Around Here

Now that we are properly into July, I can safely say that June always feels like six months packed into one.

The end of school, dance recitals, baseball games, trying to squeeze in every school event and graduation party before everyone disappears for summer... and somehow there are still kitchens to design, clients to meet, and blueprints to draw.

Here’s what’s been happening around here:

This month we were the Consultation Queens. We had five consultations in June. Five. And three the last week in May. I don’t love talking too much about projects before they’re underway (we fully believe in the power of The Jinx) but let’s just say, we’re excited about some of these projects we’re already hired to work on (and some we hope to be).

One new project we are excited to kick off is the design of a Craftsman home in Mountain Lakes where we’ll be redesigning the kitchen and creating an addition that finally makes the house work the way the family lives.

The other is... another Tudor. At this point I think the Tudors are finding us instead of the other way around.

What we’ve been working on:

One of the projects we’re quietly obsessing over right now is a kitchen for one of my friends (yes, I absolutely mix business and pleasure - and, those happen to be some of my favorite projects).

Her design brief? Ralph Lauren meets Jackie O. Timeless, tailored, elegant... but never fussy.

The house is over 100 years old, and the more we study it, the more we’re realizing that the kitchen was never meant to be the star of the home. The formal rooms got all the architectural attention while the kitchen quietly did its job behind the scenes. Instead of fighting that history, we’re leaning into it.

Think inset cabinetry, a hood that feels like it could have once vented a wood-burning oven, furniture-like details, and materials that look like they’ve belonged to the house for generations.

I’m sharing a few of our inspiration images below because this one has us counting down until construction starts.

There’s something about working on older homes that feels different. They already have a story. Our job isn’t to erase it - it’s to continue it.

We also wrapped up a Design Blueprint bedroom that reminded us just how much can change when you get the layout right. This primary bedroom was severely lacking in storage, so a clever built-in cabinetry wall within the bedroom is going to be a workhorse and house tons of clothing.

We polled our instagram audience about a color scheme our client was in between. The green and blue scheme won online but the red and blue scheme won for our clients, and we’re really happy about that because we’ve been wanting to do a red bedroom for quite some time.

Outside the office...

June also happened to be my birthday month.

A surprise gift showed up on my doorstep from my parents - they had already gotten me the most gorgeous pink sapphire hoop earrings so I really wasn’t expecting anything, but my mom is the best gift giver (it’s 100% her love language), and more than the gift, I loved being surprised. I’m a notorious control freak who tells my husband what to buy me for any and all gifts and genuinely can’t remember the last time I was surprised. If you ask my husband he will gladly let you know that the control freak things goes for all aspects of my life, not just gifts.

My birthday month also included my two favorite competitive sports: tennis and mahjong.

Some gifts I bought myself this birthday:

I have a thing for gladiator sandals, so I ordered these during the Amazon Prime Sale on Shopbop (because somehow buying them through Amazon makes them feel like a bargain... even when they’re not). The exact pair I bought is already sold out, but these are similar

Speaking of gladiator sandals, here’s a ridiculous story: A few years ago I ordered two pairs from A.Emery directly. They were beautiful, but they had those lace-up ties that refused to stay tied, so I decided to return them. That’s when I discovered they’re based in Australia. Shipping the sandals back was going to cost over $450 - more than the pair the sandals combined.

Needless to say, they’re now the most expensive sandals I never wear.

I also bought myself another pair of sandals I already own in white - but this time purchased in black. Fun fact about me: I hate black footwear. I forced myself to buy some boots this year, I think I wore them once. I do think I’ll wear these sandals, though. There’s something perfect about the kitten heel and the casualness of the thong - when I have a little fear that I’ll be over- or under- dressed these kind of blur the line and you could pretend that you intended for either.

Worth the Hype?

One of the fun perks of growing our influencer accounts is that brands have started sending products our way to try. We never want this newsletter to feel like a commercial, so you’ll only see things here that we’d actually recommend to a friend.

That being said - these are the items I’d genuinely buy on my own:

• A self-tanner I’m currently testing (I’ll report back once I decide if it earns a permanent spot in my routine)

• A dry shampoo that’s already earned it’s place in my medicine cabinet - it’s more of a spray, less of a powder and makes my hair feel a little cleaner

• A laundry detergent that has made opening the linen closet feel like a luxury hotel.

• I’m not sure that I’d buy this one myself, but it is super cool, and I do like the idea of using it as a hostess gift. They are these tiny wax beads that let you turn almost any pretty vessel into a candle. I might be a little too practical because I kept thinking about the clean up of turning my vase or dish back into a vase or dish after the candle burns out, but I do think Virginia (our resident candle and scent lover) would love something like this.

This Month’s Favorites

• Best meal: last week I made my own Korean Beef Bowl out of the random ingredients I had in my fridge and it was so good I’m going to do it again tonight. I worked with ChatGPT on the recipe and we made a great team

• Most-used purchase: My Botox is wearing off and this face tape buys me a couple of extra weeks

• Song on repeat: Drop Dead and Homewrecker

• Design obsession: I’ve been reorganizing and optimizing our Pinterest account and I am a woman obsessed. I seem to be working on it every waking moment. While organizing, I’ve come across some old pins we’ve saved showing different treatments to un-trimmed openings that I’ve gotten re-lost in analyzing

  

  

• What I’m reading: House Love: Moor Baker Architects and The Wedding People

• One thing making life easier: Why is it so hard to remember to exfoliate? I’ve been using these pads and really like how clean they make me feel after I’ve already cleaned my face

• What I binged: Off Campus, Maternal Instinct and Voicemails For Isabelle. I Might finish Office Romance before June is over, too. So you know, a little true crime, YA porn and Rom-Com makes a perfect cocktail for a 40-something woman

Looking forward...

• We’re photographing Heritage Home in Chatham, NJ so stay tuned for that drop.

• Kicking off the design of a few projects, and also starting construction on a few.

• And hopefully a little time to sit outside with a book before summer disappears.

• A couple of trips to West Palm Beach and Palm Beach - we’ve been waiting for our construction permit for quite a bit, so hoping that the 2nd trip will be to check in on a construction site.

• Maybe we can convince Virginia to write next month’s wrap up?

If you enjoyed this little peek behind the scenes, I’d love to know what you want more of. Design process? Projects? Shopping finds? Life? Hit reply - we read every email.