Spring Home Tour 2018 Refresh!

hey y'all! hope you had a great cinco de mayo / kentucky derby party weekend! i have to say it felt like the kick off to the spring/summer seasons around here and that always feels good!

quickly before i dive into the main feature today - you have 1 more day to shop truck + barter's signature line of candles and diffusers and get 20% off with code VFMH20. it would make a great mother's day gift!!

ok guys i'm excited for today's post! do you remember last spring's home tour i did with some fabulous bloggers? http://viewfrommyheels.blogspot.com/2017/05/springintohome-tour-me.html
well we're back baby (with addition of our girl brynn olson) to share changes since last year.

bria hammel, bria hammel interiors:

you can find bria's home tour from last year HERE. bria has been so busy creating gorgeous spaces for clients that she hasn't made changes to her own home (although that's coming this summer!). but that's not a problem at all when she has such beautiful work to share. her baltimore project is a favorite of mine not only because of the location (holla home town!) but also the details that went into this stunner of a home.

brynn olson, brynn olson design group:

brynn is new to the tour this year but not new to instagram or design in the least. she has an amazing portfolio as well as list of accomplishments. she's beautiful inside and out and her work is refined, chic, and always stunning. her own home is no different - be prepared to pick your jaw up off of the floor!

claire staszak, centered by design:

claire is a new mama to a sweet baby girl and a super talented designer to boot with a great eye for color. she renovated her second floor over the last year and made such a beautiful space for her family. check out her new master bedroom, master bath, and coffee bar (genius!). also check out her tour last year HERE.

doreen corrigan:

doreen is a fellow twin mama and just overall big sweetheart. doreen's house had major water damage this year and she wound up redoing a bunch of things she probably didn't expect to. her new master bedroom and sitting area are right up my alley along with her guest room. how peaceful and calm are these spaces? i love them! see her home tour from last year HERE.

kelsey grose of farmer's daughter interiors:

kelsey is our canadian friend to the north and always has a beautifully organic and fresh approach to design. this year she opened her own design studio which takes major guts and hard work. it's basically any designer's home away from home and the space is so cute. also pictured below is a bathroom she renovated for a client that is so sweet. kelsey's home tour from last year can be found HERE.

and lastly, moi! as you may already know (i've only talked about it 85 thousand times or so), i renovated our laundry room and upstairs hall bath this year which are the main updates to my home tour from last year. i'm going to write separate blog posts on each space to talk about all of the decisions i made, link the materials, and show more pics so look for those later this week. but for now, here are a few snaps!

Spring Home Tour: Basement Bedroom

hi! hope you're having a fab memorial day weekend! i'm so excited that we finally wrapped up our basement bedroom that i thought i'd give all of the details on this room redo asap. and bonus - so many of the items from this room are on sale this weekend.  here's what we were working with BEFORE:

i made a design board to give some focus to the project because i knew i'd need to execute it pretty quickly.

here's the after!

photo by kate renyi

photo by kate renyi

so here's the breakdown...what stayed: the wing chair, woven shades, and headboard (20% off). then i recycled some things from around the house that i already had like the vase and palm leaf, the navy pillows, and the white lamp. i added the wallpaper (20% off), dresser (also here), mirror, rug, nightstands, quilt (homegoods score!), duvet cover (15% off), flushmount light (size large), and of course the basket pendants. that flushmount is seriously one of my favorite things - we replaced the old builder nipple light and a small change made a huge impact.

the nightstands came with different hardware so i swapped out the knobs for matte gold ones which is an easy, inexpensive change that, again, has a big impact!

photo by kate renyi

the swimsuit art is by dorothy shain who is so talented. follow her on instagram if you don't already!

now let's talk about these pendants! in my original design board i included those gorgeous jeffrey alan marks pendants that go for $500 a pop. i'm in love with them but that wasn't in the budget. so one day i randomly came across rope wrapped electrical cord and a light went off (pun intended). i've had old ikea hardwire basket pendants (sadly no long available) sitting in storage forever - over 5 years - and if i could string the rope cord through them, then i would have exactly what i wanted. they were wired so i just removed the wire and socket.

