My House Reveal: Dining Room

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” 

Virginia Woolf

The open floor plan combines the dining and adjacent living area into a single, large gathering space where family members and guests can interact during the entire course of a visit, not just during the sit-down meal. 

Admittedly I am not the best cook on the planet. I can make a mean tater tot hot dish (as we call it in Minnesota) or a respectable pot of use-what-you-have-in-the-pantry soup. But when these culinary delights are shared in the ambience of a beautiful dining room, somehow they just seem to taste better.

The biggest challenge I had in decorating this space was finding a table the seated six while comfortably filling the space in front of the floor to ceiling windows. After a frustrating game of this table is too big, that table is too small, I found an old, inexpensive trestle table that was ahhh, just right. 

My husband and I spent a Saturday afternoon stripping, sanding and staining it to its natural perfection.

Keeping with the light, monochromatic palette, I also found an open shelved hutch (with a cute ladder!), perfect for displaying dishes, baskets full of linens and assorted vases and jars.

 I have a few more rooms to reveal, so as always, stay tuned...

{photos by Sara Boulter}

My House Reveal: Powder Room

"Never underestimate the power of a powder room...

the small size of a powder room gives you the ability to really make a statement."

Shane Inman, Houzz contributor

I chose a bold floral pattern wallpaper and a decorative ceiling light for my small, windowless powder room. The bold turquoise leaves pull in the subtle variations of the same color throughout the rest of my home. 

Dare to be bold in the powder room! The tiny, often windowless, room is the perfect space to add a pop of pizazz in your home. Patterned wallpaper, distinctive art, and dramatic lighting are all simple ways to make an eclectic statement.

Artwork, flowers and a contrasting floor pattern add to the eclectic feel of the space.

Not quite sure how you feel about making such a bold statement? Here are some other inspirational powder rooms:

Brown Design

Elle Decor 

Elle Decor

Massucco Warner Miller 

Still not convinced? Check out the latest LIV Showroom blog post with some great resources and additional insight into using wallpaper. 

As always, stay tuned...

My House Reveal: Den and Study

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” 

Cicero

Welcome to my den and study, the combination of two formerly small bedrooms united into one magnificent area for watching TV, reading, and working from home.

One of the initial disagreements my husband I had when we were renovating was where to place the TV on the main level. My thought was that it should go in the living room so that the family could enjoy the TV in the main living area (e.g. living room, dining room, kitchen). My husband, on the other hand, did not want a TV to distract from the incredible views from the living room, and felt that the TV should be a secondary focus rather than the main.

Our solution? We created a den. I'm so glad I let my husband win that argument *wink wink*. 

Likewise, the study serves as our family work area. It is connected openly to the den to encourage family together time. The study is decorated with an eclectic mix of personal mementoes like an oversized canvas portrait of my husband in his rodeo days. Yeehaw!

The functionality of the two-rooms-in-one serve our family well, and the diverse mix of furniture and accessories keep the rooms informal and fun.

As always, stay tuned...

My House Reveal: Master Suite

"In the end, I think that I will like that we were sitting on the bed, 

talking & wondering where the time had gone."

Brian Andreas

As the last room we see at night and the first room we see in the morning, the master bedroom is one of the most important spaces in our home. In order for a master bedroom to feel as grand as it's purpose, there are several things to take into consideration when planning this space. 

When we purchased this 1960s rambler, one of the unusual things about it was the size of the master bedroom. It was LARGE. Homes from that era are typically know for smaller bedrooms. So with that in place, we only had to make minor architectural changes to make it into our dream bedroom.

The first thing I wanted to do was to salvage the hardwood floors. They were in impeccable condition even after 50 years! Unfortunately, the unique size of the wood slats were not available, so we opted to install wool carpet in the bedroom instead. 

The second thing I noticed was that there wasn't a large enough wall to comfortably accommodate our king size bed. I decided to replace the existing patio doors with a wall and replace the window with a large set of sliding patio doors that would walk out to a private deck. 

Although the room was relatively large, I still wanted to expand the space. Since moving walls was not an option, I chose to coffer the ceiling to add height and install faux beams for visual interest. I had a custom barn door made to prevent the door from swinging into the room and impeding the bathroom walkway.

