#theODLhouse INSPO -
@kristenforgione’s PRIVATE PINTEREST BOARDS, NOW PUBLIC
It seems like all great creative ventures these days begin with a Pinterest Board -- or twenty! From your best friend’s wedding to vacations, birthday parties and all things home related, they are all starting with the vast pool of inspiration and dreams that is Pinterest! While some of our creative process may be slightly different as professional Designers, Pinterest is simply the best visual tool out there and has become a huge resource for our client projects and design work; and the first place I started 16 months ago when the possibilities of building what we now know as #theODLhouse came to be!
Most of these boards are pretty self explanatory but with each one I’ll give you just a hint of what’s been going through my mind while I’ve been actively designing our dream home, some insight into our floor plan and some of what caught my eye in all of this visual mastery! You’ll also see some of our work from THELIFESTYLEDCO® sprinkled in because while I knew I wanted our house to be completely different than anything we’ve ever designed, I have had some moments over the last 9 years of projects that have stuck with me and will absolutely be represented in #theODLhouse!
Let’s start from the outside and work our way in!
EXTERIOR
DESIGN: Wade Design Architects
PHOTOGRAPHY: Suzanna Scott
From our first trip to Napa when I was 27, that place has been forever locked in our hearts, and was the first major source of inspiration Vince and I took from, when we were conceptualizing the exterior schemes. Clean, crisp lines, lots of texture with stone, natural and muted tones, privacy that somehow felt inviting and has since been made possible with the walking gate entry you’ll see on the front elevation, and a creamy ivory body color. In addition to Napa, a nod to both coasts which we love so much in architectural shutters and grand lanterns. We also wanted an almost a ranch feel with a decomposted granite driveway path and a gate at the base of the lot that poses a question, are they riding horses back there or growing grapes?! – Either way, I want to join them!
Part of me always thought I’d have a black house and I am still undecided if this will be the house! As I mentioned, I know the overall body color will be a creamy ivory but I’m still wrangling with the idea of a focal paint change on some portion or if the whole thing will stay brightly washed in ivory!
POOL + LANDSCAPE
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: YARDZEN
This may be backwards but we’ve found our Outdoor Living spaces are almost more important than our indoor living spaces! Most of the reasoning behind that is because of the amount of time we spend outside in Arizona… yes, it’s hotter than Death Valley a few months out of the year but for the most part, we spend at least 9 months outside, in some way, shape or form! Our lot size (approx. 1 acre) and floor plan shape (H shaped) helped us determine all that we could do in this category, and Pinterest sure provided a bunch of other very dreamy ideas! Yardzen was the very first partner I reached out to because I knew they would be able to nail this exterior version of THELIFESTYLEDCO’s trademarked aesthetic, Organic Desert Living® while taking in all of the other geographical areas I mentioned before. I was especially drawn to Yardzen because they work in several states and have working knowledge of those inspo areas, which would offer an easy transfer of different outdoor styles from those locales, right into our own backyard! We’re also partnering with Sherwood Outdoors to take those plans and execute them! I can’t wait to go see our plants list in person and watch this unfold! I’ll have more to show you with Yardzen as our build progresses and it’s time to landscape but have a look at the concept render we put together for our front and backyard, and the board for plenty of outdoor living goodness!
WINDOWS with Sierra Pacific Windows
PHOTO: @KRISTENFORGIONE ON INSTAGRAM
PHOTO: @dominicmckenziearchitects ON INSTAGRAM
PHOTO: Paul Massey
WINDOWS! Can every category be the most important?? Asking for a friend… lol… in theory no, but in this build, I feel like Exterior, Outdoor Living with Pool + Landscape and our Windows were top three, and practically neck and neck! As professionals we are often leading the charge in voicing how important windows are to a build, or to any home really. They are a big ticket item and can significantly sway the budget one way or another but truly make or breaks the aesthetics both inside and out! Receiving the news that Sierra Pacific not only wanted to work with me on #theODLhouse but that they also wanted to sponsor the BLG was a magical moment! You may not know it but you’ve been seeing their windows for as long as you’ve been seeing our work! Sierra Pacific Windows are all over our Portfolio and most notably the windows and doors in our #75thBuild, #76thBuild, #CortezBuild, #64thBuild and many many others. In fact, some of the major moments in #64thBuild contributed to the window design in my house. In this board you’ll be able to see some of the window placement, sizes and configuration I stuck closely too, and the color I chose – Tan exterior and black interior! More on that later but if you want to see our window delivery and onsite installation, head here!
