
Walk With Interior Designer Janae Through Designing Raleigh Home
Check out our conversation with Janae Alston, TEW’s lead interior designer on this serene project, as she walks us through her creative process of this recent project. For Janae, this design was especially exciting being that it was her first project after returning from maternity leave.
“I was ready for success and to finally put mommy brain to work,” said Janae. And that’s exactly what she did. She began working on this 6-month long project in December of 2023, of what began as just a vision from our shared Pinterest mood board with the homeowner.



The Vision
For this custom-built Raleigh home, our sweet clients had a clear vision in mind. Janae’s goal was to bring that vision to life by elevating a few of their spaces by adding texture and original art to their existing furniture.
Where we started
For the primary bedroom, our client had great anchor pieces that she had purchased on her own. However, was having a hard time pulling the space together and bringing the feeling she wanted to evoke. For the guest bedroom, we had a blank slate. And with wanting two completely different visions for those two rooms, one light and airy while the other dark and moody, Janae had some work to do.




So, how exactly did Janae get her vision off the board?
“As a designer, how you begin your creative process is unique to you as a person,” said Janae. “I like to start with texture. Most of the time I like to build my designs off of pattern – start with a rug or wallpaper and design off of one particular thing.” For the primary bedroom, Janae brought Coastal Carolina to Raleigh, designing the entire space around our clients’ existing furniture, such as their blue dresser and upholstered creme headboard. Being a full-service design firm, with experienced interior designers, we are trained to read between the lines, and Janae succeeded in delivering the end goal of light, airy, welcoming, cozy, and comfortable into this room.



The primary bedroom, located poolside, inspired a lot of the creativity behind this design. Knowing her client used to live by the beach, “I wanted a real coastal, beachy feel,” said Janae.

The incorporation of the abstract blue wallpaper was a big YES for designer and client when emphasizing their tall ceilings – not only portraying the movement of the ocean but adding dimension to the room.
“I also included a commissioned, original art piece by Venezuelan artist, Ana Maria Mariana based in Miami, who uniquely wraps birch wood with yarn. This addition further elevated the space by introducing another aspect of texture. The neutral tones of the piece seamlessly play into our imaginations of being beach sand.”


As a designer, the biggest piece of advice when watching your vision unfold is to “always trust your years of training,” said Janae.
When designing two rooms with opposite aesthetics, this mentality was key.
The Guest Bedroom
Contrary to the soft, light feel of the Coastal Carolina primary bedroom, the guest room gave us all the dark and moody energy we wanted as we entered, “Emerald Island.”

Similarly, to the master bedroom she added a bit of texture. However, the design of this room was focused around the neutral and warm tones seen throughout the space.
How did the vision come together?
For Janae, if it’s not a rug tying the finishing look together, then it’s her go-to shade walnut, that never fails, as seen in this design when blending the dresser with the wood from the pendent ceiling light.

Not to mention, the made to order pendant light effortlessly added to the moody aesthetic, creating that extra pizzazz us designers love.

Don’t you furret
When designing, opting for pet-friendly features is always a great bonus for pet owners, like Janae’s client.
This master bedroom includes washable, dry clean friendly custom bedding that is durable to pet wear and tear, in addition to a hand-knotted rug, best for avoiding snags in material made by pet claws.


TEW DESIGN STUDIO
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