From Emily: We know that the news cycle is very much all-consuming right now. We hope this makeover post of Mal’s parents’ living room can be a break if you need one. It’s wild times, it’s important to stay informed, and we are glad to still be here.

My parents have hated their living room since they moved into their empty-nester house 9 years ago. They live in a builder-grade townhome that’s in an amazing location – it’s close to the beach, 5 minutes away from my amazing grandma (who’s 94!), and it’s crazy convenient to everything and anything you’d need. If you read my recent bathroom makeover post, then you heard about how many times we’ve moved as a family throughout the years (spoiler: it’s A LOT). My mom and dad have always been super adaptable, and honestly, I think they really enjoy moving around to shake things up. So they definitely didn’t think they would be in this house for as long as they have been, and they’re not moving anytime soon (especially because I’m going to be moving in really close to them…like REALLY close…my boyfriend, Austin, who I’m moving in with, owns the house 9 doors down). So luckily in the 9 years that they’ve hated their living room, I’ve become an interior decorator and content creator, which calls for…A ROOM MAKEOVER!

Let me brag about my parents for a sec so you can get a sense of who they are and how I’m going to tailor this room to feel like them. First off, my parents are the most incredible people ever. My mom, Melissa, is smart, fun, and beautiful (which is pretty unfair to have all 3). She used to be Snow White and Mary Poppins at Disneyland before becoming the ambassador of Disneyland during their 30th anniversary. Which basically entailed traveling around the world with Mickey Mouse (literally…there are photos of her and Mickey on the Great Wall of China). Then she worked for corporate Disney in special events…BUT WAIT, she’s also an incredibly talented pianist, so she now teaches music and vocals to children at Disneyland and at my high school, Orange County School of the Arts.

My dad, Bob, is (you guessed it) equally as awesome. He comes from an insanely musical family (all of his brothers are professional drummers), and he is the most incredible bass player ever (nope, I’m not even biased). He’s also a music producer and owns his own company called Audio by the Bay. They produce music for shows and parades at theme parks like Universal Studios and Disney all over the world (he also just produced the music for Paramount’s Christmas tree lighting, and it was epic). He loves cars, boats, jet skis, etc. (my parents have a house by Lake Mead because they both love to waterski, and we grew up wakeboarding). So when we were doing a shoot-up at Em’s Mountain House, Emily told us we could take their boat out, but we needed a driver (so we could celebrate after a long week responsibly, haha). I called up my parents, and they generously boated us around to the nearest country bar where we all danced our hearts out and had such a blast.

So I got none of my parents’ musical genes (but boy did they try when I was growing up with the piano, voice, and bass lessons), but there’s one thing I can do: design a bangin’ room and fast. So when AllModern reached out toward the end of December for us to do a quick January living room makeover, I knew just the space that needed some love. Ladies and gents, let me present to you the “50 Shades of Gray Living Room” (literally)…

WELCOME TO THE 50 SHADES OF GRAY LIVING ROOM

So here’s the situation. 9 years ago, when they moved in, gray was IN. So everything in here was gray. The hard finishes in the house are all gray – gray vinyl flooring, gray cabinetry, gray tile – literally everything. So to “match the house,” my parents added in even more gray – gray accent walls, a gray couch, and a gray chair (which is a super common mistake). Hence why we all called it the “50 Shades of Gray Living Room”. Oh, and there also used to be a gray rug in there at one point, but our family dogs (Coco and Murphy) kinda trashed it. So in these photos, you’re seeing the first time they brought in some color to the space, only to realize the rug was way too dark and showed SO much dog hair.

The thing is, my parents always say “they suck at design” (their words, not mine), but really, they just do what a lot of people do: they never create an overall design plan for the space and instead they would just buy and replace one item at a time with no style, color palette, or goal in mind. So, for example, if their rug was starting to look dirty and old from the dogs, they would just go out shopping and would pick up the first thing that was fine, fast, and affordable, and replace it (that’s how they ended up with this rug they ended up hating). Then for some larger purchases they would get design paralysis and would just live with what was already there because they didn’t know what would look better (see the coffee table that used to have storage under it but the dogs ate the fabric so they just tossed the storage pieces and said “it looks fine enough and we don’t know what to get instead”). Well, that’s how they ended up hating their living room – every piece was just fine to them. They had no real attachment to anything in there. None of the furniture in the room made their hearts sing, and the gray color palette quickly became cold and depressing.

So here’s where I stepped in. I perused the AllModern website looking for timeless, high-quality pieces that would warm up the space and that would last a long, long time (even with two pups). I also wanted to bring in more storage because their house really doesn’t have a ton. AND BOY DID I FIND WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!

THE DESIGN PLAN

Desk | Desk Chair | Accent Chair | Drink Table | Floor Lamp | Grid Rug | Sofa | White and Brown Pillow | Light Brown Rug | Coffee Table | Credenzas | Round Pillow | Black and White Pillow | Charcoal Pillow | Cream Pillow | Side Table | Red Lamp

So here’s what I pulled together for the design plan. Last year, my parents had purchased a new sofa, and I installed some simple, cream pinch pleat curtains as a surprise gift for them when they were out of town one weekend. Those two elements really helped the space, but it still didn’t feel cohesive or warm. So I wanted to bring in lots of rich, warm wood tones, both in walnut and oak, to bring out some of the brown hues that are within the gray vinyl flooring. I mixed in some gray-toned elements like the desk chair (that’s actually a dining chair on casters, which glides SO perfectly, and is so comfy), the sofa, and a few of the pillows to make the space feel cohesive with the rest of the house.

I placed this order right before we closed our office for our 2-week holiday break, and then it was (literally) Christmas morning with furniture arriving left and right. My parents were SO STOKED.

When we were back in the office in January, I started to really pull everything together, and I did a few fun DIYs to really make the space feel custom and personal for my parents. Then the week after that, it was finished, and we shot the room!! It was hands-down my fastest makeover to date, but it’s easily one of my favorites now. Here’s how it turned out!

THE REVEAL

Accent Chair | Drink Table | Floor Lamp | Grid Rug | Sofa | Coffee Table | Credenzas | Charcoal Pillow | Red Lamp | Bowl | White and Brown Pillow | White Throw Pillow | Red Lamp

HERE IT IS! I’m smiling so big just looking at this photo again. First – let’s chat about the incredible credenzas (yes, plural!!) I put two of these incredible walnut sideboards next to each other, and they did SO much to elevate the space. First off, the quality is actually unreal (it’s solid wood and those babies are THIIICK). We were so grateful they came with white-glove delivery because they’re heavy and substantial. A tip if you’re putting two credenzas side-by-side: go with something without legs because it will make them fit together more seamlessly – the design of this credenza is perfect for this because you can hardly tell where one starts and the other stops, so it really looks custom! My parents were also blown away by how much storage they gained by spanning the cabinetry wall-to-wall.

I found the big art piece on the right from a vintage boating supply store (so random) for $100, and the couple in it looks identical to my Grandma and Grandpa on my mom’s side. My grandpa wore a captain’s hat everywhere he went and made everyone call him “Captain Vern” (even though he would get seasick and would rarely go on boats). So this piece is super special. We painted the random gray accent wall (that used to be to the right of the chair) and just made the whole room the same white paint color, but then once we got everything in, I knew we needed to add more visual interest and height to the room. All of the furniture is on the lower side (and most of it doesn’t have legs because our sweet pup Murphy is blind and deaf, and he just bumps around and gets trapped under furniture). So we kept everything low to the ground and as little of a Murph-trap as possible. He’s gonna make his blog debut below, don’t worry. So all this is to say, there just wasn’t enough drawing your eye upward. So, literally the weekend before we shot this space, I decided we absolutely needed to try out a DIY shelf idea that randomly popped into my head. I absolutely love Austin and my parents because they were immediately down to head to not 1, but 2 different Home Depots to collect the supplies and help install these shelves 3 days before the shoot.

So this is what it looked like before the shelving…

PROGRESS

Needs some more pizzazz, am I right?? I found the perfect-sized floating shelves (we couldn’t order online because they wouldn’t arrive in time), so they were (of course) gray…which was the exact color we were trying to minimize, haha. So we decided to paint them the same white as the wall (which honestly ended up looking much better than if we had just bought sterile, white shelves online…this looked much more custom). Make sure that if you’re painting laminate to use a shellac primer before! It makes a huge difference in durability.

My dad and I installed the shelves as evenly as we could without a laser level (we immediately bought a laser level after this, though, because it would’ve been helpful). And then I bought4 basic, unfinished wood closet rods (that had free delivery, which was awesome) that my mom stained with natural oak stain. Then Austin cut each piece to size with his jigsaw, and we really had an assembly line going…it was crazy. Because many hands make light work (as Em says), we were able to get this done in 2 days (and it only took that long because we had to let the paint dry…it probably was a total of 6 hours of work between two days).

Accent Chair | Drink Table | Floor Lamp | Grid Rug | Sofa | Coffee Table | Credenzas | Black Footed Bowl | Black Vase | Fluted Bowl | Floor Lamp | Charcoal Pillow | Large White Bowl | Large White Vase | Large Black Vase | Ribbon Candelabra | Leather Catchall | Red Lamp

Then came the fun part – styling!! I think my parents were pretty surprised by how long it takes to style a space and how much you end up just moving things around over and over again. They said, “It’s so crazy because as musicians we have auditory patience and can listen to a song or practice an instrument over and over again until it’s right, but we have no visual patience.” That made me laugh because that’s exactly the skill you need to style – visual patience!!

Large Cream Bowl | Black Vase | Fluted Bowl | Terracotta Vase | Floor Lamp | Charcoal Pillow | White and Brown Striped Pillow | White Throw Pillow | Large White Vase | Large Black Vase | Red Lamp

I incorporated as many of my parents’ objects as I could – the trumpet was originally my Grandpa’s (he was a band director for 60 years!), and then my dad played this same trumpet in high school. The image above the trumpet was a gift from a famous photographer who shot Woodstock – my mom helped him sell his house (oh yeah, she’s also a real estate agent…this woman does it all). On the left is the vintage metronome my sister and I used when we practiced piano as kids, and the photo under that is my mom’s certificate from the Great Wall of China. The giant bowl on the bottom right is one of my favorite AllModern finds, and I juxtaposed it with tiny vintage composer busts that I found at the Sherman Oaks Antique Mall.

There are the pups! Murphy (our blind and deaf rescue) is on the left, and Coco (our boujee King Charles Cavalier) is on the right. These dogs crack me up because they’re very different vibes, but they love each other so much. I love this photo – we’re just missing my amazing older sister, Madi (who works at the Disney Studios in Burbank and understandably couldn’t drive an hour on a random Thursday morning to hop in one photo…but she is here in spirit!) She’s the best person ever, and in case you couldn’t tell, I just love my fam so much.

Storage Coffee Table | Rug | Sofa | Floor Lamp

Remember how we wanted to add more storage?? Well, this incredible coffee table has a GIANT DRAWER!! Perfect for storing bulky, fuzzy blankets. Plus, the quality of this table is really off the charts; it’s just so well made.

Chrome Bowl | Hi-Fi Book | AD Book | Storage Coffee Table | Rug

Crazy – you would never know that that’s a drawer!! It’s so seamless. Also, you might’ve noticed in the moodboard earlier that I had planned to layer this awesome light brown rug on top of this grid-patterned rug. That was because I initially thought it would be too much “grid” with this notched coffee table sitting on this rug. But when we laid it down, I actually thought it looked amazing, and it was visually more dynamic, so we just kept the bottom rug! Both rugs are super well priced for the quality and size – I could not recommend them enough.

Floor Lamp | Rug

This grid rug is also super forgiving with the dogs, and my parents are very impressed with how it’s holding up. Also, how cute is this floor lamp?

Desk | Desk Chair | Grid Rug | Sofa | Coffee Table | Round Pillow | Black and White Pillow | Charcoal Pillow | Side Table | Metal Dome Lamp 

OKAY, onto this really fun family photo DIY I created! You may relate to this – my parents have books on books and boxes on boxes of old family photos that just sit in the credenza and never see the light of day. Well, I wanted to bring some of those old photos out and create a large piece of wall art for them. I had seen this photobooth art by Amanda Jane Jones that’s all over Pinterest (it’s so chic and genius) and knew I wanted to create something similar. So I went into the physical photo archive, took pictures of the pictures on my iPhone, and then uploaded them to Photoshop and started arranging them into a loose grid.

This is where the “grid” theme really started popping off, but I’m pretty into it, honestly. (Also side note: check out that blanket that I found at a vintage store in Arizona for $34!! The loose grid motif is everywhere, and I love it.)

 Metal Dome Lamp 

The key is to vary the color in the photos – if they’re all black and white or all sepia, it starts to lose visual interest. So I colorized the photos in photoshop so some were brown, some were black and white (you could also do this to each photo individually on your iPhone; it was just faster in Photoshop). There are over 250 photos in here, so it took me about 2-3 hours to arrange them and get the colors how I wanted them to look. Then I sent it to the framing store and had them print and frame it HUGE. It’s 48×48, which is awesome. It’s full of baby photos of my sister and me, pictures of my parents when they were first dating, photos of all my grandparents from years ago, etc. We’re all very obsessed with it, and it really made the room feel personal.