ENTRY + LIGHTING WITH Hudson Valley Lighting Group
Designer: Jake Arnold
PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHAEL CLIFFORD
STYLIST: LISA ROW
PHOTO: MANDARIN STONE
PHOTOS: HUDSON VALLEY LIGHTING GROUP
Design starts inside the front door… well really it starts at the curb but the front door definitely sets the tone for the interior and this Entry will have some impact, let me tell you! I’m saving some of the design direction for a little later on but this will tip you off to the flooring inspiration! The Entry also holds a lighting installation I haven’t stopped thinking about since it hit the design boards, along with all of our other lighting from Hudson Valley Lighting Group and their brands, Mitzi, Corbett + Troy.
GREAT ROOM, KITCHEN, ALL DAY DINING, PANTRY + BAR/MORNING BAR
PHOTO: PINTEREST
STYLIST: GINNY BRANCH
Designer: lefevre INTERIORS
PHOTOGRAPHER: Claude Smekens
Designer: THELIFESTYLEDCO®
PHOTOGRAPHER: JESSICA ALEXANDER
In open floor plans, it can be a challenge to give each of these spaces their own identity while recognizing how close they all are to one another. Our Great Room, Kitchen, All Day Dining, Pantry and Bar/Morning Bar are all within the same open space but they all have a cohesive but slightly different feel, you’ll be able to pick up right from these boards! I think you’ll also start to see some of the true Minimalist aesthetic choices I’ve made and where those will pick back up in other areas of our home.
POWDER ROOM
DRAMA. Let it be known, small spaces are not reserved for white paint to “make them look bigger” – in fact, IMO, they should be reserved for NOT WHITE PAINT. A Powder Room is the perfect place to take risks, use high end materials (most powder rooms are a small footprint so it allows for less material and a higher price point without breaking the bank) and give it DRAMA! While I want a light and bright home, the Powder Room is totally excluded from that concept, and will be our most dramatic space!
DEN/GAME ROOM
STYLIST: ANNA DELPRAT
PHOTOGRAPHER: TOM FERGUSON
PHOTO: ETERNITY MODERN
DESIGN + PHOTOGRAPHY: My Simply Simple
We love to lounge as a family and one of us lovesssss Football. That being said, we needed a place that could be both a family area for our girls (10 + almost 7) to wake up and watch TV on weekends to a place where Vince could have some guys over and scream at the TV, I mean watch Football, without a dedicated man cave… Man caves are great but when we were drawing the floor plan we opted for a Gym instead of a Man Cave because we felt like the Gym would have higher use and we could figure out how to expertly use the whole Family Den thing like we have for so many clients! I wasn’t intending on actual games but we’ve since fallen in love with Shuffleboard and we think we’ll include one of those along with a sectional and a Craft/Gaming farm table!
PRIMARY BEDROOM + PRIMARY BATHROOM
PHOTO: BLACK PANTHERS ARCHITECTS
PHOTO: EVENPRIME
These spaces have been my favorite to place architecturally on paper and the hardest to design finishes for! So far I know I’m someplace between the romance of a major curtain moment and some King bed… and a bathtub moment in the middle of the bathroom with oversized window letting the natural light just POUR IN. Other than that, TBD!
