Keep it Colorful Podcast: Jen Talbot Design

Jen Talbot of Jen Talbot Design is the first interior designer to be featured on the Keep it Colorful podcast. Her insights into colors, art, and current trends are just as brilliant as her unique designs.

 

Interior designers can hear this entire interview in the Vishion Interior Design Community.

 

In the first episode of Keep it Colorful, we discuss design and color with Jen Talbot of Jen Talbot Design. The Chicago-based designer residential and commercial designer holds an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Prior to founding Jen Talbot Design in 2011, she spent the early years of her career as a practicing installation artist. She pulls from this experience when discussing and selecting color palettes with clients.

 

“Because I have a background in fine art, I almost think of the room like a canvas,” Jen said. “If you pop in a bit of red, your eyes will be immediately drawn to that. It’s about curating the color and being very selective about the brush I am using to apply it. Sometimes it’s a wide brush with huge sweeps, other situations there tiny bits here and there. I read the client to see what they’d be comfortable with, giving them examples of work to get a read on how gusty I can push them.”

 

Jen told Sam Smith, founder of Vishion, that she has a not-so-secret love for blush pink, especially paired with camel and black.

 

 

When she’s selecting colors for a design, she learns about the clients’ tastes and pulls from her own experience as an art specialist to create a palette. She doesn’t love purple and avoids primary colors. Her favorite color at the moment is oxblood; a deep cranberry shade that resembles burgundy, but has more purple and dark brown hues. To gain inspiration, she looks to fashion, nature and the art world.

 

“I pull from a lot of places. I do follow the designs in Australia quite a bit,” Jen said. “They have cutting edge designs that go to Europe then come to America.”

 

Jen also uses her background in art to get to know her clients. Suggesting art to her clients helps her learn a lot about their taste overall. She doesn’t have a go-to artist, instead, she keeps up-to-date with the latest art trends she sees on social media.

 

“I think art is really personal, so it’s hard to say there is one artist I love,” Jen said.

 

 

Her first client was Elizabeth Weitzman, daughter of shoemaker Stuart Weitzman, which kicked off her career in interior design. But her favorite project so far was the Elmwood Modern Office. The client trusted her to pull the room together, giving Jen the ability to incorporate awesome patterns and colors while having fun with her client.

 

“One of my favorite spaces in that project was her office. I got to use this fantastic half-moon fabric, a really bold print that makes the room,” Jen said. “We got to incorporate a few pieces she owned, including a vintage console table. It was a great marriage between the vintage elements of the house that had character and bones while doing a pairing with these modern elements. It creates a super cool dichotomy between those two things that push-and-pull against each other.”

 

 

Featured in House Beautiful, Elle Decor and Luxe, Jen Talbot Design creates interiors that are detailed and thoughtfully crafted, creating modern and timeless environments that tell the individual story of each client. Her designs are anything but cookiecutter, showcasing her ability to incorporate different colors, textures, and stories in each interior.

 

 

Follow Jen on Instagram at @JenTalbotDesign and view her amazing portfolio on her website, www.jentalbotdesign.com. If you’re an interior designer interested in hearing the second half of this interview, request to join our exclusive interior design community today.