Jeanelle Ditto Of Blush Interior Designs: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
First and foremost, the top two — Declutter and keep it clean! Who wants to come home to piles and piles of junk lying around or have a guest over with their dishes in the sink and hair in the tub? Make it a routine to clean up after yourself. Not only is it healthy for your physical health, but it will lower anxiety for your mental health.
As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeanelle Ditto.
Raised in small town Atoka, Tennessee, Jeanelle Ditto moved to Southern California and started her career in the medical industry to make it on her own. While working her way up the ladder in Corporate America, she nurtured her love of art and design. Founding Blush Interior Designs in 2017 was the culmination of years of passionate artistic development. Almost immediately, her unique design aesthetic and rigorous dedication to quality of service resulted in her becoming one of the hottest new names in the San Diego design world.
Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always been attracted to the arts; you hear that a lot, right? But not just interior design. I love all kinds of artistic people, circus performers, painters, inventors, even writers. Moving out on my own right out of high school I didn’t have the luxury to pursue anything creative. I went straight to survival mode and built my career in the medical industry. It wasn’t until after I became a successful medical sales rep and a mom, that I was able to go to college to pursue my degree in interior design. I learned so much — and not just what colors look good with what. I learned more about the history of where design comes from and the amazing people along the way that have brought us to where we are today. I have truly found my passion in life. I absolutely love going to work every day and meeting amazing people from all different walks of life. I love creating spaces that bring out who they are and what makes them feel their ultimate level of contentment, comfortability, creativity, and passion.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
The most interesting part of my job is the people and their interests. “To each their own,” is a saying around here! I have learned so much about people and all the many different passions there are in this world. I try to get to know each of my clients so that I can really understand who I am designing for. Let’s just say this has brought me many interesting conversations!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I have dabbled a lot in different areas in Interior Design trying to find out what my niche is. While I have experienced different industries, there have been instances where I am speaking with clients and contractors and I use completely made-up words that do not even exist (LOL), but only because I haven’t quite narrowed down all those technical words just yet! Sometimes contractors will just look at me like a deer in the headlights and we just laugh and keep working through. I have never been a smooth talker, but I can usually say something that makes people laugh, whether they are laughing at me or not!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I have the amazing opportunity to be the designer for an up-and-coming gym that is penetrating its way throughout the United States. I was brought on to add flair and fun effects; to take it to the next level. I just love commercial design and making things edgy and bringing in that wow factor. I think that shows in my residential design projects as well.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I am a big supporter of WOMEN. I love helping other women, I love lifting them up, I love collaborating and rising as a team. One thing that you hear a lot today is the competition between men and women. This has always ruffled my feathers. I am not a fan of competition between apples and oranges. I love to appreciate men and women in a different light. One of my favorite quotes that I always keep in the back of my head is the following:
“WOMEN WEREN’T CREATED TO
DO EVERYTHING A MAN CAN DO.
WOMEN WERE CREATED TO DO
EVERYTHING A MAN CAN’T DO.”
I pretty much live by that, and I feel more powerful in doing so.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Hands down, my mother! She died suddenly just a month before my son was born and that was one of the most difficult and eye-opening times of my life. She was my best friend, my confidant, my leader. Losing her changed me. She lived her life not by what made her the most money, but what made her truly happy. When you are truly happy, you can change lives. I want to be just like that. I want people to remember me as someone who really enjoyed life and who was a leader and loved people and took advantage of the opportunities that crossed her path.
Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
One of the things I hear so many times in the field is clients not feeling like their personal life equates to their work life. They go to work daily, work their butt off and when they come home, it feels like a letdown. People get inspired and stay inspired when they can come home to something that they are proud of. Something that brings in all the emotions one wants to feel to maintain a steady hard-working life. Think about walking into an ugly, uninspiring home, you, wouldn’t even want to be there, much less invite anyone else to come over. Throughout the pandemic, so many people have realized that having an inspiring, comfortable, and beautiful home is a necessity to be productive and happy.
5 Things you can do to help your living space spark more:
First and foremost, the top two — Declutter and keep it clean! Who wants to come home to piles and piles of junk lying around or have a guest over with their dishes in the sink and hair in the tub? Make it a routine to clean up after yourself. Not only is it healthy for your physical health, but it will lower anxiety for your mental health.
Third, add some color. What does color mean to you? How does it make you feel? Does it overwhelm you? Some countries and cultures have different meanings for different colors. Don’t be influenced by what you read. Choose a color that makes you feel relaxed or calm in your bedroom and living spaces. Maybe try something a little more fun that gets you motivated for your home office or gym.
Another suggestion I would like to offer is to bring in some cozy elements like super soft sheets, pillows, and blankets. There are very few people in this world that want to go home and feel like they’re sitting on a museum bench. Your home should not only look beautiful, but make you feel cozy and comfortable.
Lastly, a huge thing for me is smell. Fun Fact: I have very bad hearing…. I haven’t gotten it checked out yet because I’m not quite ready to start wearing a hearing aid at 40, but with such a loss of hearing, I feel like my nose is compensating for its loss. Sense of smell can totally change my mood. If I walk into my home and it smells like a spa, I can almost not see my kids’ toys laying in the middle of the floor or their underwear sitting right outside their laundry basket. Don’t discount all those senses that you have that can affect your mood and comfortability level.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Don’t settle for anything less than greatness. I hear so many people who say they are unhappy and miserable with not just their home, but also with their career, their relationship, their car, the list goes on and on. Get up and make the change for yourself. No one can do it for you…. No one! Stop being lazy. Don’t settle for the Ford when you can work harder and get the Bugatti.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them :-).
Everyone that knows me, knows Miranda Lambert is my girl! She is my soul sister. She is simple, yet complex. Sassy, bold and unapologetic. Rugged, yet beautiful. More than anything, she knows how to make people feel like they are bad asses like her! Yeehaw…. (That was Tennessee coming out right there)
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Would love a follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/blushinteriordesigns/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blushinteriordesigns/
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Jeanelle Ditto Of Blush Interior Designs: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.