The Future of Home Series: Volume 3 - Outdoor Living and Entertaining

Can you imagine what life would be like if this pandemic were happening in the middle of winter?

At least, with the Spring and Summer weather, we’ve been able to enjoy time outside while still social distancing. It’s so strange that this phrase has now become a perfectly acceptable verb in our language! We’re all a lot more comfortable socializing and entertaining outside. Our neighbors are developing a routine of Friday happy hours in the driveway. It’s been a lot of fun and strangely is helping to build nice neighborly bonds. But if you’re not hanging out on your driveway, you might be enjoying a nice time in your backyards. So you also may be looking around and realizing that you wish your backyard was a little more presentable for entertaining or even just more functional for everyday use.

Windsor Farms Project - Jennifer Stoner Interiors and Parrish Construction

Ready to Dive In?

Designing a fabulous outdoor space will depend heavily on whether there is a pool in place or in the works. With a pool, it’s important to design several different zones of seating to serve different purposes. Some will want to sunbathe by the pool on some fabulous chaise lounges, some will want to enjoy a bit of shade under a great umbrella, and some may want to enjoy some alfresco dining poolside. Give careful thought to how your family will use the pool, how many people are likely to use it at any given time and how to best suit everyone’s activities so that everyone can be comfortable.

Charlottesville, Virginia project by Jennifer Stoner Interiors, Rosney & Co. Architects, and Greer & Associates Custom Builders. Outdoor furnishings by Janus Et Cie.

In our Charlottesville new construction project, we built a pergola that ran the length of the pool. It was divided into three sections. The two outer sections had chaise lounges and the middle section had a round dining table for four people. There is a larger dining area up on the terrace near the house with a great 11’ square umbrella that tilts and rotates 360 degrees for total functionality.

Powhatan, Virginia Project - Jennifer Stoner Interiors and Rowsey Brothers, LLC

Our client in Powhatan built a beautiful pool right on the lake. There are areas for sunbathing on the upper deck or on the tanning ledge in the pool. There is a dining table for eight on the upper terrace and a great firepit with an outdoor TV for evening enjoyment. We’ve also just recently added a daybed swing which we haven’t photographed yet, but this house has lots of outdoor areas for this family of 8 to enjoy at all times of day.

Janus Et Cie Amari High Back Lounge Chairs surround this firepit.

Back On Dry Land

We just finished working with clients sold their house because they didn’t want to take care of a pool. So instead they built a beautiful house on a lake for the water view without the work. So, if you don’t have or want a pool, you can still create a great outdoor oasis to enjoy with your family and friends. In the 2016 Richmond Homebuilders’ Association Homearama, we designed a custom home with Bel Arbor Builders with a wonderful outdoor entertaining space. The back terrace was accessible from the great room and the master suite. We had a phantom screen that came down to completely enclose the room for year round enjoyment.

2016 Richmond Homebuilders Association Homearama Home by Jennifer Stoner Interiors and Bel Arbor Builders

We created this unique water feature off the back which was great during parties in the evening. You could sit all along the side of the fountain with a cocktail and enjoy the bubbling fountain and color changing light show. At the other end of the fountain, we had a firepit area with the unique fountain / firepit combo. I loved this idea, but in reality, the water was pretty hot from the fire, so I wouldn’t suggest it around small children. You’ll notice that I repeated my all time favorite Janus et Cie chair - the Amari High Back Lounge Chair.

We also created a pretty fun outdoor dining area. The tall hedge created the perfect backdrop to hang our collage of mirrors. We were also able to cantilever a pretty candlelier over the table which we lit with battery operated votives for a touch of extra ambience. Doesn’t this look like a great place to enjoy a little outdoor dining and an evening cocktail?

Featuring Janus et Cie Arbor Weathered Teak dining table and Amari Vita dining chairs

Outdoor Entertaining In The Time Of Covid

We’re typically inundated with summer entertaining ideas and blogs this time of year. The latest trends in pool parties, summer concerts, cook-outs and other summertime activities would flood our social media feeds. But now many people are conflicted about how and when to proceed with summer entertaining plans. With the states all in different phases of reopening or contracting, it presents some challenges that will be in play for the foreseeable future. But in an effort to celebrate the season and stay connected, here are a few tips for safely planning a small summer outdoor gathering.

