Home Q+A: Your Questions Answered
FLOWERS | PEPPER + VETIVER LAURELYNN VASE (USE CARALYN15) | DRESS (XXL)
let’s dig into your
home-related questions
A couple of weeks ago, I shared that it has been one year since we moved into our current home! It’s wild how quickly time has flown by. I started sharing our current home, kicking things off with unpacking our move and things we learned throughout the process. If you or anyone you know is moving soon, it is a must-read, especially the comments at the bottom of the boost.
Once we were somewhat settled, I began documenting and sharing our process for making our 100+-year-old house feel like home and modernizing it. Since then, I’ve shared five room reveals and even more home-related content on the blog and social media.
We still have quite a few projects to do, but I’m excited to get into some of your questions!
How Did you find your style in decor?
To be honest, I never really knew or identified with a particular decor style until I knew it had a name. I’ve always liked a mix of traditional and modern styles that I now know is called “transitional.” I think this particular style works beautifully in our home because it’s such an old house with ornate details, but we’ve been able to elevate a lot of it, bringing it into this century.
My goal is always to create a welcoming and, most importantly, functional space but for it to feel sophisticated at the same time. I’ve had a lot of fun on Pinterest (shameless plug to follow me there if you’re not already), saving things I like and inspiring me.
How To be on the same page
with decorating with your spouse?
Overall, Brian and I have similar vibes and styles in decorating and the look we want to achieve. For a lot of things in our life and business, we divide and conquer. He was very passionate about getting some updated artwork on the walls, where to me it felt like a low priority, so he took the reigns on choosing things. I’d give him feedback or input when he asked, but if it were up to me, our walls would still be empty, so I’m glad he spearheaded that effort.
Occasionally, I’ll take a chance on something he will either totally love or hate. Still, overall we seem not to be super passionate or opinionated about the same things, which is very helpful in this process. It’s always helpful to us to figure out who is into what and divide and conquer, offering support when the other person needs it.
How do you decide what to tackle next?
How to prioritize projects?
Great question… Honestly, things kind of had their way of prioritizing thanks to pandemic-related furniture and supply delays. The first thing we did in our home was to have the entire interior painted. Our painter took a 3-week hiatus in the middle of the painting, so during that time, we had the floors restained. From there, we moved in and used our existing furniture, and determined what we needed to purchase.
We started from the ground up, prioritizing our main/most used living spaces and working our way up. We didn’t do any other major renovations except for building my closet, which took six months to get on the schedule for installation, and gave us time and budget to focus on other things.
I do think it’s helpful to start/focus on one room at a time because it can quickly feel overwhelming. We still have quite a few projects we want to get done, but nothing is truly urgent.
What’s your favorite update?
If you could go back and do anything differently, what would it be?
My favorite update so far has to be my closet or our living room fireplace. I LOVE a “before and after” moment, and I’m proud of how we were able to transform the space. Regarding anything I would do differently, I’d say not let other people’s opinions impact my decision-making and not take them personally. @SignedBlake once said on her IG stories some variation of “unless you’re paying the mortgage, you don’t get a say in my decor choices,” so I’ve been trying to lean into that.
It’s pretty wild how opinionated people are, especially around home design… I recently had someone message me, announcing they’re unfollowing me because they can’t stand looking at what we did to our stairway… Thankfully for them, they’re never invited over.
How do you store seasonal items?
We have a good amount of storage space in our house but try not to let things pile up. When we moved, I committed to investing in cohesive-looking containers/bins, so everything looked organized and uniform. I purchased these bins, which have worked out nicely for us. I like to keep things organized in these blue moving bags that were ESSENTIAL for our move. They store blankets, clothing, and even some holiday decor nicely. Brian and I recently started putting away our outdoor furniture and discovered these extra large waterproof bags were SO useful for storing cushions, highly recommend them.
Organization in small spaces?
Clear containers! I’m certainly no expert, but this has been a common theme. I’ve realized that I need to be able to see what I have if it’s going to get used. We have a small but deep closet, and I couldn’t figure out how to organize it, but finally stumbled on this lazy Susan turntable situation and these clear two-tier pull-out shelves that have worked like a charm! You can see the before and after on this post. I have more organizational finds that have worked well for me on my Amazon Storefront and on this previous post.
Closet organization tips?
