SF Mission Apartment by JHID....before, during and AFTER....!

I just recently finished a project in the Mission District of San Francisco that I thought I would share not only the AFTER photos of as I typically do, but the before and during photos as well. Too often the interior design world is looked over as purely "decorative"....a lot of people don't understand the process to lay the foundation down in order to create that finished look. For example a client may want wallpaper which sounds simple enough, right? Source it, purchase, slap it up...not always the case. In fact that is rarely the case if it is done correctly. Many times walls need a lot of repair to the surface in order to smooth them out to take the wallpaper.

And that is just a drop in the bucket of preparing a blank canvas for a decorative remodel. Lighting locations, outlets (both new and updating old), cables, cracks in walls, shifting walls, alarm systems, heaters, windows, wood rot...the list goes on....

So I thought for this post I would share a few BEFORE photos and DURING photos of the process....

The apartment was painted in very primary colors - bright yellows, blues....one wall a contrast color, etc. My client works crazy hours and needed a quiet, cozy, calm, sexy space and I immediately began thinking of tailored men's looks....soft grays, blacks for contrast, metal tones for brightness....sexy lighting, consistency and warm wood tones were all in the initial concept when we kicked off our decorative remodel.

Entry Hall BEFORE

Hall BEFORE

Living Room BEFORE

Living Room BEFORE

And so began the remodel process......one of the biggest changes was investing in a quality paint job and sanding/taking off layers of paint from years and years....that really made a huge difference as well as supplied us with a clean palette to build upon.

and...AFTER.....!

all BEFORE and DURING photos by janel holiday interior design.....all AFTER photos by the talented Michele Lee Willson.

 

...PORCH PARTY!

Sometimes you don't know what you're missing until it is right there in front of you....last weekend I was in the DCD for the second time in the past few months visiting friends and found myself once again drawn to the "porch party" sundowns and late nights. How amazing to have warm evenings filled with friends, champers, tunes and laughs on a porch....watching the neighborhood activity, huge Denver clouds roll and disperse....it's kind of one of the best Summer activities if you ask me and I am missing those warm, fuzzy evenings....especially when we had a day yesterday where the sun didn't break through Karl and it was literally cold enough to turn on the heater. BUMMER.

So I fantasize about what my own Summer porch would look like....with people stopping by, funny conversations hanging in the warm air, notes floating across the horizon and maybe a game of bones or somethin'....here are a few porches I liked and what I would definitely have for my own "porch party"....!

1. vintage style globe string lights

2. one for you + one for me! rattan egg chairs are a must-have!

3. interlocked brass puzzle mirror

4. mid-century coolade set by Esque

5. iconic petal side table by Richard Schultz

6. vintage fiberglass sofa by Brian Kane

7. for mood alone - how cute is this little number?! ventless fireplace by EcoSmart.

8. green lacquer domino set

9. lots and lots of champers...this one is a fav!

10. so not *really* for outdoors....but I would have an outdoor version of this burl table!

11. nothing says "sit on me with a cocktail" like an Acapulco Chair...cheers!

12. swanky potted plants

13. outdoor rug by Dash and Albert

Hope you're having a fantastic Summer! xoxo, janel

...crushing on CHAIRISH....!

I can't remember how I discovered the designer furniture focused website Chairish. It may have been on a lucky click of the mouse...I do remember that it grew like rapid fire because it filled a niche for us designers and design-lovin' consumers that hadn't been done...I mean, I guess Chairish says it in a nutshell on their blog:

Chairish makes it fun and easy for design lovers to buy and sell pre-loved decor to one another. Our shop exclusively features curator-approved treasures in a full-service and trustworthy environment.

What I love most about Chairish is that I can mix in their featured pieces with any room design I am working on....I frequently liken a room's design to that of dressing one's self. The way you dress typically reflects your personal style and in turn your home.

I like to mix up my wardrobe with high/mid/low pieces. Some sale items, some bargains, some coveted high-designer-they-will-last-longer-than-anything-else-in-your-closet pieces, some vintage and some new/modern. And that is how I LOVE to specify and shop from Chairish. They have incredible deals on beautiful vintage items and designer specified pieces (often new design) on the daily and at a variety of prices. And the best part?! They handle the shipping.

I was recently sourcing for a client and came across these adorable Mid-Century Lawerence Peabody chairs on Chairish and my brain instantly wanted to develop a whole room around them....!

fabric for curtains (on the sides): Diane Von Furstenberg for Kravet

wall color: Benjamin Moore's "Sterling" #1591 - this pretty light grey has subtle blue undertones that offers a great backdrop and lets the oranges and greens in the room pop

chandelier: giant brass sputnik chandelier by Jonathan Adler

pair of lamps: tangerine ceramic lamps, circa 1960s

mirror: Labarge double interlocking oval mirror offered by Chairish

credenza: "sculputa" walnut front crendenza offered by Chairish

modern sofa: "Raleigh Sofa" in white leather from DWR

coffee table: a gorgeous vintage Karl Springer to hold court

green accent chairs: Lawrence Peabody from Chairish

side table: Bala Lo table by Se - I love adding a bit of stone to counter act the glass and walnut surfaces

area rug: New Zealand wool cut pile "Marsden" area rug by Angela Adams

And wouldn't you know it, but those chairs sold LIKE THAT....you have to act quick....but did you see all my other featured items by Chairish above?!

