Ep. 464: Bring Travel Inspiration Home with Jessica Whitley

0:01Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer. I'm Liz. I head up the creative team. We're your hosts. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world. Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode. We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at valordesigns.net. Now on with the show.

0:34Go further with the American Express Business Gold Card. Earn three times membership rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels when you book through amextravel.com. Whether your destination is a business conference or a client meeting, your purchases will help you earn more points for future trips. Experience more on your travels with Amex Business Gold. Terms apply. Learn more at AmericanExpress.com slash business dash gold. Amex Business Gold Card, built for business by American Express. Okay, today we are thrilled to welcome Jessica Whitley, a CPA turned creative who swapped crunching numbers for designing beautiful spaces as creative director of Jessica Whitley Studios in Athens, Georgia.

1:14She's known for her classic, cool, collected style, and her work spans both homes and hospitality. She's traveled all seven continents. She paints, she designs, and today she's here to talk about how we can bring a little bit of the world into our own homes. Jessica, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yes, I loved, we're thrilled to have you. I loved getting to look at your work because, as I mentioned in the introduction, you've done a lot of traveling and you can really see that in the shapes and the textures and the colors that you've brought into your spaces.

1:45So I'm excited to dive into that a little bit and hear more about it. But before we do that, why don't you just tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and how you got into design? Oh, so I loved design since I was a little kid. So I started doing art workshops instead of sports. So I was that girl. Went into LSU from Louisiana thinking I was going to do interior design and art and worried about, you know, my dad really pushed to do business school. So I ended up going into accounting and finance and actually ended up loving it, but always did art and design on the side. But anyways, did corporate accounting and finance for quite some time and met my ex-husband.

2:29He moved me. We were doing long distance. Moved me to Athens, Georgia. So corporate accounting was not very prominent there. But I think it was very serendipitous because I got to do some really great business work and accounting. And then when I moved to Athens after I had kids, I took a pause. And then a friend convinced me to do an art workshop. with Gina Brown, which obviously she, I know y 'all used to have some of her work. Yes, yeah, I think so. So she did a great two-day workshop. And so I went to do that and just reinvigorated doing art again, which was really fun. And so I started doing some commissions of little children and people started asking me to do them.

3:11And it was a great kind of pivot moment for me because I was staying at home with a one-year-old and was able to do that while she would nap and whatnot. and it really just like took off and so that's when I was able to kind of dive back into doing home projects for our family while doing art so it was kind of very serendipitous that I moved to Athens Georgia and it kind of forced me to take a pause on the corporate career and yeah well and Athens a really creative town which most people may not know if you know if you're not familiar with it but there's a lot of you know artists and music yeah music and yeah yeah yeah and then the food just all of it's just very artisan which I love and so it's yeah it's fun to do that and um I worked with an interior designer on doing some homes for a while and then did a lake home and I just said you know I'll just try it and see you know it's a little intimidating at first because I think in my mind I was thinking I was going to start interior design and I wasn't quote-unquote interior designer right and so uh doing it on my own was a little intimidating but It really was something that I was proud of and gave me the confidence to do more.

4:21You said that your first project really was kind of like your house. You were working on your own house before you started working with someone else. So what was that like? What were some things that you did in that house that made you think, oh, I could really do this? I think it was just seeing the end result, truly, you know? And I think also me, I was, I guess maybe the analytical nerd side of me was, you know, I tested every fabric for kids and guests and all those things. And just really dove into all those details and then seeing how other people loved it and wanted to learn more about how I did it.

5:00It was great. It's kind of like I was in my own little test kitchen in a way. Yeah. Would you say that first house project was similar to what your style is now or has it changed a lot? You know, there's similar areas, but I think I also love to learn from my mistakes and pivot from that. I think it was a little bit more trendy for the time. And now I feel more leaning back to having more of a mix, but keeping it more traditional, so to speak. And I think I love now seeing, I know I probably was going on Pinterest and seeing every kitchen that was popular at the time. Or now I love to look at each location and say, like, what does it want to be?

