But, seriously, I snapped a couple of pics for the gram and thought maybe I should share a bit here as well. You know, two birds - one stone and all that. So here goes, but please bare with me while I try to get my words out. I’m definitely rusty.

For those of you who have been with me for the long haul, you may recall that this space in our den has seen a lot of iterations over the years! I may not remember them all, but I do remember the armoire moment, the piano phase and most recently the woven credenza look. The credenza has made its way to our new “wall” in the back hall, which I’ll share more about later once that space in further along, leaving this space open to a new look.

Here’s how it came together: the chest of drawers hails from our London days, so its definitely been around the block - ha! The chair, large scale mirror and floral art were inherited from my parents. The lamp was a HomeGoods find years ago, but recently got an upgrade with a new Pooky shade. The other art was purchased here in Charlotte; I was told it’s from a local artist, although (sadly) I don’t know their name. The needlepoint pillow (find it here) is a recent purchase that highlights one of my favorite things to say. IYKYK.

All other accessories are from my shop at Cotswold Marketplace. The tennis ball is curtesy of our puppy, Charlie. Thanks, Charlie.

And this, my friends, is what I like to call the “Mix”. A little old, a little new, a little high, a little low. All coming together to create a cozy, layered look.

P.S. My FAVE design book (here) at the moment!

I just couldn’t finish off this post without sharing a pic with the lamp illuminated - just look at the color of that shade- i mean, come on! It’s so good! Kind of brothel-y, but in a good way - if that’s possible!'

As always, find more on Instagram!

Gosh, where to even start…

Big picture: we’re still here in Charlotte, still in the same house, still forever updating and decorating our home with our two (not so little anymore) daughters and our (now) two dogs.

The shop is still going strong at Cotswold Marketplace - focusing on our European influenced decor & gifts. Newer developments include styling the front of the shop and working more behind the scenes with the Marketing team. All in all, status quo with very little to complain about!

Just looking thru my last couple of posts and it really does feel like nothing has changed … we’re still working on our playroom (last updated here), we’ve moved and restyle our home office (last update here)2x in the last 4 years, we updated the kitchen, living and dining room, and most recently we’ve been working on our laundry room (last updated here) . Lots to share in the home update department.

In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram as I start to wrap my head around all the intricacies of the website, which I clearly have not touched in 4 years. LOL. And I attempt, once again, to develop our online presence including the long awaited online shop. Wish me luck!

More to come…

I barely do. Probably because the bonus room has gone thru several changes in the last 3 years.

Kids. LIFE. Jobs. You name it. There are too many reasons to even count.

A home is constantly evolving based on a family’s needs, right?

Let’s just recount what has happened in this room since 2017 (if i can even remember it all):

First, we decided we needed a bigger, dedicated office so we moved the guest room into the bonus room creating a shared space (bonus & guest) allowing the previous guest room to become our office. Initially we utilized the queen size bed where the sectional was, relocated the two chaises, and placed the sectional in the window alcove (again). Fortunately the guest bedding coordinated with the blue in the bonus room, so we left it pretty much as is, decor wise. That lasted for awhile, actually, and functioned fairly well.

Fast forward a bit … our oldest daughter decided she was too old (read cool) for twin size beds so we switched the queen with the two twins. Her room got a cute little makeover and the bonus room received gray comforters but otherwise remained the same. Surprising all of us, the new layout worked great for both sleepovers and family movie nights.

Was it a little strange to have loads of kids playing video games and watching movies and dancing around in a room with two beds (pre COVID, of course) - yeah, a little. But whateves - we made it work.

Fast forward AGAIN to this Summer … I ran across an inexpensive daybed frame & trundle on facebook marketplace and thought “this makes total sense”. The shared space will feel so much less like a bedroom and so much more like a family room. So off we went to collect the game changer for the room.

Here she is, the game changer, in all her glory. Leaving a little to be desired, honestly. But, with the daybed in the window alcove and the sectional back in the corner of the room, the bonus room is back to having tons of space. Which was the main objective, obviously!

Sadly, no matter how the room is decorated, laid out or what the current function is, the bonus room is the least used room in our home. It’s also the largest, which is why this space has constantly been an aggravation to me. There’s just so much potential in a large room like this, but we have yet to tap into it. WHY?

Here’s one theory (that pains me to even type) …

The TV is too small. Yup, I said it. No judgement please.

Throughout the pandemic we’ve been watching a lot of movies and TV as a family in the downstairs TV room. Why is that? It’s certainly NOT more comfortable and it’s definitely smaller - so why there? I can only assume it’s because the TV is bigger.

Seems like an easily solvable problem, right?

Just get a bigger TV, you say.

