieces that would stand up to family life.  The rug tiles from FLOR make such a fun statement rug and definitely bring JOY to the space!

 Finally, I very recently worked on a bedroom for a 5th grade girl.  She has outgrown the bright colors that so many young tweens like and wants a space that can grow up with her as she will head to middle school in just one short year.  I LOVE the modern/feminine touches.

Fall is shaping up to be another busy design season - I am looking forward to sharing new projects more frequently on the blog.  And I am photographing some past projects for my portfolio so will post those as well.

Hope all your back-to-school days have been successful!