Episode 16
Design That Speaks: The Stories We Live In
This week, on the Reframing Design podcast, Casey and Rainey share a surprisingly tender moment sparked by a nest-like artwork in a couple’s first home. One partner tears up, the other finally gets it. Design isn't just style, it’s a story. They talk about how art turns houses into homes, and why your space might be saying more about you than you think.
It’s a reminder that good design doesn’t just look good, it feels true.
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
03:30 - Exploring the Nature of Art and Connection
14:56 - Creating Meaningful Spaces
21:02 - Designing Moments in Homes
35:11 - The Evolution of Design Trends: From High Ceilings to Cozy Spaces
40:03 - Creating Unique Spaces: The Leather Room
Let’s Connect!
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Mentioned in this episode:
Vacation Rental Designers
https://www.vacationrentaldesigners.com/
Transcript
Hi, I'm Casey.
Rainey:And I'm Rainey. Welcome to the Reframing Design podcast. If you're a new designer, a seasoned designer, a homeowner, or a home enthusiast, you are in the right place.
Casey:We are going to talk about all things design. Our stories, our opinions, our experiences, and we're probably going to chase a few rabbits down a few rabbit holes.
But one thing we can guarantee, we will not talk about politics. Hi.
Rainey:Hello. How are you today? I feel I need to, like, scoot around. See you. I need to see you. Hello. Hopefully I'm still in frame. We'll see.
Casey:But nobody's watching us anyways. They're just listening to our voices.
Rainey:Listening. Although they should, because today I've got this exquisite piece of art.
Casey:Exquisite.
Rainey:Can I talk about this piece of art?
Casey:Would you please? Cuz it's just sitting here next to me. I want to just touch it, stroke it.
Rainey:You can. You can.
Casey:You can stroke it, Savannah.
Rainey:So this piece of art was really interesting. So we went to several art galleries with a client whose home this is going into actually next week. It's two guys. They're partners.
And one of the partners just stopped in his tracks when he saw this piece of art. Right.
Casey:I'm with you.
Rainey:Like, slammed on the brakes, was like, I have to have this piece of art. And he looked at his other. At his partner for confirmation. And the other partner was like, really?
And it was so interesting because I just stood there very quietly and listened. I know y' all are all shocked.
And the partner who fell in love with it instantly started to say, you know, we're building our first home together that's completely both of ours together from inception. And it feels like we're building a nest. And we each have our own kind of arteries wrapped around this nest.
And when you look at this piece of art, it's kind of smacks of a shape of a house, right? And it has these kind of nesty vibe. And then you see these colored pieces that certainly could be interpreted as arteries and life giving. Right?
And so the other partner that wasn't so keen on it all of a sudden was like, oh, my gosh, I get it.
Casey:I get it. I see it. I didn't see it before, and now I see it, and now I can't unsee it. And now we have to have it.
Rainey:And he felt it. And so that is what art does. It does. It does.
Casey:But I love that the first, because often, and I don't know about you in your, you know, all your married years, With Tom and stuff.
But sometimes I'll get really excited about seeing something, and Matt will be maybe a little bit less impressed, and I'll just sort of go, okay, and continue on or whatever. And I just think that it spoke so much to the one that I like that he didn't kind of, you.
Rainey:Know, close himself off.
Casey:Himself off. Or even just pretend he. Yeah. Like, move on along. You explain the reason, and it really gives that, like.
And I'm seeing it differently now because I saw it earlier, but it was lower. And so I see a roof where I don't think I saw it.
Rainey:Like, anyways, you can appreciate all the.
Casey:Size of it and then how you.
Rainey:Frame and then the framing. Right. Because we did have to do. To see this, we had to do a little glam.
Because if we didn't do the fillet in there that kind of had the champagne fillet, it sort of looked flat. And they have a little in their house in moments. And so it just lifted the whole piece of art. But I want to tell you about this artist.
Her name is Ellen H. Ray. And the theme of a lot of her art are, like, trees and root systems and cellular structures.
And she's really interested in exploring sort of the Earth's way of communicating and having structure. And that's really the theme of a lot of her pieces of work. She's a local artist, and she's just a delight.
And when I got to know her and sort of negotiate for this piece for our clients, I just really got a sense of her. And she's extraordinary. And so check her out. Ellen H. Ray.
Casey:And did you get this at Sawyer Yards? Is that where you said I did okay? I thought. Okay, so she's at Sawyer Yards, which is.
Rainey:I think I forgot to mention that, but I told you that if you get a chance to go or in Houston visiting or living here, please go. They have all of the artists sort of showcase their things. I think it's the sort of. Is it the first Saturday of the month or. I forget. I think.
Casey:First or third one of them.
Rainey:It's the second.
Casey:It's the second. Okay.
Rainey:It's the second.
Casey:We have no idea what we're talking about. But go.
Rainey:But go look. Look online and go. You'll be glad that you did. So that's this piece of art, and so stunning.
Casey:I love that.
Rainey:So excited. So what about a win? Do you have anything going?
Casey:I do. And it's funny because this did bring up a win for me, which is a house.
So, you know, I went and saw my folks last weekend, my dad and Nancy in Phoenix, which was really great. Total last minute trip. So while we were there, I've something.
My dad and I spent a ton of time together and we talked about all kinds of things in places. He, you know, he moved around a lot more than I did. And I thought I lived in a lot of places. But something stirred in me.
er one. One particular house.:That was one that had a lot of memories for some reason. That's the. That house, that Miranda Lambert song.
Anyways, so I go out and I go to ask Nancy, my stepmom, for the keys to the car and I just start crying. No idea why. I was in the best mood. I was.
Nothing was in and it just something about that and you know, of course, you know, you give anybody a crying person anything, so she gives the keys. And I went and it's, you know, 40 minutes from where my parents live now and drove over there Sunday morning.