One: I don’t want to. Two: there is no where to put a larger TV.

In all the times this room has been rearranged the TV has been in just 2 spots. Where it is now and on the only other large wall, (where the sectional is) which requires the couch to float in the middle of the room cutting down on the functionality of the space.

So, no, it’s not that easy of a problem to fix. Or so we thought…

Remember the outdoor movie set up we created this Fall? We’ve all been loving it so much - but sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate or we want to watch a movie during the week and its just not easy/possible. WELL, someone in our family suggested bringing the whole set up inside to create our own indoor movie theater.

What the what? Craziness. But, in a good way. AM I RIGHT?

For the last couple of weeks we’ve been living with the 10’ screen standing in the room and the projector system siting on the coffee table - and we’ve been using the room more than EVER.

Obviously having a 10’ screen standing in the room and a projector sitting on top of a stack of construction paper with wires everywhere isn’t a long term solution … time to put our thinking caps on!

Then I remembered this post by personal design idol, Emily Henderson. And the wheels really set into motion.

Can’t wait to share more as it comes together.

Until next time …

Like most things, motivation comes in waves around here. I started the pandemic out with a bang, in terms of lots of home improvement work, but as the time dragged on my motivation lagged. I do have another little project up my sleeve, but so far the motivation to tackle it has not come up … so we’ll just have to wait that one out a little longer.

Not that I just sat around in October, oh no, it was a busy month!

We had family come to town, which we hadn’t seen in almost a year, making the visit extra special. We had beautiful weather that weekend and spent our first afternoon at the local farmers market / pumpkin patch and then decorated for Halloween. Always a good idea to decorate for the holidays with three opinionated generations contributing … but we made it work!

My space at Cotswold Marketplace got a Winter update with the return of the fireplace and mantel. Cozy & inviting are two of my favorite style words so this time of year in the booth is one of my favorites. So much so that I put together a three board plan to transition thru the New Year. So far I’m relatively on track - no complaints here!

Our family went on a well deserved 3 day weekend break to the NC mountains to celebrate our 18 year wedding anniversary. We hiked, explored the area and even went horse back riding. But, mostly just relaxed & ate well - it was wonderful!

We also celebrated my youngest 9th birthday with a socially distanced outdoor movie night - was so fun, it almost felt normal!

I have also had the good fortune to work on several client projects this month. Here’s a look at an initial proposal for one of my clients. This space has had a couple reiterations at this point, but is really starting to come together with the help of some great finds.

We also practiced some serious “adulting” this month by having our trees trimmed and one removed, power washing & touching up the grout on our back patio (it’s finally patio season, after all!) and our awning is scheduled for a long overdue cleaning. So yeah, it’s been a busy, but good month - here’s to hoping November is a good one!

Hope you are well & keeping yourself busy, too.

Until next time…

We added loads more functional and storage and a little style, too.

Come take a look around.

You’ll remember the chair was one of the first additions to the space. It gets used quite a bit, actually, but also provides the all important resting space for your eye when you enter the room because there’s a LOT going on in this small space.

As much as I love the chair, the biggest change & show-stopping addition to the room is the peel and stick wallpaper - we love the cozy feel, added texture and sense of masculinity that it bring to the room.

I’ve used variations of this product three times now and have been happy each & every time. Can’t recommend it enough.

A surprise addition along the way were the two bookcases flanking the window - while they weren’t part of the original plan & some might say they are too much, the function that they provide in the space is amazing.

Storage is a necessary evil in a business like mine.

Even though the shelves are older than the hills & they could definitely be in better condition, I like the way they pop off the wall and add that all important contrast to the dark wood desks.

This space really is a play in neutral contrasts and I’m here for it.

My inventory is constantly changing - from season to season, with new finds, as well as new orders/lines. I like having most of my inventory on display and being able to work with it whenever inspiration strikes - even if it is sometimes at 2 in the morning!

Here’s a little IRL moment for ya. Complete with messy hair, comfort wear and a needy dog.

“Do you ever feel like someone is watching you” ??? Yes. It’s Annie. My shadow, aka the pup.

Add this to the list of projects completed due to the pandemic.

Not mad about it.

Until next time…

Let’s take a tour…

You may recall we started with a pretty blank slate (see it here). Just one space with a monotone scheme and a LOT of fingerprints.

We started by adding the woodwork and then the peel and stick paper. You can read all about that here and here. The semi-gloss paint helped to keep the fingerprints at bay and the paper add a much needed jolt of color and definition to the hallway of 7 doors.

The cabinet went back in and we did a little decorating with a new mirror, plants, etc.

We also added a little bench and a wall mounted rack for coats, bags, etc.

