Our interpretation of interior design has generally consisted of rearranging the pizza boxes in the Insider pod into uniform stacks. We can only assume the fine people at Kimball-Jenkins (we’re just going to keep calling it the Kimby-Jenks until it catches on) had people like us in mind when they developed their latest offering, a five-part series of interior design workshops called Crafting An Artful Home.
If you think feng shui is a martial art, you might want to pencil these dates into your calendar – the series will take place April 10 and 17 and May 1, 8 and 15. Each installment will feature a different expert offering advice on interior design, including Matthew Mead – who, for those who are unaware, is kind of a big deal.
“Interior design is something we thought the area would be excited about, something that would actually fill a hole, fill a need,” said Karina Kelley, one of the event’s organizers. “We’ll be teaching people they can do it themselves and that it’s not scary, just giving them those ideas.”
The first workshop, will feature Shawna Taylor on April 10 and will focus on how to decorate a room around your favorite piece of artwork. According to a press release, Taylor’s advice will help people “dissect a piece of artwork to identify colors, texture and style to create a color palette and design an entire room.”
The second workshop, Contemporary Art in a traditional home: How to make it work, will be April 17 and will feature Sarah Chaffee of McGowan Fine Art. Chaffee will explain how to create a “collected” room featuring new and old items and how to blend abstract or contemporary pieces with the furnishings you already have.
After a short break, the workshops return May 1 with Mixing Colors and Patterns Like a Pro featuring Donna Boerner of DB Interiors, with a focus on combining patterns and colors to create a polished look. The fourth workshop, Liven Up Your Space with a New Way of Looking at Art, will be May 8 and will feature June Trisciani of J. Ellen Designs talking about the ways you can use art to “liven up your living space and create a story.” For this workshop, attendees are encouraged to submit photos ahead of time for Trisciani to provide suggestions on (photos can be emailed to karinakelley@gmail.com).
The final installment is what Kelley called the coup de grace, as Mead, the celebrated design guru who has appeared on the Martha Stewart show and Better Homes and Gardens, will make an appearance May 15 to present Backyard Style, a discussion on how to apply interior decorating ideas to an outdoor living space.
“Everyone loves him in Concord,” Kelley said of Mead. “He’s written books about interior design and party planning, and we’re lucky enough that he is friendly with the Kimball-Jenkins Estate.”
All five speakers should provide dynamic discussions, Kelley said, as the intent was finding local people who could connect with a Concord audience.
“We just tried to look for people that had nice portfolios who we thought would be engaging speakers and be able to teach people and be accessible when talking,” Kelley said.
You can sign up for one of the workshops for $30 or do all five for $120. Attendees are encouraged to sign up ahead of time, but may also sign up at the door on the night of each workshop. You can sign up online now by visiting kimballjenkinsschoolofart.eventbrite.com.