Finally, a master suite wouldn't be complete without a master bathroom. We opted to forgo the bathtub in lieu of a large walk in shower, a trend I'm seeing more and more of lately.

More house to reveal coming soon. As always, stay tuned...

My House Reveal: Living Room

"I love my house, oh, yes-sir-ee,

My own little house in my old oak tree."

Miriam Young, 

children's author of Miss Suzy

I've always had a fascination and love for the homes I've lived in. I'm sure my predilection stems from a few of my favorite childhood books including The Little House and Miss Suzy. 

As a child, I loved playing "house". I loved creating my own space, setting up pretend rooms and arranging things just so. It's no surprise that I became an interior designer. As an adult, I get to play house for real!

I've posted about the renovation of our house over the past couple of years, but it's only been recently that we've been able to finish furnishing the main level (sometimes even interior designers only get to work on their own projects a little bit at a time!).

If I had to pick a theme for my house, I would label it as Rustic Modern Industrial. There are lots of natural elements like slate, white oak, glass and steel combined with distressed and casual furniture pieces. A textured rug, spooled accent chairs, and a coffee table that you can put your feet on complete the look.

I wanted to add a touch of elegance to the laid back feel of the space, so I added a brushed brass side table with round mercury glass inlays. Linen tufted ottomans (extra seating) are conveniently tucked into a niche which displays black and white images of some of our favorite places.

I wanted to create a space with plenty of seating where we could all hang out and enjoy the fire (and the amazing view). Despite the open floor plan, floor to ceiling windows and vaulted ceilings, the space feels quite cozy.

I'll reveal a new room in each new post, so as always, stay tuned...

{photos by Sara Boulter}

A View From the Terrace

"I am excessively fond of a cottage; 

there is always so much comfort, so much elegance about them." 

Jane Austen

Here's the second model home I worked on for Rainey Homes. The Terrace model at Daybreak is a quaint, yet sophisticated version of a lake cottage. Check it out...

As always, stay tuned...

Let Me Entertain You

"Everyone can identify with a fragrant garden, with beauty of sunset, 

with the quiet of nature, with a warm and cozy cottage."

Thomas Kincade

A quick peek at one of the model homes I worked on last week. Introducing the Rainey Homes Entertainer model at Daybreak...

As always, stay tuned...

Book Launch, Waffle Party and Clearance Sale!

"Party rock is in the house tonight; Everybody just have a good time!"

LMFAO

So many fun things are happening at LIV Showroom on Thursday, October 10! Join us for the official Room Recipes book launch party! Meet the brilliant designers featured in the book from 6-8 pm.

The Waffle Love truck will be in front of the store from 5-9 pm. Buy a book and get a FREE waffle! 

Plus, LIV Showroom is having a Floor Model CLEARANCE SALE! Everything in the store will be 25% OFF! Holla!

Oh, and let me mention that a portion of every sale that evening - books, waffles, furniture, whatever! - will go toward the Susan G. Komen Foundation in conjunction with Shop Local! Save the Girls event on Main Street in Bountiful.

Come one, come all! It's going to be a blast!

It's Been A Long Time Comin'

"It's been a long time comin', my dear, It's been a long time comin', but now it's here."

Bruce Springsteen

It's been nearly two years since my last post and so many things have happened! But, for the sake of keeping this conversation relatively short, I will post glimpses of the best and biggest moments:

We sent our oldest son (the tall guy to my right) on a two-year 
LDS Mission to San Bernardino, California.

We moved into our unfinished home.

I opened a full-service interior design showroom in Bountiful called LIV Showroom with
Kristen Holm, Deboni Sacre and Pam Jensen.

We finished our kitchen... yay!

I began working for Rainey Homes as their Interior Designer.

The girls and I from LIV attended a couple of furniture markets.

My husband wrote and released his first book, I Knew Their Hearts.

I appeared on local talk shows Fresh Living and Studio 5 for LIV Showroom.

I wrote a book called Room Recipes: A Creative and Stylish Guide to Interior Design 
to be released September 19, 2013.

My two youngest boys became *gasp* teenagers.

And most recently, we began landscaping and renovating the exterior of our home
(more on this to come).

Oh, and I did some interior design in between all of that
which I'll start posting about on my blog!

Stay tuned...