I got there at like nine and not paying attention to time, but I just pulled up and the house looked so different than how it was the last time I saw it. Because Cory and I will go every once in a while.
Rainey:Were you positive you were at the right place?
Casey:I had to drive up and drive back like up the street and I'm.
Rainey:Just like, you had a double check.
Casey:It really is because it just. They have done. The last person who owned it come to find out was a landscape architect, which. Let's just talk about that field for a minute.
Wow, what a need. But I was hesitant. Should I go to the door? I've never done that before. In all the years since we haven't lived there. Was drawn to go to the door.
And there was a peace sign on the door, like a wreath or whatever. But I swear it was like almost a kid did it because I swear it was macaronis painted gold and then a little Buddha.
And I thought, okay, this is a house that will let me be in their house. And so the woman came to the door. She was in her pajamas. And I said, I don't even need to come inside. Just the backyard is all just something.
She goes, I get it. I've done it before. So they let me in.
And it just something about being on the premises and just floods of memories and kind of peeked through the windows a little bit, saw the things that had not changed much. As far as the layout, I mean, what do you do with a thousand square feet? But it was special. And so that win was huge.
I was like, I loved that moment of. That was a home that created so.
Rainey:Much of who you are, who I.
Casey:Am, and watched my mom do her thing out of that house in so many different ways.
Rainey:So I'm curious, when you left there, did you feel like it was complete, like you had gotten what you went for?
Casey:It did. And I didn't even know what it was that I wanted.
But as I drove away and I did go by my grandparents house, which is the most spectacular house I'd ever been in. And I am lucky to have gotten to grow up going there.
But I drove there just on the way home and it reminded me like that time in my life was probably the last time I was real innocent before things just started, you know, getting harder and going a little south. So maybe there was some beauty and just that just needing to feel that innocence again or something.
Rainey:I love that. And then you shared with me when you got home after that experience, Matt had somebody knock on the door of your home.
Casey:Yeah, that. So I'm sitting at the airport that same day, hadn't told him about this, and I get a text with a picture of a family in front of our house.
And he said, this guy just drove by today and I was outside with Theo and he.
Rainey:The puppy.
Casey:Theo, the puppy, Patrick Roosevelt. And the guy said he grew up in our house and they were the ones who actually built it. And so Matt gave this family a tour and I just, I can't.
With the universe doing things like this every damn day. Right. That just makes you go, what are we missing that we're not following through on our instincts to do? Because Matt's maybe not out front.
He's not out front maybe twice a day, not with the dog. But those moments where you're like, I don't know.
Rainey:Tom calls those moments, my husband calls those moments thin veils.
Where there's a very thin veil between who we are as humans and what's on the other side of the veil that is more extraordinary than anything we ever consider. But it's always right there.
And at times we can be so in tune that we get a chance to look behind that thin veil and the universe reveals itself, or God or.
Casey:However, whoever your thing is, like whatever it is, let that divine whatever share your veil and pay attention to trust it. Yeah. Oh, I love that. From.
Rainey:I think also something that, that points to those two times when you wanted to see that home that was so meaningful and that other family did as well is what we do is so freaking important. And it is such an honor to be invited to be part of that process.
Casey:I could not. I couldn't have said it better.
And I think, you know, we so often, our clients don't do this when they think they wanted to, or they wait 12 years because they think it's gonna be too much of an upheaval for the kids or whatever the thing is.
And it's so eye opening to think that when, you know, certain different houses, I can remember the tile grout size, you know, from the bathroom that we lived in, or the way this door did this janky thing that, you know, the. We had to do this to close it. Or the better parts, too. Like, not just. But kid. It creates who we are, where we live from the very beginning.
And so if you aren't happy as a parent living where you are living and you're. Or it just translates. Right?
Rainey:It's exactly correct.
Casey:So if you can make changes.
Rainey:I was gonna say if you're not in survival mode, if you're not just trying to make it to the next day, you're so right. Pain.
Casey:And we can paint ourselves like.
Rainey:Absolutely.
Casey:So it's a 50 gallon. And it'll change your. Yeah, change it. So anyways, oil the door.
Rainey:Change the doorknob, whatever it is that is.
Casey:That kind of just makes that. Not. When you walk in, you only see that blemish and that you hate it. Beauty.
Rainey:Yeah.
Casey:You've created in there. Your family. Anyway, family's important in house is.
Rainey:And we. My win is. Is I. The weekend before Mother's Day, I went to LA and got to spend time with my youngest.
And she is dating a young man who happens to be an architect. She is working on her master's in psychology in la.
And the win for me, the takeaway for me really was the quality of this particular human being that she has chosen to invite into her life for this time. We don't know how long. Right. But you have those proud moments when your kids pick spectacular human beings.
I don't know about you, but my kids, some of them sometimes have picked people that are not extraordinary.
Casey:And your kids are extraordinary. So their partnership.
Rainey:Thank you. Or just maybe humans that maybe are not in the best time of their lives or putting their best foot forward or whatever.
And so I'm sure you've had this experience where they bring someone around. One of your extraordinary boys brings a girl around and you're like, oh, yeah, number one, this is what you deserve.
And number two, she's an extraordinary person.
Casey:Yes.
Rainey:And so that's a win for me.
Casey:Yes.
There's a pride in watching, and I don't mean boastfully, but watching them with somebody who is that person, that doesn't mean it's forever, but the both feed each other in a beautiful way. Josh has that, you know, his. And it just. I watch it. And I'm proud of both of them so much because I'm like, no matter what, hopefully, whether.
Whatever happens, you. This is your core. This is. This is a level that you won't hopefully go back.
Rainey:Exactly.
Casey:Go beyond, Go lower.
