I feel like my foyer is your favorite room in my house! There's been a "bring it" mentality that goes on in my head because of it. I actually thank you for that because I can get a little lackadaisical if I don't have motivation. My design clients get treated to well thought out designs, but when it comes to my own personal spaces I will procrastinate on what I know that needs to be done. I get excited about my home all over again just by bringing in a few new things or even moving items in from other rooms during the holidays. It's exactly what I do for my staging clients so it's nice to give myself the same treatment.
This year I was motivated by these beautiful lavender mums. I didn't know where I was going to put them, but I immediately wanted to pair them with white and light green pumpkins somewhere. My design approach during the holidays is to combine different colors/styles until I get the exact combination that resonates with me at that moment. Besides the color scheme, I knew I wanted something a bit romantic. I've been shying away from transitional decor and more into a pretty, French look lately. I'm sure this will pass, but I want that feel for now.
I wanted a garden stool next to this chair as soon as I started putting this together. I found something online within ten minutes, and had it delivered two days later. I still find this technology amazing. I had a pager in high school for goodness sake!
I am working on my backyard and kitchen next before I give you the full fall tour next week. I am anxious to be done because it's going to be so busy with homecoming for my older son. He has a parade, he's nominated for homecoming court, a football game and a dance to go to all next week. Then there are so many festivals at home and at our beach house in Galveston. I also want to make all of those pinned fall recipes you can find on my Pinterest board under "food." I know you follow me for interior design, but I consider myself a homemaker first. I honestly believe that makes me the best at my job!
There are only a few more days until the beginning of fall! We're kicking it off in Houston with a tropical storm. Hopefully, the flooding is minimal and we'll just get some much needed rain. There's also our beach house in Galveston to worry about. I'm watching The Weather Channel meteorlogists on TV a few miles down the beach from our house there. That's one good way to keep an eye on it! Thankfully, it looks perfectly fine so far.
The temperature is much cooler because of the rain. I made apple cider tea, lit a pumpkin candle and plopped myself right here in the living room to enjoy the fall decor and candlelight. My fall decor is much lighter this year. I love the way these peach roses and pumpkins look with the blue and gray decor. It doesn't really get cool here until it's time to break out the Christmas decorations so a lighter color scheme works well with our climate too.
I kept it simple with fresh florals, pumpkins and candlelight. I don't have much fall decor, but I love the few glass pumpkins I have. I buy most of mine at Homegoods.
I love how the colors fit right in with the rest of the room. It still semi-traditional in color to make the kids happy. I'm almost finished with the other areas of the house that I will be showing you soon!
When my clients moved into their new construction home several months ago they contacted me for help designing the entire great room from scratch. They had asked for a pretty, modern farmhouse with a blue and gray color scheme. I decided upon a timeless French farmhouse design updated with contemporary elements.
The living room is very large and called for an extra long sofa. I happened to find a customizable one that I could also cover in a performance fabric. The homeowner's knew they wanted a light sofa, and I knew that a family friendly fabric was a must with their three young children.
I balanced the traditional furniture with a contemporary coffee table. Neoclassical elements on the coffee table marry traditional and contemporary decor.
The light wood of the armchairs and end tables give this room the farmhouse look the family had asked for in the initial consultation.
A pop of pink!
In the next phase of this project the niche will hold a built-in bar!
These pendants are even more amazing in person! They are large and perfect for the extra tall ceilings. They are hung a little higher than normal due to the ceiling height.
Every coffee drinker needs a coffee bar!
The breakfast room also has a mix of contemporary and rustic decor.
I recently went to a make-up artist to get a course on technique, products and colors. I was happy to say I was mostly on track or I would have been really confused with how many products and techniques she used! Thankfully, most of the items in my make-up bag were great colors for me. I did a big Sephora and Ulta shop for the items I did not have the next day. It was great because I already knew I loved them before I bought them. If you want to get what a professional make-up artist recommends without the cost this post is for you!
Techniques-
I have a prominent brow bone. Instead of putting a dark color in my crease we raised it to the brow bone. Basically, put the darker color where you want minimizing to happen!
I wasn't going far enough out from my eye with my shadow. Draw a line from the outside corner of your eye up toward the end of your eyebrow.
Instead of using eyeliner use an angled brush with a darker brown color.
Use a black eye liner to connect the lashes. It's the area between your waterline and the outside of your eye. It seriously turned my hazel eyes bright green!
Contour just below your cheekbones, sides of your nose, at your jawline and on your hairline.
Use short strokes on your brows instead of drawing them in.
Add a little shine between your eyebrows, the tip of your nose, above your cheekbone and your chin.
Products-
I found out that the moisturizers, serums and primers are the most important if you want your makeup to go on smoothly. This was where I was seriously lacking!
I love this lipstick! I didn't even need a liner. It also stays on all day without drying my lips out.
We started with a hydrating lip masque. This might be my favorite product. I always have chapped lips because of allergies. This is the first time in so many years that I have not had chapped lips!
This new mascara is awesome! It has the best brush to get all of your lashes coated.
If you haven't been following me on Instagram or Facebook, we have huge news! We bought a beach house in Galveston, Texas! It's been such an exciting and busy time, which is why I've been quiet here lately. The house is just about ready for the summer season, and I'm so excited to share it with you!
We chose a home on the west end of Galveston. This is basically where the beach homes of Galveston are located. The city is filled with beautiful historic homes, but we really wanted a coastal atmosphere. The Seawall is the bridge between the historic downtown and the west end. This is where you will find hotels, condos and restaurants across the street from the beach and seawall. We wanted to be able to walk right out to the beach without having to cross traffic so the west end appealed more to us.
You may notice the home is on stilts, or pilings. All of the homes are built this way on the west end. It's actually really nice because the area underneath becomes a great entertaining area with built-in bars and kitchens, outdoor showers and dining tables.
The most important part of the home is the view!
Our home is a second row beach house, but the first row lot to the right is owned by the city after Hurricane Ike destroyed the house there. They bought out the owner and will not release the lot for sale. That gives a lot and a half view!
I absolutely love the spacious great room! The high ceilings and open areas make it feel so much bigger than it really is. Our house sleeps ten people so it's important so people don't feel like they are on top of each other. Oh, and if you like shiplap then you will love this room!
The living room has plenty of room for a big group of people with two sofas and two armchairs. One of the sofas pulls out to a queen size bed. It's an upgraded gel mattress. I slept on it one night when my husband was sick and it is so much more comfortable than traditional pull-out sofa beds.
I love the mix of light blues, navy and turquoise. It just pops against the while shiplap!
The upstairs area you see in this photo is a loft that makes up the fourth bedroom. It has two built-in twin beds with drapes that can be closed for privacy. My younger boys love it up here!
The hallway has the ladder that leads to the loft and a mini mudroom area to hang beach bags and hats.
The dining room seats eight comfortably.
It also has the best ocean view!
The kitchen has been updated and is painted a blue-gray color.
The best view is from the kitchen window. Maybe people will fight over doing dishes now?
There are four bedrooms. The three on the main floor all have bay views and their own televisions.
King Room
Queen Room
Twin Bed Room
Loft
There area also two bathrooms on the main floor. The master has it's own private bathroom.
The second bathroom is between the second and third bedrooms.
There is a half bath downstairs, which is perfect for when you are at the beach. The beach is only about 150 steps from the house. It makes coming and going all day so easy. There is no need to pack up to spend hours at the beach. You can set up your chairs and go back to the house to refill water, use the restroom, apply sunscreen, etc. I think that has been the best thing about the location aside from the views. There's also an outdoor shower and a changing room to rinse off the sand before going upstairs.
This is such a fun entertaining area. The house sleeps 10 and you can have everyone sit at this table for big bbq dinners. The bar is great for drinks and food. There's an outdoor kitchen behind the door with an additional fridge and sink.
The view is gorgeous from downstairs as well!
If you are wondering why we decided to buy a beach house in Galveston, well the answer is complicated. I can't say we vacationed here regularly because the water color isn't ideal most of the time. There are those rare days the water does look more blue. We've always gone to Destin, Florida instead since moving back to Texas. The ten hour drive was not fun to say the least. We flew once, but the price of the tickets for a small airport and the expensive home rentals meant we were spending enough to go to the Bahamas instead.
We visited Galveston last year and realized there was so much more than the color of the water. It is so much cooler in the summer on the coast. This is so important in the summer if you live in Texas! The reality is it doesn't really matter what the color of the water is. I just love the beach! There's nothing better than the breeze and the sound of the waves. I'm not getting in the ocean anyway. I prefer my swimming water to be critter free. A big plus for Galveston is there is so much to do on the island-Moody Gardens, Pleasure Pier, a historic downtown with shopping and non-chain restaurants, golf for my husband and son, and historic mansions to tour. I love the authentic and historic feel here so much. I'm really missing that out in the suburbs and even during our vacations to Destin.
Cute little shop on the historic Strand
An old-fashioned drug store with a soda fountain
Bishop's Palace
Pleasure Pier
Moody Gardens-Ice World at Christmas
My husband immediately wanted to buy a house here last year, but I thought we wouldn't use it enough with the kids in weekend sports. I also thought buying a second home was an extravagant expense. However, the rental market is strong in Galveston. Many people rent their homes out to help or completely pay the mortgage. Some owners even turn a significant profit! Considering we knew we wouldn't be able to be here many weekends in the summer renting it out seemed like the way to go.
I know many people would feel weird about letting guests stay in their home. I was excited to decorate a beach house for guests since most of the rentals here are missing that coastal feel inside. Entertaining is something I love to do so I've been very careful when it comes to selecting everything from the sheets to the flatware. I want our guests to have a Coastal Style Home experience, which is the name of our beach house's Instagram. I'm trying to anticipate everything I would want in a rental, from pretty wineglasses to a full-length mirror in the bedroom. It's been a busy time getting it all ready while keeping up with my design business and the boys! I am so excited most of the work is now behind us, well until we move to the next phase of renovating rooms after the summer season is over. Isn't there always a project to do in a home?
