Interiors

Home/Room Tour: Revisting Jordan of Ramshackle Glam

by

7 years ago

Hi Everyone,

To celebrate our 30% OFF BEACH AERIAL SALE, I thought it'd be fun to revisit one of our first official Home Tour spotlights on the blog. We first met Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam way back in 2015 when she had just made the move from New York to Northern California. Since then, she's kept herself busy with numerous makeover projects to the house she shares with her husband, son and daughter as well as two cute little pups. Home improvements are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this multifaceted lady, though. She not only writes daily posts on Ramshackle Glam, she's a published auther of multiple books, the co-owner of an e-commerce site, and quite a few other things that she'll tell us about in a bit. As I'm writing this,I'm realizing that Jordan and I are having a bit of a parrallel life when it comes to some of the big moments over the past two years, as I too have redone multiple rooms in our home and launched my first book...oh and have the next coming very soon. Needless to say, I am thrilled to share Jordan's story as I'm sure you willall find one or two or more things to relate to! With all of that in mind, I'll let Jordan take it from here..

Hi Jordan! I know I just skimmed the surfaceon what's been going on in your life over the past two years, but don't let that stop you. Tell us more!

What’s new since we last spoke?

Well, the last time we connected was back in 2015, shortly after we moved into our new home in the Bay Area, so...a lot. On the home front, I think the biggest change has been that we moved into this house figuring it was relatively temporary - 3 years, maybe 4 - but have fallen so in love with the neighborhood and the people in it that we’ve started viewing it as where we want to live for many, many years...and have started approaching renovations with that in mind. We’ve redone virtually every room in the house, and are now turning our garage into a multi-functional space (rec room, music recording studio, lofted bed, etc) that’ll make the home work way better for all of us. Next up: a massive pool renovation that will hopefully result in one of those gorgeous dark-blue bottoms - and...a HOT TUB (YESSSSSS).

Ohhhh, yes! I just completed our backyard makeover, which included the addition of a pool and turning the garage into a multi-purpose room. It's no small feet but so worth it when you're sitting poolside and simply loving every moment of it!

Work-wise, the past couple of years have been wild: I coauthored a book called The Big Fat Activity Book For Pregnant People that just went into its second printing (woo!), and am working on the next book in the series right now. I also just spent nearly a year traveling around the country while shooting a pilot for an upcoming home renovation show that involved me literally building houses and managing their interior design. (The network that purchased the series suddenly shut down about three weeks after they put in the show order - which was bizarre and obviously non-ideal timing - so where the show will eventually land is still up in the air, but I’ll keep you posted ;) )

Over on Ramshackle Glam, I’m still posting daily about everything from entertaining ideas to parenting anxieties, and have been conceptualizing and executing campaigns for a wide variety of companies including SK-II, Sears, fairlife, Clorox, H&M, Noritake China, and Pantene. My favorite campaigns are always the ones that let me play around on a lot of different platforms - with photographs, video, copy, visuals, etc - and also just let me play.

And, when did you launch Ramshackle Glam? It certainly was the start of so many things for you as well as continues to be such a pivotal part of your life.

Ramshackle Glam launched in early 2010. My first book, Ramshackle Glam, came out in 2014; the second, Carrying On, in 2015, and the most recent, The Big Fat Activity Book For Pregnant People, was published by Penguin Random House in 2017.

I feel pretty lucky that I launched at the exact moment I did. Because while blogging-as-a-career was still not exactly mainstream way back then, which mean that I was forced to explain (over and over and over, mostly to friends of my parents) exactly why I thought this made sense - spoiler: it doesn’t really, but that’s okay - the timing also meant that I got to be in that very first wave of young people determined to build their so-called “passion projects” into very real businesses. It was mostly young women, which I loved, and there weren’t all that many of us: we ran around New York together in a big pack, attending events and retweeting each other and being competitive and supportive and a little bit wild, and it was a real transformative moment in this industry that I feel fortunate to have gotten to see.

It's certainly interesting to think that 10 years ago, the idea of being a blogger or better yet, an influencer, as a career wasn't something people embraced as a viable job yetfast forward to 2017, someone can now takea course to learn all about how to make it a career. Quite literally, you are a walking and talking business, which I, of course, can also relate to...

