A little about us (and why we’re here)

I’m Kristen, a graphic designer with a compulsive need to improve everything around me in a way that blends form with function. Nick (the hubs) is a super chill, funny, athletic, and all around awesome guy, who’s also a construction inspector – the perfect zen yin to my high-strung yang. And if you can’t tell, I kind of like him. We don’t really seem to relax well, keeping ourselves challenged and busy with just about anything we can get our hands on, pairing his need to always be moving with my constant habit of endless problem solving, which has snowballed into a new adventure – sharing our love of projects with you. We want to demystify the DIY process and encourage you to start (or continue) to get your hands dirty along with us!

We’ve been together since freshman year of high school and have two big fur babies – a lightly freckled maybe Australian Shepherd-, maybe Great Pyrenees-mix who thinks he runs the show, and a 70-pound black lab who’s afraid of the dark and tries his darnedest to prove he’s a lap dog. Between spoiling our boys rotten and our love of projects, we’re always working on something, whether it’s transforming our first (and present) home, flipping a house, or renovating a vintage travel trailer (despite never having using one before). We’re sharing our detailed how-tos – stories, tips, tricks, failures and successes – as we tackle our passion projects and unique solutions to help you love any size space.

Our project credentials

So far, our track record includes:

• Renovating (and surprise, completely rebuilding!) a 1969 Cameo Travel Trailer for ourselves (to use for camping, tailgating, etc.);

• Flipping a large, basic two-story rental house into a warm, modern family-owned home; and

• Gradually and continually customizing our current (and first) home together – a nice, but basic ‘90s builder-grade house we bought back in 2012 – with what I like to call “rustic transitional” style*, adding cozy and functional things like wainscoting, built-ins, a screened-in porch and custom lighting;

  *Rustic transitional: Cozy and warm, and I suppose a nice way of me saying it doesn’t have to – and will never – be a spotless minimalistic home because, life y’all. Family heirlooms, occasional spills, realistic clutter and dog hair are a way of life around here, so we’ve chosen a style smush I feel somewhat embraces that awesome inevitability, while still packing a hearty design punch. It’s not totally slovenly, but I can almost guarantee it will never feel like a pristine, untouchable museum.

So, why “Lone Oak”?

Chosen after much consideration, Lone Oak Design Co. is a name whose inspiration is near and dear to our hearts. We wanted our name to mean something. One that was strong and stable, yet resilient, ever-growing, and had deep roots. The name of Nick’s family’s farm in Oklahoma, the Lone Oak Farm is an inviting place that holds many memories for us with some of the most amazing people we’ve been privileged to know and call family. We can think of no name more fitting for us as we continue to build our future together and share our on-grow-ing story with you.

We’re so happy you’ve found us and hope you enjoy our labors of love. If you have any questions, suggestions, or stories of your own, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to hear from you.

We love to bring beauty and function to our spaces, always challenging ourselves to build better, and hope through our stories, tips, tricks, successes – and yes, sometimes failures and subsequent pivots – we can inspire you to do it yourself and turn any space into one you love and never want to leave.

Let’s do this!