5:40You know, feel more authentic. So that's probably where I've changed the most. Yeah. Yeah. What was a project in that house that really kind of put you over the edge into loving? I love kitchens and bathrooms and function. I'm like a total function obsessed, you know, like just how a lot of architects, you know, they don't think through how you function or your kids or how you entertain. And so I think that's really what got me going was it's not just how it looks, but how it actually functions really is what really made me fall in love with design. Figuring out a flight pattern for a specific room, like how it's going to be heavily used is really kind of an interesting way to take a look at it.

6:26Yeah, I'll always look at a refrigerator door and think about who's coming in that kitchen. Is it going to be where the kids are running in or, you know, is that where people are grabbing snacks? And so, yeah, it's the whole patterns are interesting to me and fascinating. Yeah, well, you know, most people think of interior design as a very aesthetic industry. And obviously it is, but it's not you're not doing a good job if it's not functional. Right. And I think most designers do really prioritize function, even though they're wanting it to look pretty. And it does look pretty in the end. But if it doesn't work, then, like, what's the point?

7:06Right. And for each chapter, I mean, you know, during, you know, different phases before I had kids, I designed something. And I thought, why did I put a pool table next to the kids now room? You know, just certain things. But then as you get older, just it's interesting in design thinking through, you know, whether it's as you get older in the space or you sell it, how does it work for someone else? Yeah. Tell us about travel. So you've traveled a lot and you can see those influences in your client spaces. How, you know, what are some things that you've loved about the places you've traveled?

7:43And I guess where have you gotten the most inspiration? I definitely think I've gotten most of my design inspiration from Europe. I think seeing how, you know, maybe it's in England and the Cotswolds, you know, how it just feels so authentic. And, you know, how to use the spaces and let the land and the culture navigate the space. So with Rivet House, that was the hotel I did in Athens. it was very much um i pushed for it because not being from athens i saw there need to be a great boutique hotel so i have a lot of babysitters that come in and their moms want a place to stay or whatnot or alumni and so i was like we really need just a great boutique hotel with a great restaurant and bar and so for that one it was a very old dinner mill very industrial graffiti everywhere.

8:40And, you know, I was talking to a lot of guys that wanted it to just be a loft, so to speak, which there's nothing wrong with that. They kept calling it the mill and it's like, we got to do something different. And so it was fun to watch that one because I think everyone expecting it to be so Southern, you know, which I wanted to have that nod. But to your point about Athens, Athens is a little different than you expect. It's Southern, but still has such that artistic vibe to it. So a lot of that, I thought about Europe, Amsterdam, how they've reinvented different buildings, and then pulled in stuff like from Italy.

9:17I did this really great dried full installation over the bar and pulled in herbs and stuff that would be what you'd see at the farmer's market or the chef would be using. And so I think whether it's in Europe or anywhere, I think it's fascinating to me to see how different countries use what they have more and really embrace that and incorporate it and give more of a grounding feeling. So I try to do that a lot with Rivet House. And so a lot of that was definitely European based. But there's some Asian influence in terms of culture, in terms of just how to program it and whatnot. our operator there, Steve Palmer with Indigo Road, he was so great.

10:00He just, he's a big believer in the different cultures as well. And let me kind of just steer it, which was so great. He thought the whole thing was going to be white. And so it's dark green plaster and all these herbs. He's like, wow, I wasn't expecting this. This is great. So anyways, you know, I think it's interesting everywhere I travel, just kind of saying like, how does this feel good? Like, what is it that makes it feel good. And not necessarily just replicating that to the space, but then bringing that to Athens and saying, okay, how do I use that to make it feel like Athens? That makes sense.

10:31Yeah. Because it does feel like Athens, but there are definitely spaces like the outdoor courtyard that feels so much more like an Italian courtyard, you know, with all of the brick and the cafe And it just feels very warm and cozy. It doesn't have that industrial vibe at all. So that's an interesting way that you took the existing structure but brought in both your own experiences and, you know, multicultural experience to that space. That one was a jujy. Yeah? Why? Because the whole space was just so rough and industrial. And to your point, I really wanted it to feel like I was sitting in Europe getting a glass of wine or a cup of coffee.

11:22And I had to think through how does the lights as the cars come up hit where the guests are going to be. And so really thinking through how to step through those elevations and grades. So light filtration, sound, and the curves were really challenging in hospitality because of ADA and all that, right? Of course, yeah. Yeah. And at first they're starting to do the curves and it started to look like, you know, it could be a fast food chain. I was like, no, it's got to do all these things. And so it was fun being able to find like my residential designers and bring them in towards the end on those types of parts of the project to make it feel like it could be in Europe.

