This post is way overdue, I’ve been meaning to get to it for like ever but at last the time has come. This blog has been a perpetual home tour for over four years as we’ve improved all the spaces over time. I promised a home tour last year and finally got around to assembling some pictures together in a slideshow.

I never consider my house “finished” more like styled and comfortable and lovely for today, but ready for changes whenever the mood strikes. And y’all know I’m big on decorating during the holidays. So I rounded up a bunch of images, some you’ve seen, others you haven’t.

I’m a little bit coastal, a hint modern, but a traditional girl at heart. I like clean lines, the contrast of dark wood and white together, neutral paint on the walls with gray undertones, classic furnishings, comfort, sculptural colored glass, elegant mirrors, natural light, pearlescent finishes, and subtle geometric textiles. I decorate with Target pillows on my fancy tufted sofa. I thrift a lot. If something is not the color I want it to be, chances are I’ll paint it white. Or gray. I collect white ceramics. I love branches and botanical motifs. And me and the color blue, we got a thing going on.

I know what I want to see when I walk through my front door. What feels like home. Not everything is DIY, but if I can’t find what I’m looking for, I’ll buy retail and tweak it so it suits me. This is a home we’ve built ourselves from many years of hard work and plenty of elbow grease. A house that echoes our memories and is filled with our personal touches.

I don’t decorate to impress friends or to be featured in magazines. It’s happened to me and I am blessed because of it, but the truth is I decorate with what looks beautiful in my eyes and what is meaningful to me. From the art on the walls to the flower clippings from my yard.

I think we all have that power to make our homes a reflection of who we are. It takes time. Years even. It’s a slow process and it should be. Decorating your home should not be rushed. It’s a process that requires one small step at a time, one room at a time, but when complete, leaves you feeling like the saying goes, “There’s no place like home”.

Enjoy the slideshow!

*For those having trouble seeing the slideshow, you can see all the pictures here.

.Enjoy

I’ve been increasingly drawn to deep pinks and pale blush shades in recent months. I love a vivid raspberry paired with classic navy, so much so I use the combination in my home office. Equally as appealing to me are shades of blush and pale rose partnered with gold, the two together are a chic and sophisticated match made in heaven.

So I was delighted when contributing writer Courtney Lake decided to tackle the topic this month in his most recent article. Please welcome back Courtney and his reflections on this often ignored color that deserves a second look.

“There is something delicious and whimsical about the color of pink yet frequently the hue is aligned with Barbie’s Dream House or romantic sunsets. There is a dichotomy to this color that can’t be ignored – it is what I think represents the best of design duality. Pink certainly has the ability to skew towards juvenile delight but also to uptown sophistication. It’s because of this dueling personality that I find it to be one of the most interesting, under-utilized, and least appreciated colors in a designer’s arsenal.

Country Living

Elle Decor

Pink is technically a tint of red – a red base that is then augmented with white, which gives unbelievable control to a designer to create the perfect intensity of color. So when a client states that he or she doesn’t like pink, I always ask them to point out what their concept of "pink" on my color wheel and without fail it either veers towards Bubble Gum or Hot Pink – both of which lean toward a younger audience. 

It is only when I inform them that pink encompasses all the hues from pale pink to purple leaning magenta that they start to fully comprehend that pink can be a sense of depth, visual interest and calmness to a room that few colors can match. Keep in mind that pink plays well with other hues from blue to yellow to green, and gets along superbly with dramatic black.

Michael Wells Photography

 

Tobi Fairley

 

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First I must say my thoughts and prayers go out to the people in Oklahoma after the devastating tornado in Moore and and the heartbreaking losses at the Plaza Towers Elementary School yesterday. Donate what you can to the American Red Cross here.

I spied this beautiful room on the pages of the Wisteria catalog last week and fell in love with all of it, the textural elements, touches of warm metallics, and the fruit punch palette combining shades of sangria and tangerine. It’s a great example of decorating with analogous colors, those that sit next to each other on the color wheel. Here are this week’s five takeaways!

Image source Wisteria

What do you love about this breezy beautiful space?

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It was one of those weekends devoted entirely to family which was a good thing. We attended a birthday party for Matt’s Aunt’s 90th birthday, and it was a family reunion with everyone traveling far distances to celebrate. Seeing loved ones you haven’t seen in a long time is a reminder of how time marches on far so fast. The kids grow older so quickly, and we’re all getting older too, and it makes you realize how each days really is a precious gift.

I started clearing out closets on Sunday, minimizing clutter in my quest for a home that is simple and meaningful, and then spied a project I started a few weeks ago so I finished it.  When we visited Hawaii in March I was inspired by the motifs I saw in the traditional Hawaiian quilts that date back to the early 1800s, a technique brought over by missionaries. Funny, in previous years I’ve never been drawn to them but something about the intricate and handcrafted nature spoke to me on this recent visit.

I came up with an aloha inspired appliqué pillow cover, one that adds a dose of watery aqua blue for summer and also adds a touch of the islands I miss so much.

In Oahu, I visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and spent half an hour chatting with the Sisters. This quilt was on the wall was so impressive, that green pattern is cut from one single piece of cotton cloth and sewn by hand. Incredible.

You spy these patterns all over Hawaii in shops and hotels, I love the unique designs that repeat around a central point.

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