Down-Home Design

Meet Kentucky Monthly`s newest blogger, Jeremy Rice. We hope you`ll swing by each week to check out Jeremy`s latest design projects, tips and stories. Or visit him in person at House, the home décor and floral design boutique he co-owns with fellow designers Dwayne Anderson and J. Stuart Hurt in Lexington.

1. When did you realize that you had a passion for interior design? What made you decide to pursue a career within the industry?

First, I can`t claim I`ve always known I wanted to be a designer. What I do know is that as a child I liked to move furniture rather than play with toys or be outside. One time when I was about 15, a friend came over during the day while my parents were at work and we totally switched the living room and den in the house. We painted, bought rugs, moved art, moved and rearranged all of the furniture and even had the TV cable moved. The way I saw it, the den of the house was much more suited to be the living room so it needed to be changed! When they got home, they were impressed and a little surprised that it looked so good. I guess you could say this career pursued me. I`m thankful every day for living the life that I live. I am surrounded by the most talented people, and I get to do something that I absolutely adore. I am truly blessed!

2. Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

Some say they find inspiration everywhere, and to a point I guess that is true for me as well. I think with design—as with life in general—it`s handy to know the rules, but then it`s even better to know when to break them. From my perspective, there is nothing wrong with having a true antique piece of furniture topped with a modern sculpture or using a vintage gilded frame to showcase some color-blocky modern piece of art.

3. What makes a home a `Kentucky home?”

I would love to answer this question `being surrounded by horses” because I truly love horses. I don`t own any, but they are just so beautiful. A dear friend of mine has a horse farm that surrounds her home and I`m so jealous. I wish I could look out my kitchen window and see them in the fields. I`ve come to realize that there is more to Kentucky than just horses. In my hometown of Irvine, many people have quilts hung on a wall in their house. They will tell you who made it, and if they didn`t make it, they will tell you who did and all kinds of interesting facts about the family history. As long as a home reflects the owner`s interests and passions for Kentucky, I believe it is a Kentucky home.

4. What regional influences do you like to incorporate in your designs?

Overall I love utilizing things that have a story or tell a story! We`re surrounded by so much stuff in our lives anyway; I like to have things that have meaning or trigger memories.

I recently completed a bedroom overhaul that was an updated traditional room with a little glam. One of the client`s favorite touches was a silver oval tray with horse head handles that I placed at the foot of her bed. She doesn`t have what you`d call an equestrian style, but she loved that the tray was more than just a pretty object. For her, it was a subtle reminder of home.

5. Where do you like to shop in Kentucky?

Being a small business owner (www.housebyjsd.com) I find myself very focused on small and local businesses. I try my best to shop at these first. I love looking in vintage and recycled stores. But the best places are yard sales and auctions!

6. Can you remember your first design project? How has your style evolved since then?

Aside from the `great living room/den switch of `96,” I also did a lot of bedroom redesigns when I was younger. The worst, and I mean worst was a black and white bedroom that looked like it came straight out of `Beetlejuice.” I thought it was `modern,” but now looking back it was just tragic! Two opposite walls were painted white, while one of the remaining was painted black, and then the last wall, the feature wall as I will refer to it now, was black and white vertical stripe wallpaper. Lord forgive me. I think all designers` and decorators` styles evolve constantly. My style is much more refined now, although still cozy. I love playing with textures. And I love monochromatic color schemes.

7. What is the most frustrating part of your job? Most rewarding?

I believe that the most frustrating part of the job is the concept that designers and decorators are too expensive, that they are for the elite, and that they are there to take advantage of you. Are there people who take advantage? Yes. Are there some who charge more than I could ever imagine? Yes. But there are also a lot of talented designers out there who really care about the clients and their needs. What I think is the most valuable bit of knowledge is that it`s worth getting a designer/decorator involved with you at the beginning of a project, even if it`s just to get you started on the right road with information, that`s better than starting a room yourself, ending with a disaster, and then having to redo it multiple times to try to fix things. Then you`re out even more money!

The most rewarding part of my job is first hearing the phrase: `I trust you.” Being in this industry, there are a lot of misconceived notions, and when someone truly trusts me, I know I can do my best job. I feel successful when I`m able to make someone`s home a reflection of their personality.

8. Do you think design is an art or a science?

Well, I have this saying: `It`s 80% what you use and 20% how you do it.” So that makes it sound like a science, but the truth is, the art is just as important in what you use and how you do it. Some designers have a very keystone system how they work. One solid chenille, one plaid, one stripe, oriental rugs, blue and white porcelain, etc. And when you see each home that they create, you can guess who did it instantly. For me, these people are using a science. But when a designer/decorator truly blends into the style needs of the owner, and each home is truly different, they are using an art.

9. What other hobbies do you have?

Working! The store keeps me pretty busy. We design lines of Christmas products for a company out of Chicago, and then we also design and do the setup for a couple of clients at the markets around the country. So I keep pretty busy! We also like to stay pretty busy with charities in our area.

10. Tell us your Kentucky story.

I was born in Lexington and moved to Irvine when I was 4 or 5. Growing up in a small town wasn`t always the ideal place for me. I never liked the idea of `everybody knows everybody.” It was just too small for me. After graduation, I took a year off from school and worked, but quickly turned my sights to college. I had always said that I would go to the University of Kentucky, never anywhere else. Well I ended up going to Eastern Kentucky University, and couldn`t have been happier!

I`ve come to have a deeper appreciation of the beauty that this state has to offer. I didn`t realize it until I noticed in my travels that people would find out I`m a Kentuckian and say, `Oh, you`re so lucky! It`s so beautiful there!” Honestly, I didn`t get what they were saying until I took a drive through Paris, past all of the horse farms. Now I find myself paying more attention to everything Kentucky has to offer.