I’ve got some of my favorite tips and items on my closet reveal blog post! I love and cannot recommend these felt hangers enough. I’ve repurchased them several times, and I think they work well for maximizing your space. I also like to arrange things in rainbow order. It brings me great joy to see and helps me know where things are.
Pantry/Kitchen organization?
Earlier this year, I shared a video on six items that I used to organize my kitchen, and these are still going strong! You can find the links to everything here. This under-the-sink organizer made me feel like a real adult. It was pretty simple and works like a charm for maximized storage. This would be great in a bathroom or closet as well. I recently swapped all of my spices into cohesive jars like these, and it brings me an astonishing amount of joy, highly recommend it. These bins come with an adhesive so you can put them on the inside of your cupboards for extra storage space.
My life was forever changed when I discovered this wooden plastic bag holder. It fits into the drawer and keeps everything tidy. For the pantry, I have these storage containers, which I LOVE and plan to buy more of, and these clear bins for keeping things tidy. This tea organizer keeps things looking tidy!
What are your paint colors?
Most of our walls are Benjamin Moore Classic Gray, the perfect neutral tone, and changes depending on day and light. Our trim/other woodwork throughout the entire house is Sherwin Williams’ Pure White. We had all the woodwork and walls painted before we moved in. Our primary bedroom is Benjamin Moore Hale Navy, and our dining room (still a work in progress) is in Benjamin Jet Black. Our bathrooms are Benjamin Moore Galveston Gray.
How to style arch/round windows?
I talked about this in our morning room reveal blog post. It was a real journey to figure out a solution for those windows! We worked with a local drapery business to create the custom drapes that were ultimately velcroed inside of the windows so that they wouldn’t distract from their unique shape and beauty. I purchased these magnetic curtain tiebacks to be able to keep them open and take them off when we want more privacy.
Debating purchasing an old home, what’s one thing that has surprised you the most?
I know this to be true for most homes, but once you finish one project, something else requires your attention. We’ve been pretty lucky (knock on wood), but we’ve had a few issues with electricity, asbestos pipes, and windows that come with purchasing an older home. With that said, there’s just something about older homes and the way they were built then vs. now (some pros, some cons) that we love. Of course, everyone is different, and it may be worth creating some sort of pro/con list to help you decide!
What treasures have you found living in an old house? Any original details, or historical pictures?
I shared a video on five interesting things about our old house, we have some unique quirks! One of the previous owners left a very thoughtful note about how much they loved the house and how their kids used to partake in some extracurricular activities in the garage, making us chuckle.
Favorite decor you’ve bought this year?
Favorite furniture?
My favorite decor would have to be some of my Amazon finds. I like being able to swap things out seasonally without spending a ton. My favorite furniture purchase would have to be our BenchMade Modern sofa(s). I shared our experience about it on our living room reveal and morning room reveal. I had a unique opportunity to experience a that was kindly gifted to us. As I mentioned before, pandemic-related delays were top of mind, so I knew we’d have to be patient, but I was intrigued by the brand and their custom luxury sofas made in 5 weeks.
Before committing to a sofa, they sent me fabric swatches and life-size paper printouts to lay in the space to ensure it would fit. I had more room than I initially thought so we could get something larger. I would not have known that if I didn’t have the option to visualize. We ended up with the Skinnyfat Sofa in 100” Extra Deep in the Mcgee Flint fabric and stained walnut legs. We LOVE this sofa so much; I highly recommend checking them out if you’re in the market for new furniture.
I’m embarrassed to admit that we’ve spilled so much on it already, but the performance fabric repels liquids, so it still looks pristine. We purchased another sofa for our morning room and have been beyond happy with the brand.
Affordable decor vs. investment decor?
What is worth the splurge?
“Worth it” is so personal and subjective to everyone’s preferences and budget, but I’m glad we splurged on some of the furniture we use daily (like our sofas). My personal clothing style has always been mixing higher and price point items, and I knew our home would be the same. We splurged on nice artwork but have saved on other things like furniture/decor in our entranceway.
Whenever I find something a bit higher in price, I always try to see if I can find a similar look for less and save where we can. If you look through the room reveals I have posted, you’ll see a nice balance of high and low, which I love!
Thank you so much for submitting and reading these questions!
Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like me to cover in the future. Thanks for reading! xx CMK
Photos by Ryan Kell