We have always been free spirits and this blends perfectly with my decor style. So when we had the opportunity to move from Texas to live in California and work on the Hawaiian Islands, it was a no-brainer, as they say.
Let me back up a bit. It all started in The Woodlands, TX where my husband and I met. The year was 2005. He was working for an exclusive community in a real estate sales capacity. He sold homesites for the developer and custom homes for the builders within the community. I owned a decor and painting business at the time and was hired by a handful of families which lived in this community to help them with their decorative vision.
So, how does this component play into our journey? While he was employed there, my husband was sent by his company to a sales training seminar in Hilton Head Island, SC. It was there that my husband met a future colleague who would set up the introduction to the hiring vice-president of the company that would literally change our lives forever.
At this time, we had a very modest condominium in Incline Village, NV. We absolutely adore Lake Tahoe. In April of 2006, we flew to Reno and made the drive over Mt. Rose to Incline Village to meet with the VP of Sales who had a prospective employment opportunity for my husband. Enter the very worst snow storm of the 2006 ski season.
The dinner meeting was held at the Lone Eagle Grill inside the Hyatt. It would not have transpired had the interviewer’s husband not shoveled and plowed their driveway for 4 hours so they could physically make the drive over from Truckee, CA to the restaurant, which was approximately 18 miles. Needless to say, the meeting went well and we were offered the opportunity to work on Oahu. Check please!
But, moving children to Oahu is quite the chore. Private schooling enters the mix and culture shock for teenagers is a virtual certainty. Therefore, we made the decision to set roots down in Orange County, CA. We lived about twelve miles east of our favorite town: Laguna Beach.
Over the span of five years, our Hawaiian Islands adventure would take us from Oahu to Maui to Kauai. Each island has its own personality and culture. Integrating into those cultures proved to be paramount to the success of each individual project.
Aside from children, nothing will teach you patience more than living on Maui or Kauai. Nobody is in a hurry, ever. And that slow driver? They are either a local or a lost tourist. Smile and embrace this wonderful opportunity! Therefore, you open the windows, feel and smell the amazingly fresh ocean breezes which have traveled unobstructed over some 3000 miles, and you relax. Island time is a real thing.
In 2012 we decided to return exclusively to the mainland. Family obligations and a tremendous job opportunity for my husband took us back full circle to The Woodlands, TX. We rented a very modest townhouse for our first 18 months until we found the perfect floor plan which we knew was the right one for us.
In October of 2012, we began the process of building our first home together. This was beyond exciting! This is the home you see on my Instagram page and the one you will hopefully become much more familiar with here on my blog. A little bit about our home: it is a 3000 square foot single story, featuring three bedrooms, 3 full baths, sitting on roughly 1/3 of an acre and it backs to forested property owned by the golf club within our community.
When we began this process, we mainly had two requirements: a single story home and a large, private homesite, with no neighbors behind, that would afford us the ability to pursue our passion of golden retriever rescue. When our home was complete and we moved into it in August of 2013, we had Riley and Haley. We now have Riley, Haley, Max and Aubrey. Mission accomplished!
As you can tell, I love decor and design and I truly want to be able to help you capitalize on items you already have within your home. Perhaps it is simply a modest reshuffling of where the items are placed. Or maybe it is a simple shopping tip that doesn’t have to break the bank. Most importantly, I hope to inspire you to embrace the originality which your home is already providing you.
You will notice that decorative items within our home move around a good bit. This keeps things both fresh and exciting. I also wanted to thank you for stopping by and welcome you to subscribe via email. I am so grateful you are here!
This is going to be a fun and evolving exercise in the “how’s, what’s, why’s and where’s” with respect to the design components of your home. Think of it as your home’s thumbprint. Each home is unique with its own personality. Together, we will ensure that personality shines through!
Thank you for visiting Decor Gold Designs! Please consider subscribing if you have not done so already. See you next time…
Congratulations on the web site. It looks great!
I’m so grateful to you for taking a moment to stop by! xoxo
Congratulations on your web site. It looks great! Looking forward to following along.
Thank you so much Elise! You are so sweet my friend!
Congrats on your beautiful website, Jennifer!! I’m thrilled to be able to see more of your gorgeous home and work.
Cheers, my friend.
Loi
Tone on Tone
Thank you so much Loi!!! I truly appreciate your kind words my friend!
Great to see your website Jen….Your home looks amazing and even more so in person…Say hello to the furries for me and Carol.
Thank you for stopping by! I will do so! Hope to see you both very soon!
I use to live in The Woodlands(now in Katy). I LOVE The Woodlands. Everything at your fingertips. Your blog like your home is beautiful!! Cant wait to continue reading.
