Four years in this backyard and many many memories made. The nature scavenger hunts, snow cone parties, but mostly just the kids having total freedom from us helicoptering since it’s just so safe. The things you want as a parent seem so boring, but once you become one you realize that all you/I want is a flat, fully enclosed, shady (in the summer) backyard that feels like a park so you never have to load the kids in the car to run around on grass. And this one delivered. With the slide, rock pit, and swing set, the kids have to much to do. I realized as we were shooting the backyard recently that there were a few things we changed since the original reveal that you simply must know about.

Here’s what it looked like when we bought the house. It was shady and flat (not tiered – very usable space) with old-growth trees and a swing set.

We loved it when we saw it. And fun fact, the cement pad to the right in that photo is actually covering over cement from 100 years ago because back then you just, yep, burn your own trash in your backyard. We thought it was a pond, but nope – trash pit!! Of course, back then their “trash” was like food, wood, and paper, before plastic or anything too toxic. Imagine if we all had to be fully responsible for our own waste and trash?

The Tree Saga

As a reminder, to those of you not fully stalking my mental health throughout the years… right after we closed on the house we had our wonderful gardener come “trim” the trees. It was 95 degrees in August. I had a 9 month old and 2-year-old – both wildly fair-skinned. We were moving from a house that had a deck overlooking a cliff (for a backyard) west facing and pretty vulnerable to the sun – we literally bought the house for the shade. I’m from rural Oregon where my childhood was surrounded by greenery and yes, so many trees. You know where this is going.

I popped by the house to check on the renovation and found the trees in the above condition. Butchered. And it felt like a sauna. I was truly horrified and the sounds that came out of my mind reminded me only of the last contraction of Charlie’s natural birth. I wrote a whole post about it here (the trees, not the birth but you can read about that here) but in short, I’ve never in my life had such a physical and emotional reaction to something seemingly so trivial – thus revealing my true level of privilege.

Our poor gardener (who we LOVED) felt HORRIBLE – clearly we hadn’t communicated well and he wasn’t the only one at fault. I learned the hard way what “tree trimming” means and you guys THAT PHRASE NEEDS TO BE REBRANDED. It’s truly more of a butchering to help future growth and health of the tree, but for about a year it looks like all the limbs have been cut off at the shoulder. Anyway. Because of that, I went ALL OUT on the landscaping. We planted like 4 trees (two of which have grown so big!) and a lot of plants.

So 3 years ago we revealed all we had done and I split up into a few different posts (this was when I realized how popular exterior design posts are as they were 3 of the top 10 posts of the year). I wrote about the castle, the landscaping, and of course the reveal.

Here she was in 2017 – after we landscaped and ready for her reveal:

And here she is now. There are a few basic changes – the trees on the perimeter that we planted grew much taller in the three years (which is great because it blocks a newer apartment building) and when we originally shot it it was early spring so it was more lush and flowering (opposed to our below august shoot).

You’ll notice that the trees are BACK. Not only were they back but our real estate agent told us we needed to TRIM (shaky/horror movie font please) them back substantially and lift all the canopies before it went on the market. Obviously, because of my previous tree trauma, I was very NERVOUS but they had grown a LOT and yes, it was mostly shady (thus making it hard for the grass to grow). I insisted on being there along with Howard, our real estate agent, and we carefully chose each branch. They would bend it so we could visually see how it would look without them and then I would nod or give it a thumbs up. It took a couple of hours and admittedly it looked WAY better than it did that morning. I think we could have even clipped more to make it feel bigger and brighter, but I was so nervous, truly, to go any further. By the end, I was being very liberal with my thumbs up and it made me realize how we need to do it at the mountain house because the canopies are like 3′ off the ground (which is actually a very dangerous fire hazard. Update: FIXED!

So yes everything grew taller and aged as they do – some plants overtook others, some didn’t thrive where they were planted (once the shade grew in they didn’t get enough sun – OH THE IRONY). But besides that, there were a few changes that I don’t think I officially blogged about.

We Painted The Castle

A few years ago I had a partnership with Wood Naturally and they wanted us to show off the grain of the wood and so I left it stained, but later I realized that I wanted it to be painted the same trim color as the house (Down Pipe by Farrow & Ball). I liked it a lot more as it kinda just receded and didn’t pop out as much.

The Garden Bed

As my souping and general domestic homestead personality reared its apron, we built a veggie garden. I was able to use it for last spring/summer and my gardener put drip irrigation in it.

The Hammock

We originally designed this stone pad as a sitting area, 1-2 chairs for reading. But the kids took over and the last year we had a picnic table here (from this shoot). We would do arts and crafts on it and of course, eat.

But Howard suggested that we make it less “kid” and so I brought down one of our hammocks from the mountain house and I cried tears of regret for all the years that I could have been gently swinging in a hammock (if you are in the market we did a big hammock roundup post here).

The last thing that we did that we were on the fence about was replace the sod. Because it was so heavily shaded (because I didn’t trim the trees in 4 years) it was patchy. So we spent $3k to replace it and it looks so green and fresh (although it needed a mow in these photos, but you can’t mow it for a bit).

All in all, I still LOVE this garden/back yard. The kids still play in the rock pit and on the swings. So many naked sprinkler sessions, ninja moves, picnics, birthday parties, forts, and flower picking sessions. And the number of times our friends have said “this is the easiest yard to parent in” is uncountable. We just sit at the patio table and know they are safe without us needing to actually watch them.

Here’s a little trip down memory lane (many involve people together, without masks which is just so odd to see now!)

From our “back to school snowcone party“. It looked so cute!!!

Remember our 4th of July feature in Rachel Ray? So many scavenger hunts…

We had nearly every birthday party back here for the last 3 years because it was so much easier than schlepping to a park (Remember going all out for birthday parties? I actually think I might decorate a lot this year only because it’s so fun to do with the kids and without a lot of friends decoration feels festive and special).

I never posted about birdie’s rainbow-themed party but it was full of white cloud clusters and rainbow streamers (so cheap, cute, and high impact).

Time for someone else to enjoy this place. We sure loved it HARD for four years and the kids talk about it all the time. Clearly happy memories were solidly imprinted, and not just on them 🙂

Update: The buyers had to cancel escrow on the last day for personal reasons so the house is back on the market. So if you know anyone needing a park-like magical back yard, email Howard Lorey at HLorey@Nourmand.com to see it.

**Final Reveal Photos by Sara Liggoria-Tramp

Today we have another reveal (a mini one), to cheer us up or at least distract us from the world right now – or perhaps the perfect place in which to crawl inside and stay til 2022! This hall closet had so much potential – it has the sweetest little window and a junction box for a sconce. We had a fantasy of putting in a secret bookshelf/door in the kid’s room that opened to this little nook, but we never did. Instead, we used it for seasonal coats with a rolling rack and just random storage.

I don’t think I ever took a “before” photo of this landing, but the original doors and doorframes were painted a dark brown, so we lightened them up with white paint, but otherwise, we didn’t really change this area too much.

Once we decided to make the former playroom into a den to sell the house, we realized that this would be the cutest little playroom, especially since it’s next to the kid’s room. So I brought the furniture that we already had up there. The play kitchen is from Pottery Barn and is SO CUTE, rocking horse from Target (Hearth & Hand 2 years ago) and of course our sheepskin from Article. All the kid’s pots and pans are Hearth & Hand, and my favorite wood food is here.