1. How Many People Should You Invite? Keep your gatherings limited to no more than 10 guests if your state is still in Phase 1 of reopening. Phase II states typically suggest no more than 50 people, but you definitely need to check your state or locality’s restrictions. The number of guests you can safely invite also depends on the size of the property where you are entertaining. Can you comfortably host 50 people and still safely maintain social distance?

2. What precautions can I take to ensure everyone’s safely? I would suggest having a supply of disposable masks available to anyone who may need one. And think about everyone handling the same serving utensils to dish out your favorite potato salad recipe. Consider having hand sanitizer handy at the front of your buffet line. Or skip the buffet line altogether and go with boxed meals or serve your favorite potato salad recipe in individual serving containers or ramekinst be I would also encourage disposable tableware and silverware. This part is hard for me because I love all of the great melamine tableware options there are out there now. I enjoyed styling the table above for our Homearama photo shoot and tours of the house. Maybe if you’re having a small gathering, you can splurge on some fun outdoor melamine options. Check out these great pieces from the Thomas Paul Collection. I’m not sure which collection is my favorite!

Thomas Paul Metamorphosis Collection

Thomas Paul Vineyard Collection

Thomas Paul Ranchero Collection

3. Is it safe to have a pool party? Straight from the CDC website: “There is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, or water playgrounds.” But be smart, especially if your guests are going to include smaller children who are likely to share pool toys and gears that often travel with a bit of slobber and a lot of germs.

4. Set the Rules In Advance! Make sure that you set rules in place ahead of time and communicate them to everyone invited. Your job as a host is to keep your guests as safe as possible and to also assure them that you’re taking their health seriously so that they can relax and enjoy their time with you.

Celebrating In This Season Of Protest

Now as we move toward the Fourth of July weekend, let’s take a moment to appreciate this country that we live in and the sacrifices that our veterans made so that we can have the liberty to protest and the freedom to speak out against injustices. Let’s find ways to work together without resorting to violence. I plan to find avenues for JSI and perhaps more of the local design community to team up and work with organizations to bring hope and joy to those who need it. If you have ideas of how we can help, please send them to me! This week we can also celebrate the 157 year anniversary of the cataclysmic battle at Gettysburg that marked the beginning of the end of the Confederacy. Even though we may still have work to do after all of these years, I will proudly hang our flag this weekend and support this country as we hopefully find ways to celebrate our freedoms and find ways to heal our divisions.

The Future Of Home Series: Volume 2 - The Comfortable Home

Privacy and Security

Last week we touched on the 4 pillars of a healthy home: air, light, water and comfort. In this installment of our Future of Home series, we want to dive deep into our favorite aspect of a healthy home - comfort! Beyond physical comfort, the importance of emotional comfort can’t be highlighted enough given the world we live in.

Last week we introduced you to the Delos Darwin Wellness Platform. One of the partners that they work with is a company called Josh . Their voice activated system combines all of the wired features in your home and weaves them into a tapestry to truly make your home feel secure, day and night. It brings you all of the convenience of Alexa, Google or Siri without the privacy concerns! I always wanted one of those systems, but my husband would never allow one in the house. Josh promises that your data will never be sold for marketing purposes or third party advertisements. You also have the power to determine how much information your home collects. Their system has unlimited personalization capabilities giving you unparalleled peace of mind.

As we continue through our Future of Home series, we hope that you will check out one of our favorite blogs by a fellow designer, Laurence Carr. Laurence shares a number of other great companies who are developing technologies to support wellness in our homes. Her post “Wellness in the Home Gathers Momentum in 2020” is an informative blog that compliments our post last week which focused on the Delos Darwin Wellness Platform.