Seeing that you're a wearer of many hats, what are the pros & cons of running your own business?

When I first started Ramshackle Glam, I found a lot of clients wanted me to call myself an “expert” - an “entertaining expert,” a “lifestyle expert,” whatever. And that always really made me uncomfortable, because expertise was never the goal of the site: the goal was, very simply, to be willing to say yes, and to try new things.The ethos behindit, interestingly, spread out into the other aspects of my business. Want to write a book? Yes. Host a show? Yup. Stand in a glass box surrounded in a cloud of smoke that is slowly being lifted into the air, and then walk out onto a Las Vegas stage, yelling “HELLOOOOOO LAS VEGAS” into a microphone? Well...not really. That sounds terrifying. (But I still said yes.).

The pros to my job are too many to list, but my favorite thing about it is that every day - literally every day - is different. It makes it very hard to plan my life, but I’ll take that over routine any day. I also love that I get to hang out in so many words: fashion, beauty, photography, advertising, television, content creation, home decor…for someone who could never “pick” what she wanted to do, this job is a dream.

On the negative side, of course, is the fact that with all this freedom comes enormous uncertainty. Even though my business is relatively diversified - I also co-own an e-commerce site called glam | camp and host on-air segments for various outlets - I’m still essentially a freelancer. And there’s no getting around the reality that that that’s a stressful thing to be when you have two very young kids and a house, you know? Fortunately, crippling anxiety has historically proven to be a motivating factor for me, so I tend to bulldoze my way through the rough spots.

Wow. Well, as I promised at the beginning of this post, I think so much of what you've shared is so relateable. If anyone reading along is anaspiring blogger or entrepreneur, take notes! In another form of inspiration, lets check out what Jordan has done to her family's abode since moving in a couple years go.

So, tell us. What's your approach to decorating your home and what's new since the last time we visited?

My son keeps complaining that I paint everything in our house white, and it’s true: I want my home to be bright and light and airy, inside and out (I LOVED what we recently did to our home’s exterior). I guess my central design aesthetic could be described as “California-y” (which is totally a word) - I like starting with a white base, and then adding an eclectic mix of patterns and colors - but other than that, my approach to decor can best be called “I buy stuff I like, and then I put it in my house.” At no point have I ever sat down and figured out a concept, and then built from there - I sort of work in reverse when it comes to home decor. There are clearly pros and cons to this approach, but I really do love that virtually everything in my house comes with a story.

Over the years, you've acquired quite a selection of framed prints. What attracted you to these images in particular?

I chose the Coogee Beach aerial hanging by our bed because I loved the simplicity of the composition, and how the colors echo the pool that’s visible just a few feet away through our patio doors. And also because it reminds me of the summer I spent living there way back when I was a junior in college.

My first Gray Malin print, though, was San Francisco Nude Beach and it was the first piece of art I brought into our new home. Originally, we hung it in the dining room as who doesn’t want to look at naked people when they’re eating? I know I do. After the update of our new living room furniture, though, the natural colors of the print matched so perfectly with the new couches, I opted for the move.

The other two prints I own - a large framed St. Tropez Tahiti Clubin my office and the small framed print ofRiccione Multicolor Umbrellas- are pure examples of just loving an image for no other reason than that it speaks to you. I think the Multicolor Umbrellas might be my favorite one of all: I just want to know what that old man is thinking about.

One really lovely little byproduct of having become a blogger is that I really do see the world differently, in a literal way. I never really took photographs when I was younger, and when all of a sudden that started being a part of my daily life, I noticed I was actively searching the world for lovely, special, out-of-the-ordinary places, people, and moments. I think that’s something I can really see in your work: you payattention, and findbeauty wherever your eye falls.

Thanks so much Jordan! I really appreciate that sentiment as it really is something I try to do...find joyful moments & capture them! I've loved catching up and hearing ALL about EVERYTHING you've been up to! Congrats on your latest book and best of luck on pulling off that pool and garage makeover...believe me, it'll be so worth the effort! Inspired by Jordan's decor? Now is the time to take advantage and make your own home updates happen as it's 30% OFF BEACH AERIAL SALE!

Cheers,

xx

GM