Desk | Desk Chair

My parents both do a lot of work from home, so desks are valuable in this house. I love that this one has a drawer (for more storage!) and the leg joinery detail is so pretty. It also came in 2 days, which was pretty amazing. I mentioned it before, but this dining chair on casters is actually the greatest desk chair hack. It’s so comfortable, and it glides around SO easily. I highly recommend this chair – it comes in a ton of colors too 🙂 Also side note – that plant was a Christmas gift from my sister and me when my parents moved in…we truly can’t believe my mom has kept it alive all these years!

This might be one of my longest posts ever, so if you made it this far, THANK YOU!! We had the best time doing this “50 Shades of Gray” living room makeover, and I’m just so happy that my parents finally have a living room they truly love and one that will last a long, long time. HUGE thank you to AllModern for sponsoring this makeover – we couldn’t have found a better partner for this project! I’ll chat with you all in the comments – hope you love it as much as we do!

*Design by Mallory Wackerman
**Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

It’s the last reveal in my apartment before I move you guys!! If you want to see the rest of the space, I already revealed the kitchen, living room, dining room, and of course, the famous closet speakeasy. I’ve done A LOT to this space as a renter, and yes, I’ll have to reverse some of these DIYs when I move out (which is sad but also expected). To me, I’ve gotten to live in such an incredible space that healed me and truly felt like home. That was my one goal when moving in here: to make the space feel like home.

As someone who’s moved a ton of times throughout their life, I know it can take a lot to finally feel settled in a new space (months, years, even). Growing up, I moved all around Orange County because my middle/high school was a charter school, so you didn’t need to live in a specific city to attend (shout out to Orange County School of the Arts). So my parents took that as an opportunity to move around and try out some different cities. I always tried to make my room feel like “me” wherever we went – even if it was just for a year or two. I think this really helped me get into decorating because I had so many fresh, blank slates. Then I went to college, and we all know how that goes – you move pretty much every single year, and your furniture is just a hodgepodge of things you can scrounge together. So I set up and decorated what I could, but I can’t say any of my college apartments were homey (or even cute…)

Once I graduated, I sublet month-to-month in New York while job/career searching, and then I eventually landed this EHD job in LA and moved into my first studio apartment in Hollywood, and that was the first time I was really able to make my own space feel like home. It took a solid 3 years before it stopped feeling like a barebones Airbnb and actually felt like mine. But right as I dialed it in, life threw me for a loop, and I moved to New York (again) only to break up with my ex and come straight back to California, and a few months after that debacle, I moved into this apartment in Los Feliz. So that’s my life story: home edition. Moving into this space – I really just craved the feeling I had in my Hollywood apartment, where I would walk in, and every muscle would relax, and I felt like I could just breathe. Home can give you the feeling of peace and safety when the world outside lacks so much of it. So yeah, I did a lot to this apartment (especially in those other room reveals you saw) – but I FINALLY got it to feel like home, so I was really happy to accomplish that goal.

On the flip side of things, as a renter, it’s important to know what upgrades are going to be the most high-impact to you and then do those things. This is your permission the leave the rest behind. It’s important to remember in the world of picture perfect homes, sometimes, ‘good enough’ is totally fine – ESPECIALLY in a rental. In my bathroom, I was originally considering wallpapering (which I still think would’ve been awesome) but once I realized that my dining room was the room that needed wallpaper more (this wallpaper, to be exact), I invested my time and resources there instead. Had I been here for longer, I would have considered wallpapering, but I really didn’t want to add to my plate of taking even more wallpaper down when I move out (it’s a thing, trust me), and this bathroom was already pretty dang cute. So I decided to just elevate and swap a few small things to make it shine a bit brighter. Let me show you…

BEFORE

That tile!! The little shelf!! THE TUB! It’s all so adorable. The only wonky thing is the fact that that cabinet just doesn’t close all the way (maybe a new 2026 design trend??) The green vintage tile really just sings – I actually found the perfect wallpaper I was going to install but like I said, it ultimately just ended up not being worth it for the cost, effort and removal. So I cut my losses, and instead came up with some affordable, easy swaps that would make the space feel like mine without breaking the bank or having to spend hours undoing it upon move out. And they were all totally worth it.

So I was looking for design ideas other than expensive (but awesome) wallpaper, and I saw this inspo photo and immediately knew I wanted to do something similar.

I loved the idea of doing a “painted crown moulding” to draw your eye upward (and knew I could figure out an even easier renter-friendly way to do it)…

Bath Mat | Towel Holder | Towel | Toothbrush Holder | Vase (Similar) | Stackable Wooden Bowls | Mirror

So this is the new view into the bathroom after my simple renter-friendly upgrades!! The space has so much more personality now, and I can take almost everything with me when I move out, which I love.

I loved the look of that inspo photo so much – so I used this washi tape in two different colors (I could only find this variety pack, so I ended up ordering 3 sets – so I used 6 rolls total, and it covered the whole room). Now, washi tape notoriously doesn’t stick well to dusty surfaces, so I was wary that this would hold up since my apartment can collect a lot of dust being in a city, but I just thoroughly cleaned the wall before I applied it, and it stuck on – no problem. And now it’s held up great for over 6 months! It genuinely worked so well for this space and will be so easy to remove when I have to leave.

Washi Tape | Towels | Bath Mat | Towel Holder

Those towels are so good, I bought a second set for my boyfriend’s house that I’m moving into next month!! They’re the Parachute x Target collab, so the quality for the price is awesome (Parachute’s towels are normally $60-$70+) and I think they’ll last a fairly long time since they’re so forgiving (and are so so soft).

Mirror | Pulls | Knobs | Outlet Cover | Towel Holder | Towel | Trash Can | Mirror | Toothbrush Holder | Window Film

These were truly the easiest swaps – my goal here is to show you that not every space needs a complete overhaul or remodel to look and feel better. The very first thing I did was swap the hand towel holder to this one – it’s from Anthropologie and I had my eye on it for a LONG time. Then, I changed out the boring circular mirror to my DREAM mirror from Soho Home (which I can’t wait to take with me to my boyfriend’s place), then added new hardware (the old ones were crumbling in my hands which was cool, so I didn’t buy super expensive ones because I’ll likely be leaving these), and then added this pretty window film to add some more pizzazz.

OH, and upon moving in, I swapped every single outlet and light switch cover in the apartment to these fun brass ones. They were super affordable but made such a big impact to my everyday.

Wooden Bath Caddy

I’m a firm believer that a bath is basically the same as having a hot tub inside your house. Taking a bath here is actually magical. This tub is so perfect, and if you light a few candles, get your dirty martini and bubbles going, it is DIVINE.

I usually read on my iPad or Kindle (my sister got me into the fairy smut genre, and I cannot get enough…My Fourth Wing, ACOTAR, and Throne of Glass fans RISE UP!), so when it came to styling I only had a few physical books, so please enjoy this photo of My Body by Emily Ratajkowski, hahaha.

The art pieces above the tub are some of my absolute favorites. The skateboard guy I found at Market Market in Palm Springs (if you haven’t been – GO!), the top right is by Mucci (who I found at the Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival and have now put his artwork in 3 of the rooms in my apartment!), and then the top left is actually from my Hollywood studio (it’s a sketch of the view of the Chateau Marmont by the Max Gooding Co).

Light Fixture | Tassel

We didn’t get a good photo of the no-electrical-required light fixture swap (this bathroom is pretty small and hard to shoot, so shoutout to Lyle for doing an amazing job with the photos regardless!!) But I wanted to chat about this boob light upgrade that required NO ELECTRICAL! It was super easy – I just took off the boob light shade, then put the light fixture through the long screw from the original boob light, then secured the same hardware back on and covered it with a tassel. I made a video on it here, so it’ll make a bit more sense, but it was the easiest DIY ever. Someone joked that it went from boob light to nipple tassel, and I’ve never laughed harder. But yes, I highly encourage you to add a nipple tassel to your boob light!! It looks so much better.

This will always be our girly little apartment that helped us heal and grow, and I’ll forever be grateful for this space. I hope whoever moves in next loves every bit of it the way we did. Thank you for reading and checking out all of these makeovers – it means the world!!

*Design by Mallory Wackerman
**Photography by Lyle Nelson

Wow. It was a HUGE year of room reveals, and looking back at it, I’m so impressed with my team for executing so many (and I’m realizing I’m already WAY behind for 2026). There are “renovation years” and “reveal years,” and I much prefer the reveal years (and so do you – or so traffic tells me). While some of us love getting into the granular construction stuff, it’s just not as visually pleasing as these styled-out rooms. So let’s recap it in chronological order.

The river house laundry room. Timed exactly for January when people need to stare at clean spaces and fantasize that their life, too, can be neat and tidy (it me!). Eventide is still one of my favorite paint colors – so soothing and fresh but with a lot of depth.

The river house closet. Closets are the only rooms that take ALLLLLL day to shoot. Like we can shoot a living room, dining room, and family room in the same time it takes to shoot one closet. Finding the angle, lighting everything since there is typically no natural light, and making sure nothing is reflected in mirrors.

And then the styling. OH BOY. I know that I’m a perfectionist when it comes to styling (not any other part of my life, BTW, which is weird), so these shots likely took 2-3 hours each to get perfect. This was for a partner, California Closets, so it’s literally my job to care to the extremes, so I do 🙂 And no, no one really lives like that. Technically, I didn’t design this closet, though. Emily and the California Closet Oregon team worked directly with Ken and Katie to design it. I just styled the hell out of it.

Ah, my laundry closet, which is painfully cute and gets so much use. This was my first DIY wallpaper job (pre-pasted FTW) and so satisfying. This is also where I revealed my love for “dumb” appliances (i.e., the Speed Queen that is historically the most long-lasting washer, that cleans the best despite looking so old school). She’s a solid appliance! I also love the little rope detail on the shelves.

Ugh. My best friend Robyn’s living and dining room was so special. It turned out so much better than I thought it would (not that I didn’t think it would be good, but I don’t know, it just came together at the end to be incredibly cozy, personal, and cohesive).

Every time I go over there, it’s perfectly clean and styled. They love it and have a lot of house pride and keep it almost exactly how we left it (table not set).

Such a pretty dining room. I’m so jealous of its coziness.

This guest bedroom in the river house was a sponsored room that I think took us a matter of days to concept and execute, and I think we really nailed it. I love designing bedrooms (despite not really dialing in mine yet!). And while tonal bedrooms aren’t for everyone, they are for me – it’s just really easy to execute, warm, and yet feels designed. Choose different hues and just layer, layer, layer.

Finally, my kids’ bath was completed with the addition of that wallpaper. I love it so much. It feels original, personal, unrepeatable, cohesive, and still me (and hopefully them?).

We also papered my water closet, which at first I was like “whoa, it’s a lot,” but quickly got used to and really like it.

The river house guest bath was a quick one, came together last, and is right off the pink bedroom above.

This was a bonus room of a friend of mine in LA who has an extremely eclectic style. She did the same Spoonflower pattern on every surface (and I had a partnership with Spoonflower at the time, so I convinced them to let me shoot it). Wild stuff and so fun (this hit with the younger crowd, but was controversial to a lot of readers).

My brother’s kitchen patio had to be shot in February to hit our early spring deadline, but we managed to get like 2 days of non-rain to do it. I love those swings so much.

My OTHER best friend’s living room is one of the most gorgeous rooms I’ve ever been in. I’m also jealous of this room and glad I get to stare at it in photos (and in person when I go over).

The dining nook is so special. I must use “Dead Salmon” somewhere in my life at some point (the Farrow & Ball paint color they chose).

We did a one-day styling situation in their basement using mostly what they had (I bought a few things like the sconces and the poufs), and it reminded me how much I love just coming in and solving other people’s problems.

Man, was it fun to have friends who were willing to invest in cool pieces and push it color-wise a bit. They are both creative execs and just love design, making them pretty much the ideal “client”.

Ah, the outdoor kitchen! Man, is it epic. It has four hanging copper lights now that didn’t make it in time for the shoot, and the landscaping has grown in so much. We are extremely pleased and grateful for this and have been enjoyed by, like, hundreds of neighbors.

The landscaping project with Dennis’ 7 Dees came and went in a blur (in the best of ways). They did such an incredible job, and it even looks pretty in the winter (less pretty due to the rain, mud, gray clouds all day lately, but still lots of green to keep it at least colorful).

My brother’s powder bath was just a little mini-reveal, but she’s pretty dang cute.

The studio/prop garage is absolutely life-changing for the Portland EHD team. It still gathers stuff, it’s still a place to pile props or returns after shoots, but it’s dry, no spiders (haha, I’m sure there are), warm, with proper lighting, so organizing things on a cold, wet day is still so pleasant. Thanks to my brother and Nick for executing this so perfectly!

And shout out to the prettiest garage doors ever. I know this seems odd, but we (and all our neighbors and friends) see these garages far more often than the front porch (below), based on how people enter the property, so having these look pretty actually made our curb appeal so much better.