Rainey:Once you've been treated that way, you won't. You won't accept anything else.
Casey:Exactly. Oh, I love that.
Rainey:So it's a big win.
Casey:Especially right before Mother's Day.
Rainey:It's a big win.
Casey:Mother's Day. So tricky because it's just like the one day, but the further you get away from, like, being a young mom.
Rainey:Yeah.
Casey:You really. It's not gifts. It's just. Just.
Rainey:I just want to see your. I want to smell you and see your face.
Casey:Yes. Just stand next to me. And that's it. That's it. Yeah.
Rainey:And then we bought her. I love this, too. My mom heart exploded because we always spend a little time shopping and buy the things that she certainly can't right now.
But she wanted new cowboy boots. She was going to the Beyonce concert, and girl, you know, we bought her not one pair, but two pair of bitchin'. And I do mean bitchin boots.
Casey:Okay, so where in LA do you get these sorts of boots? Cause here we know where to go.
Rainey:So I'm not really good about knowing. I think it was called Star boots or Bootstar or something. It was kind of in a really fancy part of la, but they make their own boots, right?
And so, girl, these boots, I cannot. They were made for walking, honey.
Casey:Oh, my.
Rainey:And then she wore them to. She wore the red pair. She chose the red pair to wear to Beyonce and sent a picture, but that she wants.
You know, when she first moved away, she was sort of done with Texas, and, you know, they spread their wings and I'm an LA girl. And now she's like, oh, I love my Texas roots.
Casey:And it's kind of cool because fiance's trying to tell this too, right? So, like, there's a. They had their boot moment in la.
Rainey:She had a moment. Makes me very happy.
Casey:I dig that so much. So good.
Rainey:Okay, so speaking of moments today's, episode.
Casey:Oh, my God.
Rainey:Like, here we are.
Casey:We are literally here to talk about moments in your house.
Rainey:Yeah.
Casey:Not the moments you spend, but the small moments. Small spaces that create moments.
Rainey:Yeah.
Casey:That we want to talk about. Oh, my God. Segue for days.
Rainey:That's it. For days and days.
So if you are a baby designer, an experienced designer, a homeowner, or a home enthusiast, and you have spaces in your home that aren't quite operating the way you'd like them to, but you have a hobby or a need for a unique space, this podcast today is for you, and we're excited to have you join us.
Casey:We got some cool spaces to talk.
Rainey:About, so some cool ones.
Casey:Okay, so let's start. Like, what moment pops into your head that you've gotten to create? That's not the standard dining, formal bedrooms, the trifecta.
Rainey:I think one of the things that comes to my mind is when we moved into our new home last year, when we were sort of walking around and deciding how we would use some of the spaces. You know, first of all, your life is a little slower. You don't have kids running around anywhere. Empty nester with three wiener dogs.
We walked into the space that I think anyone would consider a home study or a home office. And my husband was like, we're going to put the desk right here, and we're going to.
And I just stood there for a second, and I was like, except for in my studio, when is the last time I sat at a desk?
Casey:100% like, do you sit at a desk? No, I sit in a chair with my laptop, if I can.
Rainey:With your legs crossed or on a pillow or whatever. And you have your laptop there. And I just couldn't imagine a desk in that space. And so I stood there very quietly for a moment.
And of course, after 38 years, he knew I was giving it some thought. Yeah, I was giving it some thought. Yeah, there's no desk. I wonder what's going to be here.
And I just told him, I said, you know, Tom, we don't use a desk. I really think that this should be a library. And a library functions really different than a study. I mean, than a. Yeah. Study. Or a home office. Right.
So we started to talk about what that would look like. And, you know, we're getting older. We each needed individual sort of task lights that really light our pages.
And I wanted a big overstuffed chair for myself. And of course, his, in this instance, would match because I have three wiener dogs that litter this.
They just follow me around and they just pray for me to sit down, and wherever I sit, they want to be. And so within, you know, 30 seconds, I've got three wieners in my lap. So I'll just let y' all sit with that for a minute.
But anyway, and so I needed an extra large chair, and I wanted this gigantic ottoman that we could share and prop our feet. Yeah.
Casey:With three. We got a lot of.
Rainey:Got a lot going on. And then, of course, you need a space for lots and lots of books. We have tons of books. My husband is an avid reader.
He reads about 14 books at a time in different stages, and they're piled up.
Casey:I never understood that. I now understand it.
Rainey:Do you?
Casey:I don't have 14 right now, but I've got four going that I'm like, I love that. I am now this person. No, but anyways.
Rainey:Anyway, I start a book, and I methodically read it from the front cover.
Casey:To the back cover, if the book's that great. And I just started one that. That could take the place of these others that are. But otherwise, they're just time fillers.
Rainey:So he's got all kinds of books that all have a highlighter and a pencil in them, because that's how he reads books. And so we grew up, when the girls were growing up, we called books our friends. We would go to the library and find new friends.
And so we have just so many books. And so anyway, that's kind of one of those moments in our home that I think when you walk in there, you would know a lot more about us.
Casey:Because that room.
Rainey:Because of that room, if you read titles on the spines of the books and you kind of saw how that room was set up, you would go, ah, they spend time here.
Casey:And the way you have, of course, curated that room into totally your style. So, you know, the big. The brass heads, because they're not. Of course you're not gonna have real deer heads. No. Shame on those people who do.
But that's not your house. But you have these really cool. And one of it's got, like, the oracle. What are the oracle?
Rainey:Spectacle.
Casey:One of those.
Rainey:Is it the rabbit with the spectacle? I don't know.
Casey:And they're just so cute. But then you have friends. It's just done so well.
Rainey:Thank you.
Casey:And I think I told you I was maybe drinking once and ordering stuff for Jake's dorm room last year.
