What's Your Design Style?

Sometimes, I get stuck. There are so many different design styles, and so many aspects of each that I like. Luckily I'm getting into the field of interior design where I'm able to help others design spaces in their own individual styles. 

But what would I do if I was designing my own house from scratch and could do WHATEVER I wanted with it? With no budget?

You'd think by taking a look at my Pinterest boards, it would be totally clear what my style is. But alas. There's such a variety, and I love them all. I know what I really dislike...and I can recognize it right away. But I can appreciate a wide range of design styles and can never quite describe just one as my favorite.

I always love a coastal inspired home...

Country Living

But sometimes I'm drawn to a feminine, sophisticated room with some glamorous details (including THEE most amazing bed I've ever seen, I might add)...

Bear Hill Interiors

Other times I just want a cozy and warm farmhouse with loads of character and charm...

Sarah Richardson HGTV

And then sometimes I like more modern, eclectic rooms with fun pattern and texture:

Lonny

And then I love cool industrial accents, vintage and antique pieces, things collected from around the world...so many things.

So then, what's a girl to do? I guess my options would be to either to combine everything I love together and make it into something beautiful, OR own multiple houses and then design each in its own unique style. (Haaa, I like that option. I can dream, right?!)

What's your favorite design style? Or do you also have a hard time picking just one?

Bins & Baskets {and other gather posts}

Gather post for The Inspired Room

Hey guys, I just wanted to pop in and update you on where I've been spending time lately! If you haven't heard yet, I recently started a new column for The Inspired Room that I'm really excited about! It's called Gather, a column where I gather up some of my favorite items from around the web. Basically, I window shop online and make cute collages out of my favorite finds (sweet deal, right?). 

If you missed them, here a round up of links to the ones I've done so far:

A Summer Picnic

Fun Tools for the Kitchen

Red White & Blue

In the beginning of my blog I also did a Throw Blanket Roundup and a post called Let There Be Light {A Pendant Light Round-Up}. These were basically 'Gather' posts before I officially started them :) I hope you guys enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them!

Hope you're all having an amazing week!

New Bedroom Inspiration

I've been working on a design plan for my new bedroom for a couple of weeks now. My previous room was painted a pretty medium gray color, and while I loved it, I decided to have my new room be a little more fresh. I picked out two very light blue/green colors, tried them out, and chose my favorite. I was set to go.

Until yesterday when I had another idea, completely different from my original plan. Whoops. It's funny how that can happen with design, isn't it? You can think you know exactly what you want, and then you think of a million other options that might be a better choice for you.

I decided instead that a creamy white wall color would be nice in my new room, especially because the room is fairly small, so that will make the space feel a bit more open. I already have white bedding that will stay, and I'm going to add some navy, pale pink, and brass/gold accents throughout the room. I know that I want my room to feel calming and feminine. And as much as possible, I'll be using pieces that I already have, repurposing things, and being creative, because there is not exactly a budget for this little endeavor :)

SO. Once I had my general idea, I decided to gather some inspiration for my color ideas and find some photos representing the way I wanted my room to feel. If it looks all over the place right now, don't worry. These are just the inspirations!

Kitty Genius

Design Seeds

White and Gold Design

This room above is getting me excited to paint my nightstand a dark gray/blue color like this and replace the wood knobs. Also, I wouldn't be mad if my walls looked like that. But alas. That would require a bigger budget, a handyman, or a girl who is good at DIY projects. And you know, none of those exist at the moment.

A Country Farmhouse

This kitchen is a great representation of how I want my new room to feel. Feminine, light, airy, but still warm and welcoming. I love the look of the white, blue, gold, and pale pink together. And incorporating texture with the basket...yep. Love it all. 

Oh, and I'm thinking this lamp may sneak its way in there too. After thinking I made a mistake not buying it, I sprinted (drove) back to the consignment shop and took it home with me. I needed it. And you know what? I think it needed me. Together at last.

I'm really excited to have a good plan going now. I'll definitely keep you guys updated as I get further along with my room!

