project sneek peek: island drive

It's been raining way too long here in South Florida, and my projects have really slowed down because of it.

The builder did manage to get the railings for my

Island Drive project installed last week, and they look great!!

I love the crisp white color and the geometric shape of the railing against the soft, organic foliage, don't you?

They contrast but compliment each other perfectly. (Sorry for the fuzzy camera phone pic,

I promise to have some really great shots taken once the project is complete!)

Well, the season is about to hit high gear here and these clients are coming in soon,

so there will be lots more to show you in the next few weeks!

'Till next time...

Steals and Deals

This holiday season give your windows a stylish, new look and enjoy a gift yourself!

Act today for generous per-unit rebate savings up to $300,
PLUS you may qualify for an additional federal tax credit opportunity up to $500 on select
Duette^®,  Architella^®   or honeycomb shades. How great is that??

The "Celebrate the Season Sales Event" runs now through December 12, 2011,
and time is running out to have your beautiful new window treatments installed before the holidays,
so be sure to call us at 305.240.1799 to schedule your appointment today.
Want to know more? Click here to go to the official Hunter Douglas Website.

Project Sneek Peek: Island Drive

My Island Drive baby is getting close to completion

and its so exciting to see all of my efforts on this project finally coming to fruition.

The design evolution of this house is pretty amazing, so I thought I'd share some of the progress.

Before: a pretty basic Florida Ranch, right?

The client wanted to keep the original structure which was built in the 60's and was about 1800 square feet.

With the help of my cousin Rick, whose an architect, I then designed new front and back living areas, new bathrooms and indoor and outdoor kitchens.

 Here's my original concept sketch for the front porch addition:

 I wanted to keep the mid-century vibe that the hubby loves, but also needed to keep some traditional/transitional elements to suit the wife's taste. (I call that blend "vintage modern".)

Here's the house mid construction; the front porch had just been added.

 This family is always on the go and they LOVE the outdoors. The front views of the house are just as great as the back, so I created a large, covered  living space so they could enjoy all that beauty.

Here she is, almost done! To give you some perspective, the little window in the middle of the below photo is the window to the right of the two ladies in the original photo.

The soft green paint color on the exterior walls is called "Daiquiri Ice".

Only in the Keys can you get away with painting your house the color of a cocktail!  ;)

Here's my concept sketch of the railing details.

They are scheduled to be installed this week, if it ever stops raining!

I love them. Its kind of "Mad Men"-nie, don't ya think?

I've got lots more to show you from this Island Drive beauty; custom furniture I've designed, awesome mosaics in the master bath, and an incredible backyard transformation, so till next time...

Project Sneek Peek

As promised, here is another photo of the hibiscus mosaic I posted about on The Sunday Shout Out.

It is being installed next week...I'm so excited!!

This is going to add some amazing color at the end of the pool,

and enhance the existing waterline and jacuzzi tile

as well as the furnishings I'm planning to install in this area.

I'll post photos of the project as soon as its completed, so stay tuned!

The Sunday Shout Out

I am truly blessed to work with some incredibly talented tradespeople, artisans and craftsmen. They make my job so much easier! On one of my current projects, I decided to replace a tiled wall by the pool with a custom glass mosaic and my muralist didn't disappoint! When she sent me the photos of her progress, I just HAD to give her a shout out! Here is her original watercolor sketch:

This 72"x 36"wall is at one end of the pool, was originally tiled with plain 6"x 6" travertine tiles and had two lionheads that spouted water into the pool itself. I wanted to add some color in this area, so my muralist and I came up with the above design.

Last week she sent me a photo of her progress and I was totally blown away!

Her talent is so amazing, I had to share.

LOVE.

I can't WAIT until its installed...I'll be sure to post more photos of the mosaic

 so you can see how it turned out. :)



A leap of faith

In my four plus decades of being on this earth, I have learned through trial and error to listen to my gut. It took me a long time to trust my instincts, but every time I have, its turned out really well. (Knock wood!) In June of 2009, during the height of the recession, I took a leap of faith and started my own interior design company, J. Wells Interior Design, Inc. It was one of the smartest decisions I've ever made. Little by little the company has grown, and even after being in the business for over twenty years, I love my job now more than ever.
You know that gut thing I mentioned earlier? Its been bugging me to write a design blog for a while now.  I have no idea why, I just know that for some reason, I should. So here I am, writing my first post, not knowing if anyone other than myself and a friend or two will ever read this thing. If nothing else, it can be a personal journal that I can go back to and read after I've become an uber- famous-internationally-known-designer-to-the-stars. (I'm totally joking!!)
My goal with this is to share some wonderful things with you. Places to see and things to do in South Florida, some of my work in progress, new design trends and anything else that inspires me to live my best life. Hopefully, you'll be inspired, too.