Vol. 3, Issue 1
Spring 2022

Ah, spring. Every year, you come (sometimes a bit late to the party, just saying) and every year we fall in love with you again. The days are getting longer; the weather is getting warmer; the blooms are (gasp!) blooming! We at SYH are shelving our winter coats and shaking off the dark and the gray, ready for the beautiful colors of the season to brighten the world around us as well as the homes we are designing.

In the residential home industry, we are still seeing slow turn around times on who-knows-what this week, as well as high and rising labor and material costs. Lucky for our clients, we can easily pivot to furniture, accessories, soft goods and art to refresh and renew spaces if construction projects are delayed or scaled down. It's striking how the right decor can transform a space, and good quality pieces can be reused and repurposed if and when construction is in the cards down the road.

We know what we do is a privilege, for us and for our clients. We are grateful for the opportunity to work every day in this business of happiness, and for our secure and peaceful day-to-day existence in these uncertain times.

A Couple Introductions

As if we didn’t have enough beautiful and charming things around the SYH office already (we're talking about samples and project boards, but yes - the staff, too!), we recently acquired a new office mascot. Introducing Rose the Mini Golden Doodle. She does not seem to be interested in chewing on Susan's favorite wicker elephant end table, so she's a keeper.

Speaking of beautiful and charming, we also recently brought on the first studio intern we have had in years: Brianna Alexander. Brianna and her husband are true Bloomingtonians, who were raised here, attended IU, and stayed to raise their four children. She comes to us with a love of architecture, color and design, and a desire to learn the ins and outs of what we do. Rosie the golden doodle is funny, but Brianna is funnier, and also way more helpful.

What We Are Digging: High Point Market Edition

Spring season in the design world means new releases! The SYH team traveled to High Point, North Carolina for the spring market this month to touch and feel all the things, to sit in seats and open drawers, and to eat and drink, and generally have a ball. This year we loved all the spring colors, touchable textures, eye catching patterns and innovative lighting. Get ready, current clients! We found so. much. inspiration. Here are ten of our favorites this year:

Chartreuse chaise, you had us at hello.
Green sofas are never wrong! But they are even more right in mohair and velvet. We are having a hard time getting over our longstanding crush on all things green, and this market didn't help.
Speaking of green, is that green leather trim on a blue linen dresser? What! Fantastic.
Black Blue velvet if you please: we were ready to take a set of these charming blue and white dining chairs home in the trunk.
Have we mentioned how much we like to swivel? We saw swivel stools at desks and dining tables this market, which just screams fun and function.
We are always looking for great light fixtures, and this market we spied beautiful inverted U pendants and sconces on long arms.
Metal base cabinets with glass uppers, for the people with all the pretty things they need to show off.
Clusters of ottomans. So everyone doesn't fight for a place for their feet on movie night. (Good design will change you life!).
We may be going a little grandmillennial here, but PLAID for the win! We spotted and loved it this market on pillows, wallpaper, chairs, and ottomans.
What's better than the neutral tonal effect of cream on cream on cream. Cream on cream on cream sherpa.

Local Vendor Spotlight: Framemakers

SYH Specializes in creating homes for our clients, from architecture all the way through to the finishing touches. That means we think about everything from the gutters and downspouts, to the fireplace surround, to the art. At every step we rely on our trade friends and professionals.

This week, we headed to Framemakers to begin the process of framing an art collection we are curating with the homeowner of our east-side midcentury project. We took the first pieces we have sourced into the shop and spent 90 minutes with Mike Friesel, who was able to advise on every part of the framing process. He knows the type of glass that will be best (or acrylic for larger work—and you know how much we love big art!); he knows whether, what, and how to hang art in a bathroom; he will even come in and hang the finished pieces. Currently located just west of the square, Framemakers has been serving the Bloomington art lovers for over 40 years. Got art? Take it to Framemakers. Need art? Call us.

Project on the Horizon?

If you have a new build, renovation, and/or decorating project on the horizon, call us sooner than you think you need us! We want to work with you! But we do have a waitlist.

How it works: Initial consultations happen within a few weeks of your call, during which Susan Y. meets with you to see your space, hears all your hopes and hangups, and offers off-the-cuff feedback and advice to help you determine next steps. If the next step for you is comprehensive design services, we pencil you in and launch your project as soon as your name rises to the top.