Thank you for stopping by Ann! It’s always fun to find a fellow Texan and someone who has lives in the Houston area. Have a wonderful day and thanks so much for your kind words!!!
Hi Jennifer! Congratulations on your new website!! It looks beautiful and I’m sure will be a big success!
Btw, I want to thank you for your recommendation to go to the rooftop at La Casa del Camino while we were in Laguna last month! We had a lovely time there and would have never known about it if not for you, so thank you! ?
Thanks so much Kim! And The Rooftop is our absolute favorite! I’m glad to hear that you tried it. I didn’t know if you saw my recommendations. Just so you know, I have many more for your next trip!!!
I just loved reading your story.. Sounds a little like ours, except our move was to San Diego. ❤️
Congratulations on your blog.. Keep inspiring us! I’m trying to talk myself into blogging.. Completely on the fence. Mainly because I don’t have a clue?Blessings sweet friend!
Oh and you are just beautiful! ?
Kristi
Thank you Kristi!!! Blessings to you too! I was clueless too. You should contact Tana [email protected]. Without her advise, I never would have started a blog…she’s amazing!
I loved reading so much about you Jennifer!!
Your moving around sounds similar to my life growing up as a military brat except Greece isn’t exactly Hawaii. (Although I love Greece!)
Thanks for sharing so much about yourself. You are such a special person who I’m honored to finally get to know more of. IG is so great on one hand – getting to know so many wonderful people, etc., yet difficult on the other in that I’m never relaxed as I miss so many comments and stress about it all. Wahhh! 😉
Your home is incredible! I need to look back over everything tomorrow. Having lived in Texas I miss what we were able to have while there in terms of space and price. My family is still in AUS and I love going back whenever possible.
Hugs!! xoxo (wow. I wrote a novel ! Lol)
Kristy,
I am so grateful for the sweet comments you left. I have admired your blog since I found it and it has been so much fun getting to know you a through our little DM group on Insta! I completely agree with your comment about the stress of IG!!! Some nights I try to force myself to stay up writing thank yous until I practically have to pry my eyes open! I’m sure your load is twice as heavy! But that’s what makes everyone love you…you are so sweet and you interact with your followers (and you watch Bravo and The Bachelor!)!!
I didn’t realize you lived in Greece! That is so cool and I’m sure better than Hawaii! As is AUS! What a life you’ve had! I was in San Jose until 8th grade, so my roots are in the Bay Area. Texas is nice, but my heart is in CA. I always tell people, “you don’t need a big house in CA because there is so much more to do outside there”. Not that my house is big here, it’s not, but I will gladly live in half the size home to get back to CA! It’s in the five year plan. So, if I end up near you, please save a spot for me on Bachelor night! xoxo
Love to you!!!
Jennifer,
I have been meaning to pop over to your blog for weeks now, and finally got a chance to do it today. Your home is so beautiful! Of course, I have seen it on IG, but it is so different to really see the space in photos bigger than a 2″ square! How great that you are blogging now. I have been roaming around and reading your posts, and I think you have a great eye.
And if you do end up in California again, you have to look me up. I love IG for the friendships I have formed, but it would be so nice to meet many of these beautiful faces in person! Thank you for always being so sweet, and for all of your “likes” and comments. I have enjoyed getting to know you, and love that I got to read more about you here.
I think you’ve done an amazing job Jennifer, and I wish you all the best with this new endeavor! If you want to pop over, my blog is http://www.maisondecinq.blogspot.com. I’d love it if you would stop by!
Best,
Sheila
http://www.maisondecinq.blogspot.com
What sweet comments from you Sheila! You truly made my day. I’m so flattered by your words. We go back to CA often and will live there again someday…at least that’s the plan! I know what you mean about IG friendships. They can be so wonderful. I haven’t met anyone yet, but I’ve had numerous long phone calls. I’m going to Haven in August and look forward to meeting the decor bloggers who attend. I feel blessed by connections with many wonderful supportive women. Thank you for always finding such kind words to share. And thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi Jennifer.
I just found your blog and spent to much time drooling over your beautiful home. I Love it!!
Which brings me to a question on your living room console if you don’t mind. I looked up the measurements but I really need to know if the width is 67″‘ and the depth is 23” (if I’m correct that should be the depth of the double doors) so what is the depth of the single door side? I have an angled wall that it will be going against and it leads to the master so I am limited on the consoles depth. Hubby is like a magnet and seems to hit things. lol
Thank you so much and really enjoyed your blog and beautiful home.
Connie
Thank you so much Connie! The depth of the single door parts (the ends) is 19.75″ including the trim and 18″ not including the trim. I hope this helps!