12:02And so it's special. That one, it's great because the locals are so proud of it, which was really so nice to see. Oh, that's always a win. Yeah. When you've won the community. Yeah. Plus, I mean, they're your neighbors, so. Yeah. Well, they're like going and having their own date nights there in Athens. I'm like, oh, it just makes me so happy to see that. And so, you know, bringing that travel side for people that either can't travel because of whether it's financial or, you know, you have. Time. Yeah, time, whatever it is. You know, having that brought, I think, is really nice. And that's what I love about travel.

12:34And I can't turn it off when I'm traveling. I'm just always thinking about the design, which there's pros and cons to that. Yeah, when you're traveling, do you go seeking out design inspiration, like going to antique stores or, you know, specific things? Or is it kind of finding you wherever you are? I think it's both. You know, I do love going to places I know I love the design, but also, like, getting immersed in it. So, like, Huff Harington, they have great trips that I did. And, you know, go to the flea market and find my own things there. but also just going and walking different hotels and seeing how it is.

13:09I think it's nice to have both and learning from it. Yeah. What are your, like, top – what's been your top design trips or trips that you've found the most designed? I mean, you mentioned England, of course. Yeah. And I think we all love that. I've loved – I found a lot of great stuff in London. I spent two days just going to antique stores and found these amazing dining chairs in a basement, and there was 12 of them and they were still in their original fabrics. And the designer I was working with at the time on this project was like, we've got to recover them. And I loved the way they looked.

13:44And so it was so fun to just do those types. Found some great commodes there. Obviously it can be challenging like when you're traveling and how do you get those things back if you're only having one piece or whatnot. But England's definitely one. St. Bart's, oddly, I found some really great pieces there. And so they have just some very interesting shops. So I've gotten a lot of cool stuff from there as well that I used in more of a modern home. Mallorca, Spain, some amazing pottery and whatnot. So I love when I'm traveling collecting smaller things. So I think one mistake I've made is buying two big things, right?

14:25And I know that's something you were asking about is sometimes you'll pick up something because you're so inspired at that space. And then you get home and you're like, what was I thinking? Like, this doesn't fit the house, you know? Yeah, yeah. So trying to, like, find the smaller pieces that you can either frame or do something with it. It's always nice to figure out how to fold it into your house. Is that the advice you give someone who's planning a big trip and wanting to focus on small pieces? I think it depends. I think if you're going with a group or you know you're going to get enough that you can get on a container and buy those big pieces, I think you know your sizes.

15:05Then you can go for the bigger pieces. one thing I have learned is if I find some great art take it off the stretcher you know put in a tube and bring it back versus thinking through how to ship it where you're preserving that because framers can easily restretch them yep and do it well but yeah there's other things that definitely smaller pieces that you know are more neutral colors or you know it's just a color you love or you have a special space for it um but i also think it's nice to buy things that you know may just be for christmas you know like vienna is amazing and at christmas time and so i've purchased stuff there that i pull out at that time and it's just a nice little reminder of that trip alone like for your own christmas yeah i was i was thinking as christmas gifts well you know yeah but just for like my own decor yeah yeah there's just some great stuff i found even And, you know, some teacups.

16:01And so I have those that I just pull up at Christmas time. So it's fun to have it from that way, too. I love textiles and pottery. Because you can always fit those in a suitcase, you know? I mean, textiles are easy. Pottery, it does get heavy. But you can put it in a bag and carry it on the plane. So I like, you know, you mentioned Mallorca. And I feel like it's something that's so distinct about a different place, right? Like, they all have very specific aesthetics of how their pottery or ceramics look in each. Yeah, in each region. Yeah. No, I think that's great. Like, it's so simple to just grab a bowl and then wrap a sweater around it and pack it back in your bag.

16:44Bubble wrap. Yeah. Right? Everybody's got bubble wrap. Everybody's got bubble wrap. You know, or I actually like getting like kitchen wares. Like I recently went and visited a friend and got a really cute butter knife. And it sounds so silly, but it reminds me of my trip with my friends. And so like it's something small that I use every day that reminds me of that trip and that moment. It ends up becoming really special. I know. And that's awesome because then you think about it every time you're cooking, you know, which is nice. I've gotten less into the mixed utensils or whatever and thinking more of those things.