A girls gotta have a spot to put her shoes on, ya know?!?

Once the hallway started to take shape, we turned our attention to the mudroom closet (see it here).

This project took on a life of its own with new wall mounted shelves, cubbies for the kids and a quick furniture makeover. You can read more about that here.

With two of the attached spaces looking so much better, the laundry room was feeling a bit jealous.

Although a legit laundry room makeover is on my wish list, we have bigger fish to fry in this household.

We did show her a little love with a quick makeover, tho. You can read more about that here.

Next up, some local original art for the walls.

With the project coming to an end, we couldn’t procrastinate any longer and finally focused on the DIY runner for the staircase.

I wasn’t 100% sure about the runner, to be honest. It’s a bit of a departure from my normal style, but sometimes the risk is worth it. The runner makes the space, in my opinion.

You can read more about the installation here.

It’s almost hard to believe this is the same space!

For once, I have something to thank COVID for - the shear amount of time we have spent in our home this year is what lead to this makeover. So thank’s COVID, I couldn’t be happier. With the back hall, not with COVID (obviously).

Until next time.

Speaking of remote learning, there was a mad dash at the end there to get everyones work spaces up and running, which led to more progress in our adult home office, too. Total win-win.

So, I thought I’d jump on and share some of the progress with you.

The wall covering has been hung. And the art placed.

And that’s kinda where we left if for a month or so.

Functional, but not done. Kinda my MO lately. ha!

Then remote learning was announced. Dun dun dun…

We needed to clear the “family” drop zone desk in the kitchen to make room for our littlest learner, so we high tailed it to IKEA (with everyone else under the sun scrambling to create a home learning station) to grab some file cabinets for the adult office space.

If you recall, the plan was to create shelving over the file cabinets to really make the most of the wall and all the storage it had to offer.

Well, we haven’t made that happen yet!

As a result, my “inventory” was suddenly housed on the upstairs landing. No bueno.

In came old faithful ( I swear these Pottery Barn Kids shelves have been in every room in every house we’ve ever owned) with all my inventory.

Initially, this was a temporary solution but I’m kinda digging it and it’s functionality. Once we install the other shelves, we’ll see what happens.

You know of my love for symmetry, so you shouldn’t be surprised that I opted to place the other book shelf on the other side of the window to house both printers, books and other miscellaneous stuff my husband insists on keeping. ha!

In other news, i had to remove the hide rug because it was moving all over the place with the chairs constantly rolling around on it, etc. Now I’m in search of a small oushak. I love an area rug to cozy up a space. Wish me luck!

Also wish me luck with getting these shelves installed … ugh!

more to come…

ANYWHO

It went from this…

To this!

All in just a matter of hours.

Is it perfect? Nope.

Does it work tho? Yup.

Would I use this method for my front hall? Probably not.

But, would I encourage you to try it out? Absolutely!

I won’t go into a ton of detail because there are loads of tutorials online that are great. Like this one & this one.

But here’s what we did:

1. clean the stairs well

2. measure & tape out where you want the runner to be placed. Our stairs are different widths at the top and bottom, so we centered on the narrowest stair and went from there.

3. measure the depth of your stair & cut rug pad to fit.

4. start from the top and work your way down, stapling from the underside of the first tread, to the base of the riser, and again under the lower tread.

The trickiest part was connecting the two runners to create the illusion of one long seamless runner.

In our case, we cut the runner just under the tread 5 steps down and stapled it in place, then matched up the pattern as much as possible ( we couldn’t afford much waste & found that the pattern matched well enough for us without cutting anything - very lucky).

Needless to say, I was REAL worried I would be purchasing another runner just to cover one riser, but as it turns out, we had just enough. Phew.

At the base, we just rolled over the last tiny bit and stapled it in place.

Like I said, it’s not perfect, but it’s working just fine for us. And that’s really all we need.

If you decided to give it a try, please let me know - I’d love to see how it turns out!

until next time…

Speaking of long time (followers that is) some of you have followed along on the MANY variations of our office over the years.

Here’s a little flashback, for the newbies, or in case you forgot…

When we first moved into this house, we added a small office space to the bonus/playroom. We purchased the desk in London, it has a lot of sentimental value, we needed a spot for it - so there you go. It really didn’t get used much because my husband worked in an office downtown.

And I was mostly working from whichever room my toddler was destroying at the time. ha!

A couple of years passed, the kids grew up a bit and so did my business - it became obvious that I needed a more dedicated space to keep all my “things” so we created a small desk space in our already small guest room in addition to the hardly used space in the bonus room. Hmmmm….

