I saw a funny meme the other day: “Throw pillows are the stuffed animals of grown women.” How true is that? I can’t quite understand it, but men just don’t seem to value pillows like us women do :) I recently added a whole stack to our couch. Ryan, of course, was super pleased. This…
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A few more updates in the kitchen
One year ago (almost to the day!) I shared our MINI KITCHEN MAKEOVER. You’ve probably heard me say this a million times, but I’ll say it again: our big plan is to tear out the whole kitchen and dining room and reorient everything. New walls, new windows, new doors, new layout, new cabinets, new floors,…
Dark + Woodsy Dining Room Makeover
Right before Christmas, we decided to give our dining room a makeover. It wasn’t really on our immediate house-reno list since our ultimate plan is to take out the wall between the dining room and kitchen to open up the space and reconfigure the floorplan. However, we were hosting all of our family for Christmas…
Christmas in the entry and living room
One year ago, we were mid- one million projects around the house. On Christmas Eve, we finally hung the shelves in the freshly made-over kitchen and my parents were so gracious to come help us clean and hide moving boxes in preparation for our family to come the next day. This year, we’re hosting our…
Homemade wreaths in the family room
I posted this photo on Instagram yesterday of the project I did the night before: Cute homemade wreaths hanging on a branch. I wasn’t planning on doing a full tutorial – this one was just something I wanted to put on that big, blank wall over the couch to enjoy for the Christmas season. But…
Jingle Bell Garland DIY + Christmas Studio
While I haven’t done a full house Christmas decoration yet, I did play around in the studio to make it all cheerful and Christmas-y. The studio space sits atop our garage and is where I work most days. It is bright and open and has turned out to be such a good use of this…
there is always, always something to be grateful for
Last year I was invited to participate in an event at our local Room + Board to makeover a section of the store with a holiday theme. I was so happy with how my room turned out and realized last night that I never shared it with you! Each of us designers chose a different…
A DIY pillow inspired by the new Magnolia Hearth + Hand line
Oh, new Magnolia Hearth + Hand line at Target, you are adorable. I ordered a few things this weekend and while I was in the store earlier this week, I saw the whole collection (or at least what was left of it in my store) in person. One of the items I almost bought was…
fall-ing up the front porch (but don’t get your hopes up too high)
You know those gorgeous front porches decorated for fall with cascading pumpkins and overflowing flower pots? (Maybe something like this?) Yeah, if you came over to our house, you wouldn’t see one of those. What you would see is my half-hearted attempt to bring life to our charming, yet totally dated front porch. Let me…
7 decorating essentials to have in every room
I have been a lifelong lover of home decorating. I remember watching decorating shows with my mom as a little girl, visiting our local Street of Dreams, studying my favorite rooms in old issues of House Beautiful, Country Living, Better Homes + Gardens, Blueprint and (my personal favorite) Cottage Living. I’ve learned from my mom, my…
Put a bird on it … an inexpensive art option
I know birds might be a little cliche, but I actually really do like them. I am always drawn to art with birds, fabric with birds (especially this!), these chairs – oh how I want them in my house, and even clothes (like this dress for me and this adorable sweater for Audrey). Years and…
Fall touches in the studio
I told myself I wasn’t going to get into Fall mode until after last weekend. Audrey had her first soccer game, we celebrated Brady’s 12th birthday (what?!) and the Seahawks played (sad loss, but I’m trying to forget it). I saw my first falling leaf of the season and our hydrangeas have changed into the…
why I still make the bed even though our mattress is on the floor
Today is National Make Your Bed day (did you even know there was such a thing?!). Several months ago, Crane & Canopy offered to send us a new Belgian linen duvet and sham set and I, of course, said yes. If you’ve been around here for long, you know that I have a longstanding thing…
The Best Gold And Brass Picture Frames
The right frame puts the finishing touch on art. Brass and gold has been trending for a while, but until recently, it’s been hard to find a good minimal brass metal frame. I have gathered six of my favorite frame options at varying quality and price points to help narrow down the perfect picture frame…
Updates and decorating (finally!) in the family room + kitchen
Our house is not done. We have so much more to do with it, so many ideas and plans and sometimes it can feel a little frustrating to have the vision, but have to wait to bring it all to reality. I do my very best to look around and see all the things we…