2024 Gift Guide: For the Home & Hostess

Gifts for the home are my niche. I found so many things to add to my own list when creating this guide! I hope you find some items that spark joy :)

Beautiful Coffee Table Book / Jolie Shower Head Filter / Green cleaning machine / Weezie Plaid Blanket (monogram it!) / Photo Album / Hydrangea Dish Towel / Ginger Jars / Woven Nook Pillows / Woven Fruit Bowl / Rifle Paper matches / Cake Stand with Cloche / Non-Toxic Frying Pan / Twisted Candles / Floral Plates / Cookie Cutters / Arched Picture Frame / Ina Garten Go To Dinners / Home Team hat / Pedestal trays / Floral Desk Calendar 

For your Sister & your Friends:

Beautiful Coffee Table Book: It is my thought that you can never go wrong with a coffee table book in a subject that your loved one enjoys! This one is absolutely stunning.
 Cookie Cutters: I love tying cookie cutters onto the top of gifts for a cute added touch! These copper ones with rubber rims are the best.

For your Mom & Mother-in-Law:

 Arched Picture Frame: If you have a mom or MIL who has it all, a framed photo of your family in a beautiful frame like this one will be loved for years to come. Go the extra mile and get them a full blown photo album, if you'd like! These are what I use to make our family albums and they're incredible quality.
Twisted Candles: a sweet, yet simple gift for the home decor enthusiast. You just can't go wrong!

For the Hostess:

Hydrangea Dish Towel: arriving with a bottle of wine and a gorgeous dish towel is always the answer. I got these dish towels for a friend, myself and my mom last year and they are SO stunning. Pair this with a bottle of wine and viola! I think giving non-Christmas gifts is nice so they can use it year round.

For You!

Green cleaning machine: this is a must, especially if you're a mom! It literally gets stains out of anything.
Jolie Shower Head Filter: I just got this shower head, that doubles as a water filter and it's so wonderful. My skin and hair is soft, but not too soft-- you know what I mean? I'm so glad to have something filtering out the harsh chemicals in our water!

Okay, you know my obsession with sourdough! I couldn't not make this one:

Starter Jars / Dutch Oven (20% off!) / Banneton Bowls / Scoring Lame / Parchment Paper (doesn't burn!) / Dough Scraper / Kitchen Scale / Bread Bags (so cute for delivering to friends/neighbors) / Bread Slicer (on my wish list!)


Happy Shopping!
xoxo



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New Bathroom Art

This bathroom renovation and decoration process has been, as they say, slow and steady! That's sometimes how it has to go and that's totally fine-- sometimes even better than rushing! The bathroom is finally done with all we're going to do to it this year. We may retile the floor this winter in the new year (what a good project to leave to do in winter, in case everything shuts down again...) For now though, we updated our art with some beautiful charcoal line drawings by my friend Erinn Schultz and I had to show you them hanging up in their frames!

I always wanted art above the toilet, but we had this little wire basket before (see here), so I was overjoyed when Erinn kindly offered to create some pieces for our bathroom. I wanted something minimalistic and floral, since the shower curtain is striped. I thought it'd be a nice compliment!

We did two coordinating pieces above the towel bar and it fills up the space so much better than the old butterfly print I had in there. 

We went with these target frames! I really like them, they're affordable and they play off the other gold touches in the room. I would let you know though, they are more of a champagne gold than a GOLD gold, if that makes sense!

It's so delicate and simple-- just what I wanted!! Erinn is so talented and I love that she's local to Grand Rapids!

Couldn't resist showing you some zinnias from my cut flower garden :)

Rug / Hardware: knobs (1-1/4"), pulls  / Mirror frame / Shower Curtain / sconces / faucets / hand towel bar / towel bar / hook / toilet paper holder

It's so fun to get some art up on the walls that you feel reflects your style and finishes off the space! Erinn Schultz Art  is launching her new artwork series on August 19th and I'm so excited for her. It's all gorgeous!
xoxo



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19 Favorite Things of 2019

I love sharing my favorite things with you here on the blog and on Instagram. While I only show you things I truly love and use myself, this list is the cream of the crop. Settle in, because I'm sharing my favorite 19 things of 2019!  1. Lou & Grey for LOFT Signature Softblend Sweatpants. I had been eyeing these for quite some time, then I got two pairs for my birthday and I sure as heck kept BOTH! They are the softest (like, seriously), smoothest without being silk, material I've ever felt. They truly feel like that buttery-soft feel. I live in them (thankfully I have the two pairs so I can wash one while wearing the other!) These are one of the things that have a cult following and I totally see why! This link is for the black and gray colors and this one is for the colors. They're currently on sale and worth every darn penny!! If you need more convincing, check out my highlight on Instagram here.

