Trend Series: Steampunk

Steampunk, a blend of vintage, Victorian style and today’s technology, has found its way into the interior design world. Wonderfully bizarre and alluring, the style is best known for oddly beautiful objects, art and rooms. If you were throwing a dinner party and Steampunk was a guest, it would be the person telling interesting, somewhat unbelievable stories.

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T + T on Trends

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been sitting in our studio drinking cocoa spiked with cinnamon and cooking up ideas for our blog. In between installations and design meetings, we decided to do a trend series over the next few months and couldn’t be more excited about it. Although we touched on trends in our International Furniture & Accessories Market recap, this upcoming series will be much more in-depth. In each post, you’ll find tips on how to incorporate these new elements into your home or business, along with plenty of eye candy.

We’ve developed a great line-up with our thoughts on wallpaper, steampunk and pattern to start. That being said, we will take breaks from trends occasionally to talk about other time sensitive, world threatening issues, like master bedrooms for Valentine’s Day or outdoor spaces this spring. Things will get pretty spicy.

At this point, you’re probably thinking, “I don’t want to miss a single installment of this exciting series.”

Well, you don’t have to. Look for new post announcements on our Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin pages, and feel free to drop us a line. We can’t wait to hear your favorite trends and insightful musings.

Cheers!
Jill & Carmen

Holiday Decorating – No Elves Required

With Thanksgiving behind us, we’ve started the mad dash of the holidays. It often feels like we’re running from place to place crossing items off our to do list, instead of really enjoying all the season has to offer. One of our favorite ways to celebrate is to create a safe haven at home. Arming yourselves with a few decorating tricks and lots of hot chocolate will help keep you in the holiday spirit. (At the very least, the cocoa always seems to do the trick for us.)

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We’re Showered With Design Awards

It was an amazing evening.

I was shocked as my new business partner, Carmen Thomas and I, kept hearing my name over and over at the Design Excellence Awards by KC Magazine.  I am flattered beyond flattered and oh, so humbled. It is such a joy to have my work, time, effort, ideas and dreams recognized.  No one knows how much work an interior designer REALLY does for their clients like the people in that room.

The people I would like to thank…Everyone at KC Magazine…Katie Van Luchene, Eryn Swanson, Erin Calvin, Dara Macan, Kim Tucker and all of the other wonderful people at KC Magazine.  Thank you, thank  you.

Of course too, I would like to thank my clients because if it wasn’t for their faith in me, none of the gorgeous rooms would have happened and I wouldn’t have been standing there without my umbrella.

Thank you all so much!

Yours,

Jill

Awards from KC Magazine:

Edward Tanner for Interior Design, Lifetime achievement award

Gold:  Interior, Speciality Room

Gold:  Interior, Bathroom

Silver:  Interior, Dining/Living Room

Bronze:  Interior, Dining/Living Room

Gold:  Interior, Best Use of Art

Bronze:  Interior, Best Use of Art

Silver:  Interior, Children’s Room

Inspiration In Red and Pink (Okay, And A Little Chartreuse)

It’s a gorgeous day today and I just wanted to express how I am feeling with design and color combinations I love.  Bright, happy, energetic and happy!

Is this arrangement not Dy-no-mite and delicious?

Fabulous color on this vase…

Lovely detail on this pot.

Just yummy!

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Make it fab!

-Jill

Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Photos:  Jill Tran Interior Design and Co., MIGUEL FLORES-VIANNA

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill

More Fabulous Flea Market Finds

There is such joy in finding wonderful, beautiful and special little items while scouring antique shops and boutiques.  I couldn’t resist sharing these little gems.  To Spring!

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Enjoyed this blog?  Follow us on facebook.

Make it fab!

-Jill

Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Photos:  Jill Tran Interior Design and Co.

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill

Fabulous Flea Market Finds

There is such joy in finding wonderful, beautiful and special little items while scouring antique shops and boutiques.  I couldn’t resist sharing these little gems.  To Spring!

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Photo: Jill Tran Interior Design

Enjoyed this blog?  Follow us on facebook.

Make it fab!

-Jill

Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Photos:  Jill Tran Interior Design and Co.

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill

Shawnee Magazine Feature, Our Client Is Thrilled!

As an interior designer in Kansas City, it is so wonderful to have our work in print.  Thank you, Shawnee Magazine.

I have some details on the living room below…where we began and how the design became magazine ready.

If you want to read more on this home, click here

SEE THE “BEFORE” AND “AFTER” SHOTS OF THE LIVING ROOM HERE

"BEFORE"

The article in Shawnee Magazine...and the "After"

The Living Room:

These wonderful clients had a living room space with an awkward floor plan.  It was a long room with great windows and a magnificent view, but the room itself left something to be desired.  They wanted a sectional and great seating for entertaining.  Lighting was an issue in the evening.  She loved green so she and I decided to complement the outdoors and frame them with beautiful pieces with great lines.  The silhouettes in front of the windows needed to be sleeker pieces were what would make her happy.  All of the aging oak needed to be toned down a bit as well.

