PPD Renovates: Master Bathroom Reveal

Today, it's all about our master bathroom. Who's excited?! 

True story: the very first thing I chose when we started our renovation was our master bathroom marble. It was quite the ordeal to get it completed, and I would never recommend the company we purchased it from, but it was worth the headache. It's called Alabama White and is from a quarry Sylacauga, Alabama. It is almost entirely white with little to no grey veining, and I love it.

There are a few other things I love about our master bath starting with the navy cabinets. The color is Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore, and we paired them with brass pulls from Restoration Hardware. I am a big fan of mixing metals (and mixing patterns and furniture in general), so we chose polished nickel for the rest of our finishes throughout the room. 

I think it's so important to try to mix and match different patterns, colors, and metals. I realize this is not for everyone, and some people love a simple, monochromatic feel, but I think mixing these metals together really adds so much warmth and character to our space.

Our his/hers closets are directly across from our vanity. While the closets are pretty small, it's so nice for each of us to have our own space. I will say, the closets are far from finished, so no looksies at those today! 

I just added this awesome vintage handmade rug from India recently, and I think the colors in it play so well with the rest of the room, including my nudes by Kristin Blakeney. I had them framed with navy mats via Framebridge to match the cabinets. Love. (P.S. More on my experience with Framebridge later).

The freestanding tub was one of my must-have wish list items, and the light fixture from Serena and Lily really makes a statement in the tub / separate water closet area. This light fixture pretty much inspired all of the finishes in this room. I got it for Christmas at the beginning of our renovation, and it lived in a box in the tiny house we rented for 4 months until we finished. It's on a dimmer and is perfect for peaceful baths.

Our master shower is probably the most ostentatious seemingly ridiculous part of our house, but here's the deal: 

1. This room backs up to our guest room, so the space was originally drawn as a guest closet. We don't have kids and even if we did, no one needs a closet that big for anything. We've got plenty of storage, so we absorbed the space into our bathroom for our shower.

2. Nothing makes me happier in this room than the fact that visitors can't see any of our unsightly towels, washcloths, or robes. Everything is tucked near the shower for easy access and stays tidy and out of sight!

Also, I don't have pics of this space because who wants to see that anyway? ;)

That's it! Of course I could use window treatments, fresh flowers, etc. but this is what I see every day. Let me know if you have any questions about anything you see! 

Flower arranging Halloween-style

I've had such an overwhelming response to my Halloween home tour this week that I wanted to keep the holiday fun going. Halloween is the best, and there is so much room for creativity, especially when it comes to flowers. With the right container, you can boost your flower arranging skills taking them to new spooky heights. 

Thinking creatively about items that can hold flowers is what makes this even more fun. I picked up this skull cookie jar from Target last season, but I saw the exact same one this year. There are others floating around out there too, so just be on the lookout when you're out and about. 

My farmer's market always has the most beautiful vibrant flowers, and when I saw these that looked like brains, I was sold! If you don't have a farmer's market at your fingertips, head to your local grocery store. You can choose several bouquets and deconstruct them to get exactly what you want. I even think roses would be fabulous in the skull. If you tightly arrange them, you can really make a big, brainy impact. 

I created this creepy centerpiece for Annette Joseph's blog last year, but I've been itching to recreate it this season. I think a trip to the farmer's market is in order! 

Halloween Home Tour

If you've been around me for longer than 5 minutes, you probably know that my favorite time of year is fall, my favorite month is October, and my favorite holiday is Halloween. It started when I was a kid, probably because my birthday is just two days before, and I never really let it go. 

My mom did Halloween decor big in our house - she even hung yards and yards of black trash bags in our garage one year to create a spooky spot for my birthday party. One of my favorite Halloween decorations was an enormous blow-up pumpkin. Not the ones we have now - more like a giant beach ball. This thing had to have been a few feet big, or at least it appeared that way to me when I was under 10. The enormous pumpkin signified that Halloween was officially here. 

This is the first year that we've really decorated for Halloween, and it's the first year I've allowed myself to buy decor that will be with me for a while versus just for the season. I've been scouring unique spots for home decor since September 1st, and I just wrapped up my purchases this week. My goal was to buy things that would be fun for Halloween, but I could easily shift into Thanksgiving, and I think it worked great! 

We have truly had so much fun gathering things. Yes, I said "we." Hunter has really enjoyed helping me choose (and hang) things too. He's a trooper. I think I'll keep him! 

Outside, I chose to go all in with pumpkins of all shades of orange. Orange pumpkins have gotten a bad reputation over the past few years. Don't get me wrong, I love a white pumpkin too, but the orange ones look great outside and will look even better once the leaves start to change. 