The front porch is so pretty though, and I was so excited to finally get these big wides of the house. If you haven’t seen the before and after of the house and want the full tour, go check out this post.

And I think topping the “unrelatable home project” charts, we did in fact finish the pickleball court in time for summer, and we really love it. What once was a broken tennis court is now a pretty dang useful sports court. Let’s just say I’ll get mad at myself if we don’t have at least one huge party every month from April – September to enjoy the property. So come on over…

Mal really nailed her first reveal in her apartment, but spoiler! She is moving, and she’s going to document her new place as well (some for the blog, some for her channels). It turned out SO GREAT, and my 27-year-old self, who had nothing but mismatched thrifted furniture, was so jealous of her super dialed-in apartment. Seriously talented.

I mean, the most epic speakeasy… This went viral on her channel and for good reason.

Back to the river house, we started doing the bigger reveals of the first floor. We actually shot the living room, kitchen, dining room, office, etc, first, but we had to hold those reveals for the big house feature. So this family room was revealed first (and boy, do I love it). The coziest Bennet sectional FTW.

Mal then revealed her dining room in her Los Feliz apartment, which was so cute.

The foyer off the entry of the river house is one of my favorite vignettes. The contrast of the clean, round sofa against the busier striped warm wood just felt perfect.

The kitchen is such a dream to be in, cook in, and hang out in. We did an early Thanksgiving here with my family, and it flows so well.

Kinda crazy that someone actually gets to live here… 🙂

Then, in October, we headed out to The Carly to shoot round one of holiday content. Gretch produced it and did such a good job and styling that the space was such a dream. You can rent it for luxury group getaways (or small elopement weddings).

OK, so here is where we played sofa roulette, and yet we still don’t know where we are going to land! The Alice sofas in here looked great, but the color palette just didn’t feel like it was balanced. You all had opinions which I really, really love.

Then Jess won for “longest, best, and most personal makeover takeover“. We were all so smitten with how much love and thought she put into her apartment. Such an inspiration.

Stunning. Quiet. Personal. Interesting. I LOVE what she did in her apartment.

Back at the river house again, I got to finally reveal likely my favorite room – the game room (which might be more like a library). Def less “pop a shot” than “rummikub” but it’s just the best room to be in.

Gretch did a fantastic last-minute room change for a partner that turned out so cute in time for the holidays. That’s a sofabed!

Then the last river house reveal (for a while!), which I think turned out better than I imagined. Why am I so good at designing other people’s living rooms but struggling so much with my own???!!!! This one is so comfortable, cozy, warm, and yet big. The Baby Barb is Baby Barbing hard over there.

Kaitlin then tackled her bathrooms in her 1970s house that looked so good, so her and so appropriate. She doesn’t know which one she loves more – their bathroom (above) or her girls (below).

It’s hard not to vote for the girls because of that tile, but I loved how she combined her colors in ways that I hadn’t before. Bravo, Kaitlin!

Ok then, I played furniture rearrangement (with my sofa line, to shoot for marketing purposes) and turns out Brian and I both LOVED IT. Now that opinion was not universal, which I love. Many of you loved the below version better…

And I love this sectional and how the room is so simple and streamlined in this version, but with the Oregon mud/rain, I just don’t think we can have a sectional on the first floor (unless we get rid of our dogs). JUST JOKING.

You guys, it was a HUGE year, and perhaps my Q4 brain is done. I actually want to do more of a personal and business highlight post with some self-indulgent reflections :). Thanks for reading, as always. We appreciate the heck out of every day you come, read, comment, or engage. Thank you, thank you. xx

First, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who read and commented on last week’s post about our primary bathroom! Your kind words really meant so much. I’m not a regular writer on the blog, as you know, so it’s still a little nerve-wracking for me to put myself and our home out there—but hearing from you sure makes it fun!

Today, I’m excited to share our daughters’ bathroom! When you last heard from me back in July, I gave a little peek at the space pre-demo, but here’s a quick refresher.

Honestly, compared to the primary bathroom, the girls’ wasn’t quite as bad. I mean, both were pretty bad, but the condition of the tile in this one wasn’t quite as tragic—and it’s a slightly larger space overall. Unlike the primary, where we had to take down a wall, this one was more straightforward: rip out the old, bring in the new, and make it feel fresh again.

Here was our moodboard for the space…

If you remember, designing this bathroom felt way more challenging to me than working on our primary. I think there are a few reasons for that. First, when we have guests over, this is the bathroom they’re more likely to see. Some of our friends didn’t even realize we had a bathroom off our bedroom until our reveal last week! (Ha!)

We also have a half bath off the kitchen that we quickly updated during our big main floor remodel—we carried the hardwood floors in, painted it white, added an inexpensive vanity, and called it good. It’s teeny-tiny, but it definitely has potential. I’m kind of hoping to give it a little refresh in the New Year—maybe some fun wallpaper? Stay tuned.

Anyway, since more people are likely to see the girls’ bathroom than the primary, designing it carried a little extra pressure. I wanted it to feel fun and playful for them now, but as I mentioned in my previous post, also a space that won’t feel too “little girl” as they get older. If I’m being honest, I’m not totally sure I’ve nailed that balance—but for now, it’s pretty cute 🙂

The Tile Saga

The morning our tile installers arrived, my husband and I both had a brief moment of panic. I was about to head out for a shoot when he came rushing in, asking, “Are you completely sure you want to do the patterned tile in the girls’ bathroom and not just a solid?” Truthfully, I’d been second-guessing it myself—should we go checkered, vertical stripe, horizontal stripe? I had just shared our bathroom plans here on the blog a couple of weeks earlier, and all the feedback about the tile pattern had me questioning things. Should we just play it safe and go with a solid?

When my husband admitted he wasn’t sure if he was sold on the checkered layout either, I started to worry we’d be making a mistake. We ran out to the garage to count how much of the yellow tile we had, and realized we were just a couple of boxes short of being able to pivot and go all solid yellow. Thankfully, we didn’t have enough to change course—because in the end, the pattern completely transformed the space (as you can see in these process shots, we went with checkered). It brings such a playful vibe to the space, and now I can’t imagine it any other way. My husband and I are both so happy with the result.

Alright, here’s where things got a little tricky for me. It might have been because I’ve never designed a bathroom before and wasn’t totally clear in my communication with our subcontractors—or maybe because I have a hard time speaking up in situations like this—but when I got home from work the day the tile install began, something around the niches immediately felt off. I loved how the tile itself was looking, so I tried to convince myself it would all come together once the grout was in. (I know, I know—I should’ve said something right then.) But once they finished grouting, it was clear the niche situation wasn’t improving.

Maybe this sounds dramatic, but I was so bummed. We loved the tile, the color, everything—except that one detail. It felt like I’d completely failed the project (renovation emotions are so, so real). In my mind, it was done, set in grout, and we’d just have to live with it. I texted Emily a flood of photos over the weekend while she patiently talked me off the ledge (I’m fully aware this is a very privileged problem), and she simply said, “Why don’t you just call your tile guy and see if he can fix it?” It honestly hadn’t even occurred to me that it was an option. Again, I sometimes have a hard time speaking up in these types of situations. But sure enough, he came back the next day, fixed it, and was so kind about the whole thing. 

Alright, that’s all for reno drama. I think it’s time for the final reveal…

Vanity | Faucet | Mirror | Light Fixture | Planter (unavailable) | Soap Dish (unavailable) | Tray | Cup (unavailable) | Pink Tile | Yellow Tile | Shower Set

Paneling Color | Bird Art | Vase Art | Toilet Paper Holder | Toilet | White Tray | Bath Mat | Floor Tile

We’re so grateful to AllModern for gifting us so many beautiful fixtures for this space. We love how simple and playful this vanity is. The sides are doors, and the middle section is drawers, giving us plenty of storage for all the knick-knacks, jewelry, headbands, and hair ties that my 8- and 5-year-old girls collect.

Vanity | Faucet | Mirror | Light Fixture | Planter (unavailable) | Soap Dish (unavailable) | Tray | Cup (unavailable) | Wall Hook

You may notice a small change from our original mood board—I swapped out the large pill-shaped medicine cabinet for this smaller mirror. I wasn’t sure the original shape would work with the other elements in the bathroom. Maybe down the line I’ll be bummed on not having a medicine cabinet in here, but for now, this mirror feels just right.

Light Fixture

I found this cute little light fixture on Etsy. Again, on a dimmer, of course  🙂 

For the floor, we went with a sweet 2×2 tile in Ivory Gloss, and on the shower walls, we mixed 4×4 tiles in Tumbleweed and Haystack. Just like in the primary bathroom, we stuck with Alabaster grout throughout, which brightens the whole space and makes the pattern pop. Honestly, now comes the real test—keeping it clean. I’m already doing daily wipe-downs, but truly, it’s worth it for how fresh and happy this bathroom feels.

Pink Tile | Yellow Tile | Shower Set

As I mentioned before, I’d planned to stay away from anything too pink—but clearly, that kind of went out the window. Once we started looking at paint colors, we decided to just lean in. We tested a bunch of shades, from pale blushes to darker pinks, but Pinky Beige by Sherwin-Williams ended up being the perfect in-between. It’s warm and cozy without feeling heavy, and just different enough from the floor so it doesn’t feel too matchy-matchy.

And just like in the primary bathroom, we decided to panel the walls here too. It adds so much warmth and texture—honestly, it gives the space way more character than plain painted drywall ever could.

Towels | Towel Rack

This bathroom had zero natural light and felt very sad, especially pre-remodel. But the moment that the Velux skylight went in, it was a total game-changer. Instantly, the space felt brighter and so much happier. Who knew a little window in the ceiling could make such a big difference? Thank you again, Velux!

Skylight

And that’s a wrap! I said it last week, but thank you, Em, for this opportunity—for your trust, your partnerships, and for letting me share a little glimpse of my little design journey without totally messing it up. And of course, a huge thanks again to Afore, AllModern, and Fireclay for making this space feel so special!

*Design and Photos by Kaitlin Green

And we’re back! It’s been a little over three months since we ripped out our small, builder-grade primary bathroom and our daughter’s bathrooms for a much-needed update. I’m so happy to finally share that the bathrooms are complete! 

Last time you heard from me, we had just demo’d, and I shared our rough design plans for both spaces. Something I failed to mention in my previous post–I’m an interior design school dropout. I was so close to going to Savannah College of Art and Design. Loved the city, loved the school, but as a small-town girl from Oregon, it was much too far from home for me. I settled on Oregon State University. However, by my second term and starting the Kitchen and Bathroom Planning course, I hated it. Seriously–way too many numbers for me! AutoCAD–woof! After barely making my way through that, I got into the photography department, and the rest is history. It’s quite comical and full circle that I now photograph interiors after an 11-year run as a wedding photographer. All of this to say, I mostly just enjoy design–being a designer is not a goal of mine. But, it sure was fun to play one in my own home for a couple of months! (I still hate numbers. Thank you, Emily & Gretchen, for all your mathing during this process, especially with the tile order!)

Back to it.. As a refresher, here is where we started.

The bathroom was boring, dark, bland, and just so, so sad. 

Medicine Cabinet | Vanity | Tile | Checkered Towels | Striped Towels

And here is the mood board we created for the space. 

I photographed The Carly back in the spring and had the pleasure of joining the EHD team on their retreat there. I’m so inspired by all the design choices that Max Humphrey and Curtis, the owner, made throughout the property—especially in the bathrooms. Each one had its own personality with paneling and pretty tile.

While our home’s style (and budget!) is definitely different from The Carly, it was fun to pull a bit of that inspiration into our own bathroom with paneling and a bolder tile choice. Also, ever since we paneled our basement, I’m pretty hooked on the look—I now want to either panel or wallpaper every room in the house. It just adds so much warmth and texture compared to painted drywall.

For our basement, we used Metrie’s individual planks, but this time around, since space was tight and every inch mattered, we went with panel sheets instead. It was a pretty affordable way to get the look we wanted. All in, we were able to panel both our bathroom and the girls’ for about $750 in materials.

The Demo 

As I mentioned in my last post, we didn’t have the budget—or the space, honestly—to expand the overall footprint of the bathroom. But we were able to enlarge the shower area, which felt like a huge win. There were a lot of exciting moments throughout the remodel, but seeing that header come down and the wall open up was easily one of my favorites. The shower is now nearly twice the size, and it completely transforms how open and spacious the whole room feels.

Tile & Grout 

Once the demo and rough plumbing were complete and paneling was up, it was time for tile. Fireclay was so incredibly kind to gift us the most beautiful blue square tile. It’s exactly what I’d been searching for. We went with 2×2 tile on the floor and 4×4 tile on the shower walls. I was leaning toward a warm, neutral gray grout that would complement the paint color we’d chosen, but after bringing the grout deck over to the River House one afternoon and getting Emily and Gretchen’s input, we ended up choosing Alabaster. I had a lot of creative freedom on this project, but I’m so grateful for Em’s perspective on this one—once the white grout went in, the tiles totally popped in a way I hadn’t expected. Yes, it’s white grout, and yes, as a bit of a clean freak, I’m nervous about keeping it pristine. But honestly, that doesn’t outweigh how much I love the look. I’ll just have to be diligent about scrubbing the grout and never wearing shoes in the bathroom, like, ever.

