About a year ago I made an executive decision. I decided I didn’t like my house as much as I once did. (That’s about as executive as things get with me.) Styles had changed and I was itching for a change myself, but we were house hunting at the time and I didn’t know how much longer we would live in this house. I kept putting off changing my decor thinking that I would just wait, but my home wasn’t making me as happy as it once was. And being a stay at home mom = being home a lot. I quickly learned not to underestimate how important it is to love your home. Your home should make you happier than anywhere else. Not because it’s the fanciest, most expensive place around, but because it’s a reflection of you and the people you love. It’s an escape from the rest of the world. The one place you should feel the most “you.” So I decided I didn’t care if we were in this house two more years or two more days. I wanted to love my home again.
It all started with a shelf.
One weekend I took the first step by re-painting a wall and my shelf.
I can’t even tell you how invigorating that felt!
It was a fun project and I was so in love with my new wall!
Even though it looked completely out of place and didn’t match anything else in my house.
There was a chance that any day we would be putting our house up for sale.
Kenny thought I was crazy. My realtor thought I was crazy. I knew I was crazy.
I just didn’t care. :)
Slowly I started making small changes to coordinate with my new wall.
Not wanting to spend a fortune, I just updated things with small purchases.
A dish towel here…a new vase there.
I also used my leftover wall paint to paint other things in kitchen that were previously red.
Magnet board in October.
Anthro apron was a fun addition. Even though I never use it, it sure looks cute. :)
And my magnet board today. Aren’t the typewriter magnets fun!? I picked those up at the last Queen Bee Market. And I love that picture of my girls on the beach in Maui. Summer time. :)
The next big change I made was re-decorating my hutch.
I took everything off of it and sat with it completely empty for months.
It felt good to have a clean slate.
I took everything off of it and sat with it completely empty for months.
It felt good to have a clean slate.
It’s simple because simple is appealing to me at the moment.
I have loved switching it up with the seasons.
Our birthday spotlight was a fun addition. No cost since I just painted an old frame and used mini clothespins I already had on hand. (Clearly I got my money’s worth out of that can of aqua paint!)
Swapping out a few dishes in my clear shelves helped pull together all of the colors in my kitchen.
And the mantel has gone from red and black…
to the blue/yellow/white combo as well.
It was fun to add some happy decor to my kitchen table once Kole completed his “I have to be climbing on top of the kitchen table every 10 minutes” phase.
It was also fun to switch out ribbon and paint my black frames yellow taking them from drab…
to fab. (Or at least from dark to light.) :)
Summer decor isn’t complete without lemons.
So I added lots of them. :)
Kenny made me a happy wife when he bought me this Pottery Barn lamp after I had been eyeing it for months. I also added some fun summer lanterns from Z Gallerie. Eventually I want to move the lanterns to the kitchen and replace the clock. One thing at a time…
And my latest update: adding the magazine organizer from Ballards.
Something that looks as beautiful as it functions. My favorite kind of decor!
My last decorating project that I am currently working on:
Above my kitchen cupboards. This space is SO hard for me to decorate. It’s a tall space so I have to have big, tall decor. Plus I have a hard time keeping it from looking too clutter-y. I hate too clutter-y. In my next kitchen that we are currently designing there will NOT be a big open space like this above the cupboards.
So far all I have are these plates I bought at Z Gallerie.
They look a bit small for the space. I need to bring in other colors and figure out what I’m doing here. I’ll probably get it figured out and looking exactly how I want it just in time to move into our next house. :)
When I look back at all of these pictures I’m pretty happy about the transformation of my house over the past year. I have loved experimenting with different looks and have fun plans for the decor in my next house. (Like not going quite as overboard with aqua!)
Slowly, by completing one project at a time, my current home has become a place that makes me smile again.
And lucky for me, the rest of my family feels the same. HOORAY!
:)
p.s. Since this is a wrap up of all things home decor, below are some links of past decor-related posts. Aside from the space I’m working on in the kitchen, I’m not changing anything else. Saving all of my decorating ideas and efforts for the new house! I love that I took pictures of each room so that after we move we will always remember our time here. I brought all three of my babies home to this house and it will always hold such a special place in my heart.
And speaking of my sweet little ones, I will be back to blogging after Memorial Day. Looking forward to a fun holiday weekend with my family.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend with the ones you love as well!
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I love love those plates-those would look great in my house too! Amazing how small changes add up, you know I’ve been doing the same thing around here too so I love to see what you’re working on.
Hi Erin, I love both styles but the teal and yellow are my favorite. Those colors just scream summer. I just bought some more yellow things today.
Have you guys been getting the gusty winds? Yesterday was so bad. Today was good. Tomorrow will be the worst and thankfully end by Saturday morning. Just in time for the weekend.
:)
Thanks Lindsey! :)
Cathy – no winds here yet but it has been SO cloudy. “May Grey” and “June Gloom” have set in on the coast. Luckily most days it burns off by noon and we are back to the usual sunshine. Enjoy your wind free weekend!
:)
LOVE all the pops of color! Those lanterns & plates are excellent, I’m gonna have to check out ZGallerie. That yellow lamp is great. Will your new kitchen have the space above the cabinets? My cabinets go right up to my ceiling .
I hear you on making your house somewhere you love to be. I love to add little things here & there. One of my favorite things is ball jars, not sure why.. But I love blue tinted ball jars. I have a bay window in my kitchen where I put seasonal decor & I have the tinted ball jars w/ my spring decor. I also love fresh flowers on my kitchen table, makes me happy!