The Living Room:

Our design solutions?

This new area for entertaining needed some wonderful color, softness and beauty so we played up the greens, added drapes up to the crown molding and some beautiful furnishings and accents.  The original oil was commissioned and is fun, unexpected and cuts the space perfectly.  For handsome silhouettes in front of the grand windows, natural sticks, a darling lamp with a semi-opaque glass body and a “tree” table base over marble were perfect.

They are both so thrilled now with their main living space.  It was great fun to help them take a room they had no feelings for and make it wonderful for them and their family to enjoy everyday.

SEE THE “BEFORE” AND “AFTER” SHOTS OF THIS LIVING ROOM HERE

The dining room "Before"

The dining room “AFTER”:

READ MORE ON THIS HOME

Enjoyed this blog?  Follow us on facebook.

Make it fab!

-Jill

Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill

How A Design Came Together For KC Magazine, The Den

There is nothing better than wonderful, kind clients.  Those fabulous people that appreciate great design and want to surround themselves with it to make every day better for themselves.  This couple was no exception!

Once frustrated, Kerry and Mike Helmuth turned to me for wonderful design solutions.  Their home needed some TLC and a plan.  Once I discovered the direction they wanted to go with their home’s design, the challenge began.  How to combine a cowboy feel with Country French using greens and a bright color pop here and there?  More seating was a priority, too, but of course, not too much stuff.  Less is more, but sometimes, you just have to break the rules.  But when?  Now.

See the full KC Magazine issue as a pdf

Cover of KC Mag Jill Tran Interior Design's work is featured in.

Assignment
These clients liked little about this room before we began and needed to keep the wainscoting and sofa. “Just make it not so depressing.”  They enjoy horses, own a ranch and asked for a more masculine, comfortable feel.

Challenges
There were several challenges in transforming this space, not the least of them blending two different aesthetic tastes in the overall design.  Large doorways gave the clients no privacy during late evenings OR early mornings.  To establish privacy and a warm, comfortable feel, drapes from another room were “recycled and reinvented” to serve as flexible screening.   The architecture of the room is somewhat odd and creates an awkward traffic flow, proving difficult to lay out in a way for a couple with different relaxation habits.  But after installing a new design and some better lighting, it became the perfect place for reading, watching the news or enjoying a conversation.

Innovations
An oversized dog painting, a zinc horse statue, and a custom velvet lamp shade were also added to amplify the character of a room transformed from cold and odd to warm and personable.

The Den "before". Dark and cold with an odd layout. A tough space to work with!

The design I created for them is starting to come together. They are so pleased and excited! It will be gorgeous. Jill Tran Interior Design

Their den is complete! Photographed here by Bob Greenspan for KC Magazine. It is now warm, inviting, perfect for enjoying and special. Jill Tran Interior Design

The other half of the open KC Magazine. Jill Tran Interior Design

Close up of KC Magazine. Jill Tran Interior Design

Enjoyed this blog?  Follow us on facebook.

Make it fab!

-Jill

Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill

How A Design Came Together For KC Magazine, The Living Room

There is nothing better than wonderful, kind clients.  Those fabulous people that appreciate great design and want to surround themselves with it to make every day better for themselves.  This couple was no exception!

Once frustrated, Kerry and Mike Helmuth turned to me for wonderful design solutions.  Their home needed some TLC and a plan.  Once I discovered the direction they wanted to go with their home’s design, the challenge began.  How to combine a cowboy feel with Country French using greens and a bright color pop here and there?  More seating was a priority, too, but of course, not too much stuff.  Less is more, but sometimes, you just have to break the rules.  But when?  Now.

See the full KC Magazine issue as a pdf

Cover of KC Mag Jill Tran Interior Design's work is featured in.

A "before" shot of their living room. They wanted it to be much more beautiful and special.

Another "before" shot of the space. Kerry just wasn't pleased with it. It lacked color and interest for her.

The design I created for them starts to come together with wonderful details and exquisite fabrics. Jill Tran Interior Design.

The same room completed as shot by Bob Greenspan for KC Magazine. It is colorful, interesting, beautiful, has more seating and rich in special details and features to make it wonderful! Jill Tran Interior Design

The same page from KC Magazine. Jill Tran Interior Design

Notice the rich color pops…not too much, but just enough.  The seating is comfortable and welcoming with luxurious fabrics.  The cow art was commissioned from artist Mary Ann Johnson and is of the homeowners’ farm.

Close up of KC Magazine. Jill Tran Interior Design

Me standing in the space, it is fun to enjoy it for a moment. Jill Tran Interior Design

The original shot of the space we took with the bull I found (the plan was to move him to the back hall once the other piece came in, which we did). I love the croc skull I found, too. A little rough and tumble. Jill Tran Interior Design

Enjoyed this blog?  Follow us on facebook.

Make it fab!
-Jill

Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill