Welcome to Scott Street.

Hi, I’m Sam. I live in the garden unit under Jolene and we share a patio. We have since May of 2018 when we both moved in within a month of each other. I had just separated from my husband and was reeling in grief, shame, and uncertainty. (If you know, you know) Being the introvert that I am, I would scurry in and out of the side door like a cockroach trying to avoid the light, careful not to have any extended interactions with “the neighbors,” fearful that I might have to explain what I was doing living there...at 30. Alone. In a 500 square foot studio apartment. Aren’t you supposed to be married with a child in a beautiful home that you own, perfectly curated with pinterest precision? My fellow “Elder Millenials,” as comedian Iliza Shlesinger refers to us, know the fault lines of this narrative well.

Time crept by and Jolene crept in (more to come on that later) and as my shame slowly dissipated over my “life status” at thirty something, my notion of what makes a “happy home” started to shift. One day I realized how much joy walking into my little haven made me feel. Small, but tidy and beautiful. Everything in its place and with a function, (mandatory in small quarters such as mine). Slow burning candles and Saje essential oils twirling in the background create a serene and cozy lair.

The funny thing is, I come home for the peaceful solitude, but I stay for the company. Scott Street hums with the lively pitter patter of a 4 year old’s sprints up and down the hallway chasing remote control cars and the thumps of his 11 year old sister’s ballet classes and TikTok outtakes. Then of course there’s the occasional (and inevitable) shout to “get in the bath, bud!” All of these subtle yet familiar sounds are the signs of life upstairs, the Lindners, with Jolene at the helm.

Letting Jolene into your home is like being embraced in a big warm blanket. She’s welcoming and inclusive, funny and playful. The more I got to know Jolene, the more my “garden unit apartment” blossomed into a home and a haven. A measurement here, a suggestion there. A forwarded link with a possible “patio enhancement,” with the ever implicit, “Don’t tell Tony” (Tony is Jolene’s husband). All of this served with a side of wine and giggles. I highly recommend you let Jolene into your home. Did I mention she’s an interior designer?

Welcome to Stories from Scott Street. Here we’ll share stories from behind the scenes of JL Interior Design. What it's like to make little changes that go a long way and sometimes how turning it all upside down lets you put it right-side up. Since in today’s world, home is where you eat, sleep, work, educate your children, socialize virtually from a physical distance, exercise, relax, fight, laugh, cry, and create, we’ll be sharing All. Of. The. Things. We’ll keep it real, make it playful and do it with a sense of humor and of course, style.

Join us here next week for a four part series, “The Neighbors Upstairs,” where each week I introduce you to one of the Lindner family members, from my purview as the downstairs neighbor. You’ll get to know Jolene “at home” and from multiple perspectives. Intimate? Maybe. But so is picking out furniture together, amiright?

xo,

Sam, The Neighbor Downstairs

Next week: Part I. Jolene. Scope Creep.

What happens when a stranger becomes a neighbor becomes a friend becomes a business associate.