I’m excited to bring you the very first post in my new Behind The Blog series her on ConfettiStyle and I’m even more excited to be featuring my friend and fellow interior designer Jennifer Schoenberger and Jennifer Schoenberger Design.
Photograph by Kristy Dickerson
I met Jennifer a few years ago and immediately felt her warm and genuine spirit. Since that time our friendship has blossomed and I have become one of Jennifer’s biggest fans. As a designer, she has an eye for detail, can accessorize a room like no other and designs rooms that exude the ultimate in comfort and luxury. One of the things I really love most about Jennifer’s design style is her ability to mix old and new and modern with vintage, creating spaces that feel collected, personal and timeless. And if you need some fashion inspiration, Jennifer has impeccable personal style with a love for vintage fashion.
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Recently I posed a few questions to Jennifer so that we can learn a little more about her and take a look behind her blog, Vreeland Road.
Grab a cup of coffee of let’s chat with Jennifer and take a look at more of her work…
How did you get into the interior design field? And what do you love most about design?
My career began after the purchase of our first home in Roswell. It was my first canvas and I went to work creating with paint, lighting and flea market finds. Friends and friends of friends began asking for help and it started as a little side business/hobby while working a nine to five. In 2010 I started blogging and showcasing my work and ideas, and at that point I felt like folks started to take it more seriously and business took off. What I love most about design, is helping people create a home they love living in. Our surroundings are so important to our daily lives and energy. It plays a role in everything we do, I really believe that. And being a designer is a gift. I’m so grateful (and flattered) every time a new client calls inviting me into their personal space. It’s a privilege I take very seriously.
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I know you have fabulous style but can you give me three words you think describe your personal style?
Oh gosh, it’s so hard for me to label my style. It’s a conglomerate of so many things and always changing! I think if I had to come up with three words it would be FUN, classic and a little bit rock and roll.
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Design trends come and go, but which design trend are you loving most right now? And which one do you wish would fade away?
I have to say I’m a huge fan of the notion of opposites attract. The idea of mixing an antique desk with a modern chair or hanging an ornate gold frame against a rustic, reclaimed wood wall. You see a lot of this mixing going on, traditional with modern. I’m not so sure this is a trend, so to speak, but I hope it sticks around because it creates great interest in interiors. As far as a trend I wish would go away, nothing really jumps out at me. I guess if you are going to hang your tv over your fireplace, please be discreet and creative in trying to camouflage it when not in use.
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What’s your favorite room in your home?
Right now, none of them! LOL. But if I had to pick, I’d say our kitchen/keeping room is on track to being my favorite, probably because it’s the only space close to being “finished” and it’s where we spend most of our time together.
-those drapes!
What’s your most prized decorative accessory?
My most prized decorative accessory would be anything that belonged to my Mother. For example she had a pocket watch she wore on a gold chain, and I incorporate those things into vignettes around our home as a reminder of her love and sacrifice. Being a Mom is a really hard job!
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If you could share one piece of advice with aspiring designers, what would it be?
Be fearless in your design and ideas. Stick to your guns and don’t let any contractor, vendor, husband-of-the-client talk you out of it. Nothing is more frustrating, when you come up with an idea you laid in bed all night long thinking about, to have them roll their eyes at it and think you are crazy. You are not crazy. That and be prepared when you lay out your business plan, brand, processes and procedures. Have all that ready and rocking for when the flood hits because it will be too difficult to go back and implement while trying to design the lights out of five different spaces at once.
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What’s your favorite way to rewind after a long day?
Family dinners. Hands down. I feel like our corporate culture owns us Monday through Friday, so for me it’s so important to make those days count with a family dinner around the table. It might be 8 o’clock at night by the time we all sit down, but it’s happening. And Mommy gets very angry when over-the-top coaches or sports interfere with weekday family time. It’s so important for Mom, Dad, siblings to have that connection every day. To be heard.
I know you are from Michigan and love your home town, but what do you love most about living in the south?
What I love most about living in the South is Southerners passion for living! Whether it be their homes, gardens, entertaining, the way they still “get dressed” – the South is big on living and I think it played a major role in the success of my design career. I can’t say for sure that if I was still living in Michigan, I would have developed such a passion for interiors.
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Tell me 5 things you can’t live without?
- Music (and the shazam app)
- a breeze and the sound of birds chirping
- Summers in Michigan (!!!)
- Backroads (an alternate route that forces you to slow down and enjoy the ride)
- Pinterest!
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And finally, if you had to choose…bold color or subdued neutrals?
Subdued neutrals. My next house will be all white! White floors, white everything.
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Thanks Jennifer for sharing your world with us. Your talent is inspiring to me and so many others.
To learn more about Jennifer and here design work, please visit her website at jenniferschoenbergerdesigns.com. And make sure to follow her fabulous blog, Vreeland Road.