the pendants were a light wood tone, similar to the mirror in this room, but i knew that wouldn't work with the rope. so down to the hardware store for a couple of cans of krylon matte white spray paint and voila, they're white! but stringing the cord through was much easier said than done and i couldn't even get the plug to fit through. so i started hacking away with a saw (i don't diy, this was the only tool i have!) to try to create a wider opening. it didn't work. at all. but then another light bulb - have the hardware store shave down the plug so it would fit! perfect, done, that worked. however not end of story because the rope had a knot at the end wouldn't fit through the hole. i mean come on!! so i texted my pal Jen from @chroniclesofhome and she, in about 7 seconds, fished the rope through and we were in business. it was more than slightly embarrassing.

then they sat for two weeks :) (please tell me i'm not the only one that happens to!) and finally yesterday mr. r hung them. that event has more detail than you would ever care to know but suffice it to say, we ended up using brass curtain rings to hold the rope up. actually worked like a charm and for about $75 i have the pendants that i really wanted.

shop the post: headboard (20% off) | palm leaf | navy pillows | white lamp | wallpaper (20% off) 

dresser (also here) | mirror (10% off) | rug | nightstands | quilt (homegoods score!) | 

duvet cover (15% off) | flushmount light (size large) | rope electrical cord

Spring Home Tour: Dining Room

back at it today with a deeper look at our dining room. this room literally took a year - no wait, more - to complete. here's a before and wow all of that color was pretty but i realized i can't live with it. (scroll to the bottom to shop this entire post!)

i wanted a much quieter, calmer vibe and that's what i think i got!

photo by kate renyi

it all started with the art and some white paint. the artwork is thom filicia for soicher marin and is 55" square so it makes a statement.

photo by kate renyi

for my birthday last year my parents gave me the rug (well, money for it 😉) and that really set things into motion. i got the table from restoration hardware on clearance and then pulled the trigger on my most favorite chairs. total splurge but they make me SO happy.

i moved the pendant light from the kitchen table to this room when we did the big improvement project. it's a little small and one day i'll probably replace it but i actually like it. i also wanted sconces on either side of the art but didn't want to deal with getting an electrician and wiring so i found these beauties from wisteria. they're large and at first i wasn't totally 100% but as a friend said, they're unique and that makes them cool. and i have to agree!

photo by kate renyi

the drapery was the last piece to fall into place. i first wanted white linen but then decided that was too boring. my friends can attest to the fact that i went through at least 10 ideas before i landed back on white linen. should have stuck with my gut! custom drapery is so expensive but worth it. the workmanship is so good on these.

photo by kate renyi

the curtain rods and rings are from crate & barrel and i love how simple they are. this style of pleat is called euro or french or three finger (or a myriad of other names!) if you want to have some custom drapes made. and the tip that you've probably heard before - hang 'em high and wide. don't cover the window!

photo by kate renyi

so that's it! thanks so much for the support, i've really appreciated it!

table no longer available (similar) | arm chairs | side chairs | rug | sideboard | art (to the trade only) 

pendant light | sconces | fig tree (similar) | basket (similar) | oversized floor vase 

palm branches (similar) | vases

Spring Home Tour: Office

first today i want to say a giant thank you to @liketoknow.it.home for reposting my dining room AND living room in the past week. what a thrill and i'm very appreciative! but i always have mr. r to bring me back down to earth since he thinks all of this is nonsense. 😆

ok! the next room in line for a closer look is our office. this room used to be pink. for real. and i loved it but then i hated it and it went white like most everything else. (p.s. scroll to the bottom to shop this post!) photography by kate renyi.

this room pretty much changed top to bottom. the rugs, furniture, lighting (which truthfully i'm still a little meh about) and art all changed. however that doesn't mean big bucks. i sold a lot of the old pieces and moved furniture around to repurpose some things we already had.

the shelving is from ikea and the hardware hack is from studio mcgee. no need to reinvent the wheel! i found a great 18" brass pull for under $20 and mr. r did some drilling. one day we hope to add built ins in place of these shelving units but for now they work just fine.

styling the shelves was a task! and i took many swipes at it but i like how it ended up.

