Jess: One time, I took Mike to Ikea. It had taken weeks for me to wear him down to finally go. Once there, it opened his eyes to all the possibilities available for mirrors, paintings, clocks, storage, and everything else.
He loved it.
Mike: Then, as we wandered the aisles searching for a new bed frame, I realized there was no way out. This was how I was going to die. There were no exits, no easy way to cut through the maze.
Ikea was in control now.
Jess: Get over yourself. That place is magical.
Mike: Four and a half hours later, we left. Still an avid smoker at the time (and loving every second of it, I might add), I lit a cigarette as soon as the doors opened and I stepped on to the sidewalk.
Jess: That about sums up how he feels about home decorating. He thinks it’s mildly interesting and loves to listen to me compare lighting options and analyze pieces of art to decide if they’re worthy for our home. But after a little while, he’s had his fill.
Luckily, this is not his section. It’s my section.
With her bachelor’s degree in interior design and years of experience as a project manager at architecture firms, she has an eye for everything design.
More importantly, she has the ‘feel’. Within a couple seconds Jess will know whether something works or not, and then spend the next couple minutes putting that feeling into words.
That’s why she’s designed many of the pieces of art in our home. Whether it’s the collage of photos in the shape of the continental U.S., the metal map of the U.S. that we painted magnets to show where we’ve been, or just about anything else, you’ll find these designs, and how to make them with your family, here.
Don’t forget, tag your posts on your favorite social media channels with #JMLDIYdesigns and we might share your image on an upcoming post!