17:23Or do you put it in a shadow box and you frame it? You know, certain things like that. It's fun. Yeah. And that is art. You're so right. Like, it's easy for the person, you know, if you're at an art gallery or something, they'll be able to take it off a stretcher. Or if it's a photograph, put it in a tube. I mean, those are really easy to carry on with you. And light, which is nice. Yeah. Right. Yeah. They're not going to get lost. That's right. What about, you know, bringing home ideas from your trip and incorporating into your home? You know, someone, maybe some tips on how to take elements or things to look for that you can work into your space.

18:04And then how do you do it in a way that's not going to feel random? them you know I think maybe we could all think of an example of like someone went on a trip to Tuscany and they came home and want their house to be like all Tuscan right you live in a subdivision and like how do you do that in a way that feels natural and authentic I think it definitely takes time it's even like when I was going through my closet one day and I had a friend with me she's like you definitely bought that on vacation Jessica and it's the same thing with stuff that you buy for your house and so you know I think definitely asking yourself okay am I going to really use this while you're there it's really hard right um but i think always having more of a curated collection of accessories definitely helps and um that layered look i think also helps and so i still do you know i'll have a inexpensive little base next to something that doesn't even you know have to be expensive but i've bought somewhere that um if you mix them correctly i think it goes well.

19:09And to your point, the smaller pieces, whether it's books, faces, those types of things, small objects are nice. And then I've even taken some small little... Hi, listeners. If this episode has inspired you to tackle a project in your own home, we want to help with a special offer just for podcast fans. We know how exciting it is to bring your vision to life, whether you're updating a room or starting a refresh. You'll find everything you need to create a space that feels uniquely yours. As a thank you for listening, enjoy 20 % off plus free shipping on your next order with the code PODCAST20.

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20:01Like objects and then just again, like frame to them. So really thinking through gallery walls is always fun. Yeah. I think the challenge with that is being patient with holding onto those pieces until you know what wall you want them on. Yeah. But you can also frame it now and put it, you know, on a table and then think through how do you put it on a bigger formatted piece later. But yeah, I think just kind of sticking through, like, is this me and does it look like my home but also remind me of the place I am, I've experienced. Yeah. I also love scents. So there is Some of my favorite hotels had amazing scents.

20:38And so I love to bring those home with me. And so one of my favorite is Eden Rock and St. Bart's. And so I always have that in my house. And when I'm just kind of in a mood, I spray that around the house and it's just like, it's Eden Rock, you know. So that one's always fun to me. And I think you always get attached to that smell sometimes. And that's an easy way to take things home, too. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I definitely felt like in your work there was maybe textures and color palettes that had a very, I guess, global feel. And I don't even really know what that means necessarily. But talk to us about that.

21:15You know, maybe how your travels has informed the types of spaces that you're designing for clients. I think to me, I'm a nature girl. So I love being outside. And so I think a lot of my travel is based on that. And even when I went to France and painted, I think about the pigments that are in the earth and how that really is that grounding feeling. And I used to think, oh, I really want neutrals as white, right? But it's really not if you think about it. Like I pulled some really great moss screens and burnt siennas and all these things into this one project. and everyone thought it looked so neutral and white.

22:00But it's bringing in those colors that you see in stone, right? If you're traveling, you see these people doing like the woven hats and the linen clothing, like whatever it is, and how you think about how do you make that into your home? So for instance, like with Rivet House, it's an old denim mill, and we didn't want it to be all denim, right? Right. But we did bleach. That sounds like an opportunity to me. Yeah. But we did headboard. But then you're thinking about like the locals and other places and how they use what they have. So we bleached the denim for the drapes. And so to me, it's really thinking about when you're traveling and everyone's doing something with their hands.

