Design Reveal: Comfortable, Playful + Sophisticated

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Hello there! I cannot believe this is already the fourth wrapped project to be revealed here this year! Not a bad year at all; these last four projects (which are the previous three posts if you missed them), account for some of my proudest work. Each project has had its own unique challenges - there was the project that came with some previous DIYs by the client, there was the rushed project with the pregnant clients who opted to keep some of the previous owners unusual (and left behind) design choices. After doing this work for over ten years, I would choose the projects with unique challenges any day. They always stretch me creatively and lead to the most incredible finished homes. Plus, taking something about a home that a client doesn’t care for and turning it into something they love is a special kind of satisfying.

This project was no stranger to challenge! Though getting to work with such incredibly sweet people made it feel like a breeze. The challenge in this house was more to do with the compact size of the rooms and executing everything the client desired functionally out of the space. I worked on two rooms: A front facing living room where they gather with friends and play games, and a back family room more for casual lounging as a family. Come on in and look around!

Living Room

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Plenty of seating and plenty of surfaces! Those are the non-negotiables for an entertaining space meant for good conversation and fun games.

We started with the rug and the piano and dreamed up the rest! The original layout didn’t lend well to the flow of the room, so we moved the piano towards the back of the room and made the seating arrangement near the front. This utilizes the front window seat well either as a fun place to sit or to rest drinks/food.

While the room as a whole carries a soft and cozy vibe, we had a good time incorporating rich, saturated jewel tones - a perfect contrast in such a sun drenched room!

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Family Room

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The play with contrast continues into the family room with a slightly different palette that still feels cohesive to the living room. The goal with this room was an emphasis on comfort and durability, (we used all performance fabrics), while still reflecting the clients style.

The palette in this room is what I would call vibrant but contained. Ha! The chairs offer a big dose of bright, but from there the remaining tones lean more terracotta. Throw in the olive painted fireplace and patterned curtains, and the room takes on more of a vibrant feel than it really is. Just goes to show how a few choice color drops can have a big impact on a room!

Despite the vibrant contrasts peppered throughout this room, the atmosphere in here is very calm and soothing; which is funny because orange is considered an energizing color! But this room as a whole feels like a deep breath.

I love incorporating combo open-closed storage - and open storage behind glass allows for pretty vignettes that require very little cleaning!

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That’s a wrap on this project from Richmond, VA! Thank you so much for coming by and taking a look. If you like what you see and might be interested in working together on your own home, I am booking clients into the fall! Feel free to reach out here!

Design Reveal: Impulsive to Intentional

Hey there! It’s been quite the start to 2025, sharing three wrapped projects by mid-March! My heart is full and I am so grateful for such amazing work with awesome people. Today’s project was not only local, but a friend of a friend of a friend - both of whom I’ve worked with before! This client came to me after she and her husband had completed some high-quality DIY projects in their family room. She admittedly shared they had seen the ideas in various images on Pinterest and just went for them! The outcome was not what they were hoping for and left them feeling a little disappointed with this room. Understandable when you’ve already put so much time and effort in! I think this story is pretty common; with access to thousands of home interior images, it’s easy to get inspired when you see something in someone else’s home! The problem is lacking a fuller vision for your own home. What works out beautifully in one home may not translate as well in yours. It’s tricky!

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Such was the case here. The accent wall over the fireplace mantle and the accent wall directly behind the TV were competing with each other and making the room feel all chopped up. Without undoing the work they had already put in, my goal was to create one strong focal point and one soft focal point. By painting over the blue accent above the fireplace, the focus is no longer on a big blue square, but on the surrounding pieces throughout the space.

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I loved where they were going with the vertical shiplap behind the TV! Great instincts there. But limiting the accent to just behind the TV was not benefiting the space. I advised them to extend the shiplap the entire length of the wall and paint it in a soft, earthy green (we used Acacia Haze by Sherwin Williams).

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One of the most common things I encourage clients is to mount their curtain rods as close to the ceiling as possible and then we select a length of curtain that just kisses the floor. This maximizes the vertical space of a standard height room, making it appear just a little taller.

