By Caitlin Farmer

Photo by Caitlin Farmer

Jade Joyner, designer and co-owner of Metal & Petal on Baxter Street, uses her upbringing in Europe and California to inspire her residential and commercial designs. She defines her style as modern traditionalist and utilizes her travels to help bring history into spaces with vintage pieces. 

When designing a space, Joyner said she prefers having a traditional backdrop with contemporary pieces mixed in. One of her biggest challenges in design is having people understand that the work she does takes time to find the perfect pieces for the space. Here are her tips. 

Splurge on the big pieces 

For commercial spaces, Joyner suggests splurging on a good desk and saving on the chair. For residential spaces, the dining room table is where she suggests the splurge. For both types of spaces, the chairs used for each piece can be inexpensive, as they will probably be something you will get tired of in a few years and want to change. 

Seasonal style choices

When decorating for fall, Joyner said she chooses to layer her home and incorporate warm colors, creating a more maximalist feel. For summer, she said she does the opposite, cleaning up spaces and removing rugs to keep everything fresh and white. Seasonal decorating doesn’t have to be cliche, Joyner said, who  recommends bringing in natural elements by gathering limbs from outside to place in vases. 

Avoid matching 

Sofas and tables from furniture sets don’t tell the story of your life and could create a boring environment. Homes don’t need to feel like hotels or be cold and uninviting, Joyner said. 

Design around your needs

Joyner always decides what the focal point of the room needs to be first, which is typically the most expensive item, and figures out the scale of the piece for the size of the room. In order to do this, she said you need to know what your needs are in the space and what it will be utilized for. 

Place plants in rooms for texture

Almost everyone who visits their Baxter Street store leaves with a plant, said Joyner, who co-owns the business with her husband (he often refers to their store as a gift shop). She said she loves to utilize plants in her designs and said almost all of their projects have 25 to 100 plants in them. Joyner, who likes to pull inspiration from Greek designs, said plants not only incorporate the natural elements she loves in spaces, but also add texture, clean the air and are sculptural additives to a room. 

Save on the small stuff

Accessories for a space are the best area to save money, Joyner said. Sofas and dining tables are where you want to invest the most, but vintage accessories and books are a great way to save money on the items you will likely change out. Joyner suggests going to Goodwill for books because they cost around $1, compared to $20 for new books at other stores. 

Comments trimmed for length and clarity