Sconce (similar) | Knit Banner | Play Kitchen | Rocking Horse (no longer available | Sheepskin Rug

The banner is from Lulu and Georgia but is no longer in stock there. Here it is from another source. I forget where I got that sconce years ago but it was super affordable (this one is similar). Fun/disgusting fact – the glass is clear, but the dust makes it look frosted in the photo. That’s where we are at these days…

Dollhouse

And then there is the dollhouse… that miniature building mocks me every time I see it because neither of my children want to decorate it with me. Maybe I don’t know HOW to play dollhouse with kids and need to reframe it, but they do not share the same miniature styling passion. In fact, when I threatened to give it to a our neighbor kid who would use it they both said, “Ok. We don’t like it” which if you have kids you know that generally the idea of giving away toys to another kid, even the toys they NEVER PLAY WITH is traumatizing and all of a sudden the previously neglected toy is “the most special thing to me”. So that’s how much they don’t want to play dollhouse with me. I even took Birdie to a dollhouse store in the valley and let her pick out miniature lamps, desks, and dolls to get her involved. Nope. Charlie made his opinion clear years ago when he used his action figures to destroy the living room and I got more upset than a mom should get about a 3 year old messing up my dollhouse fireplace vignette.

I’m sad that our kids likely won’t be able to enjoy this space for too much longer (they haven’t even seen it yet). But that’s how we turned our extra hall closet into a play nook (or would be a super cute zoom school – because that’s a thing now – our kids going to school in their closets!!). xx

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Living Room | The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | The Basement Guestroom/Office | Basement Bathroom | Elliot’s Room | Kitchen and Dining Room | The Entry | The Family Room | The Front Yard

**Reveal Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

Today is full of good lessons, but listen, there is no way to learn and grow without making mistakes, and sometimes they are unavoidable ANYWAY. But first, let’s walk you back from the beginning. When we first bought the house this room was considered a bedroom, even though it didn’t have a door. When we renovated we reconfigured that area to make a better laundry room, powder bath, and decided that this room should be either a family room, TV room, or playroom (all three?).

It’s simple and cute and was covered in ivy so you couldn’t even see out, but that sweet little architecture was nice, if not awkward to design around. It’s narrow, which is harder to design, as I’ve written about here, but doable.

It’s been through a lot of iterations because its purpose kept changing.

LESSON #1 – IDEALLY YOU’D KNOW HOW YOU WANT TO USE THE ROOM BEFORE YOU MAKE MAJOR DECISIONS

At first, we wanted it to be a cozy TV room so we painted it dark blue. I had a 1 and 3-year-old and no TV room, so we thought this could kinda be 1/2 playroom, 1/2 TV room and I love a dark TV room (Sara’s is a much better example).

LESSON #2: DARK COLORS CAN BREAK UP FLOW OF AN OPEN SPACE PLAN (IF NOT DONE RIGHT)

While I love this blue (I think Stiffkey by Farrow & Ball), it was a mistake because it was too open to the rest of the house and cut off the flow making the house feel chopped up and small. Whoops.

We took a shot of it because that’s what we do, but it never really worked. Here’s where it got weird.

At one point we needed it to function as a guest room AND tv room and playroom and we had these curtains leftover so we hung them over the entrance for privacy and coziness.

LESSON #3: Don’t let desperation lead the design process

I’m pretty sure desperation should never guide any long term decisions (marriage, career, house buying) but it often does because we are human beings. That curtain created privacy and coziness (the TV was behind the curtain) but it was also TOTALLY WEIRD. Admittedly while you were inside of it, watching TV with the curtains “closed” it did feel really cozy. But from the back (the entrance) you just saw liner for a long wall.

I chalk this up to having two small kids and making weird decisions to make my life easier. This was before we got the projector screen in the living room and a TV in our bedroom, solving both of our problems. We wanted a cozy place to watch TV when really what we needed was a playroom for our then 2 and 4-year-old. It’s open to the kitchen and is the perfect place for then to play. Meanwhile, the living room became our big TV room (projector not annoying at all), and adding the TV into our bedroom satisfied my “cozy nights without Brian” problem (he was gone a lot at nights doing rehearsals and performances). So after about 2 months or so of this weird “curtain theater room” we put in the projector, gave that sofa to this feel good flash makeover (the rug is now in the basement), gave my best friend the curtains and I started over.

Once this didn’t need to be “The TV Room” I was able to focus it on what we really needed with two small kids, like I said, a playroom.

So I started transforming it slowly… Stage One.

Stage one we kept the window curtains, rug, and added all the storage. As any parent knows when kids are super young (toddler age) they need space and cubbies (not closed storage because they strangely forget that they’re there). So this didn’t look AWESOME but sure, they played in it.

But then I remembered that I’m a literal interior designer and should try to make a space look “good”. So the answer was a custom ship mural, obviously. We needed something to “anchor” the space (going on the road with that one) and pull you in there, without being super loud or a big busy pattern. I LOVE IT.

I also switched out the ceiling fixture, the sconces to match the rest of the house and rearranged the room to create an almost pre-school like separation of the space. Now, while this isn’t visually the most amazing space it worked at the time. The architecture of the space really lent itself to that separation, they each got a side with four cubbies and they would sit in there for hours and play legos. I think kids feel really safe when they have a contained space and it really allowed them to focus on one thing/activity at a time.

The other side of the room was a bench full of art supplies, that vintage mirror (that is now in the kitchen) a play table big enough for me to sit with them, and a big round rug (no longer available) that really opened up the space (and held up strangely well until the pups really claimed it on our one and only trip to LA with them).

NOW TO STAGE THIS ROOM TO SELL

This room was a very controversial space to style to sell. We had to ask the same things we ask ourselves every single day. What is its purpose? Who are we trying to sell to? How should it be styled to appeal to most of the people without having to totally redo it and spend a bunch of money???

So, at first, I styled it like a playroom but more paired back, letting in more light and making it feel bigger and brighter.

I gave away the cubbies with the rubber band peg wall on the back to an Insider Member (via our Garage Sale topic) and just had one bookshelf that I had been hoarding forever from Target (so cute – going to Portland with us). I liked how it looked but I also feared that I had lost all objectivity of this room.

So I enlisted opinions: A friend came over and said, “This looks dismal” which I thought was a bit harsh, but I appreciated the honesty. My stylist friend Scott said, “Wow, you are really appealing to like, just moms with small kids.” And finally my realtor Howard said, “Listen, we’ve got the ‘mom’ demographic already what with the two very styled out kids bedrooms and the PLAY CASTLE and swings – so let’s make this more of a grown-up room”.

LESSON #4: WHEN STYLING TO SELL DON’T MAKE EVERY ROOM A PLAYROOM

While I felt that this home would be bought by a family I also had to face the fact that it might NOT and by styling it too “kid” we were reducing our chances of a DINK buyer (double income no kid – my favorite acronym I learned this year). Fine. I’d redo it to make it more of a room that could be either a family room, den, older kids’ homework area, office, breakfast nook, or yes – a TV ROOM.

