Embracing Change with Violet

It’s frequently stated that having a dog adds a decade or more to your life and on this beautiful fall Saturday, walking Violet with the crunch of the leaves underfoot, I am reminded of why. Violet is my third female black lab in 20 years and these pups have become part of the fabric of our family.

Life gets moving pretty fast most days in the business we’re in and can be very stressful. Not all days are fun. However, when I get home from a long day, Violet doesn’t care about any of that human stuff. She wants a treat and a belly rub and to sit on my lap and relax. She keeps me grounded in what really matters, and what really matters is the unconditional love she gives generously. I know she adds to the quality of my life overall. Violet also keeps my mindset focused on the simple fact that change is the one thing we can count on, whether that’s her growing from a small puppy to a full-sized adult, to helping our clients transform their homes.

What this all equates to in terms of running our interior design firm, is that striking a balance between work and home helps me to show up as my best self for everyone involved on a daily basis. Our goal, which I can never share too many times, is to make our clients happy in their home so it reflects their vision and tells the story of their lives.

Part of being an interior design expert also requires keeping up with trends and what is evolving in the marketplace. Given the most current events on the planet for the past 18 plus months, the way we utilize our homes has changed, sometimes quite dramatically. When we were once constantly on the go, now we’ve spent much more time at home and have had the opportunity to evaluate and figure out what we want and need in a living space.

Many of us have embraced a more home-centric lifestyle and thus we are receiving many requests and are engaging in many lovely projects whereby we are updating everything from a wall color to moving or adding walls to create new floor plans. Private spaces are back, and people are dedicating more areas in their homes to serve specific functions, embracing the cozy calm that sort of room can provide.

Home offices are also a huge priority these days as well as designing creative uses for underutilized square footage in our homes. Attics, basements, garages, and even spare bedrooms and being transformed into home offices, craft rooms and even wine cellars. Wet bars are being added to dining rooms. Outdoor patios, decks and porches are also being paid more attention and evolving into comfortable rooms which are cozy and inviting. We know a well-designed interior can lead to a happier day and at Ann Kottler Home, that’s what we’re all about.

With that intention in mind, we are making an exciting new change to our website this fall by adding some curated collections of some of our favorite items including accessories, lighting, wall art, mirrors and various furniture pieces as well as holiday gifts.

Of course, we are always here to guide you each step of the way, but we wanted to broaden our firm’s offerings in this way so you can also enjoy shopping on your own whether it’s for the perfect lamp or a beautiful home accent to give as a gift.

We wish you a beautiful fall and look forward to connecting soon!