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I also pulled in a patterned rug that is a better scale for the size of this room and the layout of furniture. Lots of floorspace for kiddos to sprawl out!

This client’s visual inspiration was full of soft, earthy colors and warm wood toned accents. The previous blue elements didn’t align with what they seemed naturally drawn to. Keeping their sofa was a no-brainer as it was a new purchase and working really well for them, but pretty much everything else went out! Rather than keep to as tight of a color palette as the blues had been, I wanted to use a variety of tones in the same ‘earthy’ family. It’s a funny rule of thumb, but I never look outside and think the sky clashes with the trees or the ground. There’s so much beauty in nature and I’m very much inspired by it’s colors!

These battery operated wall sconces are the perfect finishing touch to this side of the room and help balance out the lighting in the evenings.

That’s a wrap! This project actually flew; these clients are super go-getters and without hesitation tackled the implementation of these ideas and purchases so fast! They were definitely ready to go and are now able to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Thank you all for stopping by!

Design Reveal: Working W/ Previous Owners Choices

Hello, hello! One of my favorite activities, and my husband can attest to this, is heading to Georgetown to walk the neighborhoods above M Street. The architecture, history, hidden gardens, colorful doors, elaborate stone churches and landscaped parks with cobblestone paths make for a completely enchanting experience. Georgetown is charming and I would highly recommend a visit if you’ve never been. When this client and her husband found out they were expecting, they knew they needed some more room, and an unexpected gem popped up in the most magical neighborhood just north of Georgetown.

With little time to spare before their due date, we got right to work! The previous owners of this home had a distinct style and left behind all the bold window treatments and bedroom wall colors. My clients opted to keep these elements more out of convenience than personal preference, so I worked them in with a completely fresh vision.

Living room before (as seen in the listing)

Living room plan (with client feedback)

I offer every client 3 drafts for each room we work on together. I knew this first draft above was pretty bold, so I was surprised they loved it! The only edit was swapping the chairs, which was an easy switch!

In the clients inspiration I noticed they were drawn to warm colors. Absolutely none of the inspiration they shared included a gold and rust color scheme, however. These curtains are indeed a statement, but rather than tone everything else down, I decided to lean in and match their saturation with dark rust toned chairs, and then pepper in some blush and terracotta tones.

This is by far one of my favorite living rooms! I never would have chosen these curtains if we were working with a totally blank slate, so working with them pushed me towards a design that is so outside the box. I love the vibrant energy this room exudes and how it is a well balanced combination of sophisticated and casual.

To pull off a design like this, every detail matters. The amber glass globe on the lamp, for example; it’s a small detail but it benefits the entire room far more than a clear glass option!

Let’s head to the kitchen, where the previous owners also left several choice elements behind!

Dining room before (as seen in the listing)

We’ve got a full teal kitchen as you can see above, and that influenced much of the direction I went with color palette on this floor of their home. They also left behind the dining light fixture, which was great because we loved it. I also really felt like the banquette was genius and decided to do the same in the design of the dining room.

I continued the color palette from the living room here in the dining room as these two spaces are completely open to each other:

Dining room plan

With a homerun at draft 1, the design moved forward!

Again, there is a beautiful balance here of grown-up sophistication with family friendly ease.

Finishing this reveal is the sweetest of nurseries!

The previous owners had painted this room (walls and ceiling - a brave choice!) in this peachy apricot clay tone. They left behind these gorgeous aqua floral curtains with splashes of coral flowers. Expecting a baby boy, my clients opted to ditch the curtains but keep the wall/ceiling color. To be completely honest, I stressed about this wall color and how to make it work for a little boys room - but not for long!

Nursery plan

I decided to keep all surrounding colors saturated - a vintage rug in deep chocolate brown, curtains in a rich forest green, a crib sheet in a dark rust - no more soft baby colors! With a room totally wrapped in a shade like this, I wanted to strike some serious balance by adding depth with the surrounding elements.

That’s a wrap! Thank you so very much for coming by to check this project out today. I hope you enjoyed it!