It looked great, but wasn’t super functional and I didn’t use it as much as I had intended. Probably because it was tucked away and the kids were still small. Instead, I was mostly blogging and doing design work from the kitchen counter. Sounds familiar, right?

You know what they say about the best laid plans….

After we purchased a piano and needed to move an old armoire somewhere in the house … I decided to sell everything off, and we moved the armoire upstairs to the guest room.

The timeline gets a little fuzzy at this point, but somewhere along the line I opened my retail space at Cotswold Marketplace and found myself in serious need of storage. I had things everywhere - the garage, the bonus room, the dining room, and the guest room. I was slowly taking over the whole house.

To meet the ever changing needs of my businesses, we decided to move the guest room into the bonus room and covert the former small guest room into a full time office/storage space.

The former guest room worked perfectly as an office - it was probably intended to be one when the house was built.

But, as we all know, consistency is NOT the spice of life … more changes were coming!

In March of last year, my husband found himself working from home full time and it became clear that “my” little office needed to become “our” little office.

Once again, the armoire was relocated - this time to the dining room - to make room for a new shared space.

We found another desk on a locale resale site, added a pair of matching lamps, found matching desk chairs from Homegoods and our new office was born.

Unsure of what the future would hold, creating a “cute” office was super low on the priority list.

Here she is, in all her glory!

Actually, I gave her a little quick organizational cleanup before snapping these pics. Hard to believe, i’m sure.

As you can see, his side is not bad. My side, not so great.

Our biggest issue is storage. He needs files and I need more shelves to store my “things”.

And while we’re at it, the walls could use a little help, too. The color is VERY guest room.

Here’s the plan….thus far.

We’re keeping the desks, chairs and artwork. And we’re adding a LOT of storage.

The walls are getting the peel and stick treatment, too!

The overall look is darker and more masculine.

If you follow along on Instagram you know that we have already selected the paper, found a great chair on a local resale site and have started installing the “paper”.

More to come…

Yes, I am super lucky to have this space - and I love it! - it just doesn’t function as well as I would like it to.

It’s an awkward shape to start, then we added a fridge when we first moved in and stacked the washer/dyer. Honestly, it’s just too much stuff in too small of an awkwardly shaped pace.

So I did what i would recommend to anyone … I removed everything from the space (within reason) and re-evaluated how the layout could work better for us. Funnily enough, it was pretty simple in the end.

We moved the dog food to the mudroom, allowing the folding table to move more into the corner, which made room for the laundry hamper to be placed between the table and the stacked washer/dryer.

Having everything on one side of the room really helped with the cramp factor, which was just enough to make the space feel like it functioned better for our family.

I’d really love to re-do the counter/sink area (more on that below) but for now, this little refresh is helping the laundry room to feel more consistent with the hallway/mudroom.

With the new layout in place, the rest of the changes were mostly cosmetic.

The beach print was the jumping off point for the whole refresh. I love how it connects to the colors in the hallway and plays off all the natural woven elements, making the two spaces flow as one.

Next, I created a non functioning, no sew faux roman shade from a fabric remnant. I followed this tutorial and it all came together within a couple of hours. Easy peasy and I am NOT a crafter.

Then I found the wood backed ceramic flower, which helps tie in the wooden elements from the hallway as well as the hamper trio..

After I added the large plant to the folding table I swapped out the planter at least 3 times until I found the perfect beachy stripe.

The final addition was the beach painting by local Charlotte artist, Leslie Poteet Busker. I’ve been making a concerted effort to add more original local art to my home lately and this is just one of several small scale pieces that I’m lucky enough to own.

I have been on the search for a pretty and functional hamper situation now that they are so prominent with the new layout. When I spotted these baskets at HomeGoods, I figured I could make them work.

They weren’t what I had originally imagined, but I love the beachy vibe and having three baskets functions so well for sorting colors/darks/lights. It pays to be open minded when it comes to designing on a budget!

I’m only missing something to hang ALL the wet suits and towels from now (my old hamper had a metal frame that I used to hang wet things from) so I’m still on the look out for some hooks to hang on the opposite wall. Because, this summer, it’s ALL about the above ground vinyl pool!

The back wall of the laundry room provides a lot of storage with the upper cabinets, but not a lot of function with the lowers. The cabinets don’t open all the way and there is a “dead” corner to the right due to the fridge placement. (The previous owner had a side by side washer/dryer, creating an equally “dead” corner - hence the odd layout comment above.)

Unfortunately the faucet leaks (onto the counter), but we can’t replace it without removing the utility sink as well. The leaking water has caused several rust rings to form on the counters, which are pretty unsightly too. The under cabinet lighting is a plug in, but disappears into the wall … not sure what to think about that, so we just don’t use it. Basically, this whole area is a hot mess!

