In June 2017, Jon and Brandi Ward took their side job to the next level by turning their modern farmhouse into a full-time design and build company. The husband and wife duo founded Chestnut Living — the fast-growing home improvement, interior design, and lifestyle brand.
Brandi designs. Jon builds. But, Brandi says she’s not like the typical interior designer. She also helps Jon with project construction, saying she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.
“We have always loved anything to do with homes and designing,” Brandi says. “This has been our dream to do this since we’ve been together.”
The “Chestnut” in their brand name comes from Brandi’s grandmother, who named the family property where Jon and Brandi live “Chestnut Oaks.”
“Our mission for this company is to create a simpler way of life for folks by helping them create a haven they love, hence the ‘Living,’” Brandi says. “So, Chestnut Living was born. ‘A simple way of life.’”
The Greenville natives will open their home at 6 Hawkins Road to the community for its first spring market. The three-day shopping event will be March 15-17.
The home-turned-storefront gives the community a chance to purchase spring decor, home goods, gifts, and other Chestnut Living merchandise. Marketgoers can also gather design inspiration from Jon and Brandi’s decorated home.
“Our purpose for hosting [a] spring market is to offer products to our local community that encompass the simplistic lifestyle that we embraced in our own family,” Brandi said. “Pieces available during market have been handpicked to craft a well-designed home in a way that brings families together and creates a space for entertaining friends.”
The spring market will also offer pieces from Upstate artisans and African-sourced textiles, which support the economic development of African women.
The Chestnut Living online shop will also be available after the spring market.
The high school sweethearts envisioned Chestnut Living long before it became reality. Looking at homes and watching HGTV for date nights, Jon and Brandi began creating their own ideas for the future.
Brandi says she has always been a holiday enthusiast and uses those times to try new things and stretch her design creativity.
“I always enjoyed creating a space that people enjoyed coming to,” she says. “I would change my room around all the time,” Brandi says of her younger years spent trying all the new interior design trends.
In time, Jon grew his construction skills and passion for woodworking. Meanwhile, Brandi studied interior design at Anderson University. The two were on the right path to becoming the Upstate’s very own version of Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper.”
“We have always been DIYers since we dated, but really started doing it as a side job in 2012 by building tables and bed swings,” Brandi says. The switch to full-time designing and creating last summer created a nonstop job for the husband and wife, parents of two daughters, ages 10 and 12.
“It’s like living in a store — so you eat, sleep, breathe Chestnut Living,” Brandi says. Constantly thinking about home and work, Jon and Brandi get few hours of sleep, using most of their waking hours to think of new projects.
“We do a little of everything, and I think that is what makes it so fun,” Brandi says. “Something different every day. It can be a lot to juggle, but it keeps us going.”
They do everything from remodels to personalized things like “she sheds.” Jon recently built a large chicken coop and a pump house, and Brandi is working on many interior design jobs.
Together, they are working on a variety of projects, including remodeling a venue in an old cotton mill in Simpsonville. Several kitchen remodels are also in the works.
“We have homeowners who just need a little advice to homeowners who need everything. It is fun to help a client dream up something and see it come to pass,” Brandi says. “I really enjoy working with Jon, because as a team we can really achieve the look the client wants.”
For more information, visit www.chestnutliving.com.
