Wood is a great transitional option, especially in the kitchen, as it denotes the warmth of winter decor but also (depending on the finish) can also reflect the “hominess” of spring. So for my latest (and first of 2020) installment of my kitchen color guide, let’s shop some wood!
Read MoreTablescaping isn't exclusive to dining tables, although this time of year, it's often assumed that it is. Any time you're decorating a tabletop surface and/or creating a sort of flat surface vignette -- dining table, coffee table, fireplace mantle, console table, sideboard, bar cart, bookshelf — YOU'RE TABLESCAPING!
Read MoreWe're back with another installation of the kitchen color series! And I figured what better color to do during the winter than the cool hues of blue. If you read my High Point Market trends forecast from Fall 2018 market, then you know that one of the color families that was very prevalent at market was denim blue hues. We’ve got some navy, some royal, some aqua…a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
Read MoreThe all white kitchen trend is one that every season people wonder if it’s over. But here’s the thing — there is more than one way to achieve an “all white kitchen” look. If the trend of all white everything is one that you’re holding on to with both hands and/or have secretly been coveting for your own home, you can totes get your wish without doing a complete overhaul of your cabinets and counters. For this installment of my kitchen color guide series we’re tackling the ever so popular (or hated) white on white!
Read MoreThis year blush pink as definitely become a growing trend in fashion & home decor, serving almost as neutral and getting paired with lots of metal tones and/or dark dramatic hues. But despite, it's growing popularity, it's definitely one of those colors that is a kitchen challenge — how do you do it without dredging up old school kitchen nostalgia?
Read MoreCopper (really metallic tones) have become increasingly popular in design and is one of the easier ways to really jazz up your decor; however, done incorrectly, you can go all the way wrong.
So I've put together 20 of my favorite copper kitchen finds for your shopping pleasure.
One of my favorite presentation styles as a merchandiser was color blocking but specifically using ROYGBIV to display merchandise. What’s ROYGBIV? ROYGBIV is an acronym for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet — aka the rainbow. With June being LGBT Pride Month, I have been reminded of how a rainbow — ROYGBIV — can be a fun and vibrant addition to any space! Since shopping Amazon is one of my favorite past times here are my ROYGBIV inspired finds for the entire home.
Read MoreSo often when I'm working on a design the biggest dilemma tends to revolve around color -- picking colors, matching colors, using colors -- so I thought it be cool to share some of my "wisdom" on color!
One things that has been a priority for me in this space is having a fitness area. I have resolved that I won't be returning to the gym in the near (or even distant) future but I also can't let my hesitation/distrust of public gyms to cripple my fitness journey. In the past year, my health habits have tanked, specifically my physical health, and so I needed to give myself a space - even a small one - to comfortably workout.
To accomplish this, I made a few considerations -
my preferred type of workouts
my workout schedule
my equipment storage when not in use
After we moved in last Fall, we spent the next couple of months tackling a number of projects. Aside from a crippling case of creative fatigue, it also shown a light on all the many ways we needed to improve the least designed part of the house: the garage.
Read MoreLast week I shared my design intentions for the flex lounge... and I say intentions because things are always liable to change...
In starting this project, I've already resolved to spend as little as possible, even resisting the urge to buy all the organizing things is harder than you'd imagine. There are things I need and then there are the things that I want. My very rough draft shopping list includes -
• a new desk for more surface area
• a new ergonomic desk chair
• a proper place for our printer (and maybe even a new printer eventually)
• wall storage for the mini
• contained storage for fitness equipment
• paper organization
And within the aforementioned list, things get a bit more detailed and itemized... a wishlist of sorts depending on what direction the design ends up taking.
Read MoreMy love of using planners stems from my love of writing - I sincerely believe in the power of putting pen to paper! And while I have always been this way, in my big age, I have accepted that if I don't write something down, it's likely not gonna get done. Because of this, I love me some planners, notebooks, notepads, post-its, and calendars!
Getting to this new planner system took A LOT of trial & error, but I love it just in the same ways (and for many of the same reasons) that I love organizing my home so it was worth all the effort to find a system that works.
Read MoreI consider this to be our "flex" space because it is a multipurpose room - our shared work area, the mini's homeschool turned activity area, and my workout area (the mister prefers a gym environment). It's also our flex space because we need it to be, well, FLEXible - unlike the other areas I've completed so far (living room, media room, laundry room, bonus bedroom, and kitchen) a year from now... three years from now... five years from now... the way we use the space could be completely different. Agility, when comes to the design of this space, is a top priority. That said, I don't want to make too many permanent decisions and I don't want to spend a ton of money. I hope be able to use things we already have & where purchases need to be made, hopefully they'll be with us for a while.
And lastly, this room is in many ways, as the kids would say, a "flex" because we went from not having dedicated areas for activities, work, and fitness to now having a whole room to do exactly that... aka another one of my "must be nice" rooms crossed off the design bucket list.
P.S. in case you don't get the "must be nice" reference, you may wanna check out this ORC post from last year.
Read MoreMy Amazon purchases during Q3 were small and lifestyle in most cases... and better said, they were small but mighty — purchases that would enhance our day to day behaviors in some small way...
Read MoreWhen I got the call to be part of this year's One Room Challenge — one year after being a featured designer for the first ever virtual ORC — I knew it was exactly the kick in the pants I would need to (1) start blogging again, because it has definitely also been 8 weeks since the last time I posted, and (2) to finally finish work on one room in the house that we've been tip toeing around since the day we moved in — the flex lounge.
Read MoreNow that it's over, and I can finally catch my breath, I've been thinking about all the details that went into actualizing the complete renovation of the kitchen. Usually with my behind the design posts, I get into the nitty gritty of the project, including the costs — the dollars and the cents. Needless to say the kitchen renovation has been my largest project to date, and with that, the most costly.
As a full time content creator, however, the kitchen also became my job, with one of the benefits being able to partner with brands to bring my design to life. These partnerships offset a lot the typical costs of the renovation... also making it a touch more difficult to give you an accurate final total.
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