Home Tour: My Decor Mentor

I have the lovely pleasure of sharing my friend Laura's house with you today. Laura is a graphic designer by trade that I had the pleasure of working alongside for a few years while we launched a paper design business. It was a fun experience and one we're glad is over. It was a lot of work!

Like most graphic design artists, color schemes and furniture placement all come naturally to her. Her home's style is beautifully coordinated while still feeling effortless and comfortable. I love how her house always looks incredible and put together, but relaxed enough that seven kids can come over for a play date (as we did this week) and no one is fainting about throw pillows being tossed or baskets being pushed around the room.

Laura is the one who introduced me to the color mustard a few years ago. I remember thinking she was crazy the first time she walked in with a mustard-colored purse. Now I can't help but gravitate towards that shade. She uses yellow as an accent color in her living room to tie in with the barely-lemon paint color on her kitchen and entry walls.

She is also the queen of vignettes. Even before I had a blog I took pictures of her decor so I could take it home, study it and figure out why it worked. That sounds creepy, doesn't it? But it's more about seeing something I loved and learning how to emulate it on my own.

The walls of her master bedroom are a green-gray that draw in the living room color without overwhelming the graphic impact of the neutral black and white linens. And you gotta love a pop of red.
Again with the great vignettes. This time in her master bath. She used scrapbook paper to fill in the photo blanks in this shelf.
A little snippet of the sweet pink nursery down the hall. I absolutely adore this room. It's filled with all things floral, tutu and pink.
The playroom upstairs is bright and fun with lots of room for imaginative play and train track building. But my favorite spot is the reading nook filled with fluffy bean bags and this vinyl art.
Paper lanterns hang over the art corner.

With four kids, it's easy to run out of room on the refrigerator door for all of the works of art each kids dreams up. To showcase them, she hung sheet metal on the walls and framed it for a finished look.

As you can imagine, all of the extras Laura adds to her home make their dwellings hot tickets once they go on the market. After a few moves and leaving behind her hard work (framed bathroom mirrors, built-in shelving, updated lighting) for the new owner to enjoy, she was tired of starting from scratch. So when she decided she wanted shelving and a built-in bench seat she knew she wanted the option to take it with her in the future when they move. Her solution was cube storage shelving and a vinyl storage bench that offers the same effect as built-ins, without the heartache when they move.

I hope you've enjoyed Laura's house! It is such a blessing to have talented friends to walk me through my design hiccups and offer inspiration to get me moving.

Visiting talented friends is a lot cheaper than hiring a decorator! Schedule a decor play date and get inspired!