Eco Friendly Furnishings

When we talk about comfort in our homes in regards to furnishings and fabrics, it’s important to talk about where the materials in our home come from. Choosing materials that are eco-friendly, free of toxins and manufactured in the United States can add another layer of comfort to your home. As designers, we have seen and heard horror stories of furniture that has come over from abroad with a bit more than the client bargained for - stowaway bugs! It’s critical to know the regulations and safeguards that are in place for the inspection and handling of any materials that will enter our homes. One way to know exactly what you are getting and where it has come from, is to source from US vendors who source materials locally. We want to highlight just a few of our favorites!

Abner Henry has it’s roots in traditional Amish craftsmanship, but they are embracing innovation, and creating pieces that are locally sourced, timeless treasures. Little details such as hand forged iron, dovetail drawers and live edge tables are just a few things we love. This is a company that prides themselves on reducing their carbon footprint, which is something we can all do to help this beautiful planet of ours. Old Biscayne Designs is another company exclusively using U.S. grown hardwoods from sustainable forests. Both of these companies produce quality furniture that you can feel good about sharing space with.

Wesley Hall is a great upholstery manufacturer that we look to often when designing spaces because they place value on manufacturing responsibly. Their furniture is 100% made in the USA. In fact, all of their wood, cushioning & finishing supplies are made in the USA as well. None of their cushioning contains "Tris" (a.k.a. 1,3-dichloro-2-propyl phosphate or "TDCPP"). This is the fire retardant chemical recently discussed in the press as a carcinogenic. Unlike many others, Wesley Hall only buys USA-made foam. None of their wood-finishing materials contain carcinogens and none of their wood frames contain toxins. Made exclusively of US-grown maple, their hardwood frames are kiln dried and effectively, sterilized. Finally, none of their glues contain toxins. Also made in the USA, the glue is water-based and safe.

This dining room that we designed as part of our Charlottesville new build project showcases the Casey Console from Abner Henry that we customized to our desired dimensions. We also customized the Flynne dining table from Old Biscayne Design for this room. These sharp looking and very comfy dining chairs featured in this dining room project are from Wesley Hall.

Eco Friendly Textiles and Wall Coverings

One of my favorite fabric and wallpaper lines is Romo. Many of their fabrics have the Oeko-Tex Certification. If a textile carries the Oeko-Tex STANDARD 100 label, you can be certain that every component, i.e. every thread, button and other accessories, has been tested for harmful substances and that the fabric therefore is harmless in human ecological terms.  Our Romo rep just visited the studio to show us the new Villa Nova and Zinc collections. Many of these fabrics carried this certification.

We also got to view some great new textured wallpaper offerings from Romo’s Omexco line. Omexco has a long history of being eco-conscious. They push their creativity whilst trying to reduce waste by custom cutting by the yard for each order. As a manufacturer, Omexco limits their impact on the environment on different levels. They use recycled fibers as much as possible and favor renewable energy for the production process. They always opt for products with a non-harmful base and renewable materials such as cork or recycled sari silk. All these efforts allowed them to obtain the Ecological Label as well as the certificate for sustainable forestry. We used this awesome metallic cork Omexco wallpaper on the dining room ceiling in another one of our new build projects.

We also love working with Romo because of their charitable initiatives. Since 2006, Romo has partnered with Oxfam, a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. Romo has directly funded efforts to build schools and wells to provide clean drinking water to regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Romo has also provided scholarships, textbooks, and support for the successful “Education of Girls” campaign. There is still so much more to do, so please visit the Oxfam site to learn about how you can be involved. Working with companies like Romo with a true social conscious certainly makes us all the more comfortable and eager to promote them with our clients.

Working with natural fabrics and materials that have less chemicals and harmful toxins certainly helps create a layer of comfort in your home. Another aspect of creating comfort is working with performance fabrics and indoor / outdoor fabrics. I look back to the old days of really crunchy outdoor fabrics and commercial fabrics with the unnatural feel of flame retardant treatments. But those are definitely the days of the past. Performance fabrics and Crypton fabrics are now being incorporated into many furniture and fabric lines and they’re incredibly soft and comfortable to the touch with added durability for peace of mind in a home with kids, pets or even just the occasional spill of some red wine. And outdoor fabrics have also improved by leaps and bounds. We will often specify outdoor fabrics for interior upholstery or drapery. You’ll have much more sanity living with these easy care fabrics.

