Jennifer Griswold is the kind of friend whose smile lights up a room. Blessed with an eye for design and the ability to freshen up anyone’s style, Jennifer recently started Love It, a home re-creation business in Bend, OR. Jennifer and I have been friends for a long time. We share a love for design (and hip hop dancing, but that’s another story). She has worked as a stylist on all of my photo shoots. The greatest thing about her is how much fun she makes the day. You end up with a fabulous looking room and a side ache from laughing so hard.

I spent a little time asking her about her new business and what inspires her.

1. What made you want to start Love It?
My love for decor grew from recreating my own home. I wanted to help others love their spaces! Friends have asked me to help them style and recreate their homes in the past and it encouraged me to start my own business. I am always saying, “Oh, I love it!” with anything decor related and that is how the name Love it came about.

2. What services do you provide?

Style and recreating services for your home space. Love it first discusses your ideas and dreams for your space, coming up with goals for each room, looking through Pinterest and other online sources and magazines to get an idea of the look the client wants. This includes brainstorming, re-arranging furniture, putting things up on walls, shopping if needed, adding and subtracting things from the room, suggesting color and so forth. A Pinterest board will be created for the client if desired to help facilitate creativity and ideas. It should be a FUN and enjoyable process! Love it can also do consults and recreating/styling online. Pictures are emailed of the home spaces desired to recreate and Love it creates ideas and a Pinterest board to assist with the process. I also am available as a stylist for photo shoots and Sarah and I work together as a team, helping stage your home for an open house or resale.

3. How long have you been in business?

I started in January of this year on a part-time basis as I am a mama to a very active three year-old!

4. What is your favorite part of working with clients?

Seeing them smile after we have moved a furniture piece, nailed something to the wall or added a fun pillow!

5. How much do you charge?

$75 for the first hour consult where I help understand the client’s needs of their space in the home. I ask questions in regards to what they visualize for the space and I formulate my plans and ideas and create a list of what we will be accomplishing over the time I am there. After the consult my rates are $50 an hour. Most rooms can be done in as little as 2 hours, which include the consult.

6. How would you describe your style?

I am a mixed bag of eclectic, shabby chic, modern and vintage style. Anything that doesn’t match in my home is a go!

7. You seem to often try things out in your own home first, where do you find your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from a mix of design books I have collected over the years, Pinterest and growing up in a family that was always recreating spaces in the home. My grandma loves design and taught me to appreciate home and the things you put in it. At 96 she still inspires me today.

8. What do you feel like is really trending right now in home design?

For what I do… color, color and more color! Mixing and matching, putting pieces together, old and new, and adding lots of personality and style to one’s space. Anything goes!

9. You donate part of your proceeds to charity, can you tell me more about that?

Yes, I am a strong advocate of the Fistula Foundation in Ethiopia. It provides shelter and surgeries for women who have had a terrible labor and birth experience and require surgery to live a normal life. Most of the women do not have the means to get this surgery. They travels miles and miles on foot to even get the opportunity to speak to an advocate and find the opportunity for shelter and surgery. I adopted my son from Ethiopia and I feel this is a way I can give back and thank his birth mother by helping others.