Sofa | Wall Mural | Cream Lumbar Pillow

There you go. And I think for staging purposes it’s pretty cute. I didn’t have an extra small scale sofa on hand, but I reached out to Article and they lent me one for the month (THANK YOU). I will say that the proportions of this sofa are very comfortable (seat depth, height, arm height – comfortable and ergonomic) and it comes in many different configurations and colors. It is a good one and very popular for a reason. Sara has it in Pacific Blue in her TV room:)

I bought that IKEA round pedestal table (but wish it were antique pedestal instead) and pulled everything else from storage. Again, it helps to be a hoarder.

Table | Cabinet | Planter

I added some vintage Paul McCobb chairs that I’ll hoard forever, and we swapped the cute house bookshelf that was here with the simpler one that was in Elliot’s room.

I feel like no photos can do this room justice. When I was sitting there writing the blog I was like “this is a special little spot,” but for whatever reason it doesn’t pop on camera. I think that it needs more visual weight at that end of the room – like a wood table or a wood or maybe colorful bookshelf. But I used what I had on hand besides the table and it totally works and I knew that adding a “heavier'” table could also make it look smaller so I erred on the side of “simple, light and open.”

The other side of the room opens to the kitchen and I finally found a place to hang that amazing painting by Colin Scott Glasgow that was homeless until that day.

Flushmount | Cacti Art | Round Rug | Sheepskin | Pouf | Graphic Painting

The goal was for us to show people that you can have this little den/tv room if they wanted one, not just a playroom. But either way, it’s open to the kitchen and dining room which is indeed a big plus.

There you go. Our playroom turned family room, with a few lessons learned along the way. With more time and money I could have dialed this in more to make it more portfolio worthy, but at a certain point I had to let my perfectionism go to make way for “sleep” and “feeling sane.” 🙂

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Living Room | The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | The Basement Guestroom/Office | Basement Bathroom | Elliot’s Room | Kitchen and Dining Room | The Entry | The Front Yard

**Final Reveal Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

After FOUR years it seems appropriate to show you that we do indeed have a secret front yard. Despite my apparent (obvious) lack of privacy, I kept this off the blog until today – never even photographed it! I was always tweaking, always wanting to improve it, so selling it gave me the opportunity to dial it in. So before the reveal, I want to show you what it looked like when we bought it and how we turned it into an almost Disney-like, butterfly friendly, birds chirping, hummingbird bathing private magical English country front garden.

When we saw the original listing, above, we loved the house immediately. It’s covered in ivy, has such pretty architecture, original brown coat stucco and it’s set back from the road. It is one of two houses first built on this hill in Los Feliz by two brothers, both architects/carpenters, both covered in ivy. It is SPECIAL. We loved it immediately.

But we were excited to make it our own, not to mention create some privacy and more purpose for all that space. So over the last four years. we did the following: 1. Replaced the path, 2. Upped the landscaping (including trees), 3. Put in irrigation, pathway and landscape lighting, 4. Fixed all the drainage issues and put in a french drain, 5. Replaced the garage doors, 6. Painted the trim, 7. Put in a citrus grove, 8. Added a water feature and 9. The most expensive yet worth it – created a privacy fence with electronic driveway and pedestrian gates.

Right before we sold it I amped it up even MORE because this property is dreamy and I frankly have too much home pride to release it to someone else and show you guys without it being at its absolute best. Brian didn’t agree with my investing in it at the last minute, but I did and I’m so happy that I’m leaving it at its most beautiful for someone to take over. You don’t buy this house for the closet space, you buy it for the magic. The charm. The yards. The butterflies and hummingbirds. So over the last few years, I dedicated a lot of time and money to making the front yard special and magical to match the backyard and the inside. At times it was almost ridiculous–with multiple butterflies flying, birds chirping, and hummingbirds bathing at the same time so I guess it worked. 🙂 It’s like the movie “Enchanted” which we recently watched with the kids and they LOVED (maybe because it reminded them of home).

THE LANDSCAPE

For whatever reason, I didn’t take close up before shots BEFORE we started remodeling but you get the gist of it here. There were boxwoods and dying grass (because there was either no or bad irrigation) and that’s about it. I could have just nursed the grass but once we had Pete landscaping the back and a ton of extra plant/bushes we realized how much prettier the front could be.

The side yard was just dirt and totally unused – partly because it’s very sloped and hard to figure out why you’d go over there with such a great backyard. In retrospect, I would have leveled it (tiers?) or raised it and turned it into a large vegetable garden but I didn’t realize that I would be so into gardening until a year ago, then winter + pandemic + move equals no changes. But it gets a lot of sun and could have been a great use of space. Instead, we put in a grove of citrus trees – some thrived amazingly, some not.

This is the ONLY shot I have of the side yard, my apologies. It’s so hard to even see it!!! We used DG (decomposed granite) and put in irrigation for the 7 citrus trees, but some of them didn’t thrive because the DG kinda suffocated them so we had to give them more space and water. But the ones that thrived sure were fun for the kids to pick and yes, make lemonade :).

I worked with Pete Hieatt (Deluxe Plants) a few years ago on the yard and man has it grown in (in a good way). I think the rains from last January and the spring rains we had this year made it THRIVE. The tree is an evergreen pear that blooms bright white blooms in the winter which made us so happy.

THE PATH

The path was a pretty bright red brick. Early on we had to demo a bunch out to fix a drainage issue, which we did, so one we had to spend the money to replace it we figured we’d put in something we loved more.

We chose a meandering path of flagstone – the same that we put in the back, with DG in between. At one point we had lot of greenery and even white flowering ground cover in between but as you can imagine with a lot of traffic it doesn’t last long. Here’s what it looks like now – the plants have EXPLODED.

To save money we kept the brick retaining wall that the flower bed was on and the brick at the entrance but mixed the flagstone wherever there was a path.

New Garage Doors

The old ones were original, wood, rotted and so heavy. Then they broke and I think we kept them that way for months before we decided to invest in new doors. These were only $3k, metal, BRAND NEW and the white matched the white close enough to our trim (here are similar ones). Anyone else with an old house knows that while there are some things you want to remain old, totally unfunctional, dangerous, garage doors are not one of them. I could have customized them to be cuter (add windows, etc) but it’s just not where we wanted to spend money. We always meant for the garage to be an extra room (it has cute windows inside!) and even at one point had California Closets draw up plans for it to be a workshop/craft room, and accessed through our playroom, but because of what I do it instead became storage for furniture and props. The potential is there though and in California you don’t really need to park your car in the garage unless you have a fancy car, so basically if I weren’t a furniture hoarder you could make this a whole other room which is VERY popular right now with isolation.

THE GATE AND FENCE

As a reminder, there was no gate on this property. Now we aren’t big “stay off my lawn” people but we are big “don’t let kids get run over” people. A lot of people walk on our street (it’s strangely well known for walking) so sure, we wouldn’t mind more privacy, too. So pretty soon after moving, I designed the gate and now it’s so overgrown with jasmine and ivy that you can barely even see it!

The gate and fence should be its own post as there was so much information and learning involved. It was 100% custom, electric, and yes an investment (I think around $20k). In our neighborhood you can’t have a tall fence, I think that 48″ might be the tallest you can get. We didn’t want to close off all the view so we chose a picket fence (but considered something more decorative and metal to match the patio railing in the back). But we ultimately loved the idea of a picket fence to make it feel more cottage-y and cozy. The driveway gate and the pedestrian gate had to be designed by me which was scary as it’s not something that I have done before, but I actually LOVE how they both turned out.

We set it back a few feet so we could have a sidewalk and somewhere to step onto when we get out of the car.

It took over a week to install. We used a company called “Shamrock” (tell Patrick I say hey) and the quality and execution were great, but he’s hard to get a hold of (FYI). Here’s what it looks like now (via the real estate photos, there were cars parked when Sara and I shot, but you get the idea).

The Fountain

Oh, I do love a water feature. It’s hereditary as my dad LOVES them and passed that obsession down. I think I installed this one after we lived with our “stream” up in the mountains and the sound of the water is so calming, the birds bathing is so sweet and I just wanted one so badly. I bought it via Unique Garden Decor.

It normally has more water in the bowl and birds bathe in it which you can watch from the playroom through the windows.

Speaking of windows, we took the ivy off the windows to give that room some light. We just clip them as they start growing over the glass, but the entire root system of the ivy is at the base so we can’t remove the stick part or else the ivy over the whole house would die, and then I would die.

I’m going to miss that front door VERY MUCH. The red, the roses, the lanterns. It made me happy every single day.

Right before we took these photos I realized that the area to the left was blank and then I realized that I had an extra outdoor bench floating around. I styled it with cut flowers in a basket and boots and now I want that life again – minus the gutter, another fun way to spend money and invest in your home 🙂

It was a lot of work and a big investment and took probably a year and a half to execute (without a shoot date/deadline I’m just like the all of us – prioritizing our own house is so hard), but I’m a firm believer that the spaces you see every day should bring you joy. We hung out in the back on the patio and in the yard because it just made more sense with the kids, but I loved how the front really told the story of the house the second you saw it. And yes, I’m getting VERY sentimental about leaving it permanently. Every house has a soul, sure, but this one has so much old soul that is impossible to manufacture or replicate. I’m so glad our family got to be part of it for 4 years. xx

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Living Room | The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | The Basement Guestroom/Office | Basement Bathroom | Elliot’s Room | Kitchen and Dining Room | The Entry

Reveal and Family Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp, Original landscaping by Deluxe Plants, and outdoor lighting and additional landscaping by Jessica Viola of Viola Gardens.

Welcome to another case of “why didn’t I do this sooner?” Our realtor came in and asked, “Can you make the entry any lighter and brighter?” and I was like “I sure can, and thanks for asking”. I had a larger piece of furniture there, which I loved (you’ll see it below) but I also had some options in our garage… Let’s lighten it up. But first, let’s get into where it’s been the last 4 years.

When we first moved in I had found this pretty pine piece on Craigslist. I LOVED it and maybe should have kept hoarding it. Ugh, furniture purging regret is real.

I, too, wanted the entry to feel happier so we painted it this Swedish gray which was a total fail as it didn’t pop off the walls at all and it wasn’t the kind of monotone look that we were going for. Read about the process here.

THEN we painted it this blue which I loved a lot more and seriously wish that I still had for our move to Portland. But the good news is that it landed in this Feel Good Makeover and worked so well in their space. And yes we move the rug closer to the dresser based on the shot because it looks super weird to just have a corner peeking into the shot.

Then I bought this amazing rosewood vintage piece from Midcentury LA (my favorite vintage store in LA and yes, they sell online).

This piece provided a ton of storage (kid puzzles in the bottom, and entry drop zone in the top). I loved it but when Howard (our realtor and fun fact, owner of this house) told us to lighten up the entry I agreed that this piece could be “lighter”.

I had this piece in the garage which I was hoarding for our move and was so excited to try it here. Once I did, I realized that it should have been here the whole time! Also, we moved the original light fixture in the entry to a junction box over by the laundry room, which we NEVER even realized was there until our realtor pointed it out. Then bought that new super affordable one and installed it in the entry. I actually thought it was going to be much wider, but that’s because I have overconfidence in my mental measuring skills and didn’t actually break out a tape measurer. It still works, I just thought it would have more presence.

The mirror is from Target (that I had in my garage), and everything else I’ve had forever. In a perfect world the mirror would have been a horizontal pill/oval as this one is kinda crammed between the sconce and the dresser, but I still really liked how it modernized the space.

I bought that dresser from the flea market for $200 a few years ago and it’s a good long hoard based on its size. It’s just kinda easy to make it work in a million places and yes a dresser can be your entry table. I am also a firm believer in a shoe basket and this one is so pretty.

That rug is my favorite rug of all time. All I want is a magic wand to make it 10×14 to put in the living room but for whatever reason, the rug gods have never made a saturated blue large rug. I know because I’ve looked. I’m sure there are new versions out there (or will be now) but it’s not the same. The dark blue with the brighter teal and the caramel/brown tones are just so beautiful together. If anyone knows what type of rug this so I can try to find a bigger size please let me know. It’s my perfect rug.

There we have it. The door is Rectory Red by Farrow & Ball in a high gloss on the exterior and semi-gloss on the interior, and if you are looking for the perfect bright red I can’t recommend it enough. A lot of you mentioned that I should repaint it on the inside to be less jarring – like a blue or neutral, but I absolutely didn’t agree. I LOVE that big pop of red in the entry. And I know that the rug might seem awkward in that space, and maybe it is, but it also makes me so happy even if I have to move it around for shots. The final “entry” is done and yes, I wish I had done it this way from the start 🙂 xx

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Living Room | The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | The Basement Guestroom/Office | Basement Bathroom | Elliot’s Room | Kitchen and Dining Room | The Front Yard

**Reveal Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

Sure, we started designing the bathroom years ago (like 2) but it shifted down and down the priority list and I was willing to spend less and less on it even before we decided to move and sell the house. When the pandemic hit I was like, “Let’s just do it. We’ll make it cute for cheap and besides, eventually we’ll need to…. for resale”. Brian and I found ourselves saying “….for resale” more often than we thought (which tipped us off to the idea that maybe we were ready to move). Regardless it had been demo’d out for months and it was time to finish this sucker off. Here’s the full story if you missed it.

We needed to change out the vanity, lay flooring, paint, and then just see what some good old fashioned decorating could do (with stuff I already had). And hopefully all without spending too much money.

We put down the new Cali Bamboo waterproof flooring (same as the bedroom/office), waterproof baseboard, put down a coat of KILZ Mold & Mildew Primer (ideal for moisture-prone spaces), painted the walls in a warm denim-y blue (Good Jeans by Clare Paint), took off the glass door, switched out the faucets and replaced the vanity. I guess that is more than I thought, but the point is no tile installed, we didn’t TOUCH the vinyl shower surround but its white and TOTALLY FINE. We also didn’t do anything with the recessed cubbies and then just decorated it all cute. And yes, we used the same toilet. It’s ok guys, this is the basement bathroom… it just wasn’t worth the $400 to us because even before we decided to sell, it was just Brian using this space if that. That guy doesn’t give a crap about toilets if you know what I mean.

For all of you who are wondering, the vanity sits on top of the motor for the sump pump that you can access through the cabinet although my handyman who installed it didn’t totally understand that we wanted him to cut out the bottom so that still needs to be done.

The vanity is pretty great for how inexpensive it is ($260 including the countertop). Now I never saw the paint color or the vanity in-person before they were totally done (covid designing!) and I might have gone with the white vanity had I seen them together, but everybody thinks I’m crazy.

It actually looks great here!!! That’s a better representation of the wall color, but when the light is on its brighter.

The great thing about Clare paint is that they send you large stickers of paint swatches that you can stick on your wall instead of tiny paint samples that you have to paint (DUH … SO SMART, NICOLE!). We also made sure to put down a primer coat with a mold and mildew resistant primer film (again, we are KILZ primer loyalists over here), which is so important in basements, bathrooms, or really anywhere with poor circulation. It’s an easy way to make sure that our newly painted walls stay clean and dry for the long run:)

The vintage art and mirror are coming with me and yes, you bet that I should have switched out the outlet cover for a black or bronze one – OH WELL. PANDEMIC STYLING AND PHOTOSHOPPING. Sure, we left the outlet, but that little lamp on mister’s head is a clip light that yes, has a cord but it didn’t work anyway so we photoshopped it out because I really just wanted that in there to add quirk. Thank you for understanding why I cheat sometimes:) Technically there could be an outlet behind the piece of art so I’ll stick with that story.

Like I said that vintage mirror is coming with me. The faucet (sink and shower) were both super affordable and pretty great for the price.

I bought that vintage towel hook on Etsy, and already had everything else (the footed pot is from Jonathan Adler, I believe).

NOW. The one thing that was supposed to happen that didn’t was the baseboard and the cubbies were supposed to be painted the blue to keep it more tonal and modern. My guy didn’t get that note and we showed up the night before to style and shoot. Brian disagreed and said it should stay white and I wasn’t in the mood to push back, and I was ready to shoot it.

So I thought it would be fun to show you what it would look like IF the whole room was painted the Good Jeans blue that I had wanted. Again, not a big deal and not worth changing, but I just want you guys to know the intent 🙂 So here you go – the photoshopped version of the bathroom as originally intended.

Huh. I think Brian was actually right and it might be better with the white baseboards – or at least just as good. I just realized that all the dark moody bathrooms that I loved, the photos have never showed a bright white toilet OR a vinyl “tile” surround, so I actually think the white ties it together better.

I wish I had tallied it all up, but I can’t imagine we spent more than $3k including labor. It was all kinda tied with the basement bedroom as well as some painting upstairs, and my handyman doesn’t itemize for this kind of stuff, so I’m not totally sure. But the materials were affordable and the labor was under a week so I think we succeeded it making it “cute” and affordable and yet WILDLY better. If you didn’t see the basement reveal head over here to see how the rooms tie together. xx

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Living Room | The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | The Basement Guestroom/Office | Elliot’s Room | Kitchen and Dining Room | The Entry | The Front Yard

**Reveal Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – a “super fun” and “easy” game is to pretend that you are selling your house and then spend weeks if not months making all the little changes you meant to for years then NOT MOVE, just so you’ll be happier living in your home. I think this is the premise to Love it Or List it, right? Not shockingly, this is Brian Henderson’s, least favorite game so it’s one I mostly play by myself (happily). Don’t be confused, we are still selling/moving, but I like some of these spaces SO MUCH MORE after I made a couple of changes to be more “sellable”. It took our realtor coming in to say, “hmm do you have a smaller entry table?” and “maybe add more color” for me to make some changes that I wish I had made years ago but just didn’t prioritize or had looked at it with the same eyes, therefore losing objectivity. The dining room is the subject of today’s styling to sell post. We actually only really made two major changes…

But first, this is likely my favorite room in the house. The two walls of vintage charming windows and french doors (all of which open) overlook the prettiest patio in the world (IMHO) and the backyard. So if you sit at the dining table (and say write a blog and drink coffee) you are flooded with soft light and you can literally hear birds chirping and see hummingbirds floating around. Obviously having it be open to the kitchen made life easy for our family and, I don’t know, it’s just light and airy and warm all at the same time. So I wasn’t unhappy with it at all, but by making a couple of changes I love it even more.

But first, let’s take a look back…

The photos of the kitchen are deceptively “big” (shot with a wide-angle lens), it was tiny, if not totally adorable.

When we shot it for Real Simple (the first reveal 3 years ago) we had those pretty upholstered dining chairs and a larger light fixture (no longer available). I liked it a lot, but couldn’t handle the fabric armed chairs with my double toddler situation, and then when I found my dream vintage Cherner chairs at the flea market I dropped those blue chairs off at my friend’s (she still has them) – I sit in them often and I’m jealous of how comfortable they are compared to mine.

A couple of years ago I got that Target glass cabinet that acted as a storage bar and held glassware and wine (and cocktail makings). I love it, but it always kinda bugged me that the grid on the face of the cabinet mimicked the grid of the windows on the left and right. It reflected the light nicely but I wished it had been either solid or at least a color so that it had more contrast. But the function and scale of it were perfect and as a piece it was great. Last year I was like, “I wish this room had more color” but I didn’t know where to bring it in. I thought about reupholstering the Cherner chairs in a colored fabric, but thought that long term these would simply be prettier and more timeless in a caramel leather that matched the wood of the chair (this is debatable, maybe a navy blue would have been equally awesome but I’m sticking with that story). We upholstered them in Crypton leather, Florence in Duomo from Cortina Leathers (doesn’t get oil stains, so pretty) and BuildLane reupholstered them. I do love them very very much, and no the chairs never stopped creaking. I actually had to put mittens on the bottom of the legs so they slid around easier because the legs were too narrow to nail in a little slider thing (and felt didn’t stay on). Putting $1 Amazon brown mittens on your important vintage Cherner chairs is both offensive and hilarious, but well, that’s what we did (sorry, not pictured).

This is where we are now and I love it the most. I got that light fixture for $350 (now $450) and it’s GREAT. I love that it’s minimal, feels antique-y but engages the length of the table.

Back to bringing in color. I thought about replacing the curtains in a color or pattern, but they were custom and expensive. I have to say they faded a lot. They were originally a green and cream pinstripe and now are just like a beige and cream pinstripe. Still pretty and they just recede which is good to show off the windows, but I didn’t notice till I was styling them that on the inner folds they are green and I had forgotten!!!

Art. Yes, that’s how you bring in color. So I found these two pieces by Angie Dickerson-Lee of Bonita Interiors at the Pasadena Antique Mall. I actually thought they were vintage, but they are contemporary (check out her work). I love them. I hung them vertically on the far wall and loved seeing them from the view from the living room through the arch.

So when Howard (our realtor) was like, “maybe more color?” I thought, “tree?” but that would take up space and we loved how open and big the dining room is and didn’t want to obstruct the view to the backyard. I had forgotten about this demilune that I bought on Craigslist years ago for $60 and painted it that pretty blue. So I plugged it in the corner, hung the paintings above it, and put the vintage Thonet mirror (thrifted from the mountains for $60 I think, maybe $80) on the other side.

Y’ALL. It’s so much better!!! Of course, I have less storage so maybe I would need to find a different solution for our wine and glassware had we actually lived like this but having that burst of blue over there in a lighter/leggier piece of furniture is just so happy and pretty. It makes the room bigger and really pulls you into the room.

I made us take this shot (that I love) to show how you can cook WHILE seeing the kids play in the backyard. You have full castle vision while souping!

HOT TIP: Pieces with more visual weight to them can actually make your room feel bigger because it draws your eye to the corner telling your brain “this is a BIG room”.

Those were the only major changes. The rest was just styling for the shoot and for walkthroughs with potential buyers. We employed my “footed bowl, open book” TM formula that works for photos (but less so for real-life unless you like to read the same page over and over and over).

I brought in a couple of potted plants, including what I sadly learned is called a “shrimp” plant (the red on the island) that is AWESOME but c’mon! Don’t call a plant a shrimp plant! It’s like how we used the paint color “elephant’s breath” or “dead salmon”. Branding, folks. Branding. I still love it, but will refer to it here on out as “wild orchid table bush”.

I will ALWAYS miss this room – the light from all sides, the openness to the backyard, patio, living room, and family room. It’s quintessential indoor/outdoor living in a really charming and sweet way. And the simple changes – adding in more saturated color and vintage pieces made it feel more modern, fresh, quirky, and just more “us”. I will hoard these photos forever, thank you Sara for indulging my obsession with this house before we leave it. xx

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Living Room | The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | The Basement Guestroom/Office | Basement Bathroom | Elliot’s Room | The Entry | The Front Yard

P.S. If you are interested or you know a serious buyer contact Howard Lorey at Nourmand & Associates, HLorey@Nourmand.com DRE # 01263717. 

**Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

Despite its dreaminess, amazing light and wall of windows, after Birdie moved into Charlie’s room this room was an embarrassing storage collection for over a year. We moved a desk in here while we fixed the basement and had a dresser full of I don’t know what. It sucked. I truly didn’t know its purpose for a while so I couldn’t really design it. Was it a guest room? An office? My writing room for the book? Would Birdie actually want to move back in soon as they are 4 and 6? So I left it pretty much empty. But first, here is what it looked like when we moved in and then 3 years ago when it was her nursery, shot for Real Simple …. so cute.

I still LOVE that wallpaper (tree murals forever) and yes we put it over the plaster, ill-advised by everyone and it looks GREAT. Don’t put something graphic like a stripe over plaster (the texture beneath can make it look wonky) but something more fluid and organic like this actually looks GREAT.

We originally put up a custom double rod curtain – one for blackout and one for sheers (for one the sun blasts in). Now about a year in the plaster wall simply couldn’t support the weight (it was a LOT) and the rods came out of the wall. So if we were to stay here (and advise to the new owner) they need individual shades on the window frames – I would do something minimal OR a track on the ceiling that can hold the weight. We were going to do one of those two options but the room was not being actually used so it wasn’t a priority. It never gets blasted by the sun (southern light – yay!) so Brian and I could write in there just fine.

So to sell it, I wanted to show people you could put a twin (or even a full) bed in here in a way that still made it feel really big and bright. I had always wished I hadn’t sold Birdies vintage wicker bed from her first tree-muraled nursery (above), so instead I bought this $500 new replacement from World Market that is pretty darn GREAT. A daybed in front of those windows is just so pretty, although you could have it come into the room on the side or in front of the windows and it would be fine, but just make the room feel a bit smaller.

Available Bedding: Quilt | Lumbar Pillow | Round Pink Velvet Pillow

We kept it pretty simple after that… round rug, layered with sheepskin (holding strong), and a bookshelf (and cute lamp) on the opposite side. We shot it with a dollhouse and rocking horse but for the real estate photos took those away to make it look more open and bigger (I truly don’t know what is the right way to style to sell, I personally like more personality but we tried to stick to the “more space and light” idea for any future buyers).

So that’s how it ended up. It’s so simple and pretty. You could obviously put another piece of furniture in here (dresser or toy storage) but we left it simpler. Also taking down this wallpaper is $400 and having this room be all white would be DREAMY, too.

P.S. If you are interested or you know a serious buyer have your realtor contact Howard Lorey at Nourmand & Associates, HLorey@Nourmand.com DRE # 01263717. 

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Living Room | The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | The Basement Guestroom/Office | Basement Bathroom | Kitchen and Dining Room | The Entry | The Front Yard

**Photography by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

This post could also be titled “How Brian Came to Finally Realize That My Habit of Hoarding Beautiful Things Actually Comes in Handy After 20 Years of Being in a Relationship”. I don’t think I bought like anything for this room (maybe 2 things) decor-wise, and simply pulled it all from my admittedly robust prop “inventory” (the garage). Finally, the basement suite reveal is here, after four quick years. It’s like finding the wedding dress the day you get home from your honeymoon. I’m bummed that we didn’t prioritize this room, but proud that we invested enough to make it awesome without putting too much into it, unable to recoup cost in resale (I was going to do Scottish inspired plaid wallpaper – for my “eccentric Scottish grandpa” theme for one Brian Henderson – which might have been a harder sell). So here we are. I don’t think I have before photos because I’m new at blogging and don’t know how to document projects properly. When we bought the house it was not dissimilar to this state, except cement floor and probably a less good gray paint color but the potential was great. Same windows. Same built-ins. Two less support beams.

Here’s how it all went down. After we finished the mountain house I was like this is crazy, it’s time to actually work on this room and use it. Julie came up with a plan for the bathroom but once we got a quote for it we realized it would be like $15k – $20k. I really just wanted it to be “cute” and even “habitable” but this wasn’t where we should invest real money. A couple of months after the pandemic hit I realized that this was a good time to do it (on even more of a budget – life felt precarious). We needed to put down waterproof flooring, paint, and make the bathroom “cute”. So three weeks ago it was ready for me to style and shoot, which I tried to do without buying anything or where I did buy it was affordable (the bed).

The biggest and best change we did was put down this vinyl “wood” flooring that was super affordable, looks GREAT and is totally waterproof which is great for a basement that has an exterior door up two steps. It’s from Cali Bamboo, and is the Seaboard Oak color. Velinda used it in her basement kitchen and loved it, so I copied her:) It absolutely warmed up the space and has fooled many people who didn’t know (if you look closely you can tell it’s not real wood, but if you are just checking out the space it looks GREAT). I’m VERY happy with it and HIGHLY recommend.

As you can see in the “before” photo above, there is this cabinet on the wall that would have been super off-center to the bed. I wanted to get rid of it completely and drywall over, but Brian was like “you want to get rid of storage in a basement office?” which was a good point/question. Thank god I had been hoarding this amazing vintage Japanese indigo tapestry that I bought on Etsy last year. We hung it up, it fit perfectly both over the cabinet and behind the bed and created a focal point for the room. YES. Permission to keep hoarding awesome stuff, accepted.

I bought the rug years ago from Rejuvenation’s vintage site, the bench is Katy Skelton (from my Glendale days at the foot of my bed, and was at our piano but now lives here), the bed is Target (coming soon!), the black standing lamp is Target (no longer available), and the bedding is almost all what I’ve already had except the teal blanket by Justina Blakeney that is new (and awesome – so heavyweight and such a pretty thick weave). Lumbar pillow by Block Shop, leather pillow from Target (old), patterned blanket from Schoolhouse Electric (one of my all-time favs).

