Happy Black History Month!!! I am so excited this month to be having this interview with Jean Brownhill, who is literally making Black history as we speak with her company Sweeten. I have been looking forward to this interview for a while because I wanted to learn how Jean got into the contractor’s business as an architect; and how was she able to streamline a service that so many people ask me about all the time as an interior designer, “Can you refer a good contractor?”
Jean Brownhil launched Sweeten (as in “home, sweet home”) in 2011. Today, Sweeten has nearly $1.5B of construction projects in the pipeline. The two-sided marketplace brings trust, transparency and technology to a $400B industry, creating the end-to-end standard for the renovation experience. Sweeten has been called a “Renovation Game-Changer,” with Jean hailed as “The Contractor Whisperer” by New York Magazine and one of Inc. Magazine’s “Most Innovative Women Founders in America.”
Jean is a Loeb Fellow from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, where she co-founded the African American Student Union (AASU), an organization supporting African Americans in architecture, real estate and urban planning. As a member of the 2018 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute, she recently launched SAW (Sweeten Accelerator for Women) to help female contractors build their businesses.
The Interior Design Game this week is, TRUE OR FALSE? This week we focus on a piece written by Zoe Sessums for Architectural Digest, Renovation Trends for 2021. I wanted to get Jean’s opionion on whether these ideas are really trending or just farfetched?
I decided this week to design a shoppable mood board based on my dream ADU (accessory dwelling unit) office that would be built by a dream contractor from Sweeten one day.
Every space big or small needs an accent wall-Kali in Gray on Taupe - Forbes & Masters
Buy pieces that has one-of-a-kind charm and rounded curves- Casoli 60" Marble Top Desk, Gunmetal
Design for the dream ADU office- Modern Backyard Home Office Plans
Every space needs some life- Ponytail Plant
Felt tiles for acoustic installation in a space- Ombre
Remember your office should feel like a retreat so add in a personalized scent- Zenful Diffuser-Restore
Vintage office chairs when round table meetings can happen again, “Yes please!”- Vintage Houndstooth Chairs, set of 4
Perfect table for meeting and to lay out your work- Council Entry Table
Desk lamp with a timeless design- Linear Wood LED & USB Table Lamp