2. Our Well Woven rug. It was just the change our living room needed!

3. Black out roller shades in our bedroom from The Blind Spot of West Michigan. I love it to be super dark in our room and these do the trick! 4. Countertime Eye Renewal Cream. This is where it's at! If you're not already using an eye cream and you're in your 20's, it's time. This is one of the first places we start getting fine lines AND it helps makeup go on so much smoother. I love this one so much!

5. Madewell High Rise Jeans. I haven't had a pair of Madewell jeans for 10 years and now I remember why I liked them so much! They are super soft, have just enough stretch and this is my first pair of high rise jeans...I gotta say, I'm a fan!

  6. Our gym membership. I'm a yoga addict now! I go at least 3 times a week and work out another 3 times a week doing cardio, abs, arms, etc. 7. The hot tub at the gym. 50% of the reason we signed up ;) HA! 8. Our new house, of course! So grateful. 9. Our front garden. I can't wait for spring to see if my tulips come up that I planted! And then I can't wait for summer to see it all in bloom again. Maybe this year my peonies will bloom. This year we also have to tackle the backyard landscaping.

10. Native's Natural Deodorant. I love the Coconut Vanilla scent. I also rotate the Primally Pure one still, but it's nice to have two- one for my gym bag. (PS. I'll get on my soapbox for a second: if you're not using a natural deodorant, you should totally switch over! No one needs to be putting aluminum, especially women, under our arms near those major lymph nodes. I promise it's not bad or hard to switch!) 11. Amazon Workout Leggings. These feel JUST like my Lululemon Aligns. They are $25, too. BAM! They have lots of colors and they restock quite often. Love the pocket for my phone!

12. Honest Beauty Co. Mascara & Primer. Ladies, I have found the perfect mascara and this is IT. I get asked if I have lash extensions all the time because of this. It's also super budget friendly and safe! You're welcome :) 13. Amazon dog bath wand. When we lived at our apartment we had a dog bathing room with a tub and everything. When we moved, we obviously didn't have that anymore. After months of killing our backs washing Lincoln in the tub by using big bowls of water, I thought "there has to be a better way!" And there was. Here is is. This wand attaches to your tub spout and makes your life so much easier. Now we don't have to rotate filling up bowls of water and dumping them on him ;) 14. Amazon blue light-blocking glasses. These really do help me not get a headache or eye ache while doing computer work! 15. Hello Fresh. (Not sponsored, we pay for this a couple times a month because that's how much we love it!) I loathe meal planning and grocery shopping, though I'm trying to find ways to enjoy it more. It's so nice for my meals to just arrive so all I have to do is cook them (which I also don't like doing, but again...trying here!) Click here to get $40 off your first box-- not sponsored, just a thing you can do when you purchase enough boxes and I'd love to share with you :) 16. The American Gospel: Christ Crucified documentary. We watched this in December when it came out and it was so, so good. The first one was released in 2018 and it was incredible. They explore and uncover false doctrines and narratives that have seeped their way into American Christianity and give sound biblical teaching as to what the actual gospel is. Highly recommend!! 17. Survivor. I know, so old school, but I saw it on at the gym one night and got into it. Then we got home and I kept watching it. My husband had never seen it before (but I grew up watching it from season 1, then hadn't seen it in probably 10 years), so he was making fun of me at first, but by the end of the episode he was so into it, he asked if we had others recorded ;) We watched the whole season together and loved it. Can't wait for it to start in February! 18. For Christmas my husband got me this Barefoot Dreams cardigan (it's an ombre pattern, but that's sold out now). I always heard people talk about how much they love their Barefoot Dreams and felt them at the stores, but I had yet to get one until this year. I live in it, friends. It's like my house coat, haha! It's so soft and cuddly. I would even wear it to do errands like grocery shop. I'm an XS, but this only came in s/m m/l, so the s/m fits totally fine!