22:46Yeah. It's kind of how do you do that, like incorporate that where things look not so perfect. like I have a guy working on my plaster at my house yesterday he's like it's not perfect I'm like actually I really love that it's not perfect because I can tell someone did it and I think that's where my travel is definitely folds into it as it feels more lived and relaxed you don't have to fix every pillow all the time yeah your spaces are very edited though like you know there aren't necessarily a lot of elements in the room but there are you know there's like a couple really big gestures so is that do you feel like that comes from your artistic background is that just you know what i guess where does that come from what is the sort of special mix that you it's definitely a game right like you have to constantly play with it for instance right now uh as i was saying earlier i moved and i have this one sofa that is deeper because my kids wanted something deeper but it just was too many pillows and literally last night i just took all the pillows off and it had like almost like a 90s moment back in it i was like this makes so much more sense but i was but it just takes a while to see um what makes sense or not and sometimes I even look at my photos I'm like is it too minimal you know but it gives that quiet so um it's kind of like you know the void and things you know if you want to have a mix of having letting your eyes still wonder without being too busy yeah photographing a room even just on your phone to look at it I think helps to see like okay what's standing out and then taking that out and then maybe you come back to it and you say okay it's still missing something but i definitely think using a phone or something just to photograph and look to see how it works definitely helps for sure yeah it flattens things on your phone in a way that makes it easier to sort of right see what's working and what's not working yeah like kind of self-critique i guess yeah it puts it in that two-dimensional yeah which it can be helpful but maybe that's too artistic of a way to describe it.

25:01Yeah, well, I mean, you know, you can look at it, draw it to someone, you know, kind of examine it, I guess, in a way that's hard to do in person. I think there's spaces, like for me, you know, I have certain rooms that are just covered in books, and I'll use, you know, a ton of coffee table books and just make it into a little side table or something. So I think having things that feel intentional and kind of put together and then allowing other spaces to breathe and just playing with that and kind of just trusting yourself. I think that's part of it is making it feel, again, collected, but not too much stuff everywhere.

25:41Having small kids probably helps, too. You can have they're constantly moving everything. It's true. You can't leave it around because it'll walk off or break. Like, okay, you have mentioned a couple times that you've recently moved. So I'm curious about moving because I am always intrigued by how, especially designers, because I just think designers have a very specific way of looking at things and how do they do their own homes? And, you know, is it challenging to take pieces that I'm sure you chose for a very specific space, move it into a new space, and then did they work? Did they not work?

26:19Like, what are some things that have surprised you about the moving process? Yeah, it's been interesting. But it's been fun. It's been a new kind of challenge. I love a challenge. So definitely there's things I took. And I was actually giving this advice to one of my neighbors the other day. There was things I wasn't ready to let go of, like a certain chair. And I was like, I have to bring this chair. And I never could find its perfect spot. But I'm glad I took it. Because otherwise I think I would have wished I took it. You know what I mean? Like I needed to work through it in a way. But scale is important to think through in terms of if the stuff's going to fit.

26:56I hate having a bunch of boxes. So I didn't want to take things that I knew were just going to sit in a box, you know. So there's definitely been a lot of art that I got attached to that I've collected. and I have, if it didn't work, I was at least able to then, you know, give it to another client or something so they could use it and have purpose. A lot of my, again, books are so important to me and the smaller art, I've been excited to be able to like really reuse it. This house has been fun. It's a lot more edgy, if I would have to say it. I mean, for me, it's edgy, but it feels kind of like a throwback to Louisiana.

27:36so I had a ton of art that was in different places and I made my whole foyer just this big art gallery wow and so there's a very old traditional art with abstract some with pink some not and it's just really worked and it's funky and then um paired it with you know a great piece that was supposed to be in a hotel project that um again it's not my traditional look but it's somehow like just having a little bit more color but still keeping these darker colors the muted colors it's really worked well together so it's been fun to see how to take big skill art and little like just work it together but it's a lot more patience and I think for me I used to entertain a time so I'd have to like hurry into my house but then I would find myself redoing stuff so just kind of sitting in it and seeing how we live in it's been nice yeah you How about floor plans?

28:33Floor plans are tricky. Did you map it out before and knew exactly where everything was going to go? Or have you moved things around? I've moved things around a lot. It's funny. One of my architects asked if I do project creep. And I was like, what is that? He's like, you know, you just keep adding. I'm like, yeah, but I'm a designer. That's what we do, right? We always kind of want to do something else. But, yeah, I mean, there's definitely rooms. I was hoping it was going to be a guest room. And right now it's the kids' playroom, right? And one day it'll be something else. Um, ironically, there's one room I kind of redid everything around this fireplace and then the fireplace didn't work.