I have to pat myself on the back for making color and pattern totally wake this room up without making it feel small and busy or cluttered. It’s actually a really great space. Light, but cozy and I’m not just saying that because we are selling it. It has enough light to not feel like you are in a basement (windows on two sides) but where it’s located on the house just feels like a cozy studio, a little escape. Brian worked here for a couple of years and loved it. Also, the paint color is one of my absolute favorites (we have it in our bedroom, too) and pretty much captures “light yet cozy” well. It’s Ammonite by Farrow & Ball. Also, if you want more gray paint colors we love head here.

The built-ins were already there, but we took out the third shelf which allowed for us to lean larger pieces of art. All of those pieces are things that I love and will likely always hoard. I was so happy to give them a place in our house, even for just a few months. I think the only things still available is the teal sculpture from artist B. Zippy and the quiet painting by Addie Juell (that I purchased from the Portland project). I styled the bench out with a couple of pillows (Target) and throw (West Elm and similar). We always had plans of making a big custom cushion, but, well… we never did. The vintage “sconce” (which can also be a table lamp) I bought from Amsterdam Modern years ago.

On the other side of the room, we have the “office”.

Admittedly I’m VERY impressed with how this turned out from what we had on hand. I’ve been hoarding that desk for 3 years (remember the Parisian bedroom reveal??) and it’s a big desk to hoard (from Ava home). But it was too pretty to get rid of and I knew it would come in handy, three years later. Indeed it did.

The wingback is from Target (still so good and still available) and is such a good scale for the desk and adds so much warmth here. The lamp was a score from the flea market ($15) but I had to get it repaired ($15) and then my guy at Practical Props in the valley (Ian) threw in the shade because it was “damaged” and I was like, “aren’t we all, Ian? Aren’t we all?“. It’s probably from the ’90s and yes has some scratches and maybe a dent but for free that shape in black is so awesome on that lamp and you honestly don’t notice. (This is why I can’t have real paying residential clients … I’m a perfectionist in a billion ways – I tweaked that vignette to camera for 45 minutes – but will absolutely let things like that slide).

The painting is also from the flea market, the round sculpture is CB2, pillow from Target (old), and the blanket I’ve had forever from Rebecca Atwood.

I had that leftover wall hook from the mountain house (kinda wish I had hung it up here, actually … maybe I will after we sell) – from Lawson Fenning. I threw a Parker Clay bag, some yardage of vintage plaid (I had to bring the “Scottish” in somehow) and then I had bought this beautiful necklace from 54kibo.

Here you can see the full space on the other side of the room leading into the bathroom which I’ll show you very soon. The corner where the desk is was always awkward so I’m just so happy that the desk really engages that space and you don’t really notice the columns that float in the room. The foundation ran along the side of the wall (I think the previous owners dug down to make it tall enough to create a room) and I was like, “what the heck do I do with this ledge?”. I joked about lining it with candles. I even tried leaning art. I put a tray with “keys” and no matter what I did it looked junky, cluttered, and drew attention to the oddness. I ended up putting a plant, and stack of books on the window and called it a day.

All in all I’m honestly so happy with it. It came alive, while maintaining its bare-bones function (bed for guests, desk for office), feels warm, and exciting without feeling cluttered at all. And it goes to show that with a neutral foundation (walls, floor) you can add a lot of eclectic styles within a color palette (blues and wood). It’s an EHD formula that works for those of you who are into it. Although to be fair it did take years of collecting all of those things… I’d WFH here in a heartbeat… YOU?

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Living Room | The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | Basement Bathroom | Elliot’s Room | Kitchen and Dining Room | The Entry | The Front Yard

** Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

This room. My beautiful, bright charming problem child of a room needs more care and attention (and thought) than any of the others. Why? WHY? It’s such a pretty room!!!??? I’m blaming the children and my intense need for comfort and practicality these days. But historically I’ve blamed the old sofa, the bright rug (then the neutral rug) and at one point I even said: “there are just too many windows!” Ha, impossible. Slowly but surely we are getting there and I’m officially the happiest YET. Of course, my needs/wants have shifted even more because after living so minimally up in the mountains, with nary an accessory in sight other than a pillow or two, I realize how much easier it is to live and parent with less stuff to style and put away. So trying to bring that minimalism to my desired “eccentric English grandma” adds another challenge – she is historically NOT minimal. So with less booked shoots and partnerships, plus some new pieces to show off, it felt like a good time to style out a few rooms (plus I was dying to style/shoot – safely of course). You saw the kids shared room reveal last week (thank you for all your wonderful support – I’m SO happy with it) and today we have a living room update, yet again. It’s Groundhog Day here, but perhaps it’s just GROUNDHOG YEAR.

But one can not give you a proper EHD update without recounting the drama of this room’s sordid past. So let’s revisit the history of this living room over the last three years.

Version #1 – 2017. The Busy/Messy English Great Granny. Admittedly this version actually “works” the best visually in photos, and yet it’s not my favorite (thus the need to dedicate the next three years of my life to getting it right). One reader pointed out why this works (in 2019) and it’s because the heaviness of the rug balances out the beams. Oh, I wish I had read that comment (or had that thought myself) before I bought our new rug which I LOVE and is the softest rug in the entire actual world (it’s plush + 1/2″ memory foam – its an absolute dream to lay on and creates so much more seating without more furniture) Sadly it’s no longer available. But this 1st version also had/has too much stuff for me. When it was perfectly styled (for this one day in 2017) it was beautiful, but otherwise it was just too much stuff to put away, too many plants to keep alive, and yes a bit too ornate, busy and traditional for me – without the edge that for some reason I think I have. It felt too busy and colorful, but that was also when I had two very small kids and my life felt extremely chaotic so I had to reduce the visual noise. NOW, if I could go back in time I would have NOT sold that rug so I could try it with the new sofa and less “stuff” and that might actually be the winning combo but I wanted to work with this new rug and see if I could make it work. Next up…

In 2018 I switched out the rug for this more neutral one and we all agreed that its calmer, but for whatever reason didn’t work. The styling on this shoot was a bit stiff, too… So a month later I reshot it with better/looser styling…

I did like it more, for sure, but man, just not that happy with it. At the time I blamed the sofa (first the rug, then the sofa – who is next?? too much beautiful natural light??). So I happened to still have this sectional from Article that I staged in our Glendale house, and figured it was worth a shot. Maybe a more modern streamlined sofa was the solution.

2019 – The Contemporary Eclectic? This is starting to feel like a stretch. I admit that this works, but we were actually back to a “lot of stuff” to deal with in order to make that room sing. Picture this room without the flowers/branches and 9 pillows on the sofa. I think it might not really be that exciting. Why? Because the sofa and the rug are the same color, i.e. no contrast and it felt off-balance with the chairs. One of those two things needed to pop a bit more and I didn’t want to have to style out those pillows every day. No… I wanted a statement sofa, something special… And after a year of shopping, I finally ordered this amazing bright Lawson Fenning sofa that makes me smile every time I see it, sit on it, stare at it, etc. I’ve only spent a week with it since we aren’t even living in this house, but I just love it so much. So this is where we are today and when I was in the room I LOVED it.

2020. Here we are – new sofa, new pop of red and the chaise lounge that I’ll keep for the rest of my life. Maybe I’ll call it the “Almost Off Her Rocker But Like Not Really Eclectic Grandma” – not really that weird, I can admit, but in person it’s just enough and when I added more stuff, it just felt like more to put away at the end of the day. I’m wondering if I’m losing my “stylist” label because I’m increasingly not into “stuff” which is the actual calling card of being a stylist. Instead, I’m opting for some super special pieces that don’t actually want much on them – The sofa, red chair, and the chaise are the statements that bring me so much joy, and adding color back in makes me so happy. I missed my blues and greens and shant ever stray from them (except in a month when I change my mind).

