I talked to a friend a few weeks ago that said to me, "Seeing you on instagram makes me want to take a nap...you're always doing something!" And that's true, BUT there are LOTS of things that I don't get to. I choose to work a lot because I love my job, and I love my team. However, I'm definitely not a perfectionist at home. We have take-out almost every night for dinner, and I pay someone to do our laundry every week On the days that I workout after work, I change clothes as fast as I can when I walk in the door and wait to shower until the kids are in bed, because I don't want to miss that t ..read more

Hi friends!! A couple of week ago, our team got together to help me host the most beautiful bridal shower for one of the girls on our very own JCI team. If you follow along with me on socials, you may have seen some sneak peeks of the decor, the food, the party favors, and more! Today we wanted to share all of the references, details, and links we used so that you can host your very own bridal shower. The Details… The invitations… Zazzle.com made it simple to create and customize the prettiest invitations. We went with a classic blush pink, gold, and white color palette for the shower. See o ..read more

Hi friends! It’s been awhile as 2021 has been off to a crazy start here at JCI! Lots of exciting new clients and projects and we’re feeling blessed to be staying so busy. We’re back on the blog on this snowy Friday to share some of the best, most affordable staple pieces for your kids and their bedrooms. We often get questions from you all on where to source furniture, pillows, etc. for kids and if it’s worth an arm and a leg to design a child’s space. Our answer… We’ve always said that it’s important to invest in staple pieces that can grow with your child, but not to splurge on elements that ..read more

It is safe to say that 2020 flipped every aspect of life upside down throughout the tumultuous year. Holiday celebrations required social distancing, hand sanitizer sales were at an all-time high, and restaurants were forced to focus on take out. Even less affected markets like interior design still underwent radical changes and saw the introduction of various trends. These various trends were mostly a response to the increase in individuals working from home during the pandemic, but those quarantined at home and not working also frequently used the time to change certain aspects of their home ..read more

Hi friends! Last week we installed a sweet project with an organization called Bloom Family Designs. This organization helps families who are fostering or adopting create beautiful spaces for their newest addition, and we were lucky enough to get to work with them once last year, and again last week. Bloom asked us to help them create the perfect space for sweet, Maggie, who is just 3 years old and has just been adopted by her foster family. We found out a few details about what Maggie loves to make her space as special as possible and found out that unicorns and the color purple are two of he ..read more

Hi and happy Friday to you!! How crazy fast has this fall flown by! It’s hard to believe that we’re already almost into the holiday season. The fall is a busy season in the Couch home because we celebrate Marlowe’s birthday, Mark and I’s anniversary, and my birthday. A little over a week ago we had a birthday party to celebrate Marlowe’s second birthday! Marlowe is completely obsessed with dogs or as she calls them, “woof woofs”, so naturally we had to throw her a puppy themed party. Because of everything going on with covid, we were excited to be able to host a small party with family and cl ..read more

Hi friends! It’s been a crazy season and a crazy busy few weeks at JCI, but we’re back on the blog this week to talk a little bit more about design trends versus timeless finishes that will stand the test of time. So often in the design world, we get stuck on something trendy, like the accent wall of the early 2000’s or green carpet in the 80’s. It can be hard to differentiate what’s here to stay versus what’s timeless and won’t stick out like a sore thumb a few years down the road. Here are a couple of areas to think about in terms of whether they’re trends or timeless: 1.) Wallpaper- Lots of ..read more

Hi friends! Happy start to a long weekend! Last week we filmed an exciting “On the Couch with Julie” with our very own JCI team. One topic that came up in our discussion was our design don’ts… There are a few mistakes we all agreed that it’s best to avoid so we thought we would share a few with you all on this week’s blog. Here are the JCI team’s top 4 design don’ts: 1) A Rug That’s Too Small- One of the worst design mistakes to make is buying a rug that is way too small for your space! Yes rugs can be an expensive investment, but there are affordable sites out there like Ruggable.com and Rug ..read more

Hi there! This week we are excited to be writing to share a little bit about our design process with you guys! Julie has been in the industry for over 15 years, allowing her a lot of time and trial and error to perfect our process. Whether you’ve worked with a designer, you are a designer, or you know nothing about the industry, the process can look distinctly different from firm to firm. If you’re considering hiring a designer or want to know more about the steps involved, we hope this will help you to better understand our process and get a general idea of what the steps involved in your des ..read more

Hi friends! Happy Thursday to you. While most of our projects are new builds at this point in time, we do also design a fair amount of homes utilizing existing furniture or working around existing finishes. Sometimes a builder grade home feels builder grade. Things like lighting, trim and molding, and other finishes can be dead giveaways at a beautiful custom home versus a home that is more of a builder grade model. Whether your home is a custom new build or a builder grade home, you can elevate your space and make it just as beautiful by paying attention to a couple of upgrades you can make ..read more