Christmas 2012 is where it all began when I made my very first sign as a Christmas present for my sister. I kept designing and creating after that and slowly built a following. My very first post on Instagram was of a custom that a friend of mine asked me to make. In writing this post, I had to dig pretty deep into my Instagram account to find old pictures. It was fun looking through old posts and seeing how much this little business of mine has grown and changed! 

When I first started JaxnBlvd, it was just me (and my sisters helping when they could) painting on my living room floor. I was pregnant with my youngest and when my belly got too big, I moved the painting to my kitchen table. After I had my daughter, I decided to hire my first employee and the painting continued in my kitchen until there was an abundance of glitter and paint that was constantly stuck to my poor baby’s knees when she tried to crawl around. I had a shed built in my backyard and JaxnBlvd continued to grow from there. The shed was only about 8ft x 10ft but once I added AC and a TV for Netflix, it turned into a fun and functional workspace. The signs were all painted in the shed and we used my garage to cut all the wood, frame, ship, and store signs. The business was growing and now that we had a dedicated workspace, I was able to hire a few more employees. 

JaxnBlvd continued to grow and we eventually outgrew the shed in my backyard. I had 6 employees at this point and finding space for everyone to work was becoming an issue. My garage was busting at the seams and the storage unit I had to rent to store extra signs was filled to the brim as well. The time had come to set up a brick and mortar and we opened our doors on November 13, 2015. It was so exciting that my business had expanded so much, but also a little terrifying at the same time!

With the expansion of our space we were able to have a dedicated place for our customers to shop and we also opened up space to support other local small businesses and carry their merchandise as well. We began hosting DIY Classes now that we had the room and they quickly became a customer favorite. Over time we started selling home decor and in the past year clothing, shoes, and jewelry. It’s been fun to branch out and offer a variety to our customers. 

In 2015 Hobby Lobby approached me wanting to use my designs to sell in their store. Ummmmm, yes!!! Working with Hobby Lobby has been such a great experience from the very beginning and it helped open up doors to work with other companies like, TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Home Goods, Walmart, and Wayfair. It’s so fun to see your hard work come to life in different ways, and I still get a bit giddy anytime I see my work sitting on a store shelf. 

I am constantly thinking of new design ideas and projects and this new year will bring some fun things I have been working on – the biggest being a new location!!! The location we are in right now is 30 minutes away from my home and from where most of my employees live. We’ve all been making the commute for the past 3 years and we’re ready for a shorter one. Our new shop will be in a great location and I cant wait to share more details soon! 

This has been an exciting, crazy, tiring, stressful, and amazing experience so far and I had no idea when I made my very first sign that it would turn into all this! I have definitely learned a lot and as you can tell, our signs and our photography have come a long way too. I’m so grateful for everything that has transpired so far and I’m looking forward to much more!!

• Kim

We moved into our house 7 years ago and there were quite a few things that we would have done differently had we built the house and not bought it as is. Thankfully my husband and I love working on DIY projects together so we’ve been able to change quite a bit and put our own touches into the home. We had a half wall or pony wall that was visible from the front door and separated the front room and family room. The wall not only collected a lot of dust and became a catch all area for clutter, but our kids also loved to use it as a jungle gym. It was on our top ten list of projects and we finally got around to doing it!

We decided to shiplap the wall that faces the front room, completely covering the cutout that opened up into the family room. On the opposite wall we added shiplap and long shelving so it would almost be like a built in bookshelf. We have shiplapped several other areas in our home and used several different approaches so we have a pretty good feel for what works best.

Curtis used 2×4’s to frame out the opening of the wall and he cut the 45 degree decorative angles, leaving the edges square. It was amazing how much better it looked right away! The 2×4’s were installed flush with the wall so the MDF shiplap boards could go right over the opening on the wall to cover it.

Materials needed:

-1/2 inch MDF Wood – Lowes is our favorite hardware store and they will rip your wood down for free. They supply all of the lumber for JaxnBlvd and we have always had a great experience working with them!

-Nail Gun and Nails

-Router and Router Bit

-Chop Saw or Miter Saw

-Stud Finder

-Level

-Caulk

-Sandpaper

-2×4’s if covering a half wall

We like using 1/2 inch MDF, it’s not too heavy and not too expensive. We routed all of the edges and sides which allowed us to butt the boards against right up against each other and still give a shiplap look – almost like tongue and groove but much more affordable. Using MDF can be messy, especially when using a router. Sawdust gets everywhere! We usually cut our boards for shiplap to be 7 inches wide but decided to cut the boards for this wall at 11 inches wide to save a little time on this project. We always like to remove the baseboards before starting and we work from the bottom up.

