Archive | holiday

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 prettiest dusty blue/green tones. It’s definitely fall.

Which means it’s time to add autumn touches around the house. I’ve said this before (probably with every new season), but one of the best parts of decorating with mainly neutral pieces is that it is so easy to switch out a few accessories, pillows, throws and artwork to give our home a seasonal feel.

I keep a small bin of autumn decorations (faux pumpkins, a few wreaths, acorns and collected feathers) and pulled them out this weekend to start in on the studio. It’s still early fall, so I didn’t want to go to dark and cozy quite yet, so I kept things light and fresh with just enough elements to make it feel like a change from summer.

chair | blanket | pumpkin canvas | shelves | linen file box | basket | Q&A book

I started with my white pumpkin painting canvas. You might remember the original from our old house (see it here). I had it professionally photographed and turned it into a reproducible canvas last year. I adore how it turned out! You can order one for your house here. The medium size is shown, but you can also get a smaller or larger version.

I just love how all of the textures play off of each other – baskets, shiny metals, antique frame, the little cotton wreath, wood desk, leather chair and wool blanket. This whole set up feels very true to my casual/layered style.

I found that green vase while walking through Home Goods a few weeks ago. I almost passed it up and then went back for it at the last minute. It just seemed like a good timeless piece to have on hand. And it looks so pretty with a branch popping out.

It is so nice to walk into the studio and see this pretty view first thing. I’ll keep making small changes in the rest of the space – and in the house as well – and will share more as the rooms come together. For now, I’m loving the touch of fall to this little corner of the studio.

desk | desktop | chair | pumpkin canvas | buffalo check blanket | lamp diy

Happy fall, my friends!

For more on the studio:

Before + After | The Initial Design Plan | Desk DIY

Spring Studio Tour | Summer Studio Tour

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 a sprint on those final few days.

Thankfully, my mom and dad stopped by the day before Christmas Eve and we put them straight to work. We unpacked boxes, moved things to the new studio (I can not wait to show you how it is shaping up!), hung pictures and coat hooks, made beds, put up garland, vacuumed, mopped, scrubbed and – my favorite part of all – installed the open shelves in the kitchen.

We are so excited about how the house is coming together. We are slowing making progress putting our touch in each room and it is truly transforming it.

I’ve shared a few photos on instagram and wanted to share more with you here on the blog.

I know it’s after Christmas and we’re all ready to take down the tree, clear out the garland and freshen up for the New Year, but the house looked so pretty and the sun was shining in and I just couldn’t resist snapping a few photos before our family came over on Christmas day. Enjoy the little peek into our house!

The living room went through phase one of it’s makeover with new paint on the walls, trim and ceiling. Just the paint changed this room completely (see the house when we bought it here).

I’ll talk more about this room, our vision for it and what we’ve done so far more in detail in the new year so stay tuned for more details. I will say, though, that the deep green/blue/gray on the walls (Ancestral by Behr paired with the same charcoal trim color that we used in the kitchen (Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams) is doing just what we hoped it would for the room: it’s feeling so cozy and moody in there.

We put our beloved linen chesterfield sofa in the living room and layered it with favorite textiles.

*the sofa came from a shop that is no longer in business, but I’ve done a little bit of research and found that it is this one. The sofa is only available to the trade, so click around and you should be able to find a retailer near you.*

The stripe blanket was a recent purchase – it is lightweight and those corner tassels are so good. The green velvet pillow is from Crate and Barrel and comes in an assortment of pretty colors. The white goat hide pillow is available in our House + Home Shop and is even better in person.

I love how the green and white on the left mixes with the blue ikat pillow (made by my mom with this fabric) and gorgeous modern leather pillow on the right. The leather pillow makes us want to add much more of that rich camel color in this room. I popped in an old Noel pillow for Christmas and will have to find a good replacement for it soon.

I have fireplace makeover DIY idea that I’m hoping to get to soon. But seriously, it is pretty amazing how different and updated it looks with just a new coat of paint.

Other than pulling off the wallpaper border, the dining room hasn’t been touched. It actually looked quite nice simply dressed with cedar garland, felt pom pom garland (no longer available from West Elm) and a runner made with wrapping paper, more greens from the backyard, white bottlebrush trees and candles in old silver cups.

The metal dining chairs from Restoration Hardware, doxology canvas is by Lindsay Letters, library shelf is from World Market.

The kitchen is my favorite transformation so far. Kinda crazy since we were not even planning on doing anything to the room until the big rip-it-all-out remodel we have in mind (read more about that here).

I will do the official kitchen reveal with before and afters and the budget breakdown soon. I can’t wait to show you the whole thing!

Ryan and I love entertaining and we’re so thankful for this place to welcome our family and friends in to. It was a mad dash to get things put together before our family came to celebrate and now that it’s over, it was worth every ounce of energy.