She was as nice as could be and such a doll in her crisp white shirt and beautiful Spring floral skirt…inspiration for a lovely room!  She has such a great design sense (obvious by her amazing selection of slides she shared) and truly appreciates fine design.  If you have ever read her blog (for heaven’s sake if you haven’t, you should!) you can see she is a keen observer of the smallest of details to overall color, balance and proportion in a space.  I look forward to more wonderful blogs from her!

Interior design bloggers Patricia Shackelford and Jill Tran

Make it fab!

-Jill

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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.

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interior designer, home, consultant, firm, ideas, photos.

“After” my design solutions were installed by our teams.

As a child, I remember the Parade of Homes (October 2 -17) …oh, yes.  Being dragged all over the city, walking, walking, walking through homes.  Up stairs, down stairs.  My brother and I got suckers to coax us on.  We could have used a whole bucket of them.

But today, I love seeing homes.  Especially those that are spectacular.  I appreciate homes with unusual architectural features (no “Me too!” features, thank you) and imagination.  Luxurious features.  I mean the ones that make living easier such as a smart floor plan and clever details can make it all worth it.  I mean really, why build or buy new unless it really is something special?  Truly special!

I hope you get a chance to take this tour and cherry pick your favorites and the genuinely more spectacular homes.  Remember, while budget certainly does play a roll, I am a quality over quantity gal.  There is great design in all price ranges.  Let me know what you think and who the most talented builders in our great city are.  Never settle.

Pick this guide up at the Home Builders Association building at 435 and Holmes or on the parade tour.

Make it fab!

-Jill

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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.

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These are pieces from a recent trip I took to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.  The info on the piece, follows the piece.  Let your mind go, check out their other pieces on the links and happy, joyful Friday to you!

Franz Kline:

Mark Rothko:

Neil Welliver:

Wayne Thiebaud:

Fairfield Porter:

Richard Diebenkorn:

Make it fab!

-Jill

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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.

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I was ahhh struck…both at it’s size and its simplicity.  I wanted to stand there forever.  This exhibit brings a peacefulness, a calm inside you.  While simplistic in it’s concept, it is joyful.  It carries the Wabi-Sabi rule to a tee, which is something I find fantastic.  It is texture, scale and pattern woven through the feeling of endless beauty.  If you missed Without Place-Without Time-Without Body by Wolfgang Laib in the amazing Bloch Building at the Nelson while it was on exhibition, please study these photos a bit more…it filled the room.  wow.

You can barely see the yellow pollen mounds amongst the rice on the very top photo here.  There are five of them on the left side, about 1/4 of the way down and roughly 5 columns in.

Make it fab!

-Jill

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

Jen Singer and myself

I constantly am designing with clients’ kiddos in mind.  I enhance spaces for children living their little lives while sharing the same spaces with family that loves them so.  As people ask Jen to share her funny stories of kids and parenting, people ask me how to help make their homes more enjoyable and easier with kids.  It can be done!

Thought this was a funny pic from Avanti...we have all thought about doing this at one point, right?

I wanted to repeat here my blog on designing for kids and pets so many of us are blessed with.  The link is below.  All those little feet and paws running all over our house…marking the carpets, chewing the furniture and wiping food on the wall…aren’t they precious?!  So messy, silly and lovable all at the same time.  I just got a call today to help replace a cushion that was the main course for a client’s dog.  Life happens.  Kiss all of your kids!

A Beautiful Home With Pets And Children? Yes!

And another blog on a baby’s room:

For The Baby Book; First Steps and a Design Award

Make it fab!

-Jill

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It is such an honor to be selected to judge the work of some of Kansas City’s greatest architects, builders, designers.  I know from my gold in 2008 the work that goes into each submission. The homeowner’s get just as excited.  It is a day to see who was able to do the most with what they had to work with, and how far the bar will be raised, again. See 2009′s winners.

Each year, we are sent in teams to a variety of homes all over the city in different categories.  The entries are submitted by the homeowners, architects, builders and designers and must be brand-spanking new.

About to go out and judge: Brooke Pearl, Asst. Editor, myself and Andrea Darr, Editor-In-Chief.

I take the job very seriously and even dream at night about the homes when I am trying to decide. This year, the 7 properties I judged ranged from a smaller home to almost 4 times that home’s asking price…so you can see the difficulty!  It is like comparing apples to bananas to oranges.  How do I choose?  Very carefully and thoughtfully…

I am a stickler!  My criteria?

• I look for unusual and unexpected design solutions that work beautifully
• Note smooth layouts
• Search for special details (especially those that work for the land or homeowner specifically)
• Examine quality of materials and craftsmanship
• Reward green design
• Want thinking outside of the box (instead of a “me too” design) that ultimately adds value to the property and/or the lives of those that will live there
• Notice location
• Judge the overall feel and look of the space. Not only must the home’s design work, it must be outstanding.

I ask myself:

• Did the architect waste space or leave any small, funny areas the homeowners won’t know what to do with?
• Were the niches, built-ins and/or lighting intended to be centered but didn’t quite make it?
• Is the interior cabinet hardware going to last or did the builder cut a corner where no one would look?
• What about window placement?  Vent placement?
• Does the entry have a “WOW” feel?
• Does the exterior complement the land and interior?
• How would someone live in the space and make it their own?
• Were the designers innovative while respecting the style of the structure?
• Were their solutions unique, without going into Oddville?
• Is the selling price appropriate?

The categories are perfectly arranged (I don’t know how Andrea Darr and Brooke Pearl organize this every year) so the judges can make sharp choices as we drive to each structure, critiquing and taking detailed notes as we go.

What does the competition do for you?  It encourage the designers and builders in KC to constantly question their work, push themselves, explore and stay current with trends, materials and procedures.  It matters.

Watch for the KCH&G issue in the spring so you can judge for yourself.  By then, it may just be a perfect 74 degrees again…can’t wait!

-Jill

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