At Home With Our Designers: How To Breathe New Life Into Your Living Room
Easy Updates and Working With What You Already Have
During this time of social isolation, staying home, and spending much more time looking at pesky “to-do” lists, everyone seems to be taking on new projects, moving their furniture around, and looking for ways to update their living spaces. In the past few weeks, we've seen everything from re-styling shelves, to full-on home makeovers.
However, we believe transformations don't always need to be drastic. Sometimes all you need is a plant here, a vase there, and a few new pillows to update an old sofa!
On today’s post, we want to show you how to work with what you’ve already got. That’s right, we’re going back to basics! We’re talking about paint, pillows, and a little ingenuity. Last week, we met with our lead designer Holly to see what kind of projects she has taken on since quarantine and hear her tips on updating living spaces.
When it comes to the details, Holly is an expert at creating beautiful spaces by reimagining and repurposing elements. One project she took on a few months ago was refreshing her living room fireplace to create a totally different aesthetic.
Where did you draw inspiration from for your fireplace makeover?
It originally started as a white fireplace on a white wall and was lacking every bit of charm. I've always loved black accents that make bold design statements within a room- I painted it black without any hesitation.
Tell us a bit about the process of redoing your fireplace.
It's quite simple really- paint is the easiest, most cost effective way to update a room, highlight an architectural element, or even transform furniture. The best advice I can give on painting any object is to research the type of paint you want to use, the material you are applying it to, and whether the application should be, brush, spray, or a special technique.
Another way Holly keeps things fresh in her home is by switching up her sofa pillows which she tells us are inevitably used as chew toys by her adorable little Corgi. Here are a few tips on textiles.
What pillows and decor do you look for when styling your own home?
I advise clients to have fun with pillows and small decor as they are the most versatile pieces in the whole house. From a financial standpoint pillows can be interchanged much more easily than furniture pieces or artwork. They are a supporting style to the investment you make in your large furniture pieces. Change your pillows out seasonally, as the trends evolve, or for a different color vibe in your space. Days of matchy-matchy are out. Mix it up with a variety of colors, textures from leather to velvet, and patterns in stripes, boho organics, or bold florals. Overwhelmed with what colors to start with? Pull inspiration from color pallets in your artwork or pictures.
My dog's name is Clarke. He loves mum's pillows too. So much, sometimes he destroyed them. He helps to keep the pillow schemes circulating.
Here are a few more tips for restyling:
Start fresh by clearing out the space you intend to re-style. Once everything is cleared out, take it one area at a time allowing yourself to step back and see each space as an empty canvas.
If you're re-styling a built-in or shelf, consider replacing books and objects in another area, perhaps re-purposing them in an entryway or coffee table.
The best part of clearing or organizing your things is re-discovering treasures you may have forgotten about. Perhaps it’s pretty bowl you find in a kitchen cabinet that could be styled on a console table or dining table.
You will be surprised how quickly you can transform a space by changing out your rugs! Rugs can create refreshing moments by bringing pops of color, texture, and patterns into play. You can find rugs from all price points, so it can be fairly inexpensive to update them.
You don’t have to completely repaint your walls to get a new look. Try removing everything off of the walls and start finding new ways to place your favorite pieces to bring a different element to the space. Try finding art pieces that bring you joy, perhaps a colorful abstract piece or a super textured tapestry.
As the weather warms up, getting outside can allow us to find more inspiration. Much like our homes, the changing of the seasons resembles how we re-style, re-discover, and re-imagine our homes to bring us more joy!. Don’t be afraid to try different things and take risks! Sometimes you can be surprised at what you discover.
At Home With Our Designers: Picture Ledge How-To With Holly
Here's what you need to know before you make plan your gallery wall.
Here's what you need to know before you make you plan your art gallery wall.
A colorful and curated art gallery wall can bring life to any space. They're often rich in color and pattern and celebrated as a statement piece. Yet they can also function as a home to special memories and complement many different aesthetics, even the more minimalistic. How do you know what to look for when selecting shelves for your wall or better yet, how do you style your shelves? To answer these questions and more, we tapped our lead designer, Holly. Here, she guides us through the pursuit of the perfect wall, from her home to yours!
