Last month, I wrote about my background and how it relates to my design fashion. This month, I thought it might be interesting to share what influences the other members of my design team.
Elizabeth Lovette, a senior designer on the JDI staff, has memories of being interested in design at an early age, too. When her family moved to Raleigh, she lived in a fascinating historic home with formal entertaining areas, dumbwaiters, and maid quarters while her family looked for a new house. She accompanied her parents as they viewed available homes. Her imagination was fueled with all the different architectural styles and period homes with beautiful landscaping that is characteristic of “Old Raleigh”. A visit to the Governor’s Western Residence in Asheville made a lasting impression with its open floor plan, expanses of glass that allowed a panoramic view of the NC Mountains, and the circular shower with shower heads that sprayed in every direction. In high school, Elizabeth was given the opportunity to work with a builder selecting flooring, countertops, wallpaper, paint, and interior finishes for several spec homes. This experience solidified her desire to pursue design as a career and Elizabeth went on to graduate from UNC-G in Interior Design and has been working in the field ever since.
Stacy Hobson, our computer guru, also developed a love for design and architecture at a young age. As a child, Stacy was always drawing and coloring, studying the inner workings of her dollhouse, and creating miniature structures out of Legos and Lincoln Logs. A church mission trip to Memphis at the age of fourteen was an opportunity for Stacy to learn first-hand how homes were constructed as she performed major demolition and reconstruction on the homes of impoverished families. As her mission work continued over the next four summers, Stacy excelled in drafting class where she created hand-drawn and computer-generated floor plans and elevations. She continued her studies and also graduated from UNC-G with a degree in Interior Architecture.
I feel blessed to have such a well-rounded team of professional and passionate designers at my firm. My clients enjoy the fact that they can call and get help from a well-trained, experienced, and enthusiastic designer at any time.
