A Look Back at 2018
/Today I’m giving you a whole year in review…which is why it took me a little longer than usual to crank out this post. As a side note, I write posts at night while eating cookies on my couch and watching The Real Housewives. It’s a good time. Before you judge my TV choice, know that I only watch The Real Housewives when The Bachelor isn’t in season. So there. It’s actually a wonder that the phrase “the final rose” doesn't sneak it’s way into the occasional post.
But, I digress.
This year we worked with over 3 dozen clients. So amazing. We were invited into almost 40 homes, where we worked with clients of all kinds on projects of all kinds. From a one-time consultation where we blew a client’s mind by finding the perfect space for a walk-in closet that didn’t involve a 200k addition to her house (the original plan!) to a full service project where we ripped down a bathroom to the studs (the reveal will come in 2019!), we had so much fun working with truly lovely people to make their homes more beautiful and more unique and more functional. Mix in some personal projects and a few professional milestones, and we had a seriously awesome year.
Here is the highlight reel.
JANUARY
We started 2018 with a reveal of the office from our Mayberry Project. Navy walls + modern/industrial mashup + sports memorabilia. All good, manly things.
For more photos from this reveal and project details - click here
We ended the month with fun predictions for what would trend in home design throughout the year. We featured predictions from Studio McGee, Bria Hammel Interiors and CC & Mike Creative. And we made a couple predictions too. It is fun re-reading this post to see who was spot on. (Click here to check it out)
FEBRUARY
We received an enormous accolade to kick off February. A little known design studio called Studio McGee featured my kids’ bathroom on their blog. My head just about popped off my body. I started daydreaming of the conversation I would have with Shea McGee when we inevitably meet on a panel during a design conference and she compliments my sweater…
Later in the month we revealed the dining room from our Pilgrim Project. This transitional space featured lots of texture and pops of green.
for more photos and details on this project - click here
MARCH
In March we revealed an entryway refresh from our Homestead Project. The Homestead Project (living room and home office) was one of our very first. And we were beyond grateful when this truly lovely client asked us to comeback for more!
In March we also faced some Earth shattering changes in our business - Michele officially parted ways with Gray Oak Studio. Sonia and I would spend the next 6 months intermittently sobbing about it and begging her to change her mind.
APRIL
Our Pearl Street Project was the big reveal of April. This project was mostly mid-century modern with dashes of global and transitional touches. Our client’s excitement for this reveal was possibly the best to date. I’m smiling just thinking about it.
for more photos and details on this project - click here
MAY
We revealed another room from our Pilgrim Project - first the main living room and then the entryway area. This was the first time we got to show you a project where our design went beyond furnishings and into the realm of removing walls and creating built-ins. We’re so proud of the finished space and even happier with how much our client loved it.
JUNE
In June we announced we would be changing it up on the blog. In an effort to keep the blog an active forum for project reveals, design tips and general Gray Oak happenings, we started posting “Wednesday Fives” - a weekly roundup of anything and everything we were up to. It was the beginning of us transitioning our major announcements to Facebook and Instagram.
JULY
In July, we were officially off the clock and at the beach.
AUGUST
In August, we had another project reveal from our Pilgrim Project. This time the mudroom. We had installed it way back in March, but I had just gotten around to posting the reveal on the blog in August. Better late than never. As the year continued I became slower and slower at revealing projects on the blog. It was a good problem - we were so busy with client work the blog had dropped on the priority list.
SEPTEMBER
In September we hit 1,000 followers on Instagram and were featured in the West Elm fall 2018 catalog!
OCTOBER
In October we publicly said goodbye to Michele and began the process of rebranding. This started with fancy headshots and a little “getting to know us” blog (click here to read it). We also participated in our first room makeover challenge - The 2 Days 200 Dollars Challenge hosted by Cynthia Harper.
NOVEMBER
In November, we revealed our finished room from the challenge. A new light fixture, a new window treatment and some moody blue paint made a WORLD of difference to a seriously outdated bathroom.
In November we also revealed two projects: Lovell Project and Hutchins Project. The Lovell Project was a dining room and mudroom. Styling a BIG, glass front hutch was our proudest moment of this project. Meanwhile, the living room from our Hutchins Project is one of our favorite transformations to date. We incorporated the existing furniture (sofa, armchair and media console) and made them looking totally and completely brand new. Head to our Instagram or Facebook accounts to see the before and after comparison.
Lovell PRoject
Hutchins Project
DECEMBER
We started December with a mini reveal of our Dover Project on our Facebook and Instagram feeds. The space was 90% done (missing window treatments), but we couldn’t wait to show it off.
More rebranding happened with an updated logo and some tweaks to the website (an FAQ page and new service offerings). And now, as we are officially at the end of December and peaking over at a whole new year, gratitude is the overwhelming feeling. We are so grateful for our trusting clients, inspiring peers, generous mentors, friendly industry professionals and, of course, the unending support of our family and friends.
Thank you for following along. See you in 2019!
- Leah (& Sonia)
