These are all the things...
I have been wracking my brain for the best and most perfect, FIRST EVER FoxVale Blog Post. Here's the thing, I'm far from perfect and so is our business, so for our first intro into the blog world, I thought you could get to know why we are far from perfection and why I think that's OK.
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INSPIRATION: My husband, Brook and I started our passion for home design 10 years ago when we moved into our first home. With NO money and way more time than we have now, we transformed our 80's chalet into a desirable lake house. I would look at a magazine or a storefront, get an idea and put him to work. "Sweat Equity" wasn't a term it was a lifestyle!
It was fun to turn something that wasn't that great into something that looked pretty damn good. We thrived on finding a look and mimicking it for less. That is a mainstay of our stylistic approach and I don't think we will ever lose that. Looking back, I am not so sure what we did was worthy of an Instagram post, but that journey started my obsession with styling, staging, renovation--who doesn't love a "before and after"?!
"I am addicted to finding inspiration everywhere and anywhere and then bringing that spark to life when I create."
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FRICTION: Having three "fixer uppers" of our own, didn't come without some marital quarrels! I remember looking at Pinterest posts and wondering why our projects didn't look like that...why am I covered in dust and paint, exhausted and ready to kill my husband, while this gorgeous, fresh-looking, trendy mom of 10 kids just redid her kitchen by herself and yet looks perfect...like she will just grab an Uber XL and go attend a dinner party at the White House (not judging, just jealous)!! That bickering...okay, okay... it was really more like fighting over the best way to approach a project, inherently helped us become better design strategists and allowed us to gain the experience that now supports our business.
"Years of attempting projects that were new to us, definitely caused friction, but it also taught us to work together when things weren't perfect."
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LOVE: There is a lot of love in our lives. Brook loves to work with his hands, so this business makes so much sense for him. I love anything that feels like an expression of creativity, so flipping a home or staging or styling or designing is a dream come true! I also love the memories that I have from my childhood home. My parents were the original flippers, turning a pale yellow, raised ranch, "bomb" into a spread of Architectural Digest. I felt comfortable and calm there. It wasn't just a house it was my whole life! I want my three boys to feel the same way in our home and I want to cultivate that love in all the homes we work on.
"Our home reminds me of loving" (from my 6-year old)
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So, our story is far from perfect...we make mistakes, but we learn from them. We get frustrated, but always find a way to work together. And what's at the center of it all is our passion for a stage that allows us to pursue what we love with the ones we love.