Rainey:Oh, and you thought you were ordering those?
Casey:Yeah, and I did miniature, so there's just like a.
Rainey:You didn't read this. You didn't read the scale.
Casey:No, I just look at the. It was. The picture looked like the size of yours anyhow.
Rainey:And how big were they?
Casey:They were like those babies. And again like four by fours or something.
Rainey:I think so. So how many did you order?
Casey:Well, thank God I was drinking because then I ordered two boxes instead of just one. So then it did fill a wall.
Rainey:Oh yeah.
Casey:So I mean it all see drinking. Must drink more.
Rainey:Must drink works not to sell.
Casey:But it was hysterical. But they just. I loved them. So I was like, oh, these are going to be fun in there. Because Texas boy without any deer heads to hang themselves. So no.
Anyway.
Rainey:No. And of course we do have clients who have deer heads and deer skins and horns and prized all the things.
Casey:I just have gone went a back and forth with one that's in Dallas right now. And we've designed this whole wall with all the heads and kind of placed them just because size and all of that.
And then he asked a question about, well, can't even remember which things should be on the console. And I go, I am very sorry. I don't speak that.
Rainey:I don't speak. I don't speak animal cartoon. What are we speaking? Taxidermy?
Casey:So then when you share. Share it. I'm like, oh yeah, God, no, you can't have the. Cause it was like. I think it was a rabbit anyway.
It had a face like oh, you can't have anything with face on that thing. It's gonna be too. That needs to go somewhere else anyways. But to that point, like we do it often.
Rainey:Often. So it's yeah, it's to each their own and wherever you want in your house. So tell me about a moment for you that sort of stands out in a home.
Casey:Well, I hate to piggyback on your library, but we did just install a library in a house that was set up.
Rainey:Oh my God, that one that was on your story on Insta.
Casey:Yes, and I can't wait. But that was a, you know, the new home for this couple. And again they are big readers and there's home office already. So it's similar thing. And so.
But she wanted her space and him too, like just that cozy. So they had this gorgeous huge barreled ceiling in this room and a couple windows.
But we just, we went tone on tone and did a whole wall of bookshelves and a velvet couch in front of it that matched the built ins and matched the walls.
Rainey:And it's this green color that I cannot even talk about.
Casey:And it's that four hands Dylan Sofa that's tufted and fabulous and it's low scale so you don't miss any of the books and stuff. And then brick lay on the ceiling and then there's like a. You know, so there's just. It's that. It's in art lights, the whole thing. It just.
That one was fun. And I think. And I didn't even notice until you said that about an office in a library combination. Because that seems like the natural direction.
Like books in an office. I don't. I don't want to look at a desk that's got my bills on it while I'm trying to enjoy this beautiful book space.
And so to put a bookshelf in a book in an office is still a great idea. But I wouldn't. That wouldn't be a natural library spot, which we are not doing. But I Now I kind of.
As you were saying, and I'm like, well, of course that wouldn't make. I wouldn't.
Rainey:I think that's kind of. I think that's what makes it a moment.
Casey:It is.
Rainey:Rather than just an obligatory space.
Casey:Yeah.
Rainey:Right.
Casey:It's an office. So we're going to put a built in desk. We're going to add this and we're going to do shelves above and that's going to be.
Rainey:And we're going to have a TV over here in a swing arm just in case we want to watch whatever news channel during the day. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that.
Casey:And we do those too.
Rainey:But you have both. Not in within moments.
Casey:That's not a moment. And that's. And we need more than ever right now moments. We need departures from those reminders of.
Rainey:What'S actually going on around us.
Casey:Going on around us. I think everybody can agree. Doesn't matter what that is. We just want moments. That's exactly what I love. I love.
Rainey:I think you also shared with me about the lighting in that space and kind of how that came about.
Casey:Yeah, we were supposed to have, you know, the lighting that was gonna go in. And then this couple was coming over from India and she had access to. To just. Of course, everything we would want to put in.
Rainey:Right.
Casey:So she. So every room got thought about and that one. Because of the change in who's doing anyways, it just. I let that fell apart.
And so when we went in and there was literally that. I swear it's probably Lowe's or Home Depot. There's the guy that's got the light bulb stuck to it and we kind of Laughed about like a wire with a.
Essentially right. It's just that casing and then the bulb out of it. Normally you would have a globe or a boob bulb around it, but it was just the bulb.
But then the longer we were in there and with that barreled ceiling, with that deep velvet, it felt like it was having a thing. So ordered a cooler light bulb and that just kind of left. It's like you almost picture like going down into a subway and you know.
Rainey:There'S this library tucked off to the side.
Casey:Totally. It's a little chilly and whatever that feels like in that like buzzing light.
Rainey:So I love it.
Casey:Yeah, so that was a fun one.
Rainey:That's funny you said buzzing because in my brain, the light that you described was buzzing.
Casey:It buzzes until it stops. Right? That's what that kind of. That. So that was a cool one.
Rainey:I love that. And the client, I'm sure, is thrilled.
Casey:They love it.
Rainey:Yeah.
Casey:Yeah.
Rainey:So that's one of my favorite things about you as a designer. You know, I respect you in all walks of life in your philanthropy and as a wife and mother and friend and.
But as a designer, you can tell that it has your stamp on it because it does not look brand new, shiny and new. It looks storied and lived in and God, that is like the walls could talk. And that is how I know it's you.
Casey:That is about the nicest thing. I'm going to jump over there and DH your leg. But I. Because I feel when I look at your stuff, I'm. You find your clients moments, right?
The leather rooms or the guitars or the whatever that is. And you. I mean, you don't just lean. I mean, you go all for it.
Like, I bet when your kids are playing sports, do you have bedazzled shit for their sports and stuff? Do you have the cap? Is everyone matching?