My New Sofa

Sofa | Sofa Fabric (via Cryton)| Black Lamp | Double Sconce | Picture Sconce | Striped Footed Bowl (no longer available) | White Lamp | Trunk (vintage) | Rug (no longer available)

That sofa. Oh I love it. It’s from Lawson Fenning, called the Moreno and reupholstered in Crypton fabric, Salute. Now we tweaked the dimensions to make it more ergonomic so if you want to order it from Lawson Fenning ask them for my dimensions instead of what is on their site (I believe the back height is just a few inches higher and the arm height is a few inches lower). It is just so pretty and the shape of the arms are so simple but special. I wanted to have a brighter, happier color and this powder blue is actually brighter than I remembered ordering, but I’m even HAPPIER.

[HOT_TIP title=”Hot Tip” content=”A small swatch of fabric looks different than the same fabric in a huge sofa.”]

Side Table | Coffee Table (no longer available) | Ceramic Tray | Kava Bowl (vintage)

I was so tempted to put in more “stuff” but then I remembered that I want clean and fresh and purposeful. Maybe that’s my 2021 Post Pandemic attitude – “Clean. Fresh. Purposeful”. WHO WILL WE ALL BE ANYWAY AFTER THIS???

White Candleholder (no longer available) | Art by Melinda Forster | Roman Shades

The Chairs are Back…

Accent Chairs | Lumbar Pillows | Trunk (vintage) | Black Vase | Curtains

We brought back those Target chairs I just can’t quit because I like how it lightened up the space. I didn’t think that the dark gray ones would work as well with the blue sofa (but they might be fine) and I tried a bunch of different vintage chairs to see what would work but it just was too busy. To be fair they might have looked good in a photo but it just felt too much for me. I’d love to invest in some super special vintage chairs, but tbh these are so simple and good, a great scale and remarkably comfortable. Plus, I love the open wood arm – the chaise is really the statement so three heavily upholstered pieces in a row wouldn’t have let that beautiful piece POP.

My Dressed Up Vintage Chaise

Chaise (vintage) | Fabric | Floor Lamp (vintage) | Neutral Textured Mixed Media Painting

There she is. Ready for the ball. In case you have forgotten who she was before, I bought her from Jayson Home over 4 years ago in the original vintage fabric and fringe from the 1800s (she’s FRONCH) until it basically fell apart. Here she was BEFORE…

The shape is just so pretty and it has a really lovely petite scale that is still super comfortable. But after springs started popping up I put it in storage and started shopping for her new skin. I searched for a year for the perfect floral fabric and I FOUND IT.

The fabric is from House of Hackney out of, yes England and it’s incredibly stunning in person. The color combo could NOT be more perfect – it has that vintage-y vibe, in a modern unexpected way. The caramel flowers against the teal reminds me so much of my favorite pillow seen below. Buildlane restored it, refinished it, and reupholstered that beauty and they did an amazing job (like always). No more springs in my back when I’m trying to read The Vanishing Half (so good).

I’ve always loved florals more than most, but they are still HARD to get right. This floral has never been more right. It is splurgy and don’t try to knock it off (there is a reason it’s so splurgy) but for an investment piece like this I can’t recommend House of Hackney’s collection more – totally timeless high-quality English florals. I bought that lamp at a thrift store up here for $40 or so and then added the black shade to ensure what is an apparent necessity – that every single lamp of mine is black (except for the Schoolhouse lamp with the blue shade I’ve had forever on the piano). Onto my next favorite vignette …

Painted Portrait (vintage) | White Lamp | Trunk (vintage) | “Century” Book | Balloon Chair (vintage) | Striped Vase

Remember the trunk I bought at the Downtown Modernism flea market? I thought that it was a regret as it sat in the garage for a year, but once I realized I wanted more antique/vintage in here I brought it in and the green/brass added a lot of soul. Once combined with the Puritan oil painting (from 1730 – seriously), the modernist lamp, and BOOM that red leather balloon chair from Chairish and it felt pulled together, but unexpected. I added a vase from Justina Blakeney (the black and white stripe on the top shelf) and tried to restrain myself on the shelf styling but could probably take it down another 7%.

That chair brings me all sorts of guttural happiness. It’s red but not crazy bright. It’s round and graphic, with wood arms and black legs and it speaks to me. My new footed bowl (because I needed another one) is from EcoVibe – a new resource for me that has a ton of cute pieces.

MY PILLOW IS BACK. I made that floral pillow when I was 24, out of vintage fabric from the 60s and 15 (FINE 17) years later it still brings me a lot of happiness – maybe even more as I get older. I suppose it’s an OG EHD piece that will never leave, so I really had to work it into this room. I combined it with a tasseled pillow and blanket from EcoVibe. As I wrote about earlier in this post, I didn’t have enough black-owned businesses represented in my house so after I called myself out, and went on a personal shopping spree while researching posts, I styled out these pieces here and love them. The side table is from 54 kibo, the pillow/throw from EcoVibe, and the candlestick via Jungalow.

As we turn around we can see the piano and dining room and just in case you didn’t know that all the doors opened up to that dream of a patio (will never not be in love with it), we went ahead and opened them up.

I suppose I’ll hoard that vintage leather trunk forever. It’s been in 4 different rooms which shows its true versatility/my addictive nature to rearranging. The Entler lamp on top makes it feel more modern IMHO. The MQuan bells are holding strong after 6 years, and that flea market grayish cabinet is still one of my favorites. Slowly but surely you can see that things aren’t changing as much as they used to. I’m really starting to create an inventory that I won’t ever let go of.

I would LOVE to try a darker rug at some point but “trying” a 10×14 rug takes like 2 people and 3 hours. I do think that one with more weight would add that grounding that we need and balance out the beams, but it’s not happening right now.

MQuan Bells

So there we are – an update, a sofa/chaise/red chair show and tell… Rearranging was SO MUCH FUN. It was the definition of “Style, Play, Every Day” that makes me really miss our day to day job.

So what do you think? I know that some of you wished that we would have pushed further and for others, this might be too far already. I suppose what I feel like is a huge win is having pieces that I’m obsessed with and knowing that when you put things that you LOVE together in a room typically they work, even if they “don’t work”. One of the best pieces of advice that I learned from my styling mentor/boss Cindy Diprima was “pretty always looks good next to pretty”. Of course, there are exceptions but I think the overtime collecting is working in this room and it’s starting to really come alive, in a restrained way which is livable for us. Maybe a darker vintage rug would look amazing. Maybe two vintage chairs instead of the Target chairs would balance out the sofa more (I’ve literally spent HOURS searching for open wood armed chairs that are big enough to balance out the sofa, but not “chunky” and it’s hard!). Ok, let’s talk about it. xx

In case you missed any of the other reveals so far check them out: The Kid’s Shared Bedroom | The Basement Guestroom/Office | Basement Bathroom | Elliot’s Room | Kitchen and Dining Room | The Entry | The Front Yard

**Final Reveal Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp