At long last, we have new carpet, trim and paint on the second and third floors. This was a big project we were hoping to do before we moved in last fall … but you know how things go … sometimes plans change. Our closing… Continue Reading…Remodeling the upstairs with new carpet, paint + trim
The studio is becoming such a pretty, inviting, inspiring place to work and create. When we moved in to the house, this space was just a big unfinished area above the garage. We finished it out with a little bit of framing, cleaned up the… Continue Reading…An Ikea Hack worth repeating | the studio desks
If you open up a magazine and look at any well-styled home, you’ll notice a designer’s best secret: plants. Since I’m a pretty good student and I do weird things like study the rooms I like, I’ve caught on to this fresh greenery idea and… Continue Reading…The one thing you can do today to perk up your home
Today I’m joining a group of talented bloggers on a Cozy Spring Home Tour hosted by Rachel from Shades of Blue Interiors + Country Living Magazine and sponsored by HomeGoods. Country Living wrote a great roundup article with 22 ways to decorate for spring pulling from… Continue Reading…Cozy Spring Home Tour | the new studio all prettied up
The drawers in the studio finally have hardware. It took forever to put them on and here’s why: I’m terrible at it. Seriously, terrible. I put the cabinet/drawer hardware on in the kitchen and pretty much every one is crooked. How is that possible when… Continue Reading…How to get the brass-look drawer hardware for (much) less
As I mentioned earlier this week, my friend and I ‘popped’ into IKEA last Saturday to grab a few things. It happened to be the grand opening weekend of the brand new massive store and it was literally busier than Disneyland. So many people. On… Continue Reading…The six things I bought at IKEA (and one thing I wish I bought)
Up in the studio (and throughout the whole house, actually), the outlets, light switches and wall plates are almond colored. I’m assuming this almond color was the standard back in 1992 when the house was built. Not a huge deal except that they look pretty… Continue Reading…how to camouflage outlet covers with wallpaper
As we are beginning to meet people in our new town, we’re finding that when they drop by, we end up chatting in the entry. The problem is, the entry is not the best representation of our style and what we’re doing in the rest… Continue Reading…Updating the Entry: painting the doors, trim + staircase
After all the back and forth and option-weighing, I decided the desk in the studio will stay as originally planned. We’ll adjust the chairs to raise them up a bit and call it good. I actually feel very happy with the decision and can continue on… Continue Reading…When you can’t find the table lamp you want, you improvise
Since the studio desk situation was hurting my creative brain, I moved on to coming up with a design plan for the hangout space up on the third floor. This house is just one big project and even though it would be great to go… Continue Reading…The third floor hangout room | a cozy, casual design plan
I set up a temporary desk in the studio last week and have loved working in this new space. The light is so good, it is quiet, big and open and the perfect backdrop for creative work. Spending more time up there made me extra excited… Continue Reading…Studio progress: there is an unexpected hiccup in the design plan
In our last house, the living room was open to the kitchen. It was our main hang-out space for hosting parties, hanging out with the kids and watching tv. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you’ll likely remember the shingled fireplace and tufted… Continue Reading…The Family Room Sectional was our best choice yet
Now that the shell of the studio is complete, it’s time to get to work on a design plan for how to best use the space. You would think that I would have had this all planned out for months, but nope. This is probably due… Continue Reading…A classic + modern design plan for the studio (I’m so excited!)
I truly love decorating. The act of taking a space and infusing it with personal style, putting order to something haphazard, making functional and aesthetic improvements to a space, this is one of my most favorite things to do. And based on the online conversations we’ve… Continue Reading…Discover your style + decorate with confidence
I hope you had a lovely Christmas! We have spent the past two days doing absolutely nothing and it feels amazing. Especially after the weeks of non-stop work on the house to get it ready for hosting. Whew! It was a marathon that turned into… Continue Reading…A little peek at our house this Christmas
