Home Tour: More of My House

For those of you who've followed me for a while, you know I've shared bits and pieces of my home in several posts. Truth is, I anticipated doing a home tour on the blog a whole two years ago, but it seemed like my house was never picture ready for me. If I'm being honest, there are still tons of touches I would have liked to have added before these photographs, but well, making a house a home takes time. So, we will just consider this a work in progress.

Nonetheless, here's a little peek at the majority of our home. Our spare bedroom is still a larger non-picture-ready work in progress, so it's not included just yet.

You may wonder why I'm showcasing yet another home on my blog. Well, I recently did some photo work for my fabulous builder, so I figured, why not showcase some of his work, my work, and the different beautiful design styles of the homeowners? If you're in the area and in need of a builder recommendation, I'd be so happy to pass his name to you.

Keeping with the spirit we had for Caitlin's home tour post, I'll be answering the same questions as they fit into my tour.

WHAT INSPIRES YOUR DESIGN STYLE?

I'd define my design style as a mix of warm/cozy, architectural, and ecclectic. I love clean creams and white space, but nothing too girly. I feel like the architectural style I've incorporated with certain pieces helps keep things clean and classic, without too many frills.

Warm tones and soft pieces, such as the perfect throw, will warm up any room and make visitors feel invited. You may notice with both my portrait sessions and design style, I use the word cozy often. Warm, cozy, and inviting are what I want people to feel both when they meet me and when they enter into my home.

WHERE ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO SHOP FOR YOUR HOME?

Target, TJ Maxx, World Market, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware,  and resale shops.

WHAT ASPECT OF YOUR HOME DO YOU LOVE THE MOST?

I really love our dark stained concrete floors that are cohesive in every single room of our house. When building, I knew I didn't want carpet. Hardwood floors were out of our budget for this home, so stained concrete was our next most cozy, clean, and sleek option. I feel like they really make a statement, especially paired with my lighter design elements to give the feel I wanted when people walk into my home.

We also opted for one sink in our master bath instead of two. I know this one is a personal preference, as some people do prefer his and her sinks, but for me, more counter space was a much more practical plan.

EVERYONE ENDS UP HAVING SOMETHING THEY WISH THEY WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY WHEN BUILDING A HOUSE. AFTER LIVING IN IT FOR A BIT OF TIME NOW, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY OR INCLUDED?

Well, we knew when building that this wouldn't be our last home; thus, we'd have to skip out on some key elements we wanted. Financially, purchasing a home was a smarter move for our situation than renting, but we knew we weren't building our dream home here. Higher ceilings, hardwood floors, crown molding are all elements I would love, but aren't deal breakers for me at this time.

The two main things I do wish we had after living in our home for several years now are a screened in patio (or just a covered porch area at all really) and a pocket door for our master bath toilet area. Other than that, based on the budget we had to work with, I really am very happy with the choices we made during the building process.

WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO’S NOT SO DESIGN SAVVY, WHEN MAKING THEIR HOUSE A HOME?

Look at big name places that fit your style (ie. Restoration Hardware, West Elm, Crate and Barrel) and then find pieces on a budget that have similar styles. TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and even World Market are GREAT options for this. I've purchased so many pieces that looked extremely similar to something I was eyeing at Restoration Hardware at one of the aforementioned discount stores.

With both clothing and home design, I believe there's a balance in more expensive quality pieces and budgetary choices. For example, it was important to me to purchase a couch for quality, comfort, and design, regardless of budget because I knew that if I did, it would be a piece that would last much longer than a cheaper buy. On the other hand, my accent chairs are bought on extreme sale or resale shops. It's all about balance.

I hope you've loved a little peek into our home! Feel free to comment any questions below. Happy Tuesday, friends!

Home Tour: My Neighbor's Rustic-Chic Home

As you probably know by now, all things aesthetically pleasing make me all warm and fuzzy inside. From the way Starbucks graphically designs their napkins, to the clothes my clients choose for sessions, to the way houses are decorated--these are just a few of the many things that give me that ooey gooey feeling that makes me wanna curl up with a book and a nice warm mug filled with a frothy Chai tea latte.

Along with fashion, food, and other heartfelt posts, sharing beautifully designed local dwellings has been another goal of mine. As all topics I often peruse the internet for myself (and the age of Pinterest), I figured, why not host them right here? So, here you go!

My next-door neighbors moved in about a year ago, and their house is impeccably decorated. It gives me such cozy feelings every time I walk inside. Caitlin, mom of two littles, has chic and classic design taste and an eye for all things soft. You might remember her from this mommy-daughter session I did a few months ago.