Ok, ok, enough chatter. I think it’s time for the final reveal!

The Reveal!

Wall Color | Tile | Shower Fixtures | Shower Doors | Striped Towel | Toliet | Vanity | Baskets | White Towels

Art (vintage) | Frames | Planter | Shower Fixtures

Tile | Bath Mat | Baskets | White Towels

The Medicine Cabinet & Vanity

I absolutely love this vanity. I was very impressed right when it arrived, and we opened it up—the quality is incredible and honestly feels custom. I don’t usually gravitate toward black countertops, but when I saw this one on AllModern, I knew it would be perfect for our space. The veining adds just the right amount of personality and gives it that luxe, designer feel. I hadn’t been specifically looking for a double-sink vanity—especially since our space is small and I didn’t want to lose valuable counter space—but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how roomy it still feels, and how much I enjoy having our own little zones.

Faucet | Striped Hand Towel | Toothbrush Holder (unavailable)

One of the few things I actually liked about our bathroom before the renovation was the medicine cabinet storage—I knew I didn’t want to lose that. When we found this cabinet, it felt like the perfect match for the new vanity. They’re not from the same line at AllModern, but the white oak finish is an identical match, which makes them look completely cohesive.

Vanity Light | Medicine Cabinet | Vanity | Faucets

Technically, the cabinet is designed to be wall-mounted, but because of our layout and the overhead lighting we chose, our contractor recessed it slightly into the wall. I love the subtle black trim around the edge and the little wooden shelf below.

The Skylight

Skylight

As you know, Em is a big skylight girly—and so are we. We already have a large one in our kitchen and another at the top of our stairs, and we’re so grateful the previous owners installed them. When we started the remodel, skylights weren’t at the top of the list, but we were definitely hoping to add them to the bathrooms, knowing they’d make a huge impact—especially in the girls’ bathroom, which we’ll be revealing next week. The installation ended up being a bit out of order because of installer availability—summer in Oregon is a busy time for skylights, as you can imagine. By the time they went in, the bathrooms were nearly complete. Since we didn’t want to make any major structural changes, we opted for a smaller skylight over the vanity area. Even with just a small skylight and our existing window, the difference was dramatic. Huge thanks to Velux!

The Light Fixture

Vanity Light

If you remember from my moodboard, I originally planned to put two lights flanking the medicine cabinet. However, once all the final measurements were done (again, I’m not really a numbers person—oops!), it became clear that side-mounted lights just weren’t going to fit. So, we opted for a fixture above the mirror, and I couldn’t be happier with both the look and the light it produces. On that note, I’m a big believer that every single light switch should be on a dimmer—even in bathrooms. So yes, this one is dimmable, and I absolutely love it. Especially during these dark winter-like mornings when waking up feels so difficult.

Worth noting because I know it was a hot topic in the River House Game Room comments last week, I did Photoshop out the outlets behind our vanity. I promise, I have zero intentions of trying to deceive anyone! We didn’t really put much thought into ordering pretty outlets until it was too late. The plates we had installed are pretty darn big and white and don’t really go with the overall vibe of the space. Something we didn’t realize until things were finishing up— again, it’s my first time designing a bathroom, so some misses were definitely made. Lastly, in photos, they were in the way of some of the vanity styling that pulled your eye a bit too much. Ideally, we would have put an outlet on the wall to the right of the sinks, but due to the new pocket door placement, it wasn’t possible. All of this to say, sorry if it’s a bummer to not see them, they just weren’t very pretty!

Bath Mat

Here’s the view from our bedroom looking into the bathroom. We definitely wanted the bathroom to feel cohesive with the Kelly Ventura wallpaper we chose for our bedroom.

Here are some pretty exciting before and afters:

And that’s a wrap on our no longer builder-grade primary bathroom! A huge thank-you to AllModern for the beautiful bathroom fixtures that truly brought everything together. And a big thank-you to Emily as well—for your guidance, and for letting me take the reins on this one. And thank you for all the hard work to Ken (Em’s brother), Nick, and Ben at Afore! 

Come on back next week for a fun little reveal of my daughter’s bathroom!

*Design and Photos by Kaitlin Green

I’m pretty sentimental writing this post. After four years (maybe 5?), this is the last room reveal of my brother’s family river house. Working on this project has been so incredibly fulfilling. If lessons are gifts (which they are), this project gave me too many to count; I’m spoiled with the bounty. Not every second was easy, but almost all were enjoyable, and I’m happy to report that our sibling friendship is stronger because of it (which is the real win here). So today you are going to see their living room, which is really just a big beautiful family room, TV on tiled fireplace, and all 🙂 I love it very, very, very much.

But not before we go back in time and indulge in some process. This isn’t a concise magazine; we belabor the details here by really forcing you to watch the process, Clockwork Orange style.

Let’s go back in time…

Anne Usher, the architect, designed the house and did an incredible job. The living room has a huge fireplace in the middle, flanked by windows and a bench seat, creating symmetry which is really easy for your eye to understand (and thus be pleased by). I also love symmetry. It makes my brain so happy (which is why I could never ever ever buy one of those houses with odd angles like a dome). Symmetry also makes a room easy to furnish. It should also be noted that I like clear and easy sight lines, so this layout worked for me.

As you can see, the living room opens to the game room, entry, kitchen, and dining room. Perhaps that’s why they call it the “great” room 🙂

It also opens to the back patio, and there is enough room for flow. She’s big and could have been laid out a million ways (keep scrolling for how I did it). The white oak windows are by Marvin, which they bought after being in our Mountain house (they are so pretty – goodness, I miss that house).

Ceiling Lights

My biggest design decisions were the fireplace tile and the lighting. The ceiling lights were chosen because they were the perfect scale for the room and they gave off the light that we wanted, while being stylistically simple. While having really high ceilings might not be your everyday relatable problem, if you should find yourself so lucky, make sure that your lighting is scaled to the size of the ceiling and you aren’t staring up at a bulb searing your eyeballs. These look like hanging lamps, with warm fabric shades that give off a lot of light (there are four of them after all), but never harsh on your eyes because they have a diffuser underneath. And the fact that we could adjust the drop to help bring the ceiling down (making it feel warmer, more intimate) sold us. They aren’t distracting. They don’t pull your eye too much. They are, quite literally, the perfect choice (she pats herself on the back here).

The Tiled Fireplace

Fireplace Tile

Ken/Katie, Max, and I all went to Ann Sacks, who was partnering with me on this home, to choose the fireplace tile, and we were extremely drawn to this 3-dimensional, incredible tile. We knew that it would be high impact but quiet (Ken and Katie don’t love flashy design) while catching the light in a way that added a pattern and texture. It’s truly excellent. Now, the reason we chose black was because we knew that they wanted to hang a TV in here. We seriously debated the green, but I felt strongly that if they were going to hang a TV on it, it needed to be black so as not to break it up visually as much.

Hanging A TV On A Tiled Fireplace

I understand that some of you might feel enraged by this choice – to drill into beautiful tile just to watch TV? It might feel like blasphemy to make the focal point of your living room a screen. It’s a real designer’s nightmare…and yet I was all for it. I know my brother, and I knew he wouldn’t sit in here on the weekends unless there was a TV in here. He’s a former football coach! Could they have laid out the room differently to provide a blank wall for a TV? Sure, but they didn’t. And I, for one, love the shared focal point, the symmetrical layout, and with the Frame TV. I think it looks RAD.

My #1 Goal with homes …

I believe in designing rooms to be enjoyed and used. I never, ever, ever, want someone to have a pretty room that has no real purpose and no one enjoys. I’m an enneagram 7 – I want everyone to be happy and have fun. I knew that they needed a TV in here, and frankly, there are times when I wish that we had one in our living room (Brian is adamantly against which I appreciate). I also forced Kaitlin to put one in her living room, and she hasn’t stopped thanking me. A room needs a purpose to gather. It doesn’t always have to be a TV, but it sure can help.

The Scenic Doors

Sliding Doors

I wasn’t involved in these, but boy, are they gorgeous and function like a dream. So smooth and just accordion open and closed so easily. They bought them from Western Pacific.

The Final Reveal

Here she is – a really warm, comfortable, easy-to-live-in living/family room that is kid/pet-friendly and yet design-forward (isn’t that what we all want???). I’m so proud of this room. It’s calm and quiet, and yet doesn’t feel basic.

Like I said, it’s a really easy living room to live in, as it should be. Look at those sweet kiddos! My kids are pretty obsessed with their kids, which makes living here 100% worth it – cousins growing up with each other is not something I got to enjoy, but always admired. Elliot and Kennedy are best friends (seriously, they prefer each other over all of their separate friends), and Charlie is Frank’s big brother. We feel very grateful.

Hallway Ceiling Lights | Entry Rug | Game Room Planter

When you enter the house, you have the game room to the right, then the kitchen on the left of the green rug, and the living room on the right. It’s extremely open and filled with natural light (like brother, like sister). I love this shot, and it really showcases Anne Usher’s skills.

Sofa Console Table | Small Sphere Lamp | Large Bowl (no longer available) | Side Table | Table Lamp

The scale of the room is big, therefore the scale of the furniture has to be big. The rug is a 12×15, the sofas are 108″ and 96″. You walk into the back of one of our sofas (the Otto), which is attractive (I love the curve of the arm from the back), but there was so much extra space, so we added that IKEA bookshelf to help fill it out.

Entry Rug | Large Faux Tree

I love the green rug leading you out to the river. It feels really cohesive and just so intentional (which it is).

The Otto Sofa | Coffee Table | Bowl | Vase | Side Table

Behind the living room is the kitchen, positioned so everyone can chill and even watch TV while cooking and hanging with friends. The coffee table is from Crate & Barrel and is pretty fantastic for the scale. I love peeping at the stairway railing in the background – so pretty.

Burgundy Pillow | Stitched Lumbar Pillow | Ochre Pillow | Striped Pillow | Throw Blanket | Tray

Man, this house sings to me. Your eye isn’t trying to figure anything out; it’s very easy to compute. The kitchen is to the left, and the dining room is back on the right. Such a dream.

The Oscar Sofa | Blueprint Wall Sconces

Looking back towards the game room, you have a lady who is seemingly very comfortable on her sofa (perhaps because it’s rated one of the most comfy sofas in the world??). I love those Blueprint sconces that act as sculptures and the glass doors that create a really cool architectural element. Shout out to the $30 World Market lamp (don’t ever accuse me of being a design snob – I’m picky, but not snobby).

Burgundy Lumbar Pillow | Throw Blanket | Burgundy Pillow | Silk Pillow | Wall-Mounted Table

I really love our Oscar Sofa and Otto sofa, talking to each other in this shot. They seem to really love each other – both friendly, soft, and welcoming 🙂

Frame TV | Bench Pillows, left to right: Cut Velvet Archways Pillow | Classic Cotton Velvet Pillow | Italian Velvet Pillow Cover | Classic Cotton Velvet Pillow | Jett Throw Pillow | Burnt Green Throw Pillow

Now, I get that the fireplace without a TV would be stunning, but I think we can all agree that the fireplace with a Frame TV above it looks pretty fantastic. Don’t let your aesthetics hinder your function; just find a way to make them work together.

The Baby Barb Chair | Green Pillow | Side Table | Canister | Floor Lamp

I love this shot. The Baby Barb is baby barbing hard. She’s really big (a chair and a half), but I’m so jealous that Ken gets to sit in her every day. I’m a really, really good sister.

Roman Shades | Pollack Fabric | Bench Pillows, left to right: Relaxed Washed Organic Velvet | Cut Velvet Archways Pillow | Italian Velvet Pillow | Classic Cotton Velvet Pillow | Italian Velvet Pillow | Throw Blanket | Side Table

We partnered with Decorview on the shades and curtains in this room, which I’ll write more about later, but it’s a fantastic reminder that rooms can feel cold without them. And a huge shoutout to Pollack fabrics for creating a fabric that brings the entire house together.

And presenting Harvey as tribute. We all love Harvey, who sheds and barks but is the sweetest dog and only wants to be held by his big baby big brother daddy Ken.

UGH. That’s a GREAT view right there. I can’t wait for the slider on this one – we worked so hard and cared so much. It’s incredibly rewarding to see it all come together (and we shot this before we had all three green runner rugs to connect together – now it’s a big, long corridor rug).