Rainey:No, they were. I mean, they were when they were younger. But you know, you get worn out. You swear your own ass out and you can't keep that.
Casey:I know, but I just. I love that you go all in for this people and that is your trademark, so.
Rainey:It really is. But I think that about you often.
Another moment that comes to mind for me is we had a client, she's still a friend, and I think she just bought another place here in Houston that we are going to be doing in town. But she was our youngest client, 23 years old at the time.
Casey:Oh, my God.
Rainey:And she had bought this extraordinary estate. If I said her dad's name, you would know him. But she bought a sort of, I call it an estate.
It was several acres and had this beautiful sort of ranch style house on it in the Katy area. And she, we gutted it. Marie did the whole thing. And a couple places that come to mind in that house are in the primary.
There was a toilet room in, right, like attached or as part of the primary bedroom. Then you went into this massive sitting room with a fireplace and then you went in to the primary bathroom, hence.
Casey:The toilet in the front.
Rainey:Right. Because you're not in the middle of the night, you're not walking five minutes to get to the water closet.
That was the nice one word that I couldn't think of.
And so we actually took that space for her because she's young, she can walk all the way to the back, right, without any kind of emergency, she can hold it that long. And we turned it into a sauna. And so it was perfect.
Casey:Amazing.
Rainey:I mean, just perfect that it did. And that was a moment for her. She wanted a sauna and it was like, well, what if we did this?
Casey:This is amazing. Yeah.
Rainey:Because she's standing there going, I don't understand why there's a water closet right here in the primary. And I'm like, well, give it about 22 years and you're going to know, you're going to know.
It's funny you say that because she is, I think 28 or nine now and is pregnant with her second. So she going to know, she going.
Casey:To know, she going to know.
Rainey:But then another thing we did in that house for her is upstairs there was a media room and there was a little side room off of that which was just sort of interesting. Like it had windows, it. You just couldn't really put your finger on what in the world would this thing be, right?
So we're standing there and you know, you're thinking you just put doors on it and it's air conditioned storage, you know, or you're not gonna make it a playroom. She didn't have kids and she was 23, right. So she started talking. I was like, what do you, what do you do with your friends?
You know, and she mentioned hookah and, and honey, the second she said that, all I could see, metallic silk, printed.
Casey:Brains on all the things fuego going to town. Yeah.
Rainey:And these tied back drapes at the entrance and these floor pillows and all of the extraordinary things. And we created essentially what you can imagine, a cozy hookah moment.
Casey:I can imagine it, yeah. So in my head I have a color, but I want you to. What's the color that you saturated? Cause I know you saturated those walls.
Rainey:So it might surprise you. So the color is actually. Was actually a deep purple and raspberry.
Casey:So deep purple.
Rainey:It was. Well, so raspberry was the fabric that we used. Oh, that's where we started with raspberry.
Casey:Pretending. I'm like, you know, card reader and over here. And I'm like, oh, I've probably seen it on Instagram.
Rainey:No, I don't think that was before we did, like, awesome, epic photography. And we had some mustard yellow and gold in there. And we had.
In the center of the room, we had this gorgeous textured black cocktail table that was sort of. And it was carved and then we had these lanterns hanging over it at all different heights that were all different colors. I mean, girl, we went.
Casey:It was a hookah. I mean, that is it.
Rainey:We went.
Casey:I. But the fact that you went that long ago too, and you layer and you're so like, you're. You got that stuff.
And I think that is so fun when somebody is on board. Like, how often.
Rainey:I mean, if a client will go let you go there. They don't run out of. Well, it's not that they run out of money. They never run out of money if they don't get what I call check writing.
Casey:Exhaustion, fatigue, spending energy.
Rainey:Yeah, you just get to where I just can't do this anymore. Because that. Something like that. Do you know how many layers that takes?
Casey:And that's the thing. You. You can't do that wrong. I mean, no, you can't go halfway. You can't go halfway. You could do it very wrong by just thinking one rug's gonna do.
Rainey:It's either we're gonna do this. And we did. We layered the rugs and just.
Casey:It. You have to go all in or just find it or just do something different.
Rainey:Make it storage. That's it. That's it. Climate control storage. That's exactly correct.
Casey:I love.
Rainey:Yeah.
Casey:I think a hookah room would be so much fun. I have to think about that. Because we do these muse right.
Where you kind of create a music room now, which is so such a fun, different moment because people are listening to vinyls differently or music very differently than was for a while. But a hookah room, I'd like to experience something cool like that.
That design, that kind of just totally departure to do a boutique hotel or something like that. Anyway.
Rainey:Have you done a music room for, like, vinyl listening?
Casey:Yes. Yes. Thank you for that.
Rainey:Thank you for asking.
Casey:Thank you for Asking. Yes. Yes. It sounds so fancy that you've asked. Yeah. So it was just.
It was supposed to be an office and it kind of went a different way for the same reason people. They were deciding like we actually love. It was older couple and they brought their media or their old vinyl or record player.
Oh my God, what do they call record player? Out with their old receipt. Like hooked it up to the receiver.
So it did come out differently but did stuff different with the walls and like slower the ceiling a little bit because the acoustics sometimes it gets lost. And so we had to really think about some of those elements. Like I know you are really good at thinking about that stuff. Stuff.
Rainey:Sound short sound is big for me but I have incredibly sensitive eyes and ears and so that matters to me personally. So it's always in the front of.
Casey:My brain completely with you. Sound is. I'm irritating with it actually that will do something. I'm like, you know, what was that like? It was really quiet. I'm like, okay.
But the sound is. Yeah, so I get that. And you want to hear something so beautifully. And I think that's why the vinyl record experience is so cool because you just.
You get the like scratching and of the thing as it's starting and I don't know.
Rainey:So the very fine sound it is that you don't get over Sonos and.
