12 Sep Home Tour: An Eclectic Austin Home
Jennifer Fisher – Owner and Lead Designer of J. Fisher Interiors
Jennifer Fisher, is an Austin, Texas based interior designer known for effortlessly combining crisp, clean architecture with vintage and modern furniture pieces and decorative arts to create eclectic, modern spaces that are casually elegant, comfortable, and unique.
How would you describe your home’s design aesthetic? Since you designed your home yourself, what inspired you to design it this way?
I would describe my aesthetic as eclectic mid-century modern. I love the feel of mid-century pieces, the lines are clean and beautiful. A lot of my pieces are original antiques from the decade, mixed with a few modern pieces with similar lines. I like to take this pure and simple base, and accessorize it with my eclectic collections that reflect who I am, like my brass elephants lining my living room bookshelf. I was inspired to design it this way because I am really drawn to the mid-century style, but I also wanted to showcase my personality with my collections.
How does your location in Austin, Texas influence the design of your home?
The eclectic spirit of Austin influenced a great deal of the design choices I made when styling my home. I love the spirit of the city and all of the different cultural influences. When planning a design, I think it important to reflect your own personal style but fit the tone of the location. For instance, I keep a light and airy feel to my home, utilizing lots of grays and blues. It gets hot here! And I want to have a visually cool space.
You mentioned that you are an animal rights activist and your home is completely vegan. How were you able to accomplish a completely vegan design?
A vegan design can be a challenge. In the interior design world, products are not marketed as vegan. Unlike in fashion, where we see trending product easily labeled and advertised as so. To accomplish this, I payed attention to ALL materials involved in a piece, and only chose ones that completely aligned with my views. You have to be careful, it’s easy to avoid leathers and furs, but a down pillow takes an extra step of researching the full product details.
What is your favorite room in the home?
I love my bedroom. It’s my retreat where I can relax in bed with my dogs. The wallpaper in the space is one of my favorite design elements, and it just works so well for the room.
You’re well known for your eclectic and unique designs. How did you create your home to be uniquely yours? How do you do this for your clients?
For my personal space, it is easy to make it uniquely me. I have my collections from the years proudly displayed, I picked out specific materials that align with my views, and the vision was always there in my head. For clients, you have to find a way to communicate all of these details we just intuitively know about ourselves. I typically start by having them take me to their current favorite space in the home, or by having them describe a dream space to me. If they have collections of art of their own already, I use that as a starting point for my design.
What interior trends are you seeing?
I am seeing trends back to minimalism, even the Brutalism trends from the 50s-70s. There is definitely a focus back to materials, and even harsh materials like concrete and raw wood. I think we have such hectic lives in this era, that we want our homes to be simpler and less stimulating. I see a lot of use of plain black and white patterns, and light and airy furniture as well.
What is the best advice to give someone decorating their home?
The best advice is to be you! Your home should always say something about yourself to your guests. This is where the key role of the designer comes in. So many homeowners have amazing stories, but they don’t know how to convey that to their guests through a design. Always stick to themes you like, but don’t be afraid to ask for some professional help.
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