Since starting this blog, my life has come full circle. I love interior design, I love eco-friendly living, and I love writing. 160 characters on Instagram has never been enough for me, so naturally a blog is my outlet. If you do read to the end of my posts though – you are the true VIP here. I share a lot of DIY tips on home decor and it’s no secret I try to live a green & healthy lifestyle. Which also means I like to keep more green in my wallet. So today I’m sharing with you my favorite and thrifty-life hack on how I save money by making coffee at home! Example A: Me in the city with my pup side kick + iced coffee in hand. First off, I’m that typical girl. I love my Starbucks, I love my $6 coconut milk lattes from the trendy coffee bars in Raleigh. I could rack up my entire credit card on coffee. When I have my large iced coffee in hand I literally feel like I can conquer the world – that’s probably a separate issue haha! When I moved into my older home, I wanted to not only save money [ more for renovation & DIY projects!] but I also wanted to live more consciously. I used to have a normal coffee pot – it would brew 6 cups, and 5 of them would go to waste everyday. Then I used a Keurig with a reusable brew cup […]
How to create a style board for your space
When I moved into my house – it was a blank slate. It was a 1970’s house that had been pretty much untouched since it was built, so when I saw blank slate..I mean wood paneling, white walls, and standard lighting, I was a excited. There wasn’t anything crazy going on, which made my work easier, but blank slates can also be very daunting! Even as a designer, I was perplexed with my family room. It’s so uninspired and just BLAH. I painted the wood paneling a beautiful boho white, and after that, I was stuck. It took about 2 months until it hit me, I needed a vision. I don’t mean I was going to space out and it was going to come to me in a vision what to do in this room…I mean I needed to visually see it instead of thinking about it! So I did what I do for all my clients; I created a style board! This is my style board below. It has all the elements I want to see in my space, the color palette I want to carry throughout, and has some of my existing furniture pieces I’m working with. Now i’m going to break it down for you, so you can learn how to make your own for your space! First I will say, style boards are like dream boards. They are meant to inspire and reference – so when you’re mindlessly walking through Home Goods and you have the […]
Modern Boho Budget Bathroom Makeover
I’ve been teasing you all about a bathroom makeover since I moved into my 1970’s house. The vanilla color on the walls..cabinets, countertops..paired with the grey floors made for a horrific sight. Plus the faded green curtain on the rusty metal rod? So cute, right? I know, I know, it could’ve been worse. I wasn’t dealing with yellow or pink tile or some horrific peeling wallpaper, but still, it was uninspired for lack of a better word. Last week I shared my inspiration for my bathroom and the elements I loved from each picture. You can check that post out here. There were elements I knew I wanted in my bathroom, like brushed gold (DUH) and high contrast design. I also always loved the idea of a Vintage/Persian style rug in a bathroom space, so I made it my mission to find one. Just like my thrifty kitchen makeover [if you haven’t checked that out yet, you don’t want to miss it] I didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg – I capped my budget at $200, and ended up spending $170! I love budget makeovers, especially when I surprise myself and come in under budget. A lot of the items I already owned, like the soap holder, tray, plants and some of the baskets. What I really was searching for were the big impact elements, and I was on the hunt for deals! Before I show you the after, let me show you what I was working with. There […]
How to achieve a modern-boho look without breaking the bank
I’ve always been a fan of the easy and free-spirited bohemian look, from fashion to home decor, it’s me, through and through. It seems just recently however that it’s become trendy, which is actually amazing for you all who are trying to achieve this look in your own digs. You can find boho decor items online [especially Etsy, and even Amazon!], in big box stores, and most definitely at your local thrift shop. To be honest, creating a bohemian & eclectic home isn’t about buying mainstream items. You can’t achieve this look by going into a retail store and buying everything from one showroom..eclectic boho is a “collected” look. Pieces form different eras, unique trinkets, and a sense of blurred boundaries between indoor and outdoor. Promise it’s not tricky to create this effortless look..and I’m going to show you how to do it on a budget too! What’s eclectic & boho style you may ask…this sums it up perfectly. “Overall the style portrays an organic sense..like it came together over a period of time rather than all at once. It is a representation of the dweller’s life, experiences, and personality.” Here are a few ways to achieve it..simply and on a budget! Matching I’m going to start this off with the #1 rule here. Throw your matchy-match and symmetrical beliefs out the window. If you can’t live without this..then boho style is not going to be your cup of tea! Mixing up elements and letting each piece be it’s own […]
My $400 eclectic kitchen remodel
I wish I could sum it up in a sentence, the journey of my kitchen. I’ll start with prefacing that this is my first house! My boyfriend and I bought a home in the suburbs of Raleigh, and in my own words, it is fabulously 1970’s. When we first walked through at the showing, I fell in love. Was it the original walnut wood moldings everywhere or the wood paneling in the basement..or the so-yellow-they-are-pink tiles in the master bathroom you may ask? It was none of those – actually I didn’t even notice all of that when I walked through the home. I noticed the layout, how much light flooded every room, and the gorgeous moss-covered backyard! I am an interior designer after all..any cosmetic issues in the home didn’t even phase me. If you know me, you know I always bite off more than I can chew, it’s kinda my thing. So the kitchen was no exception. Oh..the kitchen! The cabinets were two-toned..and not the trendy kind you are imagining. The cream and brown paint that covered the cabinets made me want to shower immediately…but I also knew this was the first room that needed my love. Another thing I knew – being only 2 years of out college, and this being my first house, my budget was gloriously tiny. At work, I had won $300 in Amazon gift cards, so I decided that those gift cards, plus another $100 would be what i’d work with. I honestly didn’t […]