I’m really proud of this room. It’s so comfortable, coz,y and conversational. It’s easy to hang out in and yet still commands the importance of the home. Thanks for following along. This isn’t the last river house post (I want to decompress with you), but this reveal has been coming for a long time. Thank you so much for reading. I really, really appreciate you. Ask all the questions in the comments. xx

Oh, and of course, here are the before and after sliders:)

Living Room Resources:
Fireplace Tile: Ann Sacks
Benches: Custom
Bench Fabric: Pollack
Wall Color: Alabaster by Sherwin-Williams
Pendants: Rejuvenation
Sconces: Blueprint Lighting
Faux Tree: City Home PDX
Seating (Sofas and Chair): Room Service by Emily Henderson
Window Shades: Decorview
Windows by Marvin Windows and Doors
Slider Doors: Western Pacific
Flooring: Stuga

*Architect: Anne Usher
**General Contractor: JP Macy of Sierra Custom Construction
***Interior Designers: Emily Henderson (me!) and Max Humphrey
****Styling: Emily Henderson (me!)
*****Photos by Kaitlin Green

Hey there, reader! Does this wallpaper look familiar? Any chance you remember this MOTO photo (below) from my last makeover reveal? The one where I plastered the tinier of my two bedrooms in DIY fabric wallpaper, forced a queen bed in there, and called it mine? Or maybe you’re up-to-date and instead recall a more recent post, where I flashed you my scary second bedroom, aptly named “The Doom Room”, and contemplated swapping the two?

The TLDR version goes something like this– I loved my initial bedroom design and still intended to keep the furniture (and fabric wallpaper) forever, but I made a mistake in choosing the smaller room for my personal bedroom, leaving the bigger room to be my “office”. Instead, this larger space just turned into a dumping ground for estate sale finds, crafty crap, and miscellaneous junk I wanted to close behind a door and forget about. I was sick of my excess stuff, desperately wanted more space in my own bedroom, and hoped that by switching the two rooms, I could finally free up the smaller one for guests. So I went for it, moving my bed and dresser to the larger room (which I’m loving btw), to free up the wallpapered room for a new project–a (hardly) blank canvas.

During the switch, a kismet opportunity to work with AllModern fell directly from the sky and into my lap. They were specifically looking to do a story about hosting visitors for the holidays. Like what?! This was my chance! A timely partnership paired with an insatiable desire to declutter and design a thoughtful guest space? It kicked my spare room dreams into high gear, and I can’t wait to show you how it all turned out.

Double-Sided Desk

When I first wrote the room swap post, contemplating how each area might look and function, I thought I wanted this second bedroom to double as an office space. Before the partnership, I had even picked out an AllModern desk (a piece I was eyeballing for its clever, double-sided, dual-purpose design). But the truth is, I like doing my daily computer work from my dining table and mostly use my vintage desk chair as extra living room seating, so relocating my “office” to this smaller room just didn’t make sense. What it did require was storage (and sadly, this cool desk was too big anyway).

Above all, I was craving a second sleeping zone that felt comfortable and spacious. A tucked-away oasis for any friend, parent, or first-date-mistake to have a place to crash for the night. A room that felt…roomy, despite its humble footprint. A private hang-out spot that could transform for guests but would still inspire me creatively anytime I needed to dig in the closet for art supplies. This old “wallfabric” isn’t coming down anytime soon, but with a hefty dose of some AllModern magic, I think we gave this familiar space a brand new feel…

Please, feast your eyes upon my new and improved GUEST BEDROOM! A funky lounge space by day, an artful bedroom by night, and with just enough storage to tuck my junk treasures out of sight. Let’s dig in, shall we?

Rug

One element I wanted right from the jump was a big hit of red. I knew this would help guide the design in a fresh direction. I envisioned a simple but interesting color-drenched rug, and it wasn’t hard to find a winner–I felt great about this one instantly! I love how its subtle, indented pattern references a similar repeat on the wallpaper, and I think the deep red color solidly anchors the space, don’t you?

Sleeper Sofa

Initially, I had imagined a green sofa bed in here. It had to be a sofa bed to save on space and maximize room function. But it’d need to be the perfect Goldilocks Green to work with the green on the walls, and I just didn’t want to chance it. I figured something more neutral, a beige, gray, or cream would be better overall. I was in-between sleeper sofas. Initially, I liked the 84″ Cleo Sleeper Sofa for its compact shape and long list of customizable colors. But ultimately I chose this one, the Savelle 88” Upholstered Sleeper Sofa (in Mink Chenille) because it shipped a little faster, had stellar reviews, and still looked just as good. Also, I was hopeful that a fold-down sofa bed over a pull-out mattress would better maximize space, even if the sofa itself was a little longer.

I am SO glad I went with this option. The oatmeal color looks so good in here and helps dial back the wild wall factor, allowing the rug to stand out a bit more. Plus, a neutral like this will work in just about any space I move to in the future–something I consider heavily with a piece like this. I want it to last!

But I also want it to be easy. So far, swapping between functions has been a breeze! From sofa to bed, you start by removing the two back cushions, drag the bench seat forward (it’s on wheels and works like a trundle bed), then flip down the solid back cushion to reveal a brand new, full-sized sleeping surface–just add bedding! Flip it and reverse it Missy Elliot style, and you’ll have a couch again in no time.

Ivory Sheet Set | Waffle Duvet Cover | Duvet Insert | Striped Yellow Shams | Pillow Inserts | Waffle Throw Blanket | Yellow Throw Blanket

The cushions are on the firmer side, but aren’t at all like a cheap futon. They feel more like a dense mattress, still with plenty of bounce. Two cozied-up friends or one Emily Henderson should have no trouble lying here comfortably! See? Actually, I’ve already had multiple guests stay over in this room (no, not my boss), and they all gave rave reviews on comfort. I mean, I did ask each of them how well they slept, and it is possible they lied to me… but I had the accidental pleasure of falling asleep on it myself recently, and can attest, it was a very solid slumber!

Gumdrop Throw Pillows | Wool Pillow | Yellow Throw Blanket | Side Table | Paper Trees

You may recognize some of the styling elements (like the throw pillows, side table, chrome lamp, upholstered chair, or paper trees) from our recent Christmas at The Carly decoration transformation. And well, that’s because I stole them for myself after the shoot. Actually, Em asked me to do a chunk of the shopping for that first holiday photoshoot, and instinctively, I pulled pieces from AllModern that I thought might also work in my space, hoping to cut down on the amount we’d need to style out both. I picked colors and textures I liked and could utilize here as well, so it’d make sense for me to just keep most of it in the end. Just some light, premeditated “stealing”. Like, I’m sorry, but I really wanted some of those jewel-toned paper trees for myself. This is meant to be a holiday guest story after all!

Wall Shelf

While I can cram most of my junky stuff away in the closet, I also wanted to include a few pretty storage pieces to round out the space. I found this super cute wall shelf to display a few of my favorite things, which finally gave purpose to this impossibly small wall next to my closet. It was super simple to put together and just as easy to hang.

Sideboard

Then I came across this beautiful thing. A storage piece in a wood tone I just loved, with beautiful lines… and a secret! To me, it echoed similar vibes to the double-sided desk I liked from before. At first glance, you think you know just what it is: A dresser with nine drawers. Now go ahead and move that little slider to the left for ultimate satisfaction. They’re actually cabinet doors! Boy, do I love a sneaky piece of furniture.

Side Chair

It’s a perfectly petite size, too, but with plenty of room inside. In my mind, having doors instead of drawers also allows for easier access to the stuff within, but maybe that’s just me? For now, this cabinet stores the guest bedding, but I’m sure eventually I’ll find a way to shove a hammer or a few vintage finds in there, too.

Mirror | Chrome Lamp | Vase | Pink Catchall

Above the sideboard is this funky, amorphous mirror. I love it. It’s a curvaceous walnut that pulls a little more red (exactly as I had hoped when I first saw it online). It totally complements the rug and accent pillows and pairs nicely (but not too closely) with the storage piece below. That lamp was also a Carly swipe. Its shape and material are just so sleek and reminiscent of the last lamp I had in here (which sadly broke).

Chrome Side Table

The little metal side table in the corner was a last-minute addition (eventually, a tall, spiky plant or narrow bookshelf might live here instead), but I love what these balanced pops of chrome add to the space. The platter sitting on the cabinet works great as a catchall, and the pink matches the flowers on the wall, but when visitors come to stay, I’ll likely clear the surface so they can use it to spread out and unpack. However, one MUST leave out a design-forward vase of flowers to properly greet your guests upon arrival!

We filled out the opposite wall with a few of my favorite artworks. The large painting is a piece my mom’s college classmate painted for her that I, yes, STOLE and refuse to give back. The bamboo-framed dancer print is one I scored years ago at a local Latvian rummage sale for just $10. And the newest addition is a piece Em commissioned for all of us by one of our favorite local artists, Purl. At our last team retreat, she surprised us each with a custom art piece for our birthdays. Mine is titled “Shopkeepers”. It was the final piece needed for this little gallery wall, which I think hangs so nicely over both the bed and the sofa. I didn’t even have to move the old swing arm sconce from my last makeover!

Well, folks, I think that about sums it up! In just a few weeks, I was able to carve out my little dream space for all future guests with the help of AllModern. The strong punches of color and wild wallpaper might be a bit much for some of you out there, and that’s okay! But I’m truly over the moon with how it turned out. It’s fun and functional, but the best part is there’s now SO much room for activities. Way more than before, even with the sofa in “bed mode”. I no longer feel like I’m tripping over crammed furniture or homeless piles of my “stuff”. Everything and everyone has a place now. So what are you waiting for? COME OVER!!! I’ll text you the address.

Sincerely, Gretch

*Design by Gretchen Raguse
*Photos by Kaitlin Green

I half jokingly told the team that I wanted to write an Emily Bowser-style post. Now, that’s a BIG statement given how incredibly entertaining and helpful her posts are. They take you on a long, winding journey. You will laugh, you may cry, but without a doubt, you will have a wonderful time. So maybe consider this a kind of Bunge adaptation of sorts? I mainly stated this to them because my lord has this living room design been a journey that started longer ago than I’d like to admit. Did my brother get married and have a baby who just turned one in less time than it took to finish my whole living room? I can neither confirm nor deny (I did technically reveal half of it here:)). But what I can confirm is that there is a lot to cover, that I’m so proud of the final result, and of course, I feel so unbelievably lucky that this is my home. As a fun warning, there probably should have been an intro post, given how long this one turned out to be. But if I’m following in Emily Bowser’s footsteps, the longer the post, the better. So grab your favorite beverage, get seated in a cozy spot, and come with me on my living room design tale. This is why we read blogs, right? For the juicy details? I realllly hope so, ha. Thank you for your patience. I know this reveal took SO LONG, and I hope you think it was at least a little worth it:)

And no offense taken if you are like, “Jess, love ya, I’m scrolling to the pretty photos first.”

Let’s Start At The Beginning

This is more or less where I started when I first moved in. Everything here is from my last apartment, which I used a good amount of in the final design. I tried the furniture layout a few different ways, which I talk about here in this post, but ultimately this one worked the best and made me feel like I had a “living room area” and an “office area” despite them being in the same room.

The Gray Brown Fireplace Drama

My first major issue, or so I thought, was the fireplace. When I toured the apartment before I moved in, I was beyond excited about this fireplace, working or not (it doesn’t work, FYI). But then I moved in, plopped that light cream colored sofa down, and design mental chaos took over my brain. “This looks bad. I have to make a DIY cover!” I said to myself and anyone who would listen. All of a sudden, the gray undertone of the tiles haunted my dreams, the red(?) spots on the grout mocked me every time I looked their way. Naturally, I called my dad and asked if he could help build something. And because he’s the best, he said, “Draw it up and I’ll see what I can do.”

Then, on one of his trips down (he lives in Northern California), he brought these front pieces to see how he needed to proceed. Well, after a few minutes, I got the “Jess, it’s not going to happen.” I immediately blamed his lack of imagination. It was at that moment (and after about 20 minutes of telling him he was wrong) that I conceded to putting a pin in that idea for a least a little while…and luckily I did. Also, that hairstyle lasted a liiiittle longer than it probably should have. I think he really just loved showing off that he could still grow long, luscious locks.

My Sofa

Then came the new sofa. For those of you who might not know the entire EHD alum team, this sofa is part of a collaboration with Lulu and Georgia with one of Emily’s first employees, Ginny Macdonald. She’s an incredible designer, so it was no surprise that her collection was and is so special. I only got to work with Ginny for about a year before Em made the decision to close the client side of the business, and she then started her own firm. Needless to say, she’s as fun and kind as she is talented, so getting to have a sofa of hers was a dream. So aside from it having an extra special meaning, being beautiful, and very comfortable, that delicious cognac velvet totally balanced the room visually with the brown fireplace. I don’t think I had quite experienced that kind of immediate transformation before. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel the need to “figure something out” with the fireplace.

So Many Rugs

Another “saga” was the rug. I LOVE my grey checkered Annie Selke one and still have it (obviously!), but in this 100+ year old home, it didn’t evoke the feeling I wanted it to. It was a little too “refined.” I wanted a style contrast with a more organic, cozy, textured vibe, which is how I ended up ordering this rug above based on seeing a similar one in a room I loved on Instagram. It’s a Greek Long Hair Flokati rug that was a great price (under $400 at the time for a 6×9) and was really pretty, but also not right. I tried it in my bedroom too, but no dice. It now lives with the checkered rug in my storage unit (because I carelessly didn’t return it in time), waiting for its day in the sun.

But then I stumbled upon this amazing rug from Revival Rugs, which was generously gifted to me, and I was and am still blown away. The quality is so good, it’s SO soft, looks expensive, and at the time, I believe it was under $600. I know that everyone has a different budget and one person’s “affordable” is another’s “not affordable,” but let me tell you that, for the quality you get, these rugs could be much more expensive. My cousin has them all over her house (like in here), and they are all just as great as this one.

Then came the idea for the main wall…

My Dream Shelves

Of course, I thought of maybe doing a gallery wall, but since that was the main feature of my last living room, I wanted to do something different. My next thought was shelves. I looked at some vintage-looking wall-mounted readymade units, but none of them felt right. Now, I knew I wanted an architectural sconce (replacing the one that came with the apartment). So it was then that I thought of doing two asymmetrical shelves with floor-to-ceiling brass bars. There was another detail I was kinda obsessed with, and of course, it was never going to be a copy, because that’s stealing and wrong, but I’d had Flack Studio’s curved utensil bar on my mind since the first time I saw it in Troye Sivan’s AD tour. I wanted/was deserapte to do some kind of curve in the bars. The wonderful and talented Julie Rose was at my place for dinner when I told her my ideas, she gave me some great feedback, and then, without me even asking, made that render above! Naturally, it turned out a bit different in the final design, but this was so helpful to get the initial idea visualized. Thank you, Julie, for always being the best design buddy!!

You might be thinking, well, your sweet little ideas are great and all, but how and WHO is going to make this custom shelving piece for you?? Enter BuildLane. I reached out to see if they might be interested, and they said yes! I thank the universe every day that they did. While their bread and butter are upholstered furniture and case goods, they can do anything, and that’s what they did with this piece. They only work with designers and firms, so if you fall into that category or know someone who does, make sure they know about them. The process was so streamlined, the communication was great, and you will see in a minute how impeccable their work is. I also have a very important and special piece in my bedroom from them, too, so I really do stand by their work. Plus, I did get an LA factory tour, which was like being at Disneyland for me, and got to see even more of what they do. So impressed.

Here was my very professional tape job to make sure I knew where I wanted everything to land. And yes, I was extremely stressed about making a mistake and ruining everything. Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll be talking about that sconce later:)

Custom furniture is no joke, despite how ridiculous and comical my cardboard shelf was, ha. It’s also why I was so grateful to have BuildLane to be able to make sure everything was exact and made sense.

And then Christmas morning came! Just kidding, but also maybe this was better? Seeing what I came up with in my head, made into a beautiful physical piece, was beyond words. Frank and the whole BuildLane team really went above and beyond. The shelves were perfect.

I need and want to give another (but not the last) shoutout to my dad. He came down to install them with me, and we only got into a couple of small arguments! And in case any of you are thinking that I drilled into the hardwood floors, the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT. BuildLane (and a huge thank you to Stephen) made sure that the bottom of the poles had levelers and that there was a bracket at the top of each pole to secure it to the ceiling. The shelves themselves also have hidden brackets, so everything is super safe and secured.

I sent this picture to my dad after I replaced the standard (not cute) light switch that was there with the vintage one I bought when I visited him in Paris (I wrote about that trip here). It was a process that I heavily questioned at least 3 times because let’s just say A LOT of spackle was used having to go from a rectangular switch to a small circle. Honestly, I’m surprised I got an “Impressive” and not “Good thing I taught you everything you know.” I’ll take the wins where I can get them. But I’m also sure he said it in his head.

Finding “Colorful” Art

Then came choosing art. Aside from those dreamy pink stone wall-mounted book holders, I didn’t have a solid art plan. I was playing with what I had, and nothing was looking how I wanted. That large graphic piece was meant to go over the fireplace, but I decided to try it on this wall. I liked it on the right, but the black part made one of the lamp shades nearly disappear (Julie thankfully pointed that out), and I didn’t love it enough on the left to then have to find a new piece for above the fireplace. (Also, thank you to my dear friend Franchesca for being the best art holder.) Designing is better (and easier) when you have friends.

Meet my brother, Morgan, and my next victim, whom I conned into helping me with a DIY project. If you read The Link Up, then you may remember I had an emergency ovarian torsion surgery earlier this year (see ya, right fallopian tube!). 0/10, Do not recommend. However, a very sweet silver lining was that my brother immediately flew down to take care of me for a few days. For an older sister to have her little brother wait on them hand and foot…10000/10! Highly recommend. One of the projects that I had been wanting to do was build a frame for a DIY art piece to fill in that right side. But guess who couldn’t lift over 10 lbs for a month and had a brother who’s very handy at her disposal? ME. So when he asked if there was anything I needed help with, Mo Man was going to be building me my frame.

My goal with this piece of art was to add more color to the space. Almost all of my art is black, white, tan, brown, gray, you get it. However, I have this amazing, boldly colored photo print by Arielle Bobb-Willis that I really wanted to display. I bought the paint for the frame, taped out my pattern, and planned to mix the perfect blue. Let’s just say I couldn’t really get the color I wanted, and as I was looking at the frame and even the photo print, it just didn’t feel like a perfect fit for this room. I waited to fully scrap the idea until I found the right piece, and boy, did I. I can’t wait to tell you that story. That gorgeous photo print will find a home in the future.

The Nesting Coffee Table

Since we’re on the topic of DIYs. Here’s a little story about my mismatched nesting coffee tables. That black one is from my last living room, and while I love it, it didn’t look right. But I had already purchased that incredible vintage one that I’m fairly certain I got a great deal on. I bought it for $375 (with Caitlin as my “travel/pickup in an unfamiliar area buddy”), but then saw the same one for at least $600 online. A win is a win! But that meant I needed a shorter nesting friend because just the vintage one would have been too small for the sofa on its own.

Then last year, I saw this ottoman on Target’s website and thought it could work. I knew it was too tall from the online description, so I went to potentially buy it in person and check to see if dear ole dad (or me) could chop off a few inches from the wooden legs. Well, as you can see from the workshop in my bathroom, it was a success.

Tada! For $100ish, I was able to get the perfect shape and size I wanted with a little help from some power tools. I considered reupholstering it, but decided against it.

The Media Cabinet Bench Breakdown…The Mental Kind

The actual last DIY my dad helped me with was my media cabinet/bench. He built the frame, then I sanded, stained, and almost lost my mind.

My main reason for the bench was to hide all of these unsightly electronics. I won’t bore you with the whole saga (like me realizing that after the bench was done, I FORGOT to consider that the internet access cable was on the opposite side of the room. Cool, cool, cool.) Don’t worry, there’s a happy ending.

Welcome to the beginning of my losing my mind. I wouldn’t say math is my strength, so somewhat detailed measurements easily make my head spin right off. These were the cabinet doors and the beginning of “evenly” placing all of my future circle holes.

And these are actual photos I put on the internet during the process 3 years ago. Is it even a real Jess project if she doesn’t attempt a DIY that makes her question all of her life decisions?? Don’t worry, I have one for the bedroom too.

Then, after all of the holes were cut out and everything stained, I thought it would look better/more high-end if I stained wooden circle discs a darker color to have an inlayed look. It wasn’t a full success, so I pivoted and went to Mood Fabrics because I’m a millennial who grew up on Project Runway and bought a couple of pieces of black leather to stretch and then staple-gunned it to the back of the doors. I think I spent a little over $100 on the leather, which I was happy to do just to be done. Now I look at it every day and love it because I put so much into it, and it’s a piece that I did with my dad.

Look, I love a beautifully designed room regardless of whether it’s all new, all old, or a mix. But a space that has a lot of sentimental pieces and memories poured into it will always be my favorite. So without further ado (yes, we’re finally here), my living room…

The Reveal

Shelves (custom) | Sconce | Sofa | Rug | Green Side Table (unavailable) | Wood Side Table (vintage)

Here she is in all of her glory. I love the rich textures, I love the little pops of color, I LOVE my shelves, and I love that I actually have family photos up (not something I’ve always done:)). I also am so appreciative that after looking at this space for far too long, I love that Emily Bowser came to style it exactly how I was hoping it would look.

Rust Vase | Neutral Vertical Art | White Frame | Ceramic Art | Black Stash Box Tower (unavailable) | Wood Sculpture (vintage) | Vintage Light Switch (similar) | Painting (unavailable) | The Polaroid Book | Wood Sculpture (vintage) | Checkered Vase (unavailable) | Cream Plate Sculpture | Dark Blue Vase (unavailable)
Blanket | Blue Pillow | Green Pillow | Wall Mounted Book Holders (unavailable) | Lucio Muniain: Painting, Music, Architecture Book | Barcelona B. Book | All Coffee Table and Ottoman Items (vintage)

Ah, it’s hard to know where to start, but since I promised to talk about the sconce, let’s begin there. I have a love affair with lighting, and at the top of my “non-vintage” wishlist was a wall light by WO&WÉ. I feel like I first saw their work when I started working here almost 10 years ago. To me, they are modern classics. Knowing how in love I was with the light, my dad offered to get it for me as a wildly generous Christmas gift (I DO NOT deserve him). They are not inexpensive lamps, but given that they are all handmade in France, if they are within your budget, the quality and beauty are phenomenal. I would have absolutely saved up had I not been given this wonderful surprise. What is also a sweet addition to this company is that the designer, Oliver, has been joined by his daughter, Juliette, making it a father-daughter family business. Makes me love it even more. I was able to customize as well. In the standard design, the arm that extends from the wall came out further than I ideally wanted. Since everything is handmade, they were easily able to shorten it. Now it extends just a few inches beyond the depth of the shelves. It’s perfect.

Antique Foot Warmer | Chair: 500 Designs That Matter Book | The New Design Rules Book | Upstate: Living Spaces with Space to Live Book | Rust Vase

Speaking of the shelves, take a look at the details. The unlaquared brass finish and the finish on the wood are perfect. The cutouts on the front were an idea I had from a bench I saw in a New York hotel lobby. The bench’s divits weren’t different widths, but I wanted to mix it up to give a more “organic brutalist” look. It wasn’t in the initial design, so I was so grateful that BuildLane was happy to edit that detail so easily. I mean, if you’re going custom, make it count, right?

And oh, what a beautiful blue book at the end of that shelf:)

Let’s talk decor, shall we? The books on the top shelf are ones I’ve collected from flea markets, Emily, library sales, etc. The larger vase and cream ceramic sculpture are from the Downtown Modernism flea market. The sculpture is by an artist that Emily introduced us to, Melinda Forster, who is so talented and extremely kind. I love getting to see her booth each time I go, and every time I hope I don’t come off like a weird fan girl, ha. The little patterned vessel was from my first Mexico City trip, and I think it adds the perfect visual punch. It’s the “least interesting” shape-wise but the most interesting pattern-wise. A helpful little tip in mixing solids and patterns when you’re trying to style. But of course, all the styling credit goes to Bowser:) Oh, and that wooden sculpture used to be Emily’s, which I got in our LA prop garage shopping spree she let us do before moving to Portland. It may be a little beat up, but I think it’s so cool and interesting.

Ok, before we move on, I have to talk about that painting. I saw a version of it on Facebook Marketplace, and after a couple of weeks, while Bowser was over, I asked her for her thoughts, and she told me to get it. Done. I messaged the seller, and to my disappointment, the piece had already been sold. But then she told me she could make me another one, and in under a week! I was thrilled since I didn’t realize that she was the actual artist. Cut to my being in a rough headspace due to yet another horrible piece of government news, but heading over to pick it up. The artist was Utharaa Zacharias, who is half of the design studio Soft Geometry! In case you don’t know them, she and her partner, Palaash Chaudhary, design beautiful furniture, lighting, and objects. Initially, and not realizing who she/they were at first, I asked if she had any desire to be linked on a design site since the piece would be published in my room reveal. She asked which site, and when I said Emily Henderson, her response was “Wait, are you serious?” to which I smiled and said, “Yes.” It was then she told me that they were Soft Geometry. Then it was my turn to say, “Wait, are YOU serious?” I felt so silly not putting the pieces together before meeting in person. I am a big fan and now can’t believe that this wonderful painting that I loved and was excited to put on my wall, regardless of who painted it, has this really special story attached to it. So while Utharaa paints more for fun than anything else, the texture, colors, and details are more than I could have asked for. Not that anything I was upset about was fixed that day, but I was quickly reminded that connecting with people will always help to fill you up.

This might be one of my favorite shots. I have to fight the urge to tell the story of each individual piece. But I’m of course going to call out a few. You might remember that green, patterned pillow from a bedroom mood board post I recently did. Well, once I got the main bedspread, it was an “Oh, no.” It simply did not work. I did a little pivot, and as you can see, she lives happily in the living room.

The pink wall-mounted book holders I first saw 4 years ago, and knew I needed them in my home. So once the shelf idea was in the works, I reached out to the company to see if I could order them. The brand is &Jacob, out of Mexico City, and they are the best people. Back to that first trip I mentioned earlier, I thought they had a store, so my friend and I made the walk over. Well, it was definitely a private showroom (good one, Jess), but they welcomed us in anyway, we got to see some of their production process, and were even able to buy a few things. I didn’t buy them that day, but I was able to easily reach out to one of the people we met. When I look at them, they remind me of that trip, of that fun experience, and of one of my favorite places. Plus, they call to the pink curtains on the other side of the room for balance.