PS: Shoot, almost forgot the most important part of the design. I'm going to incorporate my love of whales by hanging several large whale figurines from the ceiling. They'll be the focal point of the room. I'll also most likely be painting a large orca whale mural on my closet doors! Similar to this: 

via

Still debating on the whale ideas...I don't want to be too cliché and I feel like everyone's been doing those whale murals lately. It's like the new chevron. We'll see. ;) 

* I can't end this post without clarifying: please know that I'm not serious about the whale part! I like whales, but not that much! :) *

It's a Necessity

I made a mistake. I left this precious, sweet, sweet baby lamp in a Seattle consignment shop yesterday.

Why. WHY! It's such a gem!

Not to worry. I'm going back for it today. I mean really, $19 for a lamp like that? I could spend that much at Ikea on a plastic lamp that I have to put together myself that won't work in a year. So yeah. I'm going back. And if someone else already snatched it, so HELP me...I'll curl up into a ball and weep in the middle of the store. I won't really though. But maybe! We'll see. Updates to follow.

A Home

When I have my own home, my hope is that I will fill it with things that I love, that I've collected over time, that that reflect who I am, that are daily reminders of great memories, and that inspire new memories to be created.

I don't want a house filled with a bunch of meaningless decor that I just circled in a catalog and had shipped to my house because it "matched", and I saw people do it on Pinterest so that must be good enough right? I'd go crazy if that's all my house was. I'd feel like there was something missing. Obviously, not every piece in a home will or should have a special meaning attached to it. Some things, of course, are brought in simply because they look nice.

Ultimately, I just hope my future home is an eclectic mix of new and old pieces, including a balance of things that have meaning to me or that simply make me happy when I see them. That mix will be different for everyone's home. I want my home to exude a feeling of warmth and comfort to my family and anyone who spends time in it.

...and that's all I have to say about that.

 All photos from the amazing house featured in House Beautiful. Interior designer: Erin Martin

Let's Catch Up

The beginning of this summer has been a whirlwind. 
Of greatness. Let's catch up a bit, shall we?

I started my internship at Maison Luxe and it's been nothing short of awesome. Every day is a little different, which I love! Lately we've spent a lot of time getting ready for our upcoming One King's Lane sale. I've done a variety of things, from running errands to showrooms, visiting a client's home, hauling cute ottomans up to the office, helping out at a photoshoot, and gluing flowers back on a broken chandelier. Just to name a few :) I'm loving it.

In this midst of all of this, I've been going back and forth from my parent's house to my my mostly empty rental house in Seattle, which has no internet ALL MONTH. Which is why my blogging has been so nonexistent lately (oops), but thank goodness for free wi-fi at coffee shops.

But we packed up that house...and we're now in our DREAM of a new rental house (with internet again, praise the Lord). It's so nice to be getting settled. I can't wait to show you guys pictures of it once we get all moved in!

There's also been a lot happening over at my parent's house! I haven't talked about this much on my blog (yet!), but I started a church with my family 3 years ago. Ever since then, I've been going home every weekend to help with the church and hang out with my family. It's a time I look forward to every week. I'll do a whole separate post about that sometime...it's a big part of my life! But for NOW, here's what has been happenin' at home. I'm blessed to have a mom that shares my love of interior design. My mom, sister and I spend a lot of time when I'm home talking about design ideas, paint colors, and other fun designy things. 

Right now we're repurposing a few rooms in our house, which means my room is changing locations, which means I get to pick a new paint color and redecorate a little! I'm still deciding, but I'll be sure to show when I choose!

We're also getting a new sectional soon so we've been picking out the fabric for it! We chose the gray/blue extreeemely soft one on the bottom of this pic. The white and gray fabric will be the pillows, and the yellow is just to show how cute the couch could be with a yellow lamp next to it! Cute, right?! We have lots of fun projects at the house coming up so we're psyched. 

Anyways, that's a little of what has been going on over here lately :) Hope you are all having a wonderful week!