The interior designer and TV host shares peak for getting the most out of any remodeling project .
Between designing interiors for clients , hosting HGTV’sDream Home , and creating various interior decoration collections , Breegan Janeembarked on perhaps her peachy challenge to escort : a full - scale restoration of her home ’s Southern California home . She detail the process in her bookCalifornia Beach House Luxury , which is part renovation chronicle and part love letter to her kids , locomotion , and the beach . “ The book feels like a culmination of my life and career , ” she articulate .
The designer and author shares how she tackles large - scale renovations , makes spaces palpate welcoming , and balances her home life with two young boys and a pet snake .
Credit:Ryan Garvin
Breegan Jane’s House Rules
Q: If you were to hang a list of rules in your house, what would they be?
I actually do have a leaning of linguistic rule in my house ! It says , ' We do really , we do mistakes , we do ' I ’m sorry , ' we do second chance , we do playfulness , we do squeeze , we do forgiveness , we do really loud , we do menage , and we do love . ' We have the most fun , but there are a few thing that I also ask respectfully , but that quotation is what we accompany most .
Q: Did you grow up with any house rules?
My parents always opened up our house to all my friends . So I reckon I have the same opinion cognitive operation with my kids : All their friends are allowed over here whenever they want . It was a way for my family to verify that I was dependable and that I was still being societal . I ’m very adamant to my kids that your friends are always welcome here .
Q: What’s your household mantra?
I ’m always articulate , ' We stupefy this . ' Sometimes it ’s because we do , and other meter it ’s because I need to be cue that we can . It move us and reminds us there ’s nothing we ca n’t do .
Q: What are some things that make a house feel more like a home?
apparently , the kid . But there ’s something about the piano when a guest sits down and play it that meet the house with auditory honey . My kids are still learning the piano , but even when they go over and obturate on it , the interaction of that instrument just has a sense of ' I am home . ' A have sex house is a little bit noisy . I just bang noise .
Ryan Garvin
Q: What are your hosting must-dos?
I ’ve been instruct my young boys to ensure there are appropriate motivation in the bathroom for multitude who menstruate . So I ’m a great rooter ofstocking my bathroomwith locomotion items from hotel , but also making trusted period Cartesian product are in there . We ’re always tot up tampon and pads and scent spray to make certain guests are comfortable at the root of the most vulnerable matter that so many people have in common .
Q: What’s the no. 1 thing a house guest should do to be invited back?
We love experience people over . I think for me it ’s all about intent , though . It ’s always about a skillful motion — whether that ’s a handwritten thank you or blossom , or even just grab extra water when they ’re at the grocery store . It ’s nice to palpate like you have people who have be active into your place and apprize it and make themselves feel easy .
Q: What’s your biggest tip for throwing a party?
One of my favourite thing about host is that I invested incatering trays , and they ’re great because normally I ’m ordering food for thought . I like to do edible bean , nitty-gritty , rice , and veggies so that I can serve both vegetarians , vegans , and mass who want a little moment more protein . It need me a lifespan to get this all see out , but it ’s simplistic , and the catering tray keep everything warm . It ’s an inst party ! We even use them for family dinners about once a week .
Q: I read in your book you have a pet snake. I need to know more!
I had serpent growing up , but my kids really wanted a dog . I was like , ' Um , we travel and I work and I ’m your mom . So I ’ll get you a snake . ' That was our business deal - off . But we eff her ! She is a banana ball python , so she likes warm expanse . When we catch movies with her , she draw close up under your axillary fossa or your cervix , and she ’s really docile . She ’s kind of like our year pet . The nipper and their Friend really do take to her , and it ’s interesting to see parents watch their kids interact with a snake . Some are like , ' Oh my gosh ! I ’m scared . ' People just react to snakes , and it ’s so interesting when you ’re a snake in the grass family .
Building a Family Dream Home
Q: Renovating an entire home is a huge project! How do you find inspiration and what inspired you while building your home?
I am such a beach girl , so for me it ’s all about the sea and the water and post I travel that are along the seashore . For me , that ’s always the ultimate luxuriousness fuse with the relaxed , crude quoin that make it liveable . That ’s where I ’m always drawing from because I like to say I ’m a mermaid . But it ’s also all about the child for me . I am a mom first . This house is the first sign of the zodiac I build with no thinking other than how the star sign could improve our lives and set us up for family life . It ’s a different office to build from .
Breegan Jane
A stack of metre you cogitate about return on investment funds or financial conclusion , but this house was much more about , ' How do I desire to hold up ? ' "
Q: What about when you’re renovating a home for a client? How do you find inspiration when it’s not for yourself?
For client , one of the thing I always tell them to do is to look at hotel that they enjoy . I recognise they do n’t need their house to search precisely like it , but I can poke in and see certain things about the way they live . As an interior graphic designer and creative person , I can look at places that make you palpate good and assay to cull apart and re - create them for you . Even if it ’s a uncanny ski chalet with a Western theme .
Jake Sternquist
Q: What about your book? What was your inspiration for writing a book that’s all about your home?
I reckon telling the personal story of an internal designer ’s experience in building their own home is a really vulnerable place that I have n’t see a destiny of books written about . And so for me , this was really a deep dive into the culmination of my career . take all of those lessons and thing that I do for other mass and doing it for myself . It ’s also interesting to share the relatability , because if you ’ve ever gone through awhole menage build , it ’s one of the most stressful thing you may do in life . Showing that it ’s difficult for a designer , there ’s a relatability with that . We are good at this , but it still require a lot of patience and planning . It took two and a half years .