the jute rug is from pier 1 and a few weeks before these photos were taken, stanley the dog peed on it. i couldn't believe it. so now we need to replace the new rug. UGH. the rug layered on top is vintage from chairish.

the desk was maybe my favorite find. it's technically a table because it has no drawers but it's just what i was looking for. i wanted a high gloss white desk large enough to have two chairs pull up on the other side. everything that was labeled as a traditional "desk"was too small so i started searching under table and voila! under $300!

the chair was moved from the living room (see this post for more living room details) when we bought the leather sofa. it's been a great addition and feels comfortable and warm. the pillows are two of my faves. since this room is fairly simple, it's the perfect spot for statement making art and the benson-cobb piece does just that!

the console started out behind the sofa in our living room and then moved to the dining room temporarily. but i had a master plan for it to land in the office and bring in some warmth. i'm really happy with how it looks in here!

the lamp is one i had been pining for and i love it just as much as i thought i would. the art i snagged from our master bedroom because the piece i ordered didn't arrive in time and actually it's still not here!

thanks for making it this far! here are links for lots of the pieces in the room.

shelving | trays | glass ball | fiddle leaf fig | planter | vintage dough bowl | woven baskets

desk (also here) | leather chair (similar) | rattan chairs no longer available (similar)

oversize art | beach print | console | lamp

chair | leather pillow | blue and white pillow | pendant light no longer available (similar)

Spring Home Tour: Living Room

hi! just a quick reminder to enter the karyn burns giveaway from yesterday's blog post!  or go to this instagram post to enter. giveaway ends 5pm EST today!

today i'm breaking down the details from our house tour starting with the living room. since this month marks the one year anniversary of my smp living blog feature, i thought it would be fun to do a then & now look at the space! there have been more changes in that last year than i would have ever anticipated but i'm glad we made them! photography by kate renyi.

then:

now:

leather sofa | white sofa (similar) | white chair (similar) | floor lamp | bull art

pendant (ours is size large) | glass jug vase | console

it feels lighter and more interesting to me now. the big change was moving the white chairs and replacing them with a leather sofa. the second white chair went to the office (details to come!). my style is casual, coastal, electic with a touch of prep. i just made that up but i think it pretty well sums up what i'm drawn to. it was important to me to infuse the room with that style, and since this was a spring house tour, i went for pinks and pale blues to keep things light and springy.

blanket | pillow

i also refreshed nearly all of the pillows by either purchasing new ones or moving ones i already had around. the pink pillow is seriously one of my most favorite pillows ever. the striped pillow is simple but adds texture and had been living in our master bedroom! these two were meant to be together.

confession: styling shelves doesn't come easily to me. it's true! i style and re-style and edit, edit, edit. i tend to over crowd so i put a bunch of stuff of there and then take some away. almost everything here is from homegoods, amazon, or target. you don't need to spend a lot to get pretty shelves! and my advice is practice makes perfect - keep trying and eventually you'll find the right mix.

small glass jar | wood bowl | glass balls (similar)

i'm completely in love with the colors of these beads. they add such amazing texture. and again this is a low cost way of styling that's still impactful.

bowl (similar) | beads

the coffee table styling also got a fresh restyle. this mix is all about texture - the tray has a rattan base, the box is bone inlay, and the planter is ceramic with the prettiest gold detail at the rim. then i layered in beads to keep it casual and a gold object to add some metal. this combo keeps things interesting and i'm proud to say i've kept this succulent plant alive for over a month! 😂

tray | box | planter | beads | gold object

and where are the toys you ask? with two 5 year old boys we have plenty but for this shoot, i cleared them out and kind of styled the area where they normally are with a kid friendly set up. in reality this would hold a third of the toys! plus all of the cabinets are filled with games and puzzles.

basket | acrylic shelving | mirror

what's left to do? well the rug, oh the rug. it sheds SO badly. and instead of getting better with time, it has only gotten worse. i'm over it and i'm ready to lay down sisal or jute and layer something on top. we shall see!

i've also dreamt for a while of two smaller matching chairs in front of the porch doors - something that would enable us to still open the doors obviously. and then we would maybe swing the coffee table around 90 degrees? for now i have to keep dreaming!

ok i'm sure i'm forgetting things so please ask!
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