When you move into a space you truly love and feel utterly at home in, with free reign to exercise your own creative freewill, it comes with the realisation that the fun could never end. But when priorities come, go, and are quickly replaced with new obsessions, decorating your home becomes a skill in balancing the things you really value against the things that pull your eye. For Jenna Marlar, this rings particularly true.
“My biggest priority has been to remember my why,” says Jenna, a content creator who lives in her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, with her husband and their dog, Logan. “I have to remind myself why so I stay true to what I love and not get caught up in the ever-changing trends.”
From wall paint to door handles, the temptation to trade in styles for shiny new ones is the crux of many interior aficionados. When Jenna moved into her 1930s duplex home over two years ago, she entered with a clear vision for what her home would be.
“Cosy and inviting,” she says. “I absolutely love to host for others, so naturally, I want my home to feel calming, welcoming and easy-going.” Located in a historic district, the couple’s home lends itself to the charming environment beyond their four walls – where landmark homes meld with old oak trees in a real-life suburban American fantasy.
Having lived and worked in Las Vegas as an event planner for six years before returning to Florida, Jenna brought back a burgeoning penchant for desert aesthetics. Now at home in her home state, she has mastered this visual influence with an artful bohemian flair that soothes as equally as it inspires.
“The southwest style is where I still find lots of inspiration,” explains Jenna. “I love incorporating plants with the clean lines that modern and mid-century furniture provides.”
Her interior style of all-natural tones is softly paired with clay-hued textures and punchy, dove-white accents – signifying the unfussy simplicity of Jenna’s interiors.
Among her favourite décor choices are the floating shelves in the kitchen, which act as a smorgasbord for styling play when a mood-change tickles her fancies. “We just got the wood from a hardware store and made them,” she says. “It’s one of my favourite features and it didn’t cost much.”
In a home no bigger than 850sqft, Jenna has developed a knack for making stylish statements where space is otherwise limited. “Paint is my best friend,” she beams. “I also like that you don’t need power tools for paint projects.”
From cactus-green semi-circles painted at wall corners to pearlescent gold spheres as a centrepiece, and onwards to the slat-wall feature in the living room which Jenna made from scratch, her home’s style signatures are undeniably the ones she made by hand.
Follow Jenna @cozy.happy.home