This shot is just a little more pulled back, so you can see how the “office” and the living room talk to each other. Oh, and that stool was a Zara Home find! But the plant and wire planter are from the Rose Bowl. Bowser was kind enough to help me pick the right plants. And y’all, you’d be so proud of how well I’m taking care of it. We were told it’s 20 years old, and you bet I’m doing everything I can to keep it healthy.

That book with the big “B” was a gift from Em years ago, and it’s kinda perfect there, huh? In this house, B is for Barcelona and for Bunge:)

Going Places Print | Collage Art | Vase | Oaxacan Wedding Bell (vintage) | Target Print (vinatage) | Blue Dish (vintage) | Wood Scultpures (vintage) | Green Candle | Black Candle | Stool (unavailable) | Wire Planter (similar)

Oh, my dear, dear fireplace. Those candles were such a good find because non-working fireplaces are not easy to style well. There are lots of ideas out there, but none of them really felt right for this room. As you can see, I have a lot of little things everywhere. So if I had added a bunch of small candles, it would have been A LOT. I needed something larger. Scale is so important. I then found these big guys, and I knew they were much more of what I was looking for.

A fun little tidbit about that target art. I found it on Chairish for my last place for $30, but it was in a spot that didn’t get photographed. I then saw the same one in a room in an Elle Decor magazine, which oddly felt very validating. I even clipped it out and added it to my vision board that year as a “Jess, you’ve got this. Stop doubting yourself so much. You have chosen art that was good enough for Elle Decor” reminder lol. And look, do I love it’s a rifle target? Not even a little. But it has such a different meaning to me that I’ve gotten over it.

The tray was from my Paris trip with my dad, the candelabra was $6 at a consignment shop in Chicago, and is something I would save in a fire. All of the art was also in my last place!

Polka Dot Tray (similar) | Black Wood Dish (similar) | Round Pillow

Another favorite shot! And see how good the sofa looks after a few years of use?? I do have to admit that the round pillow and blanket are Bowser’s, but the pillow is still available, so naturally, I bought it as soon as she left. The green table was also in my last place and was a crazy Les Bunge thrift store find! He bought it for $60, and then shortly after, I saw the same one online for $600!! He gifted it to me because I loved it so much, and I promise it was before I knew the real value.

For the art, those prints were also from Zara Home a while back, and the frames were from Amazon. I put them up pretty early on and instantly loved how they looked. But it took me much longer to decide what to put next to them. I didn’t want to leave the space empty, but I also didn’t want a visually overwhelming gallery wall. So I figured out a DIY piece I didn’t fail at!

I had been seeing these types of photo collages on Pinterest and was absolutely obsessed. And since I had so many old photos of my parents and extended family, I decided to create my own piece. I found this frame for $20 on Craigslist with no glass or back. But for $20, I was willing to take the risk, and I’m happy to say it paid off.

Oh, and that gold box on the wall is also from Paris and is an antique footwarmer. It’s covering my not-so-beautiful thermostat and a nonworking light switch, but don’t worry, it’s very easy to remove when I need to use the heat:)

I then went to a local glass place after calling a few other places for quotes and was able to get the glass and installation for $90. The trickier piece to find in the size I wanted was the mat. The largest piece I could find that didn’t need to be custom was 40″x50″, which I got from a local framer for maybe $50? Thank you, Quick Frames! While I didn’t exactly have a choice without spending an unnecessary amount of money on a custom size, I really love that the mat almost looks like it’s floating with the open space on the top and bottom.

There were just a few more things I needed, like a few wood pieces, tape, and a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. All in, I spent under $200 for a giant piece of very meaningful art.

Next, I played with the configuration. For some context, my dad and his family are on the top row, and my mom and her side are under. They act as timelines, first just the grandparents, then photos with their parents, photos with siblings, young school photos, teenage photos, my parents “partying,” their wedding reception party (they eloped to Kauai), then finally my brother and me. I tried to match up the ages as best I could.

This was on the back of my mom’s “partying” photo, where her hand is up. I love the squiggly lines so much. What a dork:)

In case you were wondering this is what the back looked like. The Kreg Pocket Hole Jig is what gives you those angled holes. I felt invincible drilling those lol.

Here’s an even tighter shot. Julie actually first thought that the photo strip was of me and my cousin Becca, but it’s my mom and her sister. I smile thinking about that every time I look at it. So if it’s not clear, I highly recommend making one of these. It truly means so much to me.

Desk (similar) | Chair | Tray | Tape Dispener | Pencil Holder | Lamp (vintge) | Metal Bookend | Little Sculpture | Drapes | Black and White Ceramic Rock

My office! Here’s the original reveal. I did make a few changes, but overall it’s pretty much the same. First, I need to call out these amazing drapes again from Decorview. They make the room feel so happy and elevated. You can read more about my experience in the first post, but I love them just as much now as I did then. Next up, the lamp! That was another Paris find with my dad that is so dear to me. It’s Murano glass, has that wonderful striped pattern, like the one I borrowed for the first shoot, and it’s vintage. It’s never leaving me.

Now, the potential elephant in the room is that I no longer have that beautiful monitor. After needing to use my personal laptop to be able to use the monitor, it didn’t ultimately make the most sense. Emily provided me with that iMac, and since my job requires A LOT of storage space, I really didn’t want to use up all of my laptop’s space. While I miss the beauty of the old one, my best friend recently started her own business and needed a monitor, so it worked out perfectly. Another change is the brass bar on the desk in front of my chair. The rattan didn’t hold up as well as I’d hoped (they don’t even sell this version anymore). But I was able to buy that 3′ long bar for $52, drill some holes through the top, and attach it to the desk with no problems. Now you can’t even see the old damage!

White Chair (similar) | Pouf (similar) | Dinnerware

Aside from the fact that this desk was simply beautiful and the perfect size for the space, I also loved the idea of being able to use it as a dining table. You have to get creative with smaller space living, amirite? So Bowser set up this little dining look with all of my real dinnerware. I don’t use it this way a lot, but when I have, it’s been great. It’s great for a snacking table too:)

Man, these sliders are fun. Work to play and play to work!

Art | Lamp (unavailable) | Jar (similar) | Ceramic Plant Stake (unavailable) | Plate (similar) | Ceramic Object (vintage) | Roman Shade

And for the grand finale, here is the piece of furniture that almost caused my demise. She’s got quirks, but who doesn’t? All of my electronics are in there, and if it weren’t for T-molibe internet (#nonspon) and their plug-in any outlet router, who knows what kind of cord-filled mess my living room would be? The other side has, of course, more decor. Will it ever end? I kinda hope not.

As a self-proclaimed shape lover, this photo nearly makes me emotional. Just kidding. But from the circles of the bench/cabinet, to that utterly perfect checkered lamp of which I don’t think I’ll ever forget receiving as a surprise from Jayson Home. I still can’t believe it’s in my house, and I am so sad that it’s no longer available! Oh, and that piece of art was also from the gallery wall in my last apartment. I love it so much. Lastly, let’s talk about this woven roman shade. It is just so beautiful and adds so much texture and warmth. It is, of course, from Decorview as well. I really have to say that if you are able to afford custom window treatments (and check to see because you may be surprised), they simply provide the absolutely best customer service with the most beautiful products.

Oh, and since I know you were wondering, that little blue jar holds the quarters for my laundry:) Now, let’s see some before-and-after sliders before I officially let you go:

Top | Pants | Necklace | Bracelet with Pearl | Cape Cod Bracelet

It feels unbelievable to say that at the end of the week, I will be celebrating 9 years at EHD, and I still love it as much as I ever have. On top of that, I am so grateful and honored to share a piece of me with all of you again. We’ve been on a long journey together, and I’m not just talking about this over 5,000-word post. I promise my bedroom, coming at you Wednesday, will be for sure less than 4,000;)

I will also happily take any suggestions for what to call this style. Please and thank you.

Love you, mean it.

*Design by Jess Bunge (me!)
**Styled by Emily Bowser
**Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

I “finished” the living room over 2 years ago, and while I was never 100% happy with it, I couldn’t put my finger on what/why, and loved it enough (and we had to shoot it for a magazine, so yes, I might have chosen some things based on timing). Now I want to be clear – I know intellectually that it was super, super pretty and functionally it worked so well for our family, but all I can say is that I know when I nail a room and I wasn’t there YET with this one. Today, friends, we are getting so much closer, thanks to my new sofas arriving (and some surprise swivel chairs!). And I feel like I might even know the three things that I could change to get it to the 100% true love phase (which I feel for our sunroom, kitchen and family room – good design takes time).

My Alice Sofas!!!

Alice Sofas | Suz Swivel Chairs

I am in LOVE with these sofas, both visually and functionally. The arms are so pretty, the seat is cushy, the back curve is so elegant, and that darker green pops so well in here. I loved the two facing sofas in here, and our prior sofas from Lulu and Georgia were so comfortable, but the dogs lying on top of the back cushions made them almost unsittable unless I did the daily Herculean effort of taking off the back cushion and pushing, stomping, or jumping on it to make it a rectangle again. It was so annoying. I fixed them daily or avoided sitting on them altogether. So every morning since we’ve had these has been such a treat.

Wait, Do The Dogs Not Sit On There?

They sure do, but these sofas were designed as a tight back yet deep sofa, meaning it doesn’t need the two back pillows that come with it – they are optional. Since they are deeper, you might want the pillows, but they are so pretty without them (with throw pillows). As of now, we are using the back pillows but setting them flat on the sofa seat during the day while the dogs lie all over the sofas, and then they are so easy just to prop back up when ready to sit (they are small, lightweight pillows instead of one huge back cushion). I may end up not using them and just using throw pillows (which my dogs will also sit on), but I love the streamlined look in here.

If you are wondering why the sofa isn’t centered on the rug, I have a rambling reason for you. At first we shot this room with the Soho home chair (the blue velvet). The sofa and chair clearance was different. But Gretch was like, “Shouldn’t we just try the Suz chairs?” and we did, and they needed to be off the carpet (or fully on) since they are swivel. So we just forgot to center the sofa or move the rug!! You probably wouldn’t have noticed! But it’s driving me nuts 🙂

Coffee Table Vase | Wooden Tray

OH MY. How I love that shot. I joked a lot that it’s a very “Go Ducks” room (green and gold), but my team assured me that normal non-Oregon Duck-obsessed people wouldn’t think this. I think with all the blues and deep burgundies it doesn’t feel that way. I’m LOVING the Suz chairs in here, mostly because of the additional seating, how it feels more filled out, and the swivel is so fun. You can turn and look out into the backyard.

Striped Velvet Pillow | Throw Blanket | Striped Table Lamp

The Alice looks really firm, but it’s just streamlined with a lot of give. I know I’m biased, but I hope you trust me that I wouldn’t say something is super comfortable unless it was (I know you’d tell me!!). It’s not something you flop onto and sink 4″ into (like our Oscar), but it’s cushy and has a nice soft give. It’s perfect for our needs in here, which is mostly morning coffee with our laptops and lots of conversational hangs with our friends or games with our kids. But I assure you that if it were your TV sofa, you’d be so happy as well. It’s very comfortable, just looks more streamlined intentionally.

I’m really loving how they look in here. I LOVE this deep dark green in a super family-friendly velvet, especially with the darker coffee table. It just feels so rich. The dog’s hair sticks to it as much as the other velvet sofas, which is not very much (our dogs shed twice a year, but otherwise aren’t huge shedders; they are a huskie-poo mix). If you have heavy shedding dogs, the Alice also comes in a nice cream linen that has a lot of different tones to mask hair.

Tufted Pillow

The sofa is just so pretty and streamlined, but with that arm and leg that says, “I’m not boring, I’m special.” The roll on the arm gives it a slightly traditional look, but obviously not hyper traditional (not a tuft or carved wood).

Regarding the fireplace – I’m still not happy with how cold it looks, but you guys, I can NOT decide on what color to paint it!! My latest idea is to just wallpaper above the paneling and leave the fireplace white. My MIL got in my ear that painting it might feel too bold, like a big dark block in the middle of the room that would stop your eye in a bad way (I thought it would just look like a proper focal point). But I really do see her point and I fear she is right (also paint is just paint- like, Emily, JUST PAINT IT AND SEE, it would likely take one day!! ). But perhaps a soft wallpaper on the walls would help give it depth, texture and definition? I’ve ordered samples, and I can’t wait to belabor this for another 3 years.

Our Suz Chairs!!

Round Burgundy Pillows | Throw Blanket | Suz Swivel Chairs

Y’all. These chairs are so good. There are million swivel chairs on the market but these are special. Mal (on my team) designed them for Room Service, and they def have more of a regency vibe, which we love. They are deep and the seat is so comfortable. I put these round Schoolhouse dark burgundy pillows on them, which look pretty great, IMHO. And if you are wondering if you can have too much velvet in one room, we decided, collectively years ago, that “no, no you can’t.” It’s just so pretty and soft and therefore wins every time.