Addressing these issues is on the long list of projects we need to put legit attention to …so we’ll just look at it from a distance. ha!

While it’s certainly NOT perfect, it’s much better than it was and it’s A LOT more appealing to look at, too! I consider that a success and a job well done (for now).

Now, if only I would get my act together and finish the hallway runner. Procrastination is my friend when a project intimidates me. Just being honest.

More to come…

Thought I’d throw a little “life lately” update at ya. I haven’t done one in awhile because, honestly, we haven’t been up to much other than hanging at home, working on the house.

But, we finally made a break for it and escaped to the mountains for a couple of days over the weekend! It was so nice to have a change of scenery and pace! The catch, we decided to go camping or maybe glamping is a better term. Either way I was skeptical, but it turned out to be a great! So I thought I’d share a couple details here.

Early Saturday morning we headed to Blowing Rock. We’ve been to the little town several times over the last 7 years, but never to THE Blowing Rock itself so we made that a priority this time. The views were amazing, as you can see here, but the “hiking” part was a little less than we expected. It really wasn’t a hike at all, but that’s ok - still good to check it off the old bucket list.

The real fun came when we made our way to the campsite, which was a privately owned 22 acre parcel of land with 2 cabins (neither of which were being rented while we were there - hello, social distancing!) and the glamping site.

After a very steep decent we found ourselves in a quiet valley with a creek running through it. On the other side of the bridge the private campsite included a stone fire pit, a dining pavilion (complete with running water and electricity, a safari style tent with 4 sets of bunk beds, and little bath house with cold water shower and compositing toilet.

It was very family (and pet) friendly - we set up camp, did a little exploring, and spent the remainder of the time cooking over the open fire. It was the perfect fathers day escape for our guy & our family! We can’t wait to go back!!!!

Other than the camping trip, I have been working on several design projects for different clients.

This nursery (for a repeat client) was such a great departure from my usual work. We’re still waiting on a few final details but this space turned out super cute! So excited for these first time parents!

The above two boards are for a double living room, which has been a fun project to tackle for a client that loves pine and dark wood & mixing traditional with slightly more modern styles, just like moi! There have been lots of changes since the start of this project, but we’re nearing the finish line and I couldn’t be more excited to see this one come together.

Another fun project was this outdoor space for a repeat client in Davidson.

She already had the great table and chairs, making my job even easier - layering in the cozy is my favorite part!

We’ve also been doing A LOT of cooking during quarantine - I received two new cookbooks for my birthday, by Half Baked Harvest, and have really enjoyed trying out her unique recipes. Highly recommendable.

Cotswold Marketplace reopened in May, following all the new guidelines, it’s been so nice to get back in there and play around with the spaces - both in my own boutique and at the front of shop!

This summer is probably looking a little different than anticipated for everyone, certainly for us, but I hope it’ll be a good one for all of us.

I’m still pressing forward with the hallway & laundry room refresh, have a couple of smaller projects planned for the living room & dining room, and can’t wait to get started on an office makeover. More to come!

Until next time…

It’s hard to believe I’ve been dragging my heels on this project for over two years….

Maybe I was in denial that she was getting older, I don’t know, but whatever the reason I am so happy to finally be finished with this project & EVEN happier that the she loves her newly completed space!

Welcome to the preteen room reveal.

As with most projects around here, we were 95% done for the last year or so…the very last element to be installed was the wallpaper.

My daughter wasn’t thrilled with the idea of an accent wall, so the paper sat in her closet for quite sometime….until the pandemic hit & I got a serious bee in my bonnet to complete several projects around the house, including this one.

The bed was our old guest room bed, the nightstand is older than the hills ( I may have gotten it when I was in my 20’s), the stools and shelving are both Facebook Marketplace finds, the desk was mine as a child (so even older than the hills!), the desk chair was a HomeGoods purchase, the hanging chair was a Pier 1 floor model & the vintage dresser came from a re-sale shop in Chicago.

It’s a real hodge-podge in here, but we love how it all works together to make the room feel eclectic, cozy and full of personality.

I love mixing old & new furniture, high & low elements, original & non-original art and a variety of styles in my designs to create unique spaces - this room is a perfect example.

The hope is that this space will continue to grow with her as she matures. This is the 3rd time her room has been redone since we moved here almost 7 years ago, hopefully this one sticks! ha.

Happy Birthday to our big girl - we love you!

until next time….

From start to finish this project was fast and furious. The kind that starts off small, snowballs and becomes much larger than anticipated. But, boy oh boy, are we happy with the results!

