Our Design Studio | Karson Butler Events

We recently moved into our design studio, located in our neighborhood of Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Just a few blocks away from the nation’s Capital building and the Supreme Court, our historic carriage house was built in 1900! It is full of charm and character and our address is even on Constitution Avenue – how perfectly DC is that?! As most of you know, this fall, we rebranded as Karson Butler Events. With a new website, blog, and visual identity, it was important for our design studio to reflect our personal styles and our design approach. Most importantly, we wanted a space where you walk in and feel inspired.

Our friends (and talented photographers) Jodi Miller Photography sent over a few pics they snapped during our recent holiday open house. Below is a recap of our favorite details and a closer look at our design studio:

AK: Our front room houses our desks and consultation area. The highlight of this room is a custom chalkboard illustration from Anchor B. Amazing, right?! We loved the way it turned out!

EB: I love marquee lights and adore our illustrated chalk version that sits above the vintage horse head coat rack Amber found. The cheeky phrase “Hang your hat and your worries too” is a perfect reminder of what we want our space to be - a place people feel comfortable in.

AK: Our dog Kobe loves coming to the design studio every day with us, so we had to create a special spot just for him. He loves it! He drinks his water from a vintage green glass compote because we forgot his water dish one day. It was just too cute to swap out! We adopted Kobe in 2001 from a wonderful organization, Rover Rescue, based in Redondo Beach, CA. Kobe has had quite the journey and loves life on Capitol Hill.

AK: We had our desk chairs custom made from Etsy vendor Upcycled Home with Schumacher’s Chiang Mai Dragon fabric. This popular fabric has a mixture of colors and I’ve been dying to use it for years! It reminds Emily of a cool tattoo, so it was an easy sell! We decided on leather x-benches that were more masculine as a contrast to the coral-pink “girly” chairs for extra seating when necessary.

EB: Linen inspiration boards above our desks allow us to share some of our favorite pieces and mementoes. I’m currently displaying my favorite invitation suite from last season by Papermade, my one-way ticket from Los Angeles to DC when I moved out here, and a key from The Parker Palm Springs - my go-to getaway spot!

AK: My board includes calligraphy samples from favorites like Kathryn Murray and Meant to Be Calligraphy (including a custom show ribbon we collaborated on for an equestrian themed escort card display), and Little Bit Heart’s eco-green paper suite to name a few!

AK: Notice the super-cool door that connects our front room to our workroom? We replaced the wood panels with gold perforated metal sheets found at the hardware store commonly used to cover radiators here on the East Coast. We love how this small change transforms the door and connects our two spaces. I did a similar project a few years ago in my own home, and love how easy and inexpensive this home improvement project is!

EB: The back room is used for storage, design projects & planning meetings. We re-used several pieces we had on hand to furnish the space. The wood table, silver tub chairs, and black & white striped rug look great in their new home! A few basic shelves from Home Depot finished the look of this raw workspace. Fun fact - we filmed our Getaway Garland Tutorial on our worktable the first day we moved in!

So there you have it! We have more projects around the design studio to tackle in 2013 - Amber’s obsessed with the idea of installing gold base boards and trim, while Emily’s got her eye on fun wallpaper to texture our front door. In the meantime, we are feeling proud of what we’ve accomplished in just a few short months and are thankful for all the love!

To see more, be sure to check out our design studio features on Inspired by This and District Weddings!

Photos: Jodi Miller Photography