Happy Shopping!! xo

...a few of my favorite (HOLIDAY) things.....!!

oh....hello, December....my little friend!  It's a well known fact amongst my closest friends and family that I am a total FREAK for Christmas.  Not the I'll-wait-in-line-and-pitch-a-tent-for-a-42"-flat-screen-TV (that I will NEVER understand)...but a big sappy, nostalgic, gift-giving freak lover of Christmas.  I remember just being pumped to get our tree when we were kids.  We usually had to wait until after December 1st to get the tree so we could properly celebrate my little sister's birthday which lands on that same day.  And can I tell you?  I was a jerk about it!?!  I remember being actually pissed at my sister for her birthday landing on that day....because it meant having to wait a few more days for the tree to GET INTO our living room.  Wow.  Well, thank goodness I am well past that stage of hurried frenzy.  Sort of. I do start the vintage Xmas tunes in our house a bit early.  Sometimes before Halloween - I'm not going to lie.

I don't know what it is about Christmas that makes me so sentimental.  Perhaps it's the memory of the huge cousin celebrations at my grandparent's house....with open access to sweet treats, fun gifts, belly laughs and late night movies.....the rare moments of seeing your parents relax and laugh when you're a little kid is always the best.  I remember plugging in the tree lights when I was a kid and relishing in the moments alone I had in our typically busy living room.....laying under the lights and doing my homework....putting my head completely under the tree and gazing up at passed down ornaments...each one telling a story and making it's mark on my young heart.

So, where was I?  Oh, yes!  I was going to share a few favorite things I have been spying this year in terms of holiday decor......enjoy!  And Happy Holidays!!



1. architecturally pleasing gingerbread homes.
2. i like the idea of wishing a Happy New Year (full of possibility + optimism!!) and World Peace.
3. pink tree?!  I say YES, the husband says NO.  
4. There's that cute and festive cocktail set again by Altuzarra for Target!
5. A simple, chic, felt wreathe by the folks at West Elm.
6. The most beautiful nativity set by Alexander Girard.
7. the Confetti System did a fun collab with WE this year and this folded + metallic garland was a fav!
8. Modern, gilded, geometric ornaments from LEIF.

What's always on the holiday forefront 'round here:


CB Christmas.....best. soundtrack. ever.


Nat King Cole's version of "The Christmas Song" is quite possibly one of my top 3 songs EVER.  Sometimes I listen to it in JUNE just to hear that voice.


I love a white tree loaded with vintage ornaments....!


a Technicolor explosion of goodness.  One of my fav movies that I will start to watch on a weekly basis ...starting NOW.


seeing my girlfriend's and family members celebrating and setting traditions with their new families....so dear.  Starting their own collections of ornaments and tender stuff like this beautiful stocking made by one of my BFF's for her firstborn.  Swoon!!

Do we even need a soundtrack, folks?!

Eero Saarinen's "Miller Residence"

Every once in awhile I need to pull a complete article from another page complete with photos to share with you all....this is one of those times.  These photos of Eero Saarinen's "Miller Residence" offer such a great library of inspirational images into an exquisite treat of home rarely seen with a collection of photographs as detailed as these.  A home that saw an extremely unique collaboration of tradespeople from the inside out.  Alexander Girad interiors?  Yes, please!


Eero Saarinen's "Miller Residence"- Classic Modernist Gem
Text and Images via Coronare Modestus Faus





Designed by famed architect Eero Saarinen, the Miller House is a classic Mid-Century modern home located in Columbus, Indiana. Commissioned by industrialist, philanthropist, and architecture patron J. Irwin Miller and his wife Xenia Simons Miller in 1953, the residence was home to the Miller family until Xenia died there in 2008. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000, the residence is now owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art.





Miller supported modern architecture in the construction of numerous buildings throughout Indiana, and he wanted a full-time residence also worthy of his modernist ambitions. Design and construction on the Miller House took four years and was completed in 1957. In addition to Eero Saarinen, the house and gardens showcases the work of leading 20th-century figures such as interior designer Alexander Girard, landscape architect Dan Kiley, and principal design associate at the Saarinen office, Kevin Roche.





The Millers wanted a home in which they could entertain both heads of states and titans of industry. At about 6,838 square feet, the Miller House is one of very few single family homes that Saarinen designed and epitomizes the modernist architectural tradition with its open and flowing floorplan, flat roof, and stone and glass walls.





Within the interior of the home, four non-public areas branch off from a central space, which features a conversation pit. These four branches include rooms for parents, children, guests and servants, and utilitarian areas (kitchen and laundry). The geometry of the house’s plan is similar to Andrea Palladio’s sixteenth-century Villa Rotunda in its organization of rooms around a central space.





A grid pattern of skylights, supported by sixteen free-standing cruciform steel columns, show attention to the interplay of light and shadow. A cylindrical fireplace, a 50-foot long storage wall, and the sunken conversation pit are key elements of the modernist design of the central space.


































































































Soundtrack for this wonderful home of glass + design is, The Andrew Sisters: