We are thrilled to introduce Kipling House Interiors!

As one very old and very wise man once said:
“Behind every great person… are a bunch of other great people”

Over the past 4 years, Marita Simmons Interiors has grown and evolved to embrace a team approach that best serves the needs of our clients.

We are SO proud to announce that with the addition of new team members has come the need for a new name…
KIPLING HOUSE interiors

We look forward to providing the same quality work that our clients have come to expect, with the name Kipling House Interiors embracing the wonderful team members who help make our work possible.

Click below to visit our new website address
(where newly completed project photos will be added this fall)

 

 

 

 

 

Take a moment to follow us on social media
(to stay in the know on what we’re working on currently)

 

 

And be sure to keep an eye out for our new name and signage around the Twin Cities!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until we meet again,
Happy Decorating!

 

Let us RE-introduce ourselves….

Okay, so OVER a year between posts is ridiculous.  I know.

And it’s funny because when people ask me… “Are you still blogging?”  I emphatically answer “YES!” because in my mind, the intention has always been to eventually come back to posting more often.

While I know hearing how “busy” we’ve been juggling clients and babies and families is lame…Sadly, it’s the truth. And the blog has taken a back seat to all that.

Since our last post we’ve completed two major client projects, learned of Krysta’s surprise pregnancy, had two major projects photographed, completed more client projects, anxiously awaited the arrival of Krysta’s 2nd little girl in January (Welcome Stella Irene!), anxiously awaited Krysta to return from her maternity leave, learned of MY surprise pregnancy (what?!), celebrated the return of the “Gibbons Monkey”, and resumed tag-teaming our projects while we anxiously await the arrival of MY 2nd baby this September.

WHEW! That’s a mouthful.

So it goes without explanation that our lives have been a bit chaotic.
But we’re excited to announce that not only are we ALIVE… but we’re also LIVE! 

As in, our website is LIVE!

It has finally been updated and perfected, we’ve got some new project photos up, and we couldn’t have done it without my amazingly talented brother-in-law who helping us navigate the techie world of website wizardry.  Thanks, Kyle – The site looks incredible.

So, if you have a minute or two today, please check us out!

www.maritasimmons.com

Til next year next time, Happy Decorating.

Welcome Home Little One

Well today ended with another charming text from our “surprise nursery” clients.

Seriously, the room is unreal.

Couldn’t be better. We’re beyond thrilled.

And it’s notes like these that are precisely why we love what we do.

(and why we would be willing to hold on to a MAJOR secret this long!)

So without further ado…

“L” is for …….LEO!!

Welcome home, Little Man.

To the darling new family…

We hope you enjoy spending time in this room as much as we enjoyed working on it.

Baby Leo is absolutely perfect.

And thank you for letting us share in this wonderful “surprise”. 

Till Tomorrow, Happy Homecoming.

It’s GO Time!

Last night, as I was climbing into bed…

I received the most EXCITING text message.

It read:

“At Hospital.  Have Epidural.”

While lately, this is an all-too-familiar scenario…

(It seems everyone I know is giving birth these days).

THIS is a text I’ve been anxiously awaiting for quite some time now…

Because remember a while back when I posted about the adorable couple who has trusted us with the “Top Secret” knowledge of the gender of their baby?
(You can find the previous post here.)

Getting that text last night means it’s GO TIME!

The proud Mama is ready to push…

And Krysta and I have a busy day ahead…

We’ll be spending the afternoon getting the nursery ready for their little “Surprise”.

 

In two days, we’ll be sharing pictures of the finished room!

And you’ll either see THIS…

 

Or THIS…

Based on what was revealed to us in THIS.

 

How fun is this project?   We couldn’t be more excited over here. 

Stay tuned for the progress photos!

And in the mean time, a reward for your patience…better late than never.

Till Tomorrow, Happy Decorating!

It Takes A Village

In many ways, my little interior design business is like my “First Born” child.

Giving it life has provided me with an immense sense of pride and responsibility.

It requires 24-7 dedication,

The hardest work I’ve ever known…

And it keeps me up late hours most nights.

It’s my baby, and I love it.

Almost immediately after getting this thing started, the referrals started rolling in.

The business began gaining momentum…

My plate was wonderfully full…

And I was thrilled to watch my dream really starting to take off.

And just one month after opening the doors… 

I learned some exciting news…

I.

Was.

Pregnant.

(enter record-scratching sound here)

While I was able to juggle my enormous workload efficiently in the early stages of pregnancy,

I was operating at nearly full capacity.

And while that was great for the business…I sincerely saw no end in sight for myself.

I was working morning and night to keep this machine running,

And I knew that in a few short months, I would no longer be able to keep up the pace. 

The thought of taking even ONE day off to relax and enjoy the arrival of my new baby sent my head spinning and my heart racing,

Because I had no idea how I was going to be able to handle it all. 

And that’s when I had to accept…

I was going to need some help. 

In the months leading up to Emme’s arrival,

I decided I needed a team-mate.

Someone who would share my ridiculous passion for all things design,

Who would love and appreciate working hard for clients to make their homes beautiful,

But most importantly, someone who “gets-it” in the world of interiors…

Making it fun to collaborate on projects together.

And it’s weird how sometimes when you put the request out there to the Universe…

The Universe has this uncanny way of answering you back. 

Enter, Krysta Gibbons.

AKA “the Gibbons Monkey”

AKA “the Baby Whisperer”

AKA “My Life Saver and Really Really Great Friend”

Thank you, Universe… for answering my call.

Somehow it seemed we’d been living parallel lives, and were always destined to be partners. 

Krysta has an amazing eye, impeccable taste, an ADORABLE daughter…

And an incredibly challenging new job.

She’s been put to the task of keeping our clients happy, while I take some time to enjoy my new role as a Mom.

And so far, everyone absolutely loves her.

(Especially me!)

And she even laughs at my sick sense of humor….

So you know it’s a match made in MY heaven. 

Welcome to the team, Krysta.

You’re the only person I’d trust to help me take care of my “First Born”.

And I’m looking forward to raising this child with you.

Till Tomorrow, Happy Decorating.

Reality Bites

Last week, in between Emme’s cat naps and screaming fits…

I made an attempt to try and reconnect with the rest of functioning society, by visiting a few of my favorite blogs.

Big Mistake.

No, scratch that…

HUGE Mistake.

One blogger decided to feature a website she stumbled across called “The Glow”…

The appeal of the site is that it offers “a glimpse into the world of inspiring and fashionable moms”…

Ooh… right up my alley, I’m thinking… seeing as I’m a MOM now, and all. 

But then upon visiting the site, I was smacked in the face with loads of magazine worthy photos of fabulous, well-dressed, and gorgeous young moms

Who all appear to have their respective $hit together.

There were photos like THIS.

And THIS…

Let’s not forget THIS…

And THIS.

**Note:  Not one of these women is CRYING.

 

Unlike the fabulous and fashionable ladies featured above who CLEARLY know what they are doing…

I am still very much learning how to navigate my new world. 

And these photos made me want to throw my loudly humming breast-pump at the computer screen.

For a first-timer, I’m doing okay

But one thing is for certain…

If I ever had hopes and dreams of someday being featured on a website naming me an inspiring and fashionable mom,

Those hopes are fleeting.

Because if I’m keeping it real…

Someone would have a really tough time touching up THIS photo to add to the site.

Inspiring… not so much.

Fashionable… nope.

But I have to cut myself some slack…because it’s only been five weeks.

And at least the baby looks well-rested.

Till the next time I can get away for a minute… Happy Decorating!

Favorite Project Yet

Okay, so I’m officially going to stop apologizing for my lack of recent posts…

The weeks leading up to my due date have been some of the most hectic I’ve ever known.

We’ve been tackling some all-consuming projects around here;

Each of which has been against the enormous “due date clock” that’s been ticking constantly inside my head.

(That was me at 38 weeks – smiling through the stress)

I’ve been vigorously trying to get client projects squared away before taking some time off,

Working toward completing the nursery when I could find a spare moment or two,

And taking on a last-minute rehab of our lower level to make room for a new employee.

So I hope you can understand why stopping to blog about all of it hasn’t been at the top of my “to-do” list.

Nonetheless, I really love getting the chance to write about things we’ve been working on,

Highlighting the creative victories…

And relishing in beautiful design.

Today’s post has me bragging about one project I’ve been working on for almost a year.

It’s the proudest I’ve been of ANYTHING I’ve ever been part of creating;

And I’m totally and completely in love with the results.

 

Meet our newest addition to the Kipling Household.

Emmeline (Emme) Simmons

Pronounced Em-muh-line (Nickname: Emmie)

Born Sunday, January 15th at 2:29pm.
7lbs 11oz and 20.5 inches long.

She’s wonderful, and amazing, and pretty darn content most of the time…

(Even when I’m fumbling to get her dressed for what feels like a full 45 minutes).

We are thrilled she’s finally here, the anticipation was eating away at us.

And there was never a greater surprise in my life than hearing my husband announce “It’s a girl” in the delivery room…

(After months of being told how sure people were I was carrying a boy).

And then there was all that speculation surrounding the BLUE crib…

What’s best is all the hard work we put in before Emme’s arrival makes me feel like I can finally relax,

And enjoy this thing called “Life” that’s happening to our little family.

My heart is filled with love.

My nights are filled with quiet moments with my girl.

And I’ve never felt more blessed.

 

While I’ve got quite a demanding new client on my hands now,

She takes several naps a day.

And I’m hopeful that means I can sneak off occasionally, and post more often.

There’s so much we need to catch up on!

So Till Tomorrow, Happy Diapering Decorating.

Loving It!

I was just surfing around for a client and stumbled across a fun new online source.

(Well, maybe it’s been around a while, but this is the first I’ve seen of it…)

From the same people who brought us the fabulous traditional furnishings website Layla Grace…

You can now find a killer selection of modern furniture and accessories on their sister website…

Zinc Door!!

And…

I.

Am.

Loving.

It.

 

This little olive stool is TO.DIE.
That color is perfection in my world.

Obsessed.

Gorge

Fun.

Clean.

Chic.

Industrial.

 

Unexpected.

Classic.

Fresh.

 

Glam.

Regency.

 

And… Violet!

 

Check it out – there seems to be a little something for everyone.

Till Tomorrow, Happy Decorating.

Nursery Update

Well, I guess when your profession revolves around designing spaces for others…

It makes sense that people would expect the rooms in your own home to be carefully thought out and executed.

Unfortunately…

When you spend your time and creativity throwing yourself at other people’s projects,

There’s not a lot of excitement (or energy for that matter) left at the end of the day for your own.

But nonetheless, many of my friends and family members have been asking for a “Nursery Update”.

(And while that very question gets my heart racing because it reminds me just how far behind I am in that area of my life)…

I think it’s time I give the people what they want.

First – two of my favorite pieces in the room were GIFTED to us by two of my extremely generous friends.

When I told my friend Gretchen I was thinking about buying a Jenny Lind crib for the nursery, she generously offered to let us use the one that had been sitting in her parents garage for decades.

It was hers as a child, was in amazing condition, and looked a lot like THIS when it arrived on our doorstep.

Yep – our crib is not only Vintage Jenny Lind, but it was totally free.  Can’t thank G and the Hieb family enough for giving our baby a stylish place to sleep at night!

Fast forward a few months, when my friend Cassie was going through her parents basement one day, she stumbled across some old campaign dressers and asked me if THESE were still cool?

I completely flipped out when I learned those babies had been sitting unused since Cassie’s childhood days…

and was in the middle of listing off all the potential they had…

When, she GENEROUSLY offered to give them to me since they were simply taking up space in the basement.

They needed a little TLC, and a fresh coat of paint, but they are SO cool and would make the perfect dresser/changing table combo in the nursery.

Can you believe how awesome my friends and their parents are for offering these things to us for the baby’s room? 

The generosity is unbelievable – thanks again Feldman family!!

So the next step was to come up with a gender neutral scheme for the room since we wouldn’t be finding out the sex.

Here is where we’ve landed with the design ideas…

 

And here is where we’re at so far…

Are you READY???

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!

Yikes!

The start of something pretty happening below…
(note the awesome lacquer finish the hubs has achieved)

And here is the start of changing table topper I built a couple weekends ago…

 

And that, folks…. is the Nursery Update for you.

Are you laughing, or are you terrified for our baby?

I’m a little bit of both.

But the truth is, while the room was in complete shambles as of Friday afternoon,

(when these photos were taken)

Luckily, some progress has been made over the weekend.

These were picked up from the seamstress…

And the final coats were applied to these, and bases were added to give them some height…

 

So while we’re still nowhere NEAR done…

At least we no longer trip over dresser parts trying to walk across the room.

And that, for now, is progress in my world.

Till Tomorrow, Happy Decorating.

Best Secret Ever

How fun is the latest project I’m working on? 

A few months ago, a friend/client announced she was pregnant with her first baby.

She asked if I would be willing to help her tackle the nursery… to which I said, OBVIOUSLY.

But here’s the best part…

They want a gender-specific room for their newest addition, but are planning to keep the sex a surprise….

From themselves!

So – we have come up with an elaborate plan to help them execute this top-secret endeavor.

First, I would come up with 2 separate schemes:

One for a bouncing baby boy…

And one for a sweet baby girl…

Once we agree that everything looks good – they are allowing ME and only ME to read the contents of THIS:

That there is a sealed envelope that contains the gender results of their recent ultrasound.

And based on what’s written on that piece of paper….

I will either be giving them THIS:

 

Or I will be giving them THIS:

 

To be sure there are no tip-offs as to what furniture has been ordered,

We are waiting until they are on their way to the hospital before bringing any furnishings into the space…

But all parties agree that while we must tackle paint and lighting ahead of time,

The door will be PADLOCKED so no one goes peeking in a moment of weakness.

It’s an elaborate plan… one that will truly test my coordinating skills… but it’s SO FUN, and I love being part of it! 

I was SO tempted to read the results after bringing home the envelope…

But since I’m having dinner with the mom-to-be tonight, I didn’t want there to be ANY chance she could get me to crack.

While I’m a great secret-keeper… I’ve been told I’m a terrible liar.

And the anticipation is KILLING me!

Till Tomorrow, Happy Decorating.