Q: Where do you even start with a renovation? Especially when it’s so big—it can feel daunting!
I always follow the principle of threes when look for a contractile organ or other tradespeople . Always get three quotes , even if you have it off your guy . It keeps you more informed . Two is not enough , and three will give you the best ability to make a decision , whether that ’s financial or personality - based . Never hire anyone until you ’ve had at least three quotes on any of your major trades , which are your contractor , plumber , electrician , and AV team . Those people have the most control over your business firm . Once they start , you ’re stuck . It ’s like dating : Start really slow and ensure you like them because you ’re getting hook up with next calendar week .
It ’s like dating : begin really boring and ensure you like your pros because you ’re getting married next week . "
Q: Do you have any go-to sources for hardware or finishing touches?
I love Ferguson . I source everything for my project through Ferguson . But for my house , I went with Kohler ironware . They ’re the golden criterion . I get it on my Kohler repair , and there are so many unlike options . When I wanted a little mo more luxe , I go withCentral Park West by Kallista , which is a pardner under the same brand .
As I was design this house , I was also developingmy wallpaper line with Clarke and Clarke . It was a really reliable way to bring in product into my portfolio . I was literally selfishly building this wallpaper line . It was rightfully an authentic build and an reliable elbow room to impart myself to other the great unwashed ’s plate .
Q: Are there any home design trends you’re obsessed with right now?
I ca n’t get enough of slab stone , specifically Neolith porcelain . We have 76 slabs of it in my house . The durability , but also the visual impact that it add , is nuts . I ’m all about a slab . But if you ca n’t do a slab , do oversized tiles from the roofing tile bar . I got all of my tiles from Tile Bar .
Q: I immediately noticed the disco balls in your kitchen and I need to know more! What’s the backstory?
They ’re the perfect example of how I built this house for me and nobody else and it ’s so personalized in every inch . We sourced them from a society that sell them to clubhouse . I had a disco ball in my elbow room in gamey schooling and I ’ve always loved to trip the light fantastic . I studied dance professionally , but it ’s also my waiver and a draw together thing between my kids and me . I require to press the gasbag on what was possible and what was expected in the kitchen . It ’s an insistent company . It ’s instant glad . Who can be sad when a disco music egg is on ?
Q: What’s one thing people might forget to budget for in a renovation?
You must let in some great rugs . And I suppose they get neglect in the budget because they ’re not necessarily a construction item , but your place is n’t complete until you lay it down . It has to be big enough to drop anchor the room , so budget accordingly . ( Blue tape is your friend again ! ) The right carpeting is something you ’re not go to switch out very often , it ’s an investing .
Q: What’s one tool you can’t live without?
One of my favorite tools is thislittle amber hammerthat has a screwdriver inside of it — both a Phillips straits and a 2-dimensional drumhead . I ’m not undecomposed with keep open ahuge toolbox , so it ’s outstanding . It ’s a room decorator ’s well friend .
Also , naughty masking tape is your booster . Tape down where the layer is going to go and sit in it . Go zen , sit bad-tempered - legged , and picture what you ’re inflame up to and what you want . The kidskin and I did this multiple metre . Actually taking a moment to mull and picture what your blank smell , feels , and voice like is a really important way to associate back and check that you ’re building what you want .
Q: Paint can be incredibly overwhelming. There are so many things to choose! Do you have any tips to make sure you’re picking the right shade?
Make certain youtest the painton multiple walls in the room in heavy sizes . hoi polloi do n’t agnize how much sunlight and fantasm interchange pigment throughout the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . You need to inspect and depend at the paint multiple times during the daytime .
Q: How do you tackle designing kids' rooms? Did your kids want to help pick out the elements of their room? Or did they just say ‘Mom, I don’t care, just do what you want?’
I have one of each place . I like to say my oldest was my most challenging client because he was like , ' I want a blue room . ' And I was like , ' That ’s so wearisome . ' But his room is anything other than boring . We talked about words that hem in you that matter , so we used Ruben Rojas art because if you ’re go to surround yourself with words , you have to be intentional . It was a unique challenge to create what he wanted and do it in a path that was advanced , that I reckon can spring up with him . My lilliputian one — he ’s my little surfer . He ’s the half-baked one , and he ’s a good deal . So everything in his room is white . I say , ' You ’re go to have a basketful for your dirty clothes , and you ’re not allowed to have any way features because it will just look like bedlam all the time . ' He ’s my creative person . There are always pencil on the floor . Their suite are genuinely who they are .
Rapid Fire with Breegan Jane
What’s one thing (small or big) that every project should have?
Sparkle !
Q: What’s your go-to beverage to greet guests with?
Always champagne .
Q: Top sheet or no top sheet?
No top sheet .
Q: Should the toilet paper roll go over or under?
Over .
Q: Do you prefer colors or neutrals in your home decor?
Neutrals with texture .
Q: Coffee or tea?
Tea .
Q: Sweet or savory?
Savory .
Q: Eating at home or going out to eat?
Ordering in .
Credit:Ryan Garvin
Credit:Jake Sternquist
Credit:Ryan Garvin
Credit:Ryan Garvin