19. Mittens! I'm not sure why I didn't try mittens for the first 4 years I lived in Michigan, but holy smokes! They are so much warmer for me than gloves. I think the fact that all my fingers are together to prevent isolation helps a ton! These are the ones I got and I love them. They're fleece lined. I thought I'd need the xs/s, but thankfully I tried them on in the store and I actually needed the m/l!

Do you have any of these things? What are some of YOUR favorite things from 2019?!  xoxo interior design website / services / portfolio

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Nordstrom Sale Home Favorites

Rarely do I post on a weekend, but I'm back today with my home finds from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale! If you missed my post yesterday, take a peek here. I found so many gems, but I only pulled together a couple items I would put in my own home. Enjoy!!

blue blanket-- the softest, coziest of all blankets. This never goes on sale! / marble coasters-- such a great way to elevate a coffee table! / pillow cover / wood salad bowl -- simple and sweet / gold salad servers / blue pitcher -- in LOVE with this! Blue and white forever ;) / marble cutting board / paper towel holder / rug -- such pretty, soft colors/ metal serving tray / leather ottoman / white blanket with tassels -- getting another one of these for our sofa! Under $26 and one of the softest blankets I've ever felt.

Our shower curtain with navy stripes and tassels that I adore is also on sale!

SHOP:

On Monday I'll be sharing my favorite accessories and a couple more sweaters and shoes. You'll want to follow along on Instagram on Monday...just saying ;) Let me know what you get!
xoxo


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Best Memorial Day Sales & Codes

Happy Saturday of Memorial Day weekend! My grandma and aunt are in town stopping by to visit our new house (which isn't even close to ready or done, but I'm still excited for them to see it!) The weather isn't great, so while I wish I was somewhere like the below picture soaking up the sun, I think we'll be mostly inside today. 
If you're hoping to scoop up some steals and deals this weekend, you're in the right place! I'm sharing my favorite places to shop + their Memorial Day Sale AND some great picks from a couple of the stores.

(via Serena & Lily)

CLOTHES: Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale: up to 50% off! div>

Anthropologie: 40% off sale items 
J.Crew: 40% off everything + 50% off sale items with code WEEKEND
J. Crew Factory: 60% off men's and women's 

Loft: 40% off entire purchase

* see all my favorites here! 
GAP: 40% off everything with code READY
Athleta: 20% off swim
Beautycounter: spend $125 and get 2 FREE travel sized sunscreens! 

HOME:
Serena & Lily: 20% off everything with code SUMMERPREP

Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale: up to 50% off!

Anthropologie: 30% off most home items
Pottery Barn: buy more, save more from 15%-30% off
West Elm: buy more, save more from 15%-30% off
Lulu & Georgia: up to 25% off with buy more, save more
World Market: 20% off with code MDW20

Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

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Stylish Storage Baskets

It's the end of the first month of the year, which means that a lot of us are decluttering, tossing things out, and watching a whole lot of Tiding Up to get inspired by Marie Kondo ;) I haven't watched an episode yet, sheerly because I'm scared that if I do, I'll be on a mission to throw everything away that we own! If you have watched, let me know how you like her methods and what you've done to your house since in the comments. I'm so interested! One of the ways you can get a handle on your clutter is by finding stylish storage solutions. These would be things like benches or ottomans that double as hidden storage, bookcases or builtins with some closed storage, filing cabinets, or baskets. If you don't have a ton of money or space to work with, baskets are your friends. You can add them to the bottom of your bookshelves, in your bathroom cupboards to assist with giving everything a place, put one next to your sofa or nightstand...they can go pretty much anywhere!  Baskets can hold anything from dog toys (just us?!), blankets, pillows, kids toys that you want out of sight when people come over, mail, TV remotes and more. Here are some of my favorite baskets-- all really beautiful and functional!