Casey:Your unfortunately speakers and I love music. We do. We have. I mean you have to turn it off in here. But so yeah, that was a cool vibe. Vibe for sure. In a moment room. Because they're not.
Rainey:You know, I have to tell you, I just learned this last week, the end of last week. If you are a designer and you're listening to this, please don't judge me because we're still all learning.
But I was in a bathroom for a walk through for plumbing rough in. And you know, in primary bathrooms those should always. That's the person who lives there. That's the person who pays the bills and the taxes.
And that's where you start and end each day. Right. And so I was standing there and we have a rain head in the shower, which is not unusual.
But I all of a sudden looked up at the ceiling and I was like, wait a minute, this is a 12 foot ceiling. And then it vaults to 17 or 18. Where's that rainhead? I wonder how high can a rain head be where when the water hits you, you're not cold. Yeah.
So I picked up the phone and called Ahmad at Ferguson, my rep, who I adore and he Answered right away. And I said, ahmad, I need to know about this. Help me. And he was like, don't worry about it.
You can always just put a long drop on it, kind of like a ceiling fan arm, and it can come down as low as you want it. And I was like, but I don't want that. That's gonna be ugly, you know? And so he said, all right, is your homeowner there? And I said, yes, he is.
And he said, have him stand up against a wall and raise his hand as high as he can over his head and measure from the floor to the top of his fingertips. And I did that. And it was like, I don't know, six, nine or something.
He said, okay, then we need to have the bottom of the rain head at no higher than seven and a half feet from the floor so that he's sure to have a warm. Did you know all this only because.
Casey:A similar thing has happened and we had to go through the whole process. But I wanna know what he did. If you didn't want that long ass drop rain arm.
Rainey:So we're dropping the ceiling in the shower.
Casey:Okay.
Rainey:We're dropping the ceiling in the shower to I think 10ft, 9ft. And then we're only going to have like a one foot rod.
Casey:Okay.
Rainey:Because I want that to be a moment. And you know what? It doesn't need a high ceiling inside of there. And it works out perfectly. That's why walkthroughs are important.
Casey:They are huge. And I love that you had somebody to call because we've talked about this so many times. Our vendors are right.
Rainey:I can't.
Casey:I like, I don't know what we would do without them, but I do think. Let's just talk ceiling height for a minute.
Rainey:Yeah.
Casey:I love a high ceiling. Feels nice to walk in. Why does all of them have to be so frickin high? I just don't think they all do.
And I don't think it adds anything and subtracts a lot of stuff sometimes. But people are just so obsessed with the high ceiling. And I.
Rainey:But I think that we're. I think we might be done with that. I think we're going back the other way.
Casey:I'm glad because we're. I'm bringing them down and people kind of fight it. But I'm like, even I want to do, like, I want to do a low entry ceiling.
And then when you get in and.
Rainey:It opens itself up, something like that.
Casey:That gives you this moment, like not. I don't know. So I love that instead of the reverse, you know, coming up or doing it or for.
Rainey:Or we're gonna have this long arm hanging here. We're gonna have. The other thing that people have to understand with those high ceilings is you have to deal with lighting and sound.
And unless you're willing to spend 100 million gabajillion dollars on your primary, secondary tertiary floor, whatever lighting, and then floor to ceiling drapes and massive rugs and all the things that are gonna make it so that feels like a home and not a hotel lobby.
Casey:And let's just talk drapes. If we're talking about investments or budgets, you get a drapery.
Rainey:You don't wanna see a drapery bill.
Casey:15 foot window. No, I mean people are. And I think it too. I need to start making drapes. That is an expensive damn price.
Rainey:Huge. Every time. You know what, in the install that we're doing next week, I think the drapes were like $120,000. And this house is. Is. Is 5,000 square feet.
It's not 7 or 9,000 square feet. And these aren't very high ceilings.
Casey:But you're probably 10 areas that you're doing stuff in and you're not doing this for less than 10,000.
Rainey:And many of them are functional. So you've got widths and widths and widths of drapes. So in. Let's just talk about drapes for one second. Because they're a right.
It's like when you have a photo sitting on your desk and it's unframed. It's lovely.
It's just kind of there and it can warp and bend and move around, but then you've put a frame on that thing and it has presence and it's a focal point. That's what drapes do to a room.
Casey:Yeah, right. Yeah, I agree.
Rainey:And they cost money because you have the fabric, the lining, you have the hardware, which is the rod, the rings, the brackets, the finials. Then you have labor. They have to come and measure. They have to come install and make them. It's like that is a huge ticket.
Casey:It is a huge ticket.
Rainey:People don't understand.
Casey:And they make the biggest difference though. And people try and go cheap and only do one two ways or, you know, and I love a full. I don't want. You know. But then you have to be cognizant of.
We've talked about putting it in. How much of the window you want to lose. You want it that full. It's an art.
Rainey:It really is.
Casey:And fabric is not getting any cheaper.
Rainey:No, but it makes such a difference.
Casey:And if you do interesting things and.
Rainey:How it makes the space feel. And so if you want to have a 15 foot ceiling, you have to be prepared.
Casey:So we've got a client, the one we're finishing up over anyways. Finishing up. And we had done drapes in their house only a year ago, their last house.
And so they're beautiful and they're still relevant and all that. But their ceilings here are much higher. So, you know, adding.
I always do love to have something interesting at the bottom if it's sort of a clean, you know, cleaner look or whatever. And so I was like, we can just add this to the bottom.
Cause I've done it before and couldn't have imagined that it would have been a great deal more, you know, than it was the last time. Well, it was. They have. And because I'm taking it to a better place, obviously and so. Or I mean than I did years past.
But they completely remake the drapes and so, yeah, double what we paid in another room for. Brand new.