Holly’s passion for creating beautiful spaces is reflected in the overwhelming feeling of happiness you get when you enter her home. Perfectly kept Pothos, Philodendron, and Snake Plants burst with color, and every corner is beautifully styled with vintage and eclectic decor. It was such a pleasure to sit down with her and talk style, design, and her own future DIY projects, which I will be sharing with you all in the upcoming weeks. Here’s her guide to doing your own gallery wall at home.
IT’S ALL ABOUT PRACTICALITY
Q1: How did you come up with the idea to utilize a bare wall like an art gallery wall?
Holly: Collage gallery walls can be challenging in that they require a thought out wall arrangement and take a tedious time to measure and hang for the perfect spacing. This art shelf allows art to be instantly interchanged and arranged without the headache of nail holes!
MEASURE YOUR WALL
Q2: Tell us a bit about the process of finding the right shelves and mounting.
Start by measuring your wall so you can get an idea of what type of shelves and sizes are appropriate for your wall. These shelves from IKEA come in a variety of widths which made it easy to pair the exact sizes to span the whole wall for a custom-built look. Installation only requires a hand drill, a level, and some patience.
Mix and Match
Q3: What are some easy tips for decorating shelves like a pro?
Pick a frame color combination/scheme and stick with it. Black and white frames are always a good choice. I mixed in a few gold frames as an accent color. Wood frames of the same stain or contrasting colors also work well. Select frames in a variety of sizes and artwork of both horizontal and vertical orientation. To finish off a great shelf art gallery; mix in object accessories- live plants or handmade items always make a statement.
A REFLECTION OF YOU
Q4: Out of all the pieces on your shelves, which is your favorite?
Art displays are very personal in that they highlight one's taste and interests in art or memories of places traveled, but I would say that most people enjoy showcasing their family the most. It is true for me as well, my favorite picture on my shelves is an adorable moment shared by my grandparents. This was the last photo ever taken of them together as my grandfather passed two months after that photo was taken, a treasure captured. :)
Special thanks to Holly for opening up her beautiful home to us. Next week we’ll have another guide from our designers at home so be sure to stay tuned!
Behind The Scenes: 1000 & 1010 Daybreak
Happy Monday everyone, hope everyone is having a fantastic start to the New Year! Back at the office, we are chugging along with several new construction and remodel projects. This week, we are sharing a behind-the-scenes look at 1000 and 1010 Daybreak Dr.
Although these two homes were actually built right next to each other, they couldn’t be more different in style and vibe. We will be sharing our design inspiration for both properties as well as a sourcing list!
1000 Daybreak Mudroom Hangers
1000 Daybreak Kitchen Before
1000 Daybreak Livingroom Before
Designer Holly Installing Fireplace Mirror
1000 DAYBREAK DESIGN STYLE
1000 Daybreak definitely has more of a modern design concept. We added some black accents such as the mudroom wall, black shelves in the living room, and we carried the black all the way to the master bath with some high-gloss black shower tile. The kitchen pendants and entryway light fixtures are both two really beautiful modern pieces and we love the juxtaposition of white fixtures with the warmth coming from the Meadowblu woven dining room chandelier. We also added a modern black railing to the main level, which plays into the overall modern feel of the home a bit more.
Inspiration
Color palette
We brought in black as our accent color, with a natural, clean color palette for the rest of the home. Neutral tones elevate the space and help it feel airy and open.
HOUSE TOUR
SHOP THE LOOK
1010 Daybreak
1010 Daybreak Before
1010 Daybreak Built-Ins Before
1010 Daybreak Kitchen Before
Intern Sonnie styling built-ins.
Design styLe
1010 definitely has more of a cottage, beachy vibe. As soon as you walk into the living room, you are greeted by these big windows that let tons of natural light in. The living room built-ins are painted in a light grayish/blue SW Misty 6232, and it just feels so light and peaceful. We did painted wood for the kitchen island and kept the rest of the kitchen design pretty simple. We wanted the warmth from the wood to really shine through.
iNSPIRATION
Color palette
HOUSE TOUR
SHOP THE LOOK
Thank you guys for taking the tour! We love being able to share these amazing projects with all of you guys and we look forward to having more of these behind-the scenes content to share in this new year!