I think it should be noted that almost every project I have tackled this year has been in a relatively dark space. I find that so interesting. All the areas I felt in need of work were dark with little to no natural light. Hmmm…

This is never more evident than when I attempt to photograph a space - no natural light has lead to lots and lots and lots of dark grainy photos! You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you how well these spaces have turned out because the pictures just don’t do them justice.

Just as a reminder - we removed everything from the space, painted the walls, applied peel and stick removable wall paper to the far wall, refurbished an existing demilune table and hung a mirror above, installed a track shelving system for storage on one wall and pieced together several items from IKEA to create “locker” style storage on the other.

Like I said, snowball effect.

The demilune table and mirror are the perfect little “dressing” area for the kids - sunglasses, hairbrushes and the often forgotten hair ties now have an easy grab and go locale that is working for everyone.

The IKEA stool plays double duty by helping me to reach the tall stuff (now all organized in pretty baskets from Target) and provides the girls with a little seat to put on shoes.

I think it’s fair to say we have a lot of hats … and shoes … and bags!

So nice to have a place for everything and everything in it’s place.

Sadly, the newly organized storage hasn’t encouraged the kids to put their shoes on the shelves as of yet, but a Mom can always dream.

More to come on the laundry room and back hallway, but this space is looking better and better as the weeks go by.

Until next time…

Fortunately for me, I am a furniture hoarder.

I scored this bachelors chest in an online auction and intended to resell it in my shop. So pretty in the picture, right?

In person, still pretty, but in need of a lot of TLC. Missing hardware, patched corners, significant “distressing” in keeping with the age, etc. This kind of character doesn’t bother me, but it doesn’t necessarily lend itself to resale either.

So in storage it sat, until a lightbulb went off and I realized it would make the perfect bedside table.

The lamp and hanging wedding photo have been there since the get-go, but all the extra surface space allowed me to bring in a potted plant, among other things. Plants make everything feel better!

Plus, I love how the foliage ties in with the “ from me, to me” art I gifted myself for my birthday.

I added a little tray complete with candle, kindle, peepers and a cute little clock - now this area is starting to feel a lot more complete than it has in the last 7 years!

That’s definitely a good feeling!

Hopefully I’ll take that feeling and run with it - and finally get this room going.

It’s hard to motivate though when the snuggles are waiting.

Until next time…

Do you ever have one of those moments when you just can’t take the mess anymore?

I did. It was last Thursday!

Check out our mudroom - the one we created 7 years ago and the messy one we use today.

Clearly the kids have gotten bigger and so has their stuff. Not to mention so much more stuff!

Our old mudroom just wasn’t working anymore.

And I had one of those moments … where enough was enough!

I intended to reorganize, maybe update a bit. But before I knew it, I had emptied out the entire room.

The walls were a mess, so I grabbed some leftover paint from the garage, mixed a couple of colors together and got to painting.

Fortunately, I had just enough paper left from the hallway project to create an accent wall.

By Friday I had spent more hours than I can count on the IKEA website devising an organizational plan for the mudroom. I had a pretty good idea for the two side walls, but I was seriously stumped on the back wall.

In the end I used an old table I had. I don’t know if it’s the forever solution but it works for now.

Actually, I really like how it turned out. But then again, you know my obsession with navy gloss.

To the right, we did a simple track shelf system.

My main goal was to utilize the space that was previously untouched, by really take advantage of those 9’ ceilings.

It’s not super cute or pinterest worthy … just simple, flexible and affordable storage.

To the left, we stacked another set of shoe racks onto the existing ones (from Home Depot) and flanked them on a Billy bookcase from IKEA.

Creating two separate spaces was also REALLY important. Sharing amongst sisters isn’t our favorite pastime in this household. Several games of “rock paper scissors” were played to see who got which side. Very suspenseful.

Then we added an upper shelf to create the illusion of a locker and added hooks for coat and bag storage.

We’ve come a long way …

All in all the space is looking way better and functioning way better too!

A couple more weeks, an additional shoe rack, baskets, and a step stool and the space will be complete!

More to come…

The truth is, the color I chose (without sampling, first mistake!) isn’t too far from the color we had originally painted the hallway. Despite all the hours I committed to painting the space, it just didn’t look that different. Discouraged with the non-transformation, I decided to set the paintbrush aside for awhile and tackle the removable wall covering.

And that’s when I really started to fall in LOVE with our hallway transformation.

I used NuWallpaper Navy Poplin Texture Peel & Stick Wallpaper.

( I wish I could take full credit here, but a friend of mine, Katie, used this paper in her space at Cotswold Marketplace and I liked it so much I copied her!)

There’s so much to love about this product. First of all it was super simple to use, the pattern is super forgiving, and the texture helps to hide the seams or any imperfections. Of which there were many. Ha.

