What It Means - Curating Forever

Getting started on something big is hard - it can seem so daunting, especially when you’re a planner, like me.

I’m Julia Sumrall, and welcome to the website for my new business, Julia Grace Interiors.

I come from a line of business owners - all men, and I’m more like my dad than either of us admit! My grandfather owned a construction company back in the ‘80’s, and my dad currently runs a scaffolding and rentals company that he started right after I was born. I grew up in my dad’s office, learning how to file, fax, manage payroll, and even answer the phones, all under the age of 10. Imagine walking into the reception of an industrial focused scaffolding company and a 7 year old directs you to the correct office for your meeting - that was me! Growing up watching him be able to take control of his daily schedule as well as the types of projects they bid out for really instilled this idea in me - yes, this is what I was going to do, too.

So, when I was 8, my parents bought a house that was built in 1976, and had never been renovated. I’m talking shag carpeting, orange toned wood, wood paneling everywhere, and 8’ ceilings. Looking back on it now, I kind of love it, but it’s too bad because we gutted and renovated the whole thing - it was a completely different, brand new house within a year.

The Kitchen Prior to Renovation

This kitchen boasted the full mid-70’s package - popcorn ceilings, formica countertops, linoleum flooring, wood paneling, wood countertops, brown carpeting in the living/dining area, those brown ceiling fans, and so. much. more.

The Front Porch

The roof needed major replacing, there was no front porch or gathering space by the front door, no walkway to the front door from the existing driveway, overall no real curb appeal (even though we were way out in the country).

My parents mainly managed the construction process themselves, but we hired an architect/designer to help us with our kitchen cabinets. She came equipped with blueprints for our new kitchen layout, as well as for the built-ins in our laundry room and office, and when I tell you I didn’t put those plans down for months, I mean it. I would lay them out on our dining room table and read over them like they were a book, and I found new information every time I read over them. Keep in mind, again, I’m 8 years old. If I could pinpoint where my passion for interior design started, it’s right here.

The Exterior - After

What did we not add? The brick exterior became stucco, the shingled roof became metal, we added the port cochere and circle drive, which looped around to the garage. The entire driveway was new and was gated at the road. We added all the landscaping, replaced the windows… this was a whole, brand new house.

The Kitchen - After

This photo is from the listing of the last time the house sold, so none of the furniture pictured is ours, but everything else is exactly the same. The difference between this kitchen and the kitchen before is literally night and day - and beyond measure, much more functional. And of course, as time and trends pass, some of these decisions I wouldn’t make today, but keep in mind - it was 2010!

Photo Courtesy of BaldwinMLS

At the end of the day, this is the house that taught me what it means to the clients you work with to truly listen and create something worth using. This is the house that taught me the immeasurable privilege and pleasure of hosting all the family functions, all the birthday parties, all the sleepovers in a home worth sharing with the people you love most. At the end of the day, the name of the game is creating that feeling in the spaces that we curate for people - to have these memories from now until forever with people and spaces worth loving.

We ended up putting so much more on that 12 acre piece of land - the barn (which turned into the poolhouse), the pool, the pool deck, the pergola, the dog barn, the dogs’ fence (because we couldn’t get them to stay in the yard… lol), and the mulched plot between the pool and the dog barn that housed our huge treehouse that my dad built, our playhouse, and our trampoline. In the years we lived here, we designed the hell out of this property, but with that came making it ours more and more as the years went on. The people who live here now are so lucky - to them, they saw a large piece of land that was cleared, well developed, and well taken care of, but the way I see it, is every square inch of that property holds a memory of my childhood. We sold this house in 2017, but those memories last a lifetime - having a nice setting is just a major plus.

At JGI - that is what we strive for, because I know the feeling. It’s not just about the house, but the people who live in it. Home is worth sharing, home is worth loving. And if you love it, it’ll love you right back.

Like what you hear? Contact us today to get started on your forever!