Oh Joy Gets Clever

Oh Joy!'s Founder Joy Cho Is Building a House—and We're Coming Along for the Ride

Watch the whole process unfold right here
Joy Cho with her husband and two kids in front of dirt pile
Photo: Lily Glass

Oh Joy! and Clever are teaming up to show you what it's really like to build a house from the ground up.

Hi, Clever! My name is Joy Cho, I'm the founder and creative director of a lifestyle brand called Oh Joy! In my daily life and in my business, I'm all about injecting a little bit happiness into every day. I live for fun colors, patterns, and mixing form with function in the ideas we come up with, products we make, and projects we create. I live in Los Angeles with my husband and two daughters, and we are about to embark on the biggest project of our lives . . . we're building a house! I'm so thrilled to share the process with you from start to finish, so follow me here and over at Oh Joy! to watch over the course of the year. Here's a little preview for you.

Video: Jenner Brown

So you might be thinking, Why on earth would you build a house vs. buying a house? Well, I might be crazy. But there are few reasons for it, which I will tell you right about now.

1. The cost of buying a home in L.A. is one of the highest in the country. Prior to deciding to build a house, we looked at homes and even put bids down on a couple in hopes of buying a house the way that most people do it. We got outbid and priced out of our budget many times. So, surprising to many, it's actually cheaper to build a house vs. buy a house here. You just need the patience to do it.

2. I've always dreamt of building a house "someday." I never thought that someday would be now until we compared the numbers of what we could get if we built vs. what we'd get if we bought something that would still involve renovations and fixer-uppers.

3. We became friends with a few architects who convinced us it was a smart move. We clearly have peer pressure issues. Now, one of them is also designing our house. Coincidence? I think not.

Photo: Lily Glass

In this series, I'll be sharing:

—How we found land
—How construction loans work
—Finding an architect and contractor
—Getting permits
—The architecture process
—The interior design process
—The construction process
And more.

I can't wait for share this journey with you!

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