As you peruse through, Caitlin also gives a few tips on what inspires her taste the most and where she finds some of her best buys. See for yourself...

WHAT INSPIRES YOUR DESIGN STYLE?

 Before Robby and I got married, he lived in an apartment in downtown Hammond. My favorite part of the apartment was the exposed brick walls. I knew I wanted to include brick in the interior of our home.

 I love combining both masculine and feminine ideas. The rustic look of the brick worked nicely to toughen up the cream colored furniture and spindly, cursive shape of the chandeliers. For every ruffle pillow and vase of flowers, I hope to have a touch of leather, burlap or dark wood. I never wanted to be one who turned away mounted deer horns if they mean a lot to the proud hunter.

 I want everyone to have a point of view with what they'd like to see in our home. I'll have to remember that when Weston wants Ninja turtles in his room. :)

WHERE ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO SHOP FOR YOUR HOME? Discoveries, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Z Gallerie, TJ maxx, Target, and antique stores.

WHAT ASPECT OF YOUR HOME DO YOU LOVE THE MOST?    I really love our open concept style living room/kitchen. It's great for cooking while watching babies.    I also really like the way our kitchen turned out; namely how the living room brick is repeated in the backsplash. It really helps the cream cabinets pop and gives the area a cohesive look. 

EVERYONE ENDS UP HAVING SOMETHING THEY WISH THEY WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY WHEN BUILDING A HOUSE. AFTER LIVING IN IT FOR A BIT OF TIME NOW, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY OR INCLUDED?

With two babies we seem to have toys all over. Adding a play room would keep all of their toys closed in a room and not scattered in the living room. Thank goodness we have some closed storage for their toys! WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO'S NOT SO DESIGN SAVVY, WHEN MAKING THEIR HOUSE A HOME? Establish a theme and invest in a few furniture pieces that represent that style. Our theme is definitely rustic and once we decided to go in that direction, we had a starting point.

There are SO many easy ways to decorate on a budget. I love to breathe new life into old furniture by using Annie Sloan chalk paint to give it a new look. I have 10+ pieces of furniture that were hand-me-downs or throw aways that I tweaked or painted and worked into our design.

Happy Thursday, my friends!

Home Tour: Making My House a Home

I've been wanting to do a home tour post for about two years now, seeing as we moved in our new home almost two-and-a-half years ago. But, along with many other things I've learned about being a first-time home owner is that, making your house a home takes some TLC. Houses are bigger than apartments and putting a personal touch to each room takes time--and a waiting game with my bank account. For me, I knew I liked a clean Restoration Hardware-esque feel to my design style, but I also knew that I wanted to incorporate some personal and eclectic elements that were reminiscent of who we are and the things that we love. I also knew that while I love whites and creams, I still wanted the house to have a masculine chic-meets-mid-century feel to it.

Also, since I'm trying to gauge who's reading this blog (or if it's just my mom) and what kinds of things YOU like to read about, I'd love for you to leave a little comment! Especially if you have questions about where anything in this post is from. If there are any requests as to where I got certain things, I'll do another post outlining those things specifically.

I still have many design plans floating around in my head to finish it off, but I did want to share with you our stand-still progress that will at least hold me over for a bit longer, until I can purchase a few finishing pieces. For example, the wall below is what will eventually be a full-blown gallery wall composed of art, hand-painted literary quotes, geekery, and a small bookshelf with our favorite classic novels--among a few other odds and end pieces I've got floating around in my brain. Nonetheless, for now, I love the beginnings of it so much that I was ready to share. It's just very telling of some key interests that make up who we are.

The hutch above actually normally has a TV on it, but someone is currently borrowing our TV and I was really digging the temporary setup and mid-century vibes inhabiting the blank space. Maybe the TV will find a new home when it returns in another space in our house...

Cozy creams here, with a bit of an architectural vibe. This isn't a full shot of my coffee table, but it's one of my most favorite pieces in my home. It really brings together the space.

My newest and most favorite addition to our living room is the white shag area rug above. There is just nothing that pulls together a room and gives it a nice cozy feeling like an appropriate area rug. 

My dining area was a little more difficult to photograph, and as all home owners end up having regrets about certain choices in the building process, mine here would be the choice of lighting in my dining area. But, it does it's job, so I really cannot complain. We chose more industrial-styled fixtures for the bar area over the high counters and that's more of the feel I would choose for the dining area if I could go back in time. It also made getting this shot a little frustrating for my clean-cut tendencies. But, despite that, after adding the area rug under my table, my dining area feels complete to me. And just because I felt it appropriate to end this post with a little Star Wars for the super geek in my house...

I hope you loved a little peek into parts of my home!