Creating beautiful spaces is our passion, and designing with your comfort in mind is our privilege. We enjoy meeting with vendors who are staying up to date on the latest innovations. This collective knowledge is just some of the value we bring when working with our clients. We look forward to working with you!

The Future Of Home Series: Volume 1 - The Healthy Home

We’re starting a new series this month that focuses on “The Future Of Home”. So many of us are spending more time at home, and if you are like me, you have pinpointed a few things you would like to change. And I believe that with the events of 2020, we’re going to see a lot of shifts in how we design our homes, live in our homes and work in our homes.

Photo courtesy of restechtoday.com/delos-darwin/

A large part of our business is working with clients who are building custom homes. It’s important for us to act as an integral member of the team from the very beginning of your project. Our work is not done in a bubble where we only focus on the finishes and furnishings. We really do take a whole home approach and work with your architect, your builder, your home AV and Technology specialist to help you build a home that not only looks great, but functions well for you and helps you to live your best life. We travel to conferences and trade shows throughout the world to learn more about the latest technological advances and product innovations that we can introduce you to in the building process. We want to be able to bring those discoveries and trends to you so that you can plan for the future of your own home.

June is national Healthy Home Month, and the perfect time to focus on making our homes our sanctuary.  Let me suggest that starting by making your home a HEALTHY haven is the best thing you can do for your physical and mental well-being. Locally, in Richmond, we work closely with Inaray, our techonology integrator who work with us and our clients to design appropriate lighting systems for your home, AV and home entertainment systems, as well as security and sound systems. Inaray owner, Todd Peace, recently introduced me to the DARWIN™ system from Delos. Let’s examine each pillar, and how the DARWIN™ system works to maximize each one in your home. Check out this extremely informative video and beautiful home designed by Jan Vitrofsky, owner of HedSouth, where he incorporated the Delos DARWIN™ system.

Water

Access to clean drinking and bathing water is a privilege that we should never take for granted, and one that everyone should enjoy. We work with builders in the design phase to install the latest filtration technology. DARWIN™ Water Filtration helps improve your home’s water quality by filtering out impurities and improving taste. Cleaner filtered water also reduces scale deposits in your pipes saving you costly repairs in the future.

Air

Breathe deeply, and easily with state of the art air filtration systems. Now, more than ever, we are spending time indoors during the day as many have transitioned to home offices. Installing a whole home air filtration system ensures that the air you and your family are breathing is free from pollution such as toxins, harmful chemicals and pathogens. Clearly the need for this has never been more evident. Check out the system from DARWIN™ and how it shows you the air quality throughout your entire home so that you can identify trouble spots.

Light

Lighting plays an incredible role in our everyday health and wellness. For the past few years, experts have warned us about the effect of blue light from all of our devices. That’s because our bodies have a natural circadian rhythm. Light quality and temperature throughout the day can really impact that rhythm. The DARWIN™ platform integrates with systems that provide this type of Circadian lighting, such as Lutron owned Ketra. I saw an in person display of Ketra last year with the folks from Inaray and it was highly impressive. These types of lighting systems mimic nature’s light patterns which help to improve hormone balance, appetite, sleep, energy and productivity. Check out this demonstration of Ketra at work.

Comfort

The DARWIN™ platform includes a “Dawn Simulation” function which provides a uniquely calibrated lighting sequence that mimics the rising sun. This is definitely a more peaceful way to start your day than a blaring alarm. The platform also helps to minimize light pollution and disturbances at night to promote better sleep. What contributes to more comfort in your day than a peaceful beginning and end to that day?