MY CLOSET
One of my non-negotiables was a closet that had natural light (are you noticing a theme here) and not a square box. No offense but often times closets, especially big ones get thrown into the center of the home where there is little light and even littler thought put into the actual bricks and sticks. I designed my closet to be open and accessible from the Primary Bedroom by walking around a shear wall, where our bed will sit. The light from the Bedroom will cast a beautiful wash over my precious flip flops and Chuck Taylors, while looking vvvvvv chic! I’m still designing the footprint of the closet built ins themselves but I know I’ll also have a small landing zone for work/laptop use and a jewelry area with some vintage lamp situation…
VINCE’S CLOSET + GYM
Also in our Primary Bedroom is Vince’s Closet and Gym. We did double duty with this space by placing built in storage that will be his closet, located within the Gym. He’s a morning fitness person so it actually works out perfectly! I use the Gym too so it won’t be overly masculine but will have a grounded, androgynous feel to it, suited for both his weigh training and my Pilates!
MUDROOM
DESIGN: EDWARD DEEGAN ARCHITECTS
PHOTOGRAPHY: Karen Loffing
DESIGN: THELIFESTYLEDCO®
BUILDER: CRAFT HOMES
PHOTOGRAPHY: SIERRA ANN PHOTOGRAPHY
The simplest of the boards I think… our Mudroom is 74” long and 36” wide, and is really a hallway from our Garage entrance into our Great Room. She’s gonna be small but mighty and since you can see it from the Great Room, probably pretty simple in design. We need the token drop zone for shoes and backpacks but also a package receiving area! With influence comes boxes! Certainly not something I complain about but I don’t always get to open the product sent to me to take a look at or to try, right away, so a place to store both unopened boxes and boxes that need to be returned would be highly useful! It was a receiving area or a gift wrap station and receiving won!
LAUNDRY
Might be a shock to you all but our Laundry room was probably the least exciting to me in this whole thing… I know, I know, Laundry Rooms are some people’s love languages, and you can read more on why the Laundry Room ranks where it does for me, here. This thing needs to operate like a cockpit and be filled with perfectly placed function to meet all of the needs we’ve directed at this small 9 foot by 8 foot space. We’ve got a stackable washer and dryer, tall storage cabinets with electrical outlets for stick vacs and tools, and a place to keep the dogs happy in their built in kennels. I’m thinking a little bit of mood in here too since the space will be mostly built in, have utility can lights and will not have natural light.
GIRLS BEDROOMS + BATHS
DESIGN: DECUS INTERIORS
PHOTOGRAPHY: ANSON SMART
PHOTO: FIRECLAY TILE
Our girls are getting their own rooms and they could not be more excited! They currently share a bunk room we reconfigured for them from two side by side bedrooms, and while they’ve had fun, it’s time for them to have their own spaces, reflective of their own interests and needs. One, Sutter Ann (7) is horse obsessed, still loves baby dolls, dollhouses and American Girl – and the other – Harper Rose (10) is a pre-tween, into Instax photos, twinkle lights, nail polish, lego and all of the arts! They both share the love of a soft muted palette in blue hues and earthy pinks! Both of their rooms have their bath vanities located within the bedroom space, so it’s important the hardscape finishes match the vibe of their bedrooms! I can’t wait to show you how this plays out in the field because it was a risk, something our Draftsman did not endorse and something I am most excited about doing differently than any project we’ve ever worked on!
GIRLS RUMPUS ROOM
Another room we insisted on we call the Rumpus Room! Rumpus Rooms are big in the UK and Australia and I’m frankly surprised they haven’t caught on more here in the states, especially in some of the hotter climates where we can’t be outside comfortably for an extended period of time. Think a cross between a Playroom and an Indoor Gym for kids! It’s supposed to be a bit of a mess and also inspire them to be active as much as possible!
GUEST BATH
One of the last spaces I’ve been trying to nail down in my Designer brain is our Guest Bath! I’ll admit it’s one that hasn’t come to me easily but you’ll see from this board, I think I’m set up with an exposed pipe shower and earthy tile, and I’ll figure the rest out from there!
Feel free to repin anything you see from #theODLhouse inspo boards here! I’m excited to look back on these inspiration images when #theODLhouse is complete to see what started here, and where it ended up when the design and build is done!
Talk to us in the comments, or DM me anytime, @kristenforgione!
xo, Kristen Forgione
Owner, Creative Director + Principal Designer