SHOP: target natural + white stripe / oval basket / oval basket with fringe /  round basket fringe / square basket with white stripes / set of 3 pom pom baskets / rectangle basket / low rectangular basket / braided rectangular basket / 

A couple of the baskets in Target caught my eye last week while wondering the store (something that seems to happen at least once a week...)  target natural + white stripe 

 oval basket with fringe

 round basket fringe

Have you tidied up in January yet? I always try to do a little of this while putting away Christmas decorations and with us moving in a couple months, I SHOULD probably watch some Marie Kondo to get prepared ;) Happy Tuesday! xoxo interior design website / services / portfolio

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Gift Guide: For the Home

Happy Friday! I made it to California yesterday to spend a couple weeks with my family and it's so good to be home and see my parents. This post is up a little late, but better than never! I love putting together a gift guide for the home-- obviously, houses are one of my favorite things so filling it with beautiful things is fun :) 

Shop here: marble coasters / monogram cutting board / Cultivate What Matters power sheets (goal setting journal) / I need Jesus print / gold bookshelf / basket / gray floral pillow / stripe hand towel / christmas trees(sold out, similar here) / metal and gold vase / monogram hook / monogrammed throw blanket / hand soap and lotion set / picture frame / gold jewelry box / gold candle sticks / tic tac toe marble coffee table game While I'm actually a little bit of a minimalist in decor in our house, I do like special and beautiful pieces that are timeless. The largest piece I'm including for this gift guide is this gorgeous gold etagere. It's so pretty for displaying your favorite items and it doesn't break the bank! I don't think you can ever have too much storage, so pretty woven storage baskets are always a fun gift! I love how this one has a black detail on the bottom and the shape is so unique. A simple yet classic and modern gift would be these hex shaped marble coasters. I'm not sure about you, but I'd be giddy over some new pillow cases and these Studio McGee gray florals (they come in 2 other colors) are gorgeous!  Candlesticks, a sweet vintage hook for coats, a fun marble tic tac toe game and a metallic vase also made my list. I love personalizing gifts, so a monogram is always a good idea to me and this blanket is so festive for the season, but would also look great all winter. The Cultivate What Matters power sheets journal doesn't seem like a gift for the home at first glance, but the intention behind it is to help you set goals so you can live out what God has created you to do. To me, these goals absolutely will affect your home life! If you want to give something a little more Christmassy, these precious wooden trees are the perfect gift. And if you're anything like me, you'd also appreciate a cute (and delicious citrus smelling!) soap and lotion set.  Hope these gift ideas are helpful! Have a wonderful Friday, xoxo PAST GIFT GUIDES: For the Hostess For Her For the Beauty-lover For Him interior design website / services / portfolio

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3 Finishing Touches for Your Home that Make a Huge Difference

One of the things I get the most questions on is readers or friends asking me the best ways to finish off their homes. They have furniture but don't know how to put the exclamation point on the end of the sentence, so to speak ;) Another question I get asked often is about how to infuse personality into your space? Well, my answer to both of those question lies in this post. They're both great questions and can often leave homeowners feeling overwhelmed, so hopefully this helps!

1. Rugs.  Rugs do a lot of things visually, but some of my favorite functions they have are how they zone off spaces and naturally create conversation areas, warm up your home and bring texture to the space. The thing with rugs that's important to remember is that they are laying on the floor, horizontally positioned, often with at least some furniture placed on top of it. This to say, it's a great place to bring in pattern and color to the room because it's not going to be overly bold being on the floor. 

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I'm not saying rugs don't have power or impact, because they sure do, but I am saying it's a great place to experiment with design elements you're afraid to put on the walls or curtains! Rugs can take furniture that looks like it's floating in the middle of a room and bring it together, creating a cohesive and purposeful room design. 

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You might be thinking your room has carpet in it, so that negates you from being able to use a rug in your space. FALSE! As long as it's a low pile carpet, you shouldn't have a problem layering a rug over it. I did this in my "Bachelorette Pad" and it worked out great.

via I wrote this informative post about how to choose rug sizes for your home here + then gave you tons of my favorite rugs. 

