Meet Jennifer Rhode

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Rhode.

Jennifer, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Northern California (Berkeley) with a creative mother, who is a quilt artist. It was important to her to expose me to interesting, thoughtful and beautiful art so we spent a lot of time in San Francisco going to exhibits and museums. One that particularly struck me is Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party.” The ceramics were so gorgeous and full of story. There was so much to learn about the women represented. I was about ten when we saw that show.

We also made a few trips to New York when I was a kid. I LOVED the energy and excitement and visual stimulation of that city so I moved there after college and spent my twenties working in fashion for Calvin Klein Inc. and then as a free-lance wardrobe stylist for photo shoots and TV commercials.

I moved back to San Francisco in my early thirties and began working as a window stylist for Banana Republic. We had a big showroom with a fake store and I’d dress and style the mannequins in the windows. Then we would photograph them and send all the stores seasonal books with the window styling. It was like working in a giant dollhouse… so much fun.

When I was pregnant with my first child, we moved to Amsterdam. I had never been to the Netherlands before and the incredible history of the city and the innovative, creative ways the Dutch architects and designers melded building exteriors erected hundreds of years ago with clean, modern interiors absolutely captivated me. We were there for nearly six years. When I was ready to go back to work I decided to change course and work in interiors, rather than fashion.

My aesthetic has been heavily influenced by the minimalism of Calvin and the idea of “gezellig” from Amsterdam. “Gezellig” is the Dutch word for “coziness,” which also encompasses social concepts like inviting and friendly. Because of all the rain, the Dutchies spend A LOT of time indoors and are experts at creating comfortable, warm interiors.

When we moved back to the states to Boulder, Colorado, I wanted to create my own “modern gezellig” in my family home, and later, in the homes of my clients. We bought a house that we took down to the studs and completely redid. Shortly after it was completed I began working for our architect. I learned so much about building and design standards while in that position. Slowly, I started taking on my own interior clients on the side until I officially started my design firm four years ago.

I believe a modern space can be warm and personal, as well as minimal and simple. With my clients I like starting with family or heritage pieces, mementos from their travels, or art and photos with personal meaning and building on that with clean, pared-down selections. I love playing with the balance of antique and modern, blank areas with pops of color and simple structures with a striking piece. And I always love some whimsy thrown in. But most importantly, I like the home to be representative of the people who live there.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m not sure any road is ever smooth. Finding balance as a working mother of two children is always a challenge for me. I frequently get up really early and work for a couple of hours before they go to school because I cannot think well at night. We all go to bed at the same time. I typically have a lot of clarity around the design work, but there are so many other aspects of running a design business that I didn’t anticipate like a fair bit of marriage counseling and all of the accounting. I hired an amazing accountant a few years ago and it was the best business decision I’ve made. I’ve also started keeping company with other small business owners and their advice and support is invaluable. Since I didn’t work for a design firm before I started my own, I didn’t have a template to work off of and have created a lot of policies and procedures from scratch. I’ve learned that it’s super helpful to compare notes and learn from others.

Please tell us about your business.
I have an interior design business based out of Boulder, Colorado. I work on both residential and commercial projects. I think something that sets me apart from other designers is that I really work with my clients to create warm, personal spaces that reflect their loves and interests. I want to showcase their heritage pieces, their children’s art, their family photos, whatever is important to them. At the same time, I work to create highly edited, modern spaces that are calm and give the eye places to rest. I also love collaborating with artists and connecting them with my clients. I like to help my clients find art that is meaningful to them – whether it is depicting something they love or made by someone they can meet or represents a special time in their lives.

In addition to my design business I have a blog: https://www.jenniferrhode.com/blog My posts toggle between interviews with artists, product round-ups, design stories about my projects or stories about my children and my darling dog, Hank. (My children are darling too… mostly!)

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
It’s hard to choose an absolute favorite, but I LOVED playing with my dollhouse when I was little. There was a dollhouse shop in my neighborhood called “Mz. McFizz” and I would spend hours staring at their different room set ups. I spent all of my allowance and tooth fairy money there. I was always worried that I didn’t have enough money when I was standing at the register because I had no idea how they figured out the tax – I should have had an accountant back then. I had a huge family of stuffed mice who lived in the house and one summer I sat at my father’s typewriter and wrote up their whole history – how they immigrated to America and made their fortune with a cheese shop. Given how much I liked furnishing and arranging their home, I guess it’s not surprising that I ended up working in interiors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jenniferrhode.com
• Email: jennifer@jenniferrhode.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferrhode/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferrhodedesign/
• Blog: https://www.jenniferrhode.com/blog

Image Credit:
jennifer rhode “entry” photo (with credenza and big, red painting): bob carmichael
all other interior photos: heather knierim of HBK photography

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