As the 4th pillar of wellness in your home, “comfort” is where we get to play the biggest role. Anybody can jump online and find a “pretty” sofa or chair to order from some website for a good price. But how do you know whether that sofa is going to be comfortable when it arrives, let along when you’ve had it for a year? Our society has become a bit of a throw-away society, but I hope that recent events will help us return to the days where we valued locally sourced and American made quality, instead of cheap imports. I sure hope that we can become less dependent on roll of the dice importers. We travel to furniture markets throughout the country and we have taken a lot of time to educate ourselves on the quality of the furniture that we source for our clients. We’ve done several in depth factory tours to watch the furniture being made so that we know how each upholstery company makes their frames and how their cushions sit. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all of the products and companies that we take the time to learn about and truly get to know. Don’t even get me started talking about plumbing fixtures or appliances!

So if you’re considering building a home, consider addressing these four pillars of wellness so that your home can provide you with a more comfortable and healthier haven! And if you want some help along the way, give us a call. We would love to work with you and introduce you to some other great technologies and products that can help make your home a bastion of wellness. In the meantime, stay safe and stay healthy everyone!

EXCITING UPDATE - Loft Condo Renovation Wins HGTV Editors' Choice!

News Flash . . . Jennifer Stoner Interiors has won the HGTV Editors’ Choice Award for the 2019 Designer Of The Year in the category of “Big City Digs” for our work on this downtown Richmond industrial loft condo.

Here’s the backstory on this fun project with some great before and after photos!

When we were approached to undertake a complete renovation of a downtown industrial loft for a young single professional, we were excited with all of the potential that the condo presented. Rockett’s Landing is a condo development in downtown Richmond, Virginia built in an old turn of the century industrial factory. The units boast exposed brick, wooden beams and plank ceilings. Unfortunately, they also included rather pedestrian wood floors, finishes, kitchens and baths. An update was sorely needed.

Rocketts Landing Cedar Works Building - Richmond, Virginia

Our client’s condo is a two bedroom / two bathroom unit with a large two story great room and a loft den space. We retained Mike Terrell of River City Constructors to help us with the renovation. We started by removing all of the existing wood floors, tile floors and carpet. We replaced the prefinished wood floors and kitchen tile floor with a more rustic reclaimed-looking engineered wood floor. We also updated all of the interior lighting with some spectacular new fixtures!

Great Room - BEFORE

Great Room - AFTER | Photo by John Magor Photography

The kitchen is very small and had dark cabinets, dark countertops and poor lighting. We replaced all of her appliances, updated with new lighter custom cabinets and a unique light fixture that helped us better distribute the light within the space. We then added a touch of glam with the antique mirrored tile backsplash which was also designed to help bounce more light within the space.

Kitchen - BEFORE

Kitchen - AFTER | Photo by John Magor Photography

Kitchen AFTER | Photo by John Magor Photography

The loft space that overlooks the great room was closed in by a very obtrusive sheetrock knee wall. We demolished that knee wall and replaced it with cable railing to provide a more connected and open space. We also removed the knee wall that served as the stairwell enclosure and replaced it with the same cable rail system.

Kitchen / Loft View - Before

Loft - Before

Great Room And Kitchen - AFTER | Photo by John Magor Photography

Loft After | Photo by John Magor Photography

Our client wanted to close off access to a building hallway which led to the storage units, so we created a false wall at the end of her hallway with an upholstered pearl leather panel. We also replaced all of the interior doors in the condo. Some of those doors were louvered to provide ventilation for AC Equipment and Laundry Machines. So Mike, who is an excellent carpenter, created these custom doors that I designed with the perforated metal screen inserts.

Mike also created a great mirrored barn door entry to her master closet. Our client loved this little glam touch!

Master Bedroom - Before

Master Bedroom - After

We also gave the two bathrooms in this condo quite an update! They had inexpensive dark stained cabinets, rather boring tile and fixtures and bad lighting. We created fresh, bright bathrooms with better function and certainly more style!

Guest Bathroom - Before

Guest Bathroom - Before

Guest Bathroom - After (Obviously!)

Master Bathroom - Before

Master Bathroom - After

Master Bathroom Tile Detail

We had a lot of fun working on this project because our client trusted us and let us run with some of our crazy ideas and fun color selections. And as always, a good design is all in the details!

Thanks to everyone who supported us as with their votes!

All After photography credited to John Magor Photography. All Before photography credited to Jennifer’s crappy i-phone.