I get asked a lot about where to buy rugs, so here are my favorite places:

Lulu & Georgia*
Pottery Barn
West Elm*
Crate & Barrel*
Restoration Hardware*
World Market
Home Goods
Nordstrom- especially the Dash & Albert line*
Wayfair
Joss & Main
Rugs USA (for cheaper rugs, but that don't last as long)
Target Annie Selke Overstock
* Favorite, best quality

KIDS:
Crate & Kids
Pottery Barn Kids
RH Baby & Child
2. Curtains.  What DON'T curtains do for a room is the real question?! They add height by moving your eye upward (especially important if you have standard ceiling height or are trying to draw attention to an architectural detail), make the room feel bigger (via adding height), draw your eye to a pretty view outside by framing the windows, cozy up the space and make it feel lived in and polished, and of course, it's yet another way to add texture, color and design elements to your room. 
That's a lot of really good stuff, which is why I never think a room is finished unless it has curtains. 

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via And curtains that TOUCH THE FLOOR, mind you. I'll never forget when I was designing a builder's home and he thought it was actually wrong to have curtains touching the floor...HA! I started laughing immediately (don't worry, that wasn't unprofessional of me because that's just how he is and he knows it. He was laughing too!) I told him it was one of my top design no-no's and he thought that was hilarious. So we DID end up getting him the appropriate length curtains. The issue with short curtains is it actually does the opposite of what you want them too, which is to ADD height. 

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Things to remember for curtains: to find the length needed for your room, measure from the floor to the top of your window molding. That will tell you the very MINIMUM measurement. Then you want to account for hanging your curtain rod as high as possible above the window, or at least halfway in between the top of the window molding and the ceiling.
The standard width of curtains is 50" wide. If you want to fully close your drapes to block light, be sure to measure the width of your window and determine how many panels you'll need.
Of course, there are other options for window treatments as well. You have fabric roman shades (love!), roller shades, woven roman shades, and can dress things up with valances.

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A few of my favorite resources for curtains: Pottery Barn Target Ikea - nice and simple (usually you have to hem these as they come really long) Crate & Barrel Ballard Designs Custom fabric for curtains: Caitlin Wilson, Rebecca Atwood, Robert Allen, Schumacher Custom Curtains: Martha & Ash
3. Art. Art really helps give your home personality and that cherry on top of everything else you have going on! Filling wall space can be challenging; there are only so many options. You have gallery walls (collections of artwork or photographs in a cluster), mirrors, canvas art, wood signs, single photographs (from your travels, family photos, etc.), clocks, metal or woodwork, etc.

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It's sometimes hard to identify your art style and taste. But what I've found is usually people can see something and know if they like it or not, so what I always suggest doing is starting a board on Pinterest just meant to file away art styles you love. Search for wall art and pin anything that catches your eye. After pinning around 30-50 images, take a step back and ask yourself what those items have in common. Did you pin a lot of abstract pieces? Landscapes? Photography? Florals? Collections of art hung together? You'll also pick up on frame style and color that you gravitate towards as well. 

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One thing I've also noticed about art and filling wall space, in general, is that some people tend to go overboard. I'm here to tell you that not every wall needs something. This can feel cluttered and then your eye doesn't know where to land. My goal with art is always to find a few really great pieces that we want to stand out and become a focal point!
Some of my favorite places to shop for wall art:
Minted World Market Target Ballard Designs Etsy- House of Belonging and Between You and Me for wood signs Feather & Birch for cut out wood words and art
Favorite Artists (love supporting artists first before big stores!): Chelsea Michal for incredible and colorful animals and florals, Hollyhocks & Hydrangeas for farmhouse flowers, Wildfield Paper Co. for florals and nature watercolors, Simply Jessica Marie for pretty calligraphy prints and custom watercolor paintings, Bree Maden for beach photography, Lily & Val for chalkboard art prints, Rachel Wadlow Art for Abstract, Parima Studio for abstract, Emily Jeffords for landscapes.
*** So there you have it-- 3 design elements that will really help finish off your house and make it feel like a cozy, inviting, and personality-filled home!
  What do you think makes the biggest difference in your own house or apartment? xoxo

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