Fall Outdoor Living with Arhaus

One of the things I am most excited about with fall approaching is the cooler weather so I can enjoy my outdoor patio again. I'm already planning on putting away the bright summer accessories and adding warmth with fall colors. Once the temperature drops and the mosquitos are gone I will be planting myself in front of the outdoor fireplace and TV with a wine glass in hand. I created a fall outdoor living board using Arhaus furniture and accessories for inspiration. I love the warm copper, gray, and teal colors together. Typically, mirrors and chandeliers are considered indoor décor. That's why using them outdoors can make your patio feel like a cozy living room. Now who's ready for a Moscow mule?!

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Styling the Glass Cabinets in the Kitchen

I find it funny that the projects I consider easy are the last ones I tackle. An entire living room makeover is no problem, but adding décor to my glass upper cabinets has been just one of the things I have been putting off. Considering most of the pieces I planned to add were items I already had it's kind of ridiculous. You have to clean everything, get the ladder out, blah blah blah. I'd just rather go shopping. I have to be honest about the way I shop. I can hold it together for a couple of hours and then I decide margaritas at the restaurant next door sound better. Now that I work full time during the week I definitely don't want to spend the weekends washing my white platters to go in my cabinets. I want to make the most of every moment of those two days before reality hits again. But, when I put my mind to something thank goodness I can get it done quickly. I finally styled my glass kitchen cabinets in a matter of hours. Now, I'm scratching my head wondering why I didn't do this last year.

The only thing I have left to do in the kitchen is add hardware. I picked it out before we even moved in, but the amount of cabinets we have has had me hitting the pause button the past year. I'm sure it won't be that bad, right?

Home Theater Update and Back to School

We are in full pre-fall mode here! That means back to school and getting ready for football season here. Our home theater has been a hot spot in our house since we installed the projection screen last year. We've had friends over for football games, the kids have cooled off here with summer movies and I watch my Real Housewives shows here...alone. I have all boys and they think it's hilarious I watch such a girly show. Surprisingly, my little guy watched it with me the other night and I had to plug his ears a few times. I didn't realize how inappropriate it was until then, but I'm glad he agrees Tom is a "bad guy." Housewives aside, I decided I needed to finally decorate this room. I vetoed the Scarface movie posters my husband wanted. I know it's a home theater, but I wanted it to feel like a comfortable living room.

I had added these gold plates that were previously in the living room. I liked them in the living room, but I decided they would look better here. When I bought them I had pictured them in several places in the house and knew I'd probably move them. I love so many different design styles that I decided this is going to be the room that's a bit more contemporary than the rest of the house. It fits considering it's a theater room, but the colors still blend with the rest of the house.

The kids loved it in here at the end of the summer when it was too hot to go outside. I gave them popcorn and they were happy for several hours.

The good thing about this room is that I only need to add a few things-pillows, a rug, and one more piece of artwork.  Once I got that bug in my bonnet I couldn't think about anything else. I found myself at Homegoods last week putting together an entire pillow story.

 

I'm honestly surprised I could find everything I was looking for-gray, cream and gold. And, you know you're on the right track when the other customers are eyeing your cart. I got it first ladies!!

 

 

 

 I've tried a few different combinations here and I'm going to have to buy just a few more pillows. That's always the case with pillows. You're going to need more!

 

Now, for the back to school part! Here are shameless pictures of my kiddos.

 

These two are going into 3rd and 4th grade. They didn't want to get close in the picture, but they play together amazingly. I know they were ready to get back to school and see their friends too.

 

 

 

My oldest is going into 8th grade. Poor thing has to catch the bus at 6:15am! On top of that he has football for his last period and then practice for another 2 hours. He loves it even though it sounds horrible to me!

 

 

I've had an exhausting weekend with a Friday wedding rehearsal, Saturday wedding, and two design/staging jobs Sunday. All good stuff though! I still carve out a few minutes between appointments to decorate my own house. Check out my Instagram this week to see what I'm working on in the living room!

 

 

 

 

 





My New French Chair for the Living Room

I've had this little French accent chair in mind to buy for the living room since I started designing it almost a year ago. It's been so hard to decide if it fits because it has to be angled a certain way so it doesn't block the fireplace on that odd short wall. It's from Restoration Hardware (who has been amazing by the way with delivery and any issues we've had), but since it would be a custom order I wanted to make sure it would be perfect so I've been undecided. I found a similar chair for much cheaper on Wayfair and I received it on Friday. I was thrilled with the upholstery and wood frame color, and just the overall look of it.

It looks beautiful, but once you sit on it but it's obviously not the same quality as my other furniture. I can't decide if it matters since it's an accent chair. The biggest issue is the size. It's 36" tall and that's not too short if it weren't for these really tall walls. On top of that, my husband makes it looks like a kids' chair when he sits in it. I keep thinking he looks like a Viking who stole Napoleon's chair. It's perfect for me though.

My husband's shoulders are about six inches taller than mine so there's no way he's sitting here. I'm thinking I will either return it or order a second one. Still undecided...


Before I leave you, I'm also working on finishing off the media room. There isn't much to do in here so it makes sense to finish it off. Football season is right around the corner after all...yay, I suppose. I have plans to add more artwork. You might notice I moved the living room gold plates here. I also want to add pillows, a rug and a few accessories. Not much! I can get this done and it will make me feel better that one room is officially done.

 

 

 

One thing I've realized is even when your house in chaos (in your mind at least), create one little vignette just for you. This is mine tonight. :)

 

California Cool: Blackband Design

This is the time of year I want to re-decorate my home into something casual and coastal. I want a white stucco Mediterranean-style house surrounded by palm trees...exactly like the one being built behind my house right now. Wahhh! Don't worry, I'll be a complete creeper and take pictures for you when it gets closer to being finished. It's going to be a model home so I won't be the only one walking through there with my camera out. Until then I'll leave you with pictures of what I hope the designer will do to the interior of the house. One of my favorite design firms I found on Instagram is Blackband Design. They are the epitome of cool, casual California style.

 

 

Does anyone else need a vacation now? Luckily, I will satisfy my tropical locale craving soon. We're getting closer to figuring out the new pool details. As soon as we do it will take about six weeks to complete. Then, I can add all the palm trees my heart desires. I'll keep you posted!