The Finishing Touches

I have a question for the universe: why is it that the finishing touches for a room are always the hardest to find? I find that I'm so quick to buy the basic, big-ticket items. But what about the things that really pull everything together? 

If you're keeping track on Instagram, I'm 90% through a bedroom refresh. Have I only been living in my apartment for five months? Yes... but, I was living in a space that didn't feel like me. Most of the items were donations from my parents. Of course, I'm keeping that ones that mean something real to me - the pieces I look at and am reminded of either a memory, or a person, or an example of an awesome marriage and life. But, it was time to really make my very first solo apartment mine. You can see what is used to look like here. 

Ignore the grainy photos for now. I promise a full reveal soon! BECAUSE... drum roll. I have found the final two pieces that I needed to complete this space, thanks to Furniture.com. Now, I'm willing to bet if you all are anything like me, you guys can search for hours for the right items at good prices. I find those awesome sentimental, handmade, or thrifted pieces first. 

Then, I used Furniture.com to source the rest - on sale!! 

Their awesome "Find Local Sales" tool hooked me up with deals in the Washington, D.C. area. And what did I find?? 

Here is the space. Almost there, right? Can you guys guess what the finishing touches are? 
You'll have it wait to find out, but until then, check out Furniture.com for your own finishing touches or complete projects! 

Reader Design: Claire's Custom Space

Fall is officially here. It has me craving hot toddies at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, which is not quite acceptable yet - but we're almost there! It also has me keeping an eye open for perfect "trick-or-treating" homes, where parents & kids alike feel called to walk up to the front door. 

Today, I'm introducing you all to Claire from Vista, California, a small city just north of San Diego, where I can only imagine Halloween is perfect. 

Claire and her husband built this beautiful house two years ago and have been making it home with their son ever since! 
From Claire: 

“[Our home] has an open floor plan, clean lines, and tons of white, which all help in making it seem spacious and airy. I don’t know if color just terrifies me, but my home is mostly made of neutral tones. I love the mood set by natural wood against white walls. There are, however, some pops of color throughout the spaces. Anytime you see them, it is me being daring! ”

You all can probably tell this already, but Claire is a style mutt to the core. 

“When styling my home, I drew from a plethora of styles: modern, boho, industrial, shabby, farmhouse...I could go on and on! It is just important to me that the spaces feel light, minimal, and fresh, without feeling cold. One of the easiest ways to stay away from ‘cold’ when you want a minimal look is to decorate with things that have meaning. ”

One of the key indicators of a mutt is a love of moving things around - art, accessories, even huge furniture. That willingness to change spaces frequently, and swap in items of totally different styles, normally indicates a willingness to take risks. Even though Claire says she's a little intimated by color, I would beg to differ judging on her favorite piece! 

“A favorite piece is the blue dresser in the dinning room. This was the first piece of furniture my husband and I bought after getting married. We almost sold it a million times, because it was in our bedroom and I thought it was too ‘shabby’ for the look I wanted. However once I moved it to the dining room and coupled it with some modern pieces, I fell in love!”

“Another aspect of my decor is plant life. I love the freshness it brings to a room and the pops of green amongst my neutral decor. I swear, whenever you are in a decorating rut with a certain space, just add a plant and the problem is fixed! This is one design element I am always down to splurge on. That and my bed! ”

I'm all about beds these days {stay tuned for my bedroom refresh reveal soon!} and am totally supportive of Claire's splurge on that one!

Thank you, Claire for this insight into your beautiful home & life!
Follow Claire along on Instagram @clairealexis to get more peeks into her design and life as a mother in CA! 
Happy weekend, Mutts!

Reader Design: Brooke's Tranquil Tree House

The owner of this self-proclaimed "tree house" has it going on. Brooke is busy mothering, renovating her St. Louis home, operating her business, Sucre Shop, and managing the social media for West Elm St. Louis. WOAH! Color me impressed.

And, Brooke is a serious, self-diagnosed style mutt. From Brooke: 

“The house is mid-century modern, and that kind of simple, inside / outside aesthetic is what we wanted to stick with. But I’m no mid-century expert, and at the end of the day, I like what I like. It ends up being eclectic, and that doesn’t bother me at all.”

“I call our house the tree house because it is so open inside and open to the outside, with its huge sliding doors, floating stairs, and tall windows. I fell in love with the backyard that you could see from almost anywhere on the ground floor, but the house needed a ton of updating! ”

Every surface you see has been touched in some way or another - the tiger stripe bamboo floors which replaced a mix-match of carpet and hardwoods; the amazing orange that looks vintage but was a splurge Brooke and her husband agreed on early in the renovation process; the raw, uneven, and totally unique kitchen backsplash; and the bright walls that went in to cover up the stained woven wallpaper.

“We have so many windows on our ground floor that there isn’t actually much space for pictures or art. To fit in all the pieces that are special to us, we did a gallery wall around our TV in the living room. A smart friend recommended I use Command hooks to test things out and make sure I liked everything before I committed. It may be the best advice I’ve ever gotten!”

“The ‘I carried a watermelon’ poster on the wall is from Etsy and is a tribute to my childhood. Fun fact: I was an extra in the movie Dirty Dancing when I was 7 years old! I was doing the merengue in the gazebo in my Kellerman’s t-shirt! People get such a kick out of seeing that on my wall.”

Now, you can tell why Brooke calls her home a "tree house" - it's light, bright, and airy. The only problem? No privacy! Luckily, Brooke had a solution. 

“Our a master suite is a loft area above the living room. It used to be a sunken living room, which we converted into a closet, because there was so little closet space. The master bedroom has to be closed off with a cardboard accordion door. The huge sliders we put in give us privacy, but we can open them all the way and still have the open feel and views original to the house.”

We commend you, Brooke, for achieving beautiful design with some serious practicality! 
Follow Brooke along on Instagram and check out her shop! 

See you next week, Mutts!