Any reservations I had about having too much blue have flown out the window. Way out the window. It’s just enough to tie the spaces together, while still allowing the hallway to stand on its own.

I love the blue against the light gray walls. I’m so happy we choose the 3/4 wall treatment too!

If you couldn’t tell by now, I am just super happy with how it’s all turning out!

Almost immediately, I hung the mirror and started playing around with storage options for the little cabinet.

I also hung the bamboo rack on the opposite wall. The wall mounted option is such a space saver compared to the free standing option we had previously.

We’re still waiting for the bench I ordered for the shop to come in. In the meantime, we’re using another woven stool as a place holder - either way the new combination is working!

We also replaced all the doorknobs and outlet covers. These little details may seem unnecessary, but they go a long way to making the whole space feel fresh and new.

I finally pulled the trigger on the inspiration runner, after trying several other options that just didn’t feel right. Check out stories on Instagram for more on that one…

I actually can’t believe how close we have come to the original plan. I feel like I almost always change something, but so far so good this time around.

The runner won’t be here until June though, so you never know what I might come up with between now and then. Or what new project will get my attention.

Until next time…

Here in NC we are planing to enter Stage 1 of the reopening at the end of the week - it will be a gradual process, I’m sure. Actually, I have no idea what it will look like! But, I do know that retail will be opening this week and our little shop, Cotswold Marketplace, will be amongst them.

I’ll be heading into the shop this week to clean and update our spaces in preparation for Friday’s opening. I’m not going to lie, it feels pretty exciting. I’ll be sure to keep you updated…

Fortunately the slow opening will still allow tons of time for all our home projects. And tons of time for more indecision regarding our back hallway project!

In all seriousness, we have been tossing around a million and one ideas for the back hallway and I have revamped this moodboard almost as many times, but I think we have finally settled on some aspects of the design.

It’s a journey, friends, as it always is. And I am sure some things will change along the way….as they always seem to do.

Here’s where we are as of this weekend…

We decided to install the board and batten style moulding on 3/4 of the wall.

The new definition of forced family fun! Ha.

We also decided to paint the walls, trim ceiling and doors BM Gray Owl.

Honesty time … I didn’t even sample this color. I didn’t want to be going back and forth to the store a million times because, hello, quarantine. I just assumed it would be fine because we have the same color cut 50% in the kitchen.

I’m not 100% sure I love it but I’m moving forward in hopes that the end product will be lovely. gulp.

These pictures aren’t the best (reoccurring theme) but you can see that we’ve started to paint the doors, casing, trim, crown and base. This might be the biggest paint job we’ve undertaken.

Maybe not, maybe it just feels that way.

The ceiling needs to be painted before we do a final coat on all the trim, etc … work force disputes due to beautiful weather and above ground vinyl pools has put a halt to the work. ha!

Back to the moodboard…

The top right blue swatch represents the removable wall covering we plan to apply above the moulding. Pretty excited about it, but also pretty scared to install it. Painting = i’m fine with. DIY craftiness = not so much.

The cabinet represents a similar cabinet we have that has lived in the back hallway since we moved in. We picked it up in London years ago, it was the only storage we had in our bathroom at the time. (That just kinda blows my mind a little now!)

The mirror, hanging rack, stool and baskets are all available thru my shop, which means I already have them. Wink.

That leaves us with the runner still to decide on and purchase. Initially I was thinking blue, but then I ran across the crazy option you see above and felt really drawn to it. I love how it incorporates all the colors and leaves plenty of room for creative leeway in any upcoming attached projects. (a girl can dream!)

Still haven’t pulled the trigger on it as of yet, so we’ll see…

That’s it for now. Hope everyone is staying safe & sane.

Until next time…

Excited enough to shower & wash my hair, actually put on jeans & makeup and have my 11 year old snap a couple of pictures of me.

Now that IS a big deal.

Just to refresh….here’s where we started.

And the inspiration image …

And here’s what we ended up with …

Like all good DIY projects some things had to change along the way, but we tried to roll with the punches as much as possible.

We had wanted to keep the cabinet doors on, but painting them didn’t turn out so well.

I had planned to add additional lighting and change out the faucet but I couldn’t convince everyone in the family of that, so we didn’t.

And I had planned to use peel and stick tile as the backsplash, but the price was prohibitive and didn’t really achieve the look I was after.

In the end we painted the cabinets BM Hale Navy, removed the doors, added decorative corbels, added an antiqued mirror backsplash and a vintage Turkish rug (similar).

As much as I didn’t want to have open shelving, it’s actually really pretty and totally growing on me.

