If you’ve already read our ‘ABOUT’ section, you’ll know that transparency is very important to us (if you haven’t read it, go over there and get to know us and our background!) We’ve started this blog to give a more in depth look into our lives and our small business. We know you can always pop over to our Instagram to see what’s new visually, or take a peek at Pinterest to see what imagery is moving us, but this spot is not just another visual space-- it is a forum for us to have our voices heard and to communicate with all of you.
So, for our first post, we want to introduce ourselves, get past the awkward small-talk phase, and really dive in. We want you to get to know us below the surface, so we thought of some questions that come to mind when we ourselves find a new blogger, designer, or influencer that we’re interested in. So, here goes …
What is our design style?
Comfortable modernist with a casual California flair (we do live in sunny Santa Barbara after all). We love the result of mixing Scandinavian and American mid-century styles together and adding bohemian touches to soften our look. We are all about neutral colors, organic textures, clean lines and pops of brass (or any other metallic really except shiny, 80s gold). We love mixing wood with stone and metals and then throwing in some vintage or antique accents. Sometimes people like to refer to our look as “Contemporary” and, while we understand where that description is coming from, its not 100% accurate. Contemporary interiors are ones that are on-trend currently, at this moment in time. The term “Contemporary” is constantly evolving in its definition. So right now, we may be considered “Contemporary,” but that changes with time, which is a notion that excites us and keeps us on our toes.
How do we define success?
We’ve succeeded when we’ve given a space functionality and purpose for its owners. We also feel successful when a restoration or renovation project builds a home up to its fullest potential, and gives its family a place to call their dream home. And finally, we’ve succeeded when we have helped bring someone’s vision to life and made their home uniquely theirs. We live for the the feeling of seeing a client’s face light up in the moment when they finally realize that they get to call this space that we’ve helped create, their own.
What are our goals as a small business?
To help our friends, family and clients find new ways to create purpose, function and tasteful design to spaces that don’t excite them, or simply don’t work for them and their lifestyle. If we’re not jealous that we aren’t moving in with clients, then we haven’t done our jobs.
What are our values as a team?
Honesty, transparency and quality. Always. Our clients always know what we know-- they get a play by play of all of the steps that we need to take in order to update their home.
What three words would we like our audience to associate with our brand?
Honest. Fun. Creative.
Now meet the ladies behind the brand:
Katie:
What is your favorite part of design?
It’s a two-fer: pulling together a design, layout and material brief of what’s in the client’s head-- to life; and the end result, once a home has been all pulled together and ready to be lived in. But that’s not totally true because I also really love other parts of the design process - pulling down walls and seeing studs? Yes! Newly painted cabinets and hardware being installed? OMG, love!
Who/Where do you pull inspiration from?
Most obvious - Pinterest and Instagram. Man, there are some really pretty and cool shops and businesses out there. Specifically and maybe even more obvious… Joanna Gaines! She’s so wonderful and genuine and talented, even my husband’s obsessed! I also really admire and love Sarah Sherman Samuel - she does mid-century modern so beautifully, always puts her own spin on it and everything comes out looking beautiful. Her DIYs are also so pretty and not intimidating - you’ll probably see some of her influence on here soon.
Where do you see a gap in this business?
We bought our house flipped and there were some parts that were done not only poorly and corners were obviously cut, but dangerously. I never want anyone to feel the way I felt finding those issues. Honesty, understanding budget and what can be done the right way but still beautifully with clear communication is something I want to help create more of in this business. Remodeling and design don’t have to mean huge budgets - people just need a little help understanding options.
Olivia:
What is your favorite part of design?
Seeing a project that we’ve been envisioning for months come to fruition over time. While most people hate (some even loath) making all the little decisions associated with a design project, I think those are the ones that bring a space together. It really comes down to the little accents and touches that you see throughout a house. Those little details are my favorite part of every design project. Each time we finish a project, every decision that we made has purpose, and it’s a great feeling seeing everything tie together in such a cohesive, beautiful way.
Who/Where do you pull inspiration from?
Oy vey, so much inspiration out there! In short, the reason I went into this field was because of how inspired I felt by other designers that I had been keeping up with for a long time on on various social media platforms, and of course, HGTV. Lately, a couple of designers have been absolutely killing it in my book-- And I’m not even sure why I said “lately” because let’s be real, these women are absolute badasses who set the bar way up high for all of us, at all times: Shea McGee of Studio McGee, and Amber Lewis of Amber Interiors-- total Girl bosses.
Where do you see a gap in this business?
To me, beautiful design should be something that is achievable to everyone, no matter what their age, style, or budget might be. Pretty things don’t always have to break the bank, and I feel like that is where the gap in the design world exists. I want to make beautiful spaces attainable for everyone-- all it takes is a little vision, creativity, and problem solving to get the job done.
Thanks so much for stopping by to meet us!
xo K+O