Ants

This is a photo that I took years ago on our farm...In the following post, I refer to it in a color version of the photo...wrong photo..no ant..whatever..you are scratching your head, wondering what the heck I'm talking about....read on...:)

Self-Indulgence...

Today is my 63rd birthday....Until one crosses the line at 60, one doesn't realize how quickly it all goes by...so, each day has been a gift...a gift of 86,4000 seconds...never to be re-lived, so make the most of it.

This is my mother, Julia Florine, who gave me life (thankyou, Mama), and left this world far too soon...before even reaching 60. If you look at the background, you can see we were poor..dirt poor, but my mother taught me to see beauty in everything... This is my sister, Norma Jean, (the pretty one); I'm the one trying to grab the telephone away,and looking just plain onery...She wants nothing to do with me...fact is, I don't even know where she is...One reaches a point in life, where one has to cast off these sad things...I have..

The sun is shining into my dining room, and beckoning me to go out for a walk, before it gets too hot...this is Texas, you know....

There has been so much tragedy in the world and this country of late, that I go to bed in tears many nights...I am trying to regain my center...to realize there are things about which I can do nothing, but to try to do something -

I took this photo years ago, on our farm...I call it "Romantic America"...If you click on it (twice), you will see an ant on the apple...That's how I feel in this world...a speck...but, specks can make a difference, as well.

I am embarking on a new endeavor with a wonderful, talented, young designer...more to follow...Treasure this day...I know I shall.

Jessica's Interiors, Etc. ~ Stage 2

Since I moved to Texas nearly six years ago, I haven't been doing alot of interior design...won't even go into what I was doing, but I miss it....I specialize in new construction, but with the "Great Recession" the construction/housing industry (this is not a news flash, ya'll know this already) is in terrible straits...So, what do do? Again, no newsflash, but since there is a glut of homes on the market, homes are not selling, and if they are, not for the money they deserve to bring in....I have done staging in the past, but not concentrated on really building it as a specialty...
The following shots are of my work...mostly done in Wisconsin, mostly of Parade Homes...which I did from the ground up...To me, a Parade Home is the ultimate in staging...The builder builds a house that he wants to showcase his/her work, and a designer "stages" it...We wouldn't go through all that time and expense otherwise, now would we?

I do not believe in the "paint it white, throw a few rugs here-and-there-, and "viola" it's "staged..I believe in making a potential buyer walk through the door and be able to envision themselves living there...Of course, you take out the dozens of family photos, books on fly fishing, and other personal possessions...but, you want to have the home invite the buyer in and see what it could be for them...

So, here I go....I have my eye on a young, up-and-coming designer, who just graduated from design school, is charming, talented, and computer-savy...you know who you are...can you come out and play?

Remember, you can click on the photos to make them larger and view the details...such as the onyx and marble tile floor I put in this power room...Powder rooms should be like little jewel boxes..


Being a photo stylist for years has helped me to set up the "staging" for this bathroom...(Designed it, as well...just assume that the rest are all from the ground up)..they are. I am not bragging, just showing - Enjoy...

Rather than draping swoopy, swaggy, scarfy things over windows, I like to sew color-blocked window treatments...combining textures and colors, using a tiny bit of an expensive fabric, along with inexpensive, and tying those babies up with a ribbon..inexpensive yet striking...

Would these glazed walls (did them myself...1,000 sq.ft.) scare a buyer off? Not the ones who ended up buying the house...they loved them!

Sheets from Target - a bit of fluff on the windows...a dream room for a little girl...

Whether a penthouse, or a Southwestern setting...they both have to be serene and inviting...no clutter, no fuss...minimal...

I hemmed the sheer fabric, and sewed inexpensive trim on the bottem to weight them..the top squares are hemmed, and then, glued crystal trim ($1.99 a yard)..tossed them over spring-loaded window hardware..so inexpensive..yet, when the sun hits the crystals, prisms of light dance on the walls...

All the furniture in these shots was rented , the accessories were not all that expensive, and I did all the floral arrangements...The artwork was through a friend who has a gallery (and, yes, it is important to have adequate insurance)...

So, I have moved to "Stage 2"...fun...