Before you ask, I’ll just go ahead and tell you, yes - it’s dusty.

Side bonus: we finally went thru all our glassware and ended up purging a ton. So much better now that we can’t hide all the extras!

Recently I said our back hall is one of the hardest working spaces in our home, but during this time of self isolation, I think the bar may have surpassed it in terms of daily use! Ha.

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…

Potential little know fact about me, I used to work in the wine industry when we lived overseas. I was lucky enough to participate in several work trips to different wineries (I know, tough life). On one work trip, I received the little bird and grape art. In the floating frame (from Target) it’s the perfect addition to our new bar.

Glad I managed to hang on to it for all these years, too! Now that you know about my LOVE of the purge, hanging on to something for 10+ years is even more impressive, right?!?

Other bar top favorites include the “Champagne Please” bar bell (here), “Liquid Courage” decanter (here) and brass pineapple with variegated ivy (here)- all gifts from special people in our lives.

If there’s anything this time of self isolation has taught me it’s to appreciate all that we have, those that we love in our lives, and the power of a good drink!

Until next time…

Enter the back hall, or as we sometimes call it - The Hall of Doors - one of the hardest working areas of our home. With 7 doors connecting this space to the outside, garage, mudroom, laundry room and play room we see a lot of small feet and hands in this space. It has been in need of a paint job for awhile now (SO MANY FINGERPRINTS), but with all this time on our hands we might as well give it a little extra TLC. Ya know?

I’ve already mentioned the dreaded fingerprints and we had such success with the board and batten in the powder room, that we’re thinking about giving it a go again in this space. The question is….do we cover the whole wall or 3/4 of the wall?

There isn’t a huge amount of wall space, due to all those stinkin’ doors, which means not a lot of vertical boards. Less vertical boards kind of takes away from the whole look of board and batten, so breaking up the horizontal space might be the only way to achieve the look.

And what about a color scheme? The hall leads directly into the kitchen, where the walls are painted BM White Owl cut to 50%, with the newly painted BM Hale Navy island.

For flow purposes, I’d like to incorporate similar colors.

Let’s just say, hypothetically, that we decide to do 3/4 board and batten. What color do we paint it - white, gray, blue?

And what do we do above the board and batten?

Paint it all to match? High contrast or low contrast? Or wall covering of some nature?

As if the wall treatment wasn’t enough to figure out, what about the ceiling?

Should it be traditional white? Should it contrast or match the trim?

Speaking of trim, guess we need to figure out the crown moulding as well….

SO. MANY. THINGS.

Beyond walls, ceilings and trims - I’d also like to incorporate a runner on the back stairs.

Should I DIY it or have something custom made?

And should it be blue or gray?

The options are endless.

Good thing I have lots of time to think about it!

Hope you all are staying safe & sane.

Until next time …

Right around the time I realized our Spring break trip to Florida wasn’t going to happen and we we’re having beautiful weather here in Charlotte, I got the crazy idea to look into temporary pools. Once i realized how affordable they can be, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head.

I envisioned our kids swimming daily during Spring break and making quarantine memories to last a life time.

We went big with an 18’ pool, that barely fit in my car upon collection.

Once it was set up, I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s HUGE.

So I put this question out there, and was a little surprised by the results … do you know ME at all?

I can’t just let it be! First of all, all the things I had on the patio had to be incorporated somehow. That was my excuse at least!

So I did a little bit of research and a lot of planning, made a couple of strategic purchases and enjoyed putting together our new space. Favorites include the navy umbrella (for obvious reasons), the synthetic turf (Is it even a tacky vinyl above ground pool without astro turf???), and the tiger pillow (because hello, Tiger King!).

I’m still searching for attractive and affordable outdoor solar lanterns, in case anyone has any suggestions??? I’m all ears…

Our Spring break turned out to be cooler than ideal for swimming, plus we lost power for a couple of days, but we all made use of our new backyard set up and even made it into the pool almost daily.

Frozen pizza lunches poolside were a big hit! As was laying in the sun after an ice dip in the pool!

The little seating area served as a great spot for morning coffee, afternoon drinks, and lots of indepth conversations about Tiger King.

The synthetic turf provided a great landing spot at the bottom of the pool ladder, also going along way to keeping dirty feet from coming and going.

I actually like it so much I might buy more to line the pool surround….Not sure what that says about me.

Embracing it a bit too hard, perhaps!

When in doubt, plants make everything better.

The boxwood have been on the patio forever. And I usually purchase palms for the porch, but this year they’re living poolside.

Like the rest of us will be, once the weather gets a little better.

Has quarantine made you do anything you wouldn’t normally do? Make a girl feel better by letting me know.

Until next time…