Throw Blanket

Which Chair Do You Like More???? Two Options…

Ok, so when we started shooting that day, we had the Soho home chair in here (above), and it looks really good (she’s a big lady). As you know, I love a really tight color palette (mostly so I can go nuts with my accessories), so this blue/green world works for me! Also, what you don’t see here is that I brought back the floral chaise in the corner (it looks way too dark/crowded in this angle, so we removed it for the sake of a better shot). I haven’t shot it yet (just ordered a rug for underneath it. But ANYWAY, that’s the blue chair version, and now check out the Ochre Suz swivel chairs option:

Ochre Swivel Suz Chairs

Suz Swivel Chair

GAH! When we looked at the laptop screen, after clicking the photo were like, “Whoa, this looks so much better”. Which we totally didn’t predict!! It’s just fuller, more balanced, looks like a better design.

Wait, What Are The Other Changes You Made??

Well, for you eagle-eyed readers (thank you!), you’ll notice that I swapped the midcentury cabinet and the French farmhouse cabinet, and my goodness, it’s so much better. The blue cabinet looked sad and grey over there and it gets way more light where it is now. And the richness of the midcentury teak piece is a much better backdrop to the green sofas and balances out the Suz chairs.

Striped Table Lamp

I DIY’d pleated lampshades!! Look at me! Of course, I did it on the weekend and didn’t shoot the process, but honestly, I just copied how Lone Fox did his and didn’t want to steal credit, so please watch his tutorial. It’s SO EASY. I used a stamped thin batik from Etsy that is so forgiving, meaning that these are not perfectly done at all, but you can’t tell. They don’t give as much light as the white shade, which we hope is fine in the winter, but meanwhile, I LOVE the more traditional pattern popping off the wall (but will make selecting a wallpaper slightly more challenging).

So, What Changes Do You Still Want To Make??

Ok here me out. Again, I recognize this is a great room but no, I have still not nailed it. Here is on my list to slowly tweak:

A Bigger Rug

This room always wanted a 12×15 rug. My RugsUSA collection didn’t come that big (I begged and begged and begged) and frankly very few rugs do. And I love a big Persian rug, but the colorway I want is so hard to find, and they aren’t nearly as cozy (and just so expensive). I sold my brother my OG 12×15 rug, which didn’t pop in here nearly as much as I wanted it to, and looks so much better in his house. A 12×15 rug would allow the full swivel chairs to be on it (we think). However, this current rug is the most cushy, comfortable, and forgiving rug on the planet (for being so light). I can’t link it because it was a one-off from the now-gone H.D. Buttercup, for $2k, which is not bad for a 10×14, but if I could link it, I would sell it all day, every day, because it’s famously the best rug I’ve ever had. I tried to recreate it with RugsUSA but they couldn’t figure out how to make it so cushy, to have so many different yarn colors, and stay within their standard price point. It’s like sitting on a cloud, and yet it doesn’t look like a shag (I also have a memory foam carpet pad underneath), and you can’t see any dog hair and barely even stains. So I’m hesitant to downgrade our comfort in the name of upgrading the design. But I’m so in love with this rug from Lulu and Georgia that does come in a 12×15, and I think could really punch up the room, so I might do it. We used it in my friend’s dining room, and it’s just an incredible colorway and pattern. It’s still forgiving but not as cushy (because no rug is, Brian and the kids are going to be so bummed if I change it). But then part of me is afraid of it being too bold. So Gretch mocked it up for you…

Lulu and Georgia Rug

I also ordered a sample (3×5) of this rug (Arvin’s denim rug from his old collection) to see if it would do the trick and not add the busyness of the above pattern. It’s such a pretty color in person, but it’s a magnet for our dog fur, so I don’t think we can do it (but I was impressed with the color/texture). I bought the round version in camel for underneath the chaise since our dogs don’t really lay there (I’ll show you soon).

Adding Wallpaper Above The Paneling

Raphael Wallpaper

If I could go back in time I would put the white/cream rafael wallpaper in here instead of the entry. Brian gave it a hard no at the time, which I didn’t understand then, but I kinda wish I had just steamrolled it. I know that it’s a popular paper, but it’s PERFECT for what I want (which is to still keep it light and airy, but give the walls some sort of definition). Remember that the room as a whole has so many openings/doorways/panelings that going high contrast would be SO BUSY, you have to trust me. Part of me says just put it up in here and re-paper the entry with something more bold since that tiny room can handle it. But I’ve ordered some more samples of subtle patterns that could work. Stay tuned.

Other Options: Darker Curtains Or Paint The Fireplace

Listen, I went safe with the curtains but they are custom and I really don’t want to replace them. They are really pretty, high quality, and nothing is wrong with them. But I wasn’t as in love with florals and tapestries as much as I am now, so if I could snap my fingers and have a patterned curtain/shade situation, I would, but for now I’m really trying to make the room work without changing them. For the fireplace, I really do want to do something to it, even if we redo the mantel. After we tiled Kaitlin’s fireplace, and it became such an incredible focal point, I got really jealous. I want this fireplace to be prettier, full stop. Oh, and I want to frame that painting on the mantel to be bigger and in a better frame, and hang it instead of leaning it.

Furniture To Add/Swap

I brought back in the chaise lounge where the blue demilune table is in these photos, and LOVE IT. Will shoot/show you soon. I want a prettier cabinet where the midcentury one is (I like that piece, but found it on FBMP the weekend before the shoot). And I want to add a footstool for the swivel chairs (thinking of this one) as well as a prettier fireplace screen (our opening is huge, so it’s hard to find one that fits).

OMG. This has been quite the ramble. This room has been hard! It’s a pass-through room, open to three other rooms with multiple focal points, and needs to be highly functional (dining nook and lots of seating), so it’s just hard to nail. Its so lovely to be in right now, thus the lack of urgency but every weekend I spend hours thinking about it while I drink my coffee 🙂

*Photos by Kaitlin Green

Ready for my personal holiday decorating schedule? (Remember that my job alters a typical process, so NO PRESSURE). Ok, October: start gathering inspiration, new ideas, and any new pieces you want (good stuff can sell out). November: it’s dark/wet outside, so it’s fun to start adding greenery and twinkle lights (yes, faux for us inside, real outside comes later, and no, we don’t host Thanksgiving – we travel to family that week). And then the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we have our small family ornament hanging party (literally my favorite night of the year), and it’s an explosion of holiday from there on out. No holding back. No shame. Just utter joy. I really want people to do whatever schedule they want, real or faux, long or short. To me, this spreads out the fun (and the labor) and we get two months of twinkling lights, which help the darker nights and mornings so much (the magic doesn’t get old). For this shoot, we took to The Carly, the most magical rentable retreat estate outside of Portland, because we wanted to try out some fun new holiday decor ideas using pieces from AllModern. They have so many great holiday gems, and The Carly is too special not to get a proper holiday makeover. If you are ready to decorate or not, check out these really pretty areas that my team and I created, and hopefully, it will give you some ideas and inspiration going. It sure did for me 🙂

Wreath | Folding Paper Tree Set | Folding Paper Ornament | Christmas Village | “Gumdrop” Velvet Pillows | Faux Fur Throw Blanket | Gold Throw Blanket | Side Table

Their wreaths and garlands are solid (and so full). My two favorite things from their collection that I’m likely stealing for our house this year are those stockings and the accordion paper trees (you’ll see later). The colors all just worked so well together, in a happy and traditional adjacent way 🙂

Our Favorite New Stockings

Stockings

The stockings are ochre and cream check, in a chunky knitted wool. This colorway works so well with our jewel-toned palette (it’s really just a gold, so in a way it acts as a neutral). I love our stockings, but boy am I tempted to use these this year because they are so pretty and well-made (and dare I say “on trend”). They come in green/cream and red/cream as well, should you want a more traditional color.

Great Non-Holiday, “Holiday” Pillows

“Gumdrop” Velvet Pillows | Wreath

All the cut velvet pillows are so soft, high quality in the prettiest jewel tones, and clearly we like mixing them all together (and are great year-round). And that 4′ wreath is KILLER (so hard to find that big of a size) and will be living on our huge picture window outside (it’s not pre-lit, but easy to string). Fun fact, there was a big white outlet (for a future Frame TV) on the fireplace, so we hid it with that collection of bows (not AllModern) that frankly turned out so cute.

With faux wreaths, in my opinion, you need to dress them up with ribbons, bells, or ornaments to give them more life (I suppose the same with real greenery). The bigger the wreath, the bigger the bow.

A Solidly Good Faux Tree

Faux Christmas Tree | 3-Tier Serving Tray | Tree Skirt

Even though I’m a massive tree lover (one of the reasons we moved back to Oregon), I’m pretty “tree agnostic” when it comes to real or faux. You do you (we often do both, lol). But if you are in the market for a new faux tree, this one is fantastic (they just keep getting better and better every year). This is a Nordic-style fur, pre-lit with really warm lights. It’s excellent. I also want to say that if you are really into collecting ornaments (hi! me!), the faux trees can hold much more and heavier ones 🙂

Large Glass Ornaments (Rose Gold, Green) | Café Latte Ornaments

As you know, I’m a massive family ornament lady (my kids joke that “soup” and “ornaments” are my two biggest hobbies, and they are hilariously correct). For this tree, we chose some really beautiful glass balls that reflect the light in such a pretty way (and you always need the big round reflective shapes to offset the more eclectic handmade ornaments, imho). The smaller “Café Latte” ones are a really pretty blush/ivory tone and hang with wire (so they stay put).

Large Glass Ornaments (Gray/Purple, Blue)

A Huge And Excellent Pre-lit Garland

9′ Pre-Lit Garland | Cream/Black Dining Chairs | Green Head Chairs

This garland is extremely girthy, and each one is about 9′, so we hung three in a classic drape. They are prelit, LED, warm lights and connect together, so once up, you don’t have to think about them. One end plugs in, and you have warm ambience all month long. These are also on the list for our living room – the scale of the garland is huge and perfect for any really large windows.

The Easiest Table Centerpiece

Paper Folding Tree Set

What I love about these accordion paper trees is a long list:

1. They style themselves – different heights, shapes, and colors that look good together, no matter how you arrange them.
2. You can put them on any surface in any room. Mantel, shelf in kitchen, bathroom, coffee table – they look great everywhere (we’ll prove that today)
3. They fold down flat, and use a magnet to stay together – so easy to store, put together, but take up such little space.
4. They come as a set – you don’t have to think about combining the right colors/sizes.
5. They play with the light/shadow in such a pretty way – so much texture and depth.

Red Dinnerware Set | Wine Glasses | Napkins | Placemats

I also want to give a shout out to this dark red place setting – it’s such a good tone and finish for anyone that wants to have “holiday plates” that are more simple (i.e., not fancy) but still high impact. Christmas Eve lunch is the meal I host; I’ll be pulling these out.

Taper Candles | Wooden Candlestick Holders | Green Glass Flutes

The candlestick holders are also fantastic for year-round – turned white oak in a really simple shape can do no wrong any time of year.

Green Head Chairs | Cream/Black Dining Chairs

Should you be in the market for new dining chairs to host this season, I love what we chose here. The two green end chairs swivel and are so graphic and warm (a massive hit with the kids), and the arm chairs are solid, large in scale, and have really pretty lines.

Pre-Lit Wreath | Pair of Vases | Colorful Stockings | Chrome Lamp

This 3′ pre-lit wreath is fantastic (warm white lights, plug-in), and we peppered it with a bunch of smaller velvet bows that we made. Those knitted stockings are so, so good, too.

There she is 🙂 Not Martha, but certainly looking ready to host here. I just thought this whole space turned out so festive, fresh, and fun (but still traditional enough and transitional enough for a lot of styles).

Felt Garland | Green Glass Flutes | Blue Dinnerware Set | Pink Platter | Napkins

I want to call out how pretty the texture of the trees is – the light just plays so well with all the paper folds. Here we styled out the shelves with some felt garlands (great for trees, too) and these new stackable blue plates, which pop so well.

Pre-Lit Faux Skinny Tree | Cream/Black Dining Chair

We kept moving around The Carly because it’s just so dang pretty (shout out to Max Humphrey for designing it). This little area highlights a skinnier tree, which is great for smaller spaces, obviously. We styled more with the velvet pillows, wreath, and trees, just to show you different combinations.

Pre-Lit Wreath | Gold Throw Blanket | “Gumdrop” Velvet Pillows | Felt Garland

A Cozy Nook

9′ Pre-Lit Garland | Geometric Christmas Pillows | Wool Sphere Pillow | Gold Faux Fur Pillow | Gold Throw Blanket | Teal Side Table | Chrome Serving Bowl

We couldn’t not shoot this nook – it’s so sweet and cozy. We used one of the garlands to frame it out and layered it with a ton of pillows from AllModern, accented with the modern lacquer table.

Teal Side Table | Chrome Serving Bowl

This was such a fun shoot, styling with beautiful and festive pieces from AllModern with my team in the most incredible location. A huge shout-out to Gretchen for doing a stellar job at producing this one and Kaitlin for these gorgeous photos. We had so much fun styling it out, listened to holiday music, and even stayed the night in our own suites. At night, we drank martinis and watched The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox (not ready for Christmas movies yet) while we wrapped all the “presents”. Thanks, AllModern for sponsoring this post and project. I hope you all enjoyed it and got some new ideas and inspiration. xx

*Photos by Kaitlin Green