New Year, New House

Moving into our new house has been equally exciting and overwhelming. It was one of those awesome little surprises from the universe where all of sudden what you want just smacks you across the face. My husband and I dreamt up the exact house we wanted to live in for the long term. A house that could morph into exactly what we needed it to be at any given moment. A place where we had room to host the biggest gatherings, multiple overnight guests and maybe one day even kids. Heck, I’m hoping that someone hits me up to host their small intimate wedding, we have the backyard for it!

Really, we wanted a place that we could genuinely see ourselves being happy for 30 or 40 years. You know, have babies, raise them and then empty nest. So it came as a happy shock when this dream house was all of a sudden on the market, in our price range, in the area we wanted to live.

So during this past month I’ve spent half the time of crying of gratitude and the other half crying because- why does it take so long to get settled? I’m 27 years old and still haven’t learned the virtue of patience. Being unsettled is no fun, especially coming from a homebody who needs everything to be “just so”. However, I’m doing my best to enjoy the journey because who am I kidding…designing a new home is literally a dream! I eat, sleep and breath design so this is my happy place.

Since it feels like the few simple designs I’ve decided to tackle upon moving in are taking FOREVER, I wanted to round up the images that I constantly find myself repining or saving on Instagram. I feel like once you start noticing yourself doing that, it’s your brain trying to tell you “hey girlfriend, THIS is your style”. So I try really hard to pay attention to what I’m consistently drawn too. I’ve never been able to truly define my style. I feel like I can easily design rooms for others based on their style and what they are drawn too, because I can kinda see the beauty in all of it!

When I recognized that about myself a while ago, it kinda bothered me. I didn’t love that I couldn’t define my style in 3-4 words. I’m so over that now, I’ve decided to embrace it. So by no means am I drawn to contemporary, modern or farmhouse, I’m drawn to refined and elegant mixes of multiple styles. I’ve found that over the years as I went from styling an apartment, a small one-level house and now a bigger home with more square footage we know what to do with, my favorite rooms were always a thoughtful blend of all styles and pieces I’m drawn too, regardless of their defined category.

So here's a little mishmash of what I'm loving lately. A few timeless images that inspired me to start designing a home for myself and my husband that will stand the test of time.

I found this photo perusing Emily Hendersons blog. This gorgeous vignette was shot by Lina Ostling. I spent about an hour diving into her instagram and portfolio on her site.

She's a Swedish photographer with serious style. She't got super moody yet natural vibe, which is right up my alley.

I LOVE the paint color against the raw wood trim, the panelling, the greenery, kinda just everything.

The beauty in this simplicity is over the top in this Michael Dawkins Home living room.

Yes to the stone walls and the beautiful inlaid beam in this gorgeous powder room designed by Susan Burns.

I've often wondered how I can authentically incorporate stone walls into a 20 year old home. It seems every picture I save for inspiration has some form of stone in it. While I love the benefits of living in a newer home, I do long for some of that historic charm that is difficult to recreate. Must get creative about this one.

I love everything Amber Interiors does, everything is so livable and subdued. Also her book, Made For Living is absolute gold and I've been drawing a lot of inspiration from her work.

I'm dying over the black and white tile in this Maresca & Associates kitchen design. I've been taking in as much inspiration as I can on this classic tile look as I design my new mudroom.

Then last but not least, this absolutely stunning bedroom by Carley Page Summers. I'm pretty sure this bedroom broke the internet, or at least Pinterest because I see it pinned thousands and thousands of times because it's just that fabulous.

That wraps up the inspiration for now. Keep your fingers crossed I can check some things off my new house to-do list before I get looney 😅

Stay inspired friends,

XOXO