I wanted a clean, seamless look but ultimately decided I didn’t want to put in the work to create that look. It would involve a lot of caulking and sanding and that was not something I was interested in. In order to create a pattern that would not look busy but would still look clean , Curtis used he same 3 cuts and rotated placement on the walls. We also cut the ends at a 45 degree angle and this helped the boards fit together really well and look seamless on the edges.

I’m often asked how I’m able to complete so much so quickly. We plan out our projects 100% from start to finish and we gather all the materials we need so we can work, work, work as much as possible without stopping. My husband works really fast and is great about at not stopping until it’s done. If I am not tending to the kids then I am working right along side him. For this project, I spent several hours routing the boards for the shiplap so he could work on the rest of the project. We work really well together and pretty quickly with only minimal fighting 🙂

I can’t wait to share the finished product with you, so check back next week for the reveal!

-Kim

 

 

I love a good “before and after”, so today I am sharing a “before and after” of our kitchen remodel and I think it’s a pretty good one! The kitchen really is the heart of the home, so it’s important that the space is functional. I knew when we moved into our home, that we would remodel our kitchen eventually and I was so happy when that day finally came! I am glad though that we waited as long as we did so we could live in the space for a while and take our time deciding what we really needed when it came to storage, design, and the overall flow.

 

My main frustration when walking into the space was the layout and the lack of storage. The kitchen table sat directly in front of the back doors making it hard to navigate around. In between the table and the island was a walkway that was a waste of space, and the island was awkwardly shaped. We also did not have much storage or a formal pantry, so anytime I would go to buy groceries I couldn’t see what we had because everything was just kind of thrown into the cupboards and it was almost impossible to organize.

My husband Curtis came up with the idea to take down the wall next to our fridge and pull storage from the garage so we could build a pantry. We have a 2 1/2 car garage, we decided to pull the 1/2  garage and we opened it up into the kitchen, insulated, and then had it professionally wired for electricity. We used the same wood tile that ran throughout the downstairs, added the wallpaper, baseboards, and lighting. The shelves were a super simple DIY that only took about and hour to prep and an hour to install. I love all things cactus and kelly green, so the wallpaper was perfect!

I spent quite a bit of time on Pinterest and Google trying to find ideas and plans for a large 2in1 Island/Table combo, so we could get rid of our table and double our storage. Unfortunately we search came up empty. Curtis and I talked about different layouts and ideas and then we literally just laid down tape on the floor until we found a design we liked and would work well. From there Curtis took 2×4’s and nailed them directly into the foundation through the tile to get the basic shape, and then he continued with more 2×4’s and MDF to build the rest of the island. The island can now seat 12 people, and our food storage is housed in the center of the island! We can access the interior of the island through the pull out garbage door that my husband built into the island.

The cabinets are pre-existing and were an oak color before painting. We were quoted $10,000 for brand new cabinets but we ultimately decide it was unnecessary and not a priority. There was a set of taller double cabinets on the far left where the open shelving is now and we removed them so we could extend the counter. We had to buy new cabinets just for that section so they don’t quite match but you can’t even tell unless you look really close. We had the very far left cabinets installed upside down so we can (eventually) install sliding dog bowls that will be tucked away when not in use. The cabinets were professionally painted in the color Simply White by Benjamin Moore.

We went with Corian for the countertops which gives the look of granite but was a more affordable option, I like to call it “poor mans granite” it acts like granite , looks amazing, without the price tag that granite comes with. I chose white subway tile for our backsplash and we extended it all the way up on behind the open shelving to create the illusion of the ceilings and over all space being bigger than it really is. I went with a brass finish for the cabinet pulls. The shelves there are the same ones we DIYed in the pantry, and Curtis installed them using a diamond bit as to not crack the tile.

My favorite part is always decorating and adding my own touch! Most of the decor pieces came from TJMaxx and Home Goods. The curtains are from Anthropologie and were a bit of a splurge, but I knew I wanted them so I saved for a few months! I get so many compliments on them and I love the hand sewn embroidery and the pops of color help to add more character.  The barstools are from Textured Home , I love the warmth and texture they bring to the space, BUT  they aren’t the most kid friendly unfortunately. I would highly recommend them just for the fact that they are darling , but if you plan to use them , like actually sit in them , just be warned they may get hurt . And of course my remodel would not be complete without some JaxnBlvd signs!

I am so happy with the way the remodel turned out and I love that it’s a space that we can enjoy with our family and friends!

wood tile  – wallpaper (kelly green)  – paint color – cabinet pulls  (Amber Gold) – curtains  – pendant lights (originally from Target but they no longer sell them – link to a different style that I also love)