Have a wonderful weekend. Love your decor and anytime I read it inspires me to clean/declutter. Someone that visited my home recently told me she loved how my walls were emotionally connecting. As I read you share about your home it made me think of this as well.
I love all of the color Erin. Your house looks like such a fun place to hang out. I wish I wasn’t so scared of color!
Both the before and after pictures are beautiful! I am such a fan of roosters, and love darker colors, but I the teal and yellow go so well. I Really do love how you took your existing decor and painted it instead of just replacing it. Thank you for sharing your home with us!
Erin, I LOVE your home decor! It is just beautiful! I have a suggestion for something to use above your tall cabinet. Fiesta Ware makes dishes and accessories in a “turquoise” color and also a “sunflower” color. They have platters, cookie jars, canisters, kitchen tool holders, etc. You can find them at Macy’s, Kohl’s, etc., and of course, all over the internet! And they are very reasonably priced. LOVE your blog!!!
All the lemons and yellow touches DO make it “Sunny side up” style! And you are so right – we can’t wait to make our homes happy places where we love to be. Esp. as mums, because we have to be happy. Thanks for the inspiration!
Very cute! You’re new house will be sunny and bright.
I think everything you did was just right! I have that color blue in my craft room, and I have red and yellow with it…I LOVE the combo in the rest of your house like that! And you did a great job with the accessories! And yes, they yell out “It’s summer”! Isn’t paint just a wonderful tool for changing things up big time????? Sandy
Fun! I love the new colors and how fresh and happy everything looks! :)
Reenie – no space above cabinets in next house (at least not big enough for decor). And I LOVE bay windows! Your decor sounds beautiful!
Thanks for the sweet comments everyone!
Jane – Love your suggestion! I’ll have to check out Fiesta Ware! :)
Too much aqua – sorry!
Anonymous – I agree! I went a little overboard. A mistake I won’t make in my next house. :)
I love all the new updates Erin and how you documented the progress!! You are really going to love looking back at everything you did.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with the family!
Love the color transformation throughout your house! You’ve done a great job :) My favorite is the white wall shelf and the way you’ve accessorized it! And I LOVE how happy Kole is about the new colors too!!! Thank you so much for your sweet comment last week and checking out the blog :) Happy Memorial Day! Hopefully the sun comes out!!! ~gina
I love all the turquoise! It’s such a happy color. It’s fun to see all the great changes you’ve made.
I love the colors you have chosen. They really brighten everything up! You have gotta love your home when you are a stay at home mom. :)
I saw those Z gallerie lanterns in yellow in my ‘Woman’s Day’ magazine. Very cool!
Seriously everything in my house is brown. I totally lack vision, but I would like things to look nicer and it sure would be nice to move into a bigger house (now that we have 4 kids) but it’s not practical. I appreciate your attempt to spruce things up. It makes me feel like – ‘Hey, I can do a little tweak here and there too…”
I really like all your pictures. This type of interior make home more beautiful and attractive.
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Hi Erin,
I saw this interesting art and think you’d love it. He takes everyday scenes of disorder and rearranges them into super neat rows
http://www.jeanniejeannie.com/2011/08/29/the-art-of-clean-up-sorting-and-stacking-everyday-objects/
Hey Erin!! I LOVE your decorations!! Can I ask where did you get your towel holder for the kitchen? I LOVE It!! Thanks :)
Thanks Amanda! My towel holder is from a store called Tia Pan in southern Utah. I bought it years ago though, so I don’t know if they still have it?
Sorry if that isn’t much help!
Linda! That site was so cool! Thanks for thinking of me and sending it this way. :)
What a great transformation! It all looks really great, so fresh and new. Enjoy it and good luck with the house hunting. I really like your snapshots strung up in the frame, I think I need one of those for my house, too.
I went Pinterest crazy on this blog post. I love the colors that you updated to! We will be moving soon, and I’m looking forward to fixing up the new house with some fresh, vibrant colors such as these.
super cute! I love the yellow and blue together. Just found your blog today and I’m a new follower. :)
Hi Erin! I love the way that your wall/shelf came out! Would you mind sharing (if you know it) the name and brand of that aqua paint color you used? I’m kind of in love with it and am looking for something similar! Thanks! :)
Kim
Hi Kim! Thank you! That post is so old! From my previous house. :) Did you find it on Pinterest? I’m trying to remember but I think that color was Jamaican something by Behr. Sorry I can’t remember exactly what it was called. It had Jamaica in it! xo
Hi again! Yes, I believe that I came across a picture on Pinterest that had the white shelf, yellow flowers in a vase, and lemons in a jar… I love the yellow/aqua color combo! I found a similar aqua color called “Jamaican Aqua” from Benjamin Moore… I wonder if that was it? In any event, I found a color by Behr called “Sweet Rhapsody” that I love and I think that it’s very similar to the one in your photos. I’m going to paint soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
Kim
Oh good! So fun Kim! Thanks for letting me know. Happy painting! xo
Hello, Erin! Beautiful space!! I was wondering where you got the picture frames with fluer de lis hanging apparatus? I’ve admired that frame set for quite some time, so any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
Hi Makayla! Thank you! It was from a specialty home decor store in Utah that is actually out of business now. So sorry I’m not more help! xo