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!

Bathroom Bling

You know I'm a tightwad. Some people take offense at that title; I like to own it. If it's not on sale or there's no coupon for it in my pocket, it's probably not in my shopping cart. But this little soap pump...Oh, this little soap pump. I've had my eye on it at Target for a long time. The sticker price - $12.99 - is not expensive, but spending more than a few bucks on something that held soap seemed ridiculous to me. So I searched for comparable items online, kept watch for Target clearances, and...nothing. Not a single percentage drop in price. So two weeks ago, I gave in and brought her home with me.

I expected buyer's remorse, but instead I've been surprised at how something so insignificant as a sparkly little soap pump could make me smile every morning.

If you'd like to copycat you can find it here. And if you find this on sale next week, don't tell me about it.

My House in: Thrifty Finds

Don't you just love a good deal? Me, too. In fact, I absolutely refuse to buy something - just about anything - unless it's on sale, I have a coupon, or the seller is willing to negotiate the price. It's not an obsession, it's necessity. We are very blessed, but {like a lot of you, I imagine} we have to be very careful with every purchase we make. That's why when I found the following lovelies at thrift stores and in clearance bins, my heart went pitter-patter.

Welcome to a tour of my favorite thrifty home finds.

I had been searching {and searching} for the perfect little bird statue for my house. I'm not big on knick knacks, but for some reason this one is just me.

{bird statue: $2 - Stein Mart clearance}
I blurred that photo on the edges so you wouldn't stare at my gleaming legs. Stop it!

This creamy statue sits above my cabinets. It had previously been used as a prop used for store displays. My only regret is that I didn't snatch up its twin.

{statue: $3 - Stein Mart}

I discovered this metal tin on my first "home decor trip" to a thrift store. I had been many times for other things, but this was the first time I went deciding I could decorate my home with other's cast-off items. It was the beginning of something wonderful.

{Galvanized bucket: $1; flowers: $4 clearance garden store find}

When I first saw this tray on my favorite aisle at Target (you know the one: pillows, color-coordinated wall art and lamps. Isn't that everyone's favorite aisle?), I picked it up thinking it would be out of my price range. When I turned it over and saw the clearance sticker, I might have heard the angels singing. I'm still baffled at how so many other people walked right past it before it came home with me. But I'm not complaining!

{decorative tray: $3, Target}

This tufted, upholstered storage ottoman was the catalyst for bringing a lot of beauty into our newlywed home. I discovered it while visiting my mom soon after my husband and I had purchased our first home. At that time, our master bedroom was all stark white walls, hand-me-down furniture and college leftovers. I had no idea what direction I wanted to take our new home but I knew that whatever colors and furniture I chose would have to stick for many years to come. Then I saw this ottoman, called my husband to get his opinion and bought it. It immediately became the color palette inspiration for our bedroom and resulted in a blue and brown combination that I have not once regretted in our room. I positioned it by our bedroom door for the perfect spot to sit and tie your shoes in the morning. Inside I've stashed extra quilts and blankets, and a baby girl outfit I bought during my pregnancy when I didn't know what we were having. I have a gut feeling this will be an all-baby-boy house, but I'm not giving it away yet!

{Upholstered Storage Ottoman: $50 - Stein Mart}

Apparently I love Stein Mart's home department. I didn't realize just how much until I wrote this post!

What are your favorite thrifty finds?

Magazine Home Tour

Do you have one of those friends who lives in a magazine home? As in, their home looks so incredible that Better Homes & Gardens could walk in today for a photo shoot and they wouldn't have to change a thing?

{Pillow available here.}

My precious friend, Micah, is that friend for me. You walk in, and you can't stop yourself from asking those questions like, Where did you find that? Did you make that? I love that! Was it expensive?

{Rug is from Pottery Barn. If I picked out a rug today, it would be this one. Love.}

And because Micah is Micah, she allowed me to drop in one afternoon and take pictures to share with all of you. Where available, I've included links to the items so you can copy-cat if you'd like.

{Sofa from Pier 1}

Micah and her family are a part of the weekly potlucks we have with friends. There are six or so families in our group - almost all of whom were born in Texas. And you know how much Texans love their football. (Friday Night Lights, anyone?)

Now, notice a certain burnt orange theme in this room?

There's quite the divide between Longhorn fans and Aggie fans in our group. It makes for some good entertainment during football season.

While I was taking pictures, Micah was ironing dinner napkins. I didn't even know people did that. But that's Micah. And I love it.

{Candle Holders from Pottery Barn. Similar style here.}

This is what I love about being in community, about sharing food and stories and hardships with fellow friends and followers of Christ. We each have strengths; we each shine differently. Eating at Micah's table is so relaxing and special. She is such a wonderful hostess, making everyone feel so at home. And the food absolutely rocks. I look forward to it every single time. And when she comes over to our home, there's probably something about my quirky meals and loud kitchen that she loves too. It's not just our similarities, but our differences that help make our journeys and friendships that much more fun.

So, do you have any magazine home friends? Don't think you do? Then maybe it's you!

**I'm serving Twisted Black Beans & Rice at our potluck tonight. Sound good? Here's my recipe.

My House in Faves

It can be easy to grumble at yourself as you walk through your home. There are always to-do's, no matter how perfectly decorated or built your dwelling may be. In our house, right now, we've got moulding sitting propped up in our breakfast room that has been waiting for a spare moment to make it on to the wall, kitchen paint touch-ups that are oh-so-glaring (as you'll probably spy in pictures below), and a birthday explosion of toddler toys scattered about. But we are blessed. And content with what the Lord has so lovingly and graciously poured into our lives. We overflow.

So I encourage you today to walk through your home, as undecorated, or piled with to-do's as it may be, and find your fave spots that shine through all the things that make you grumble.

Here are a few of my favorite bright spots this morning. Thank you, Father.

Leftover flowers from a baby shower I hostessed over the weekend.

Trying to make those fresh flowers go as far as they can by separating the one bouquet into two arrangements.
A repurposed addition to my mantle. It was living in my kitchen. I like it much better here.

My favorite little corner to curl up with our baby boy and read. I almost passed by this $24 pillow at Ikea, but it has been the inspiration for this room. I love it.

And a new (old) addition to my kitchen. My hubby bought this painting for me our first Christmas together. I adore it and it has just been gathering dust in our new house out of indecision. My mom suggested I hang it over the pantry and it was the perfect spot! I love seeing it every day.

What are your faves this morning?


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