Rainey:Yep.
Casey:But we weren't buying because you undo.
Rainey:And redo, just like remodeling, you're undoing.
Casey:And redoing and there's nothing, there's no savings there now. They're going to be incredible.
Rainey:Yeah. But it's also good for the environment. So there is a win there.
Casey:I do agree completely. I do not love throwing things away if we don't have to. So they're going to be beautiful but there's no savings.
If you're thinking, oh, I'll just add some fabric to the bottom. Unless you do it at home. And you can, but.
Rainey:Right. Unless you're like that.
Casey:But those are moments. Yeah. Those drapes do create that though, that feeling when you walk into somewhere. And I think they're forgotten because of cost. And so.
Rainey:Yeah, I agree with that. So we chased a drapery rabbit, but.
Casey:I'm glad we did. We did. And to all the drapery rooms around, you're welcome.
Rainey:So what's another room that you've created that you would be like this. This is a moment.
Casey:So we did. In that actually that house there was a home office. Poor home offices. They're getting the shit out of the stick today.
But they had this home office and it was basically just a catch all. And so they wanted something, you know, more of a meditation, like a Zen room. Very quiet room.
And so we walled off one side and opened up from the, you know, from the bedroom into it because shared a wall, but not an Entry into the office. So then we busted through and we were gonna do a really cool like two sided fireplace.
One that kind of fed into the sitting room and then into the primary. But once they started opening, the couple just loved the feeling of the whole thing. And so again, you know, you're pivoting or twirling.
Cause you're like, this is an organic process and it's so fun.
So we ended up moving the fireplace back against that back and having this whole beautiful space allowed a little bit of, you know, some relief on the walls for we have some lighting that then carried in. But this gorgeous palette, like blush velvet, like swivel chairs for them in the morning. And that's the coffee place. And gorgeous.
You know, the wallpaper and everything just was very soft. So there's a space for the yoga mat, but you're not seeing it from the bed. Cause they're pretty, but they're not that pretty.
And so yeah, that was just that kind of area that we tried to replicate a little bit in this new house. Cause they loved it and used it so much.
Rainey:So much.
Casey:Which is nice because you were talking about the primary bathroom, which people don't give enough time to, I don't think at all. And the bedroom is the second one. Sometimes can be the forgotten child. They want where the visitors come and see. But they're.
But this is where you start and end every day. So that needs to be something special. And so if you have an opportunity for sitting room.
Rainey:Yep. And I think one of the ways to identify spaces that are ripe for a moment in your home is square footage that you don't use. Like dining rooms.
Formal dining rooms are coming back. We're starting to see that a little bit.
But if you have a formal dining room and you use it once every two years when it's your turn to host Christmas and that room is, let's say 12 by 12. It's probably bigger than that. But that's 144 square feet and you're not using it. Maybe that is a space where you can create a moment.
And maybe puzzles are your thing and you need a puzzle table or maybe you need a place to store all your knitting things.
Casey:I did a wrapping room.
Rainey:Yes.
Casey:And I mean wrapping room.
Rainey:Ribbons on a spool.
Casey:Exactly. And everything was that, that height where she like do it. And it was just unbelievable and so fun.
Rainey:You're wrapping a lot more than once. One day a year.
Casey:You really are. And especially when the kids are young, you're doing it a lot longer. So. Right. Because you're just always getting invited to some. Some anyway, so.
Yes, to that point. Because if you think about 144 square feet, that's the size of a small hotel room.
Rainey:Yep.
Casey:And look what they did in there.
Rainey:Yep. And a lot of times it just becomes a place to stack a bunch of your shit and walk by it. Right. And pretend like you don't see it. It does make you sad.
Casey:It does. And it's a waste of space. And in a house that you spent that you're in.
Rainey:Exactly. You're already there.
Casey:You want to be together with family. That's not in front of the tv, which, again, that's family time, too. But, you know, don't let a TV be in this room.
Rainey:Do something. Maybe no phones in that room.
Casey:Maybe that's a rule. Cut the cell service off.
Rainey:Right. And that's.
Casey:Oh, my God, I love that. I'm gonna go make that.
Rainey:Me too. Another room that we've done recently, again, this install we're doing next week.
And I've talked about it a couple times because it caught me so off guard at first. But we have clients that they tool leather. And so we have created a leather room.
And if you can imagine, there's going to be just racks of bars on one whole wall that's going to have hides just hanging down. So I want you to imagine what that's going to smell like.
Casey:Oh, the smell's going to be.
Rainey:And so amazing. And we drenched that room in this gorgeous green, sort of a. Not an army green, but an olive green, but better. I don't know.
And then there's this gorgeous table in the middle that cranks up and down so that it can be raised for either tooling leather or when it's lowered.
We have really cool barstools going around it because they said in their last house and their little leather nook that they had there that people would gather in that room. And I think it's the smell and the tools that are laying around. And then that led us to do a wraparound bar.
So the bar wraps around from the living room and turns a corner into the leather room. So you see it from both places.
Casey:I love that.
Rainey:And we changed the depth there so that it would work because on the living room side, it's only like 10 inches deep because that's what we had. We worked it into the staircase. Right. And so again, a moment. We're going to create a moment.
Casey:And I think that is so important to say that I think sometimes people get in there. Like, you know, counter or 24 inch whatever things are or.
Rainey:Right.
Casey:Everything has to. The rules. Let's break. I mean break the damn rules in design. If we're not doing it there, we're not.
Rainey:That's exactly correct.
Casey:It's so exciting to hear. I can't. I am. I'm probably more excited at this point than you to install this because I know right now you're just.
I'm a little tired getting everything dialed in. But I. I love and have been.
Rainey:I can't wait. I think I'm gonna invite. I know the client would be so happy, but invite the design bitches to come over and they make a mean spicy margarita.
And I just know that they would love it. The pool has two sides, have a vanishing edge. The hot tub into the pool.
I mean, there's so much that's so exquisite about this and I'm excited about it. And we've hired the. The best. You know, Julie Sofer is going to come shoot this one for us and we're excited about this project.
Casey:And that's next week.
Rainey:A leather room.
Casey:A leather room. Which is funny because when you first got thought it was like a. Yeah. Anyway, that's a whole.
Rainey:I mean, when I just saw on the plans Leather room, you know, I just was like. I was so uncomfortable. I was like.
Casey:Says the lady who said three wieners on your lap. And then like. Let's take a moment to think that flexor. I'm just saying. I mean, I don't.
Rainey:You don't feel sorry for me.
Casey:I'm not. If it wasn't on the same damn podcast, I'd let that one slide.
Rainey:Yeah, but you're not letting the same.
Casey:Slide because I've still got three anyway. Yeah, you're gonna have to let that go. Oh my God. So then. Okay, so whether you've done them or not, or we're seeing them.
But me wellness is such a huge. Having such a time right now, which is. Makes me incredibly happy.
And so whether it's a yoga room or, you know, cold plunge or the sauna or the whole thing just in those spaces when you There's. And you know, maybe it's not in the front. Cause dining rooms are normally in the front of the house. So maybe that's not the place. Or maybe it is.
Who cares what people think when they.
Rainey:Walk in the leather rooms in the front of the house?
Casey:Well, that's a different. That's a. But maybe not bikini out of a cold punch. But you could just. That also doesn't have to open. And there's just so many things that.
Rainey:You can do make it space spectacular.
Casey:What you love. And so I agree. I. I don't know. I think, you know, open concept had a time and. And now let's close up some of those walls maybe.
Rainey:Or yeah.
Casey:Just really do something a little bit.
Rainey:Different or hang drapes along the entrance of a wall where they just slightly pull back or something. It doesn't have to be a huge construction project.
Casey:Good point. Yeah.
Rainey:To create a softer different space or shears across space. An entrance to a room or all of these suggested divisions.
And I think we're starting to see those because of COVID I will only whisper Covid because I'm so over it. But I think that the pandemic really caused us to think about when we all have these open spaces. We don't have these moments in our home.
And since we're cocooning and we're going back to the importance of.
Casey:Of home, why not have.
Rainey:You don't have to move.
Casey:You don't have to move. And you're right. You don't have to do. I'm always like construction. Let's put a wall up or take a wall down, whatever. But you're right.
It's what I want to do. But you. Because in there's spaces where we've had to create. Hang it from the ceiling because there are no places for the rods and that kind of thing.
So there. There's opportunities everywhere. Absolutely. And we had a guest on a previous pod. Previous podcast.
Rainey:Words are hard.
Casey:Words are hard. The English ones really help me sometimes. The big ones.
Rainey:Previous podcast.
Casey:But Levi and he can create. So some of those things that dividers or whatever we're not even thinking about. Right.
Rainey:That you can't. And I'm sure he's made.
Casey:So it's just like we.
Rainey:There's.
Casey:It goes on for days that we could do. But this has been so fun. We both decided it's same time we.
Rainey:Could talk about this for how long?
Casey:A lot. Because I think there's just so many times in us that we've gotten to see it or do it or want to do it. We fantasize a lot. Right.
About what we could do in places. So.
Rainey:Yeah. And the sky's the limit.
Casey:So much fun reframing those spaces.
Rainey:Reframing those spaces.
So just a reminder, if you do have unused square footage in your home, no matter where it is, if it's on a landing or if it's in a side room or something. Rethink how you've like to spend your time. Reframe how you think about that space in your house and create something really cool.
Casey:I totally agree. Yeah. And if it's the what we hear a lot is people are like I never would have thought of that.
And even in our own houses, I mean you walked into your new this house and felt to immediately but had you been there for 10 years before you might have just always I could.
Rainey:Have had you over and you could.
Casey:Have seen a different so that's the point. Point. Like don't beat yourself up either.
If you just think you there's not a space in your house that's you know, call a designer but if that's not your budget, call a friend and have see what they might do. That's it.
Rainey:Have a powwow over a glass of wine and decide how you could reframe your space. But thank you so much for joining us.
If you'd like to say anything to us about this episode or give us ideas of something you'd like to hear us talk about, please message us or email us at hello@reframingdesign.com or you can follow me on Instagram at rainierichardsoninteriors and I am CassandraBrandInteriors.
Casey:And if you wanna have your art behind us and have us tell your beautiful story of how you've created it, we'd love for you to share and you know, email us@helloeframing.com design.com and we'd love to put it back here.
Rainey:Absolutely. Wherever you get your podcast, like us, subscribe, share all of the things because that's what keeps us doing what we're doing. Until next time.
Casey:Love you.
Rainey:I love you more.
Outro:That's a wrap for this episode of the Art of Interior Design. We hope you had a blast and found some inspiration to bring your dream space to life. Feeling inspired to start your own home transformation?
Contact us@helloeframingdesign.com we want to help you make Make It Happen. Don't forget to subscribe, share and leave a Review this show was edited and produced by Truth Work Media.
Until next time, remember your space is your story. Make it beautiful.
Rainey:Are we good? If you want to start, just clap.
Casey:So that way they know.
Rainey:Okay together. Okay. One, two, three. Just some reminders because I forget what the we're supposed to talk about. Oh, sorry. I said fuck.
Casey:That's okay. So tell me which moment sticks out for you just off the top of your head.
Rainey:So I think you need to restart that question because I just burped into the microphone.
Casey:I don't think we need to restart it whatsoever. I think that is the moment.
Rainey:Okay, go, sir.
