Hi, I am Kate, and this is my first post for my blog at Kate Rossing Design. I hope this blog can be a place for me to share my work, my inspiration, and where you can get to know me. A successful interior project is accomplished by first forming a relationship; a relationship with the clients and a relationship with the space. I want you to get a little glimpse into my mind, and even into my heart as a first step in forming that relationship with you. I am calling my first post "Chasing Dreams" because that is really what these last several years of my life have been all about.

Dream 1: Marry the perfect guy

We met in Madison, Wisconsin and in 2011 my husband Phil and I traveled back to my home town to get married. I grew up in Sturgeon Bay on the Door County Peninsula of Wisconsin and I would not have dreamed of getting married anywhere else. On a hot and humid July day I saw this dream come true. Just the kind of temperatures I hate, but I was willing to sacrifice a bit of comfort to the heat in order to get my life started with Phil and soon as possible, and I am glad I didn't wait. That was the day I stopped dreaming alone and it was the key to making so many more dreams possible. Here we are on the shores of Lake Michigan at Whitefish Dunes, just south of Bailey's Harbor. One of my favorite spots on the peninsula.

Dream 2: Buy an old house with a ton of character where I can let my creative juices run wild

A year into our marriage we were able to purchase an historic 1920's Tudor Revival home in the heart of Madison, WI. Just blocks from my Alma Mater (U Ra Ra! Wisconsin!) Our closing day photo. Seems like so long ago! Back when we were bright eyed first time home owners who regularly got a full nights sleep.

Dream 3: Have a baby with that perfect guy I married

In 2013 my husband and I welcomed our first child, our daughter Bernadette. This is around the time my sleep game really started to suffer, but life got so much sweeter!

Dream 4: Have another baby with said perfect guy

Less than two years later we welcomed our son, Francis. Though we were set to move in a few short months, I still wanted a nursery for Francis. So I put together a modest little space for him. It's featured in my Projects page.

Dream 5: Build a house on the lake to raise our babies

My husband had a 40 min commute to work and when I found out I was pregnant with our son, we started looking for a house closer to Phil's office. Family time was always a priority, but knowing there was going to be more little ones to spend that time with made it even more precious, so finding a home closer to Daddy's office became a priority as well.

Having been spoiled by the beauty and character of our first home we searched for one with a similar vibe. Not having much luck in that particular market we flirted with the idea of building and, in the end, that is what we did. By some miracle we found a lot off Lake Wisconsin that we could afford to put a house on! We didn't get to see all our dreams for that house come to fruition, but I think that just means they are meant for someone else. We bid a sad farewell to our Tudor and moved into new construction.

We learned that budget is everything in the building and design process. We made many compromises and scratched a lot of things we wanted off the list. In the end we got more time as a family, a beautiful home and plenty of ideas for future projects. More dreams left to chase in this house as we continue to execute our vision for it.

Dream 6: Have another baby with that perfect guy

Some of those "house project dreams" may not happen as soon and we thought, as a bigger dream came true. This past summer, we welcomed our third child, another daughter, Hildegard. A family of five! That happened fast.

Dream 7: Launch my very own design business

My whole life I have wanted to create beautiful spaces. As a kid I was giddy the day the new Pottery Barn catalog arrived in the mail. I plopped myself on the couch and quickly got to work choosing all the furniture for my imaginary house. At 13 I tackled my first project. My mom gave me the freedom, and the capital, to paint, furnish and decorate the 10' x 10' corner of the world that was mine. I chose a celadon green for my walls and, after watching many hours of Christopher Lowell (bonus points if you remember him!) chose a lighter shade from the color card and had my dad paint that on the ceiling. (a method CL was a proponent of) Two key pieces in my design were a media armoire and a cumbersome, but comfortable, papasan chair that I just barely squeezed in the space. My style has definitely matured since then, but I think I did pretty good for 13! I wonder if the papasan chair will ever make a comeback?

I think that gets us caught up. It has been quite a ride, but as I reflect on all that has come and gone in our lives since we began I realize has not just been about "Chasing Dreams", in order to catch a dream, bring it closer, and make it real we have to build a bridges to them. My whole life the function and feel of the space around me has been important and though I have taken a winding road to get here (perhaps I will share more about that another day) now is the time to take to plunge into design and bridge my dream with reality. I hope one day I can help you achieve some of your own. Whether it's personally designing a room for you or just providing you inspiration with my work. Stay tuned, I am excited to share with you.

More to come.

-Kate

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