We also picked up several cheap spiders from Amazon to hang on the house. I've never done anything like this before, and I think the effect is chic but fun. Tons of neighbors have them, but I was most inspired by Tierney's house (we live in the same hood!). Oh, and I can't forget about the Shop Josie B doormat. If you get the quote, we are BFFs. 

Inside, it was all about little details. One day I would love to have Halloween art and pillows, too, but we're starting small, y'all. I created little vignettes all around the house which makes every corner interesting and playful. 

I went to HomeGoods on September 1st (literally) and scooped up several mercury glass pumpkins and gourds and the wooden pears. This set-up on my dining room table will stay until it's time to decorate for Christmas. Well worth the $40! 

My bar cart got a little Halloween fun, too. I have a cocktail napkin obsession, and when the "Squad" ones from Target run out (gifted by a friend), there are several more styles underneath. All from the Dollar Spot! 

These three little items might seem like they don't fit with everything else, but they're probably the most meaningful decor items I have. My college roommate's mom gave me the witch ghost (so me), the little plush pumpkin is from my mother in law (she gave me two others, and Ryan ate them both...), and the pink skirted witch with the crazy hair is from my dad. When I was a freshman in college, he had my grandmother go pick up a basket of Halloween snacks and chocolate covered strawberries for me. This witch was in the basket. I still remember my Nana dropping it off for me. 

And now for my favorite purchase to date: these hand made tealight ghosts from Mollie Jenkins Pottery. Y'all, I have been stalking Mollie Jenkins' ghosts since this time last year. I think I checked her shop every day in September, and when she updated her shop on Monday, I purchased two sets immediately. They are even better in person than I could have imagined. I hope to add another set or two to my collection. They're just so dang cute! 

I have a few more little nods to Halloween here and there: pumpkins on our breakfast table, a bat night light in our powder room, a gilded pumpkin on my bedside table. I love it all. 

Happy Halloween! 

A One King's Lane Sale not to be Missed!

As I've mentioned once, or twice, or maybe even twelve times, I am knee-deep in the home decor world these days. I have learned to bargain hunt, to never trust the first price I come across, and to really search high and low for the best products out there. One site I keep returning to time and time again is One King's Lane.

Let me preface this post by saying that One King's Lane tends to be a little pricier than the typical discount sites, but they also tend to carry higher end brands which means while you might be paying a tad more, you're getting a fantastic deal. Yay!

Today and tomorrow, One King's Lane is running a 20% off sale with the code OKLSHARE20. While there are some exclusions...including the lamps I was planning to buy...I digress...tons and tons of their items are on sale. I love One King's Lane for their curated, high quality goods that really fit into many different home styles. I am always drawn to their French influences, but you can find amazing art and gorgeous knick-knacks too. If you have bookshelves or coffee tables to style, now is your chance to stock up! Below are a few of my favorite OKL items.

Being playful and taking risks in decor

Let's get something out of the way: renovating a house is hard, but do you know what's even harder? Filling it with furniture and decor. For one thing, it's not exactly easy on the budget to buy items for rooms that never existed before. For another, it's just plain challenging to make decisions. Like I mentioned on Wednesday, one of the things that has really helped me is keeping my 5 words in mind. Another helpful tip I try to remember? Not to take myself (or my home) too seriously. 

Being playful with decor is super important to me. I like to think that I am fun, and so I want my home to represent that. I love mixing patterns and colors. Navy blue next to kelly green? Yes, please! A splash or four of pink? Of course! I love mixing furniture from different eras. French provincial chairs? Yep. Jenny Linds spool bed? Be still my heart. 

While none of our rooms are finished, or are anywhere close to being finished, I think you can really see what I mean in our downstairs guest room. This room used to be our bedroom, and it has had quite a transformation. Take a look at the before: 

Since this room isn't done (please ignore the lack of rug), we'll call this the "during" phase: 

We inherited the antique bed from Hunter's grandmother. It was that typical mid-century yellow wood, but my mother in law painted it a glossy jet black. The plates are another antique gift from my husband's family. The typewriter is from my grandparents. It belonged to my grandmother. It's super heavy and rusty, but it's such a neat piece to have, especially since I make my living as a writer. The trunk is full of Hunter's childhood baseball cards. And my favorite addition is the emerald Robert Abbey Delta lamp. The modern shape goes totally against the other antique decor, but it works! Not only is it the right scale for the height of the bed, but the punchy color is unexpected yet playful. And ding ding ding! Playful is one of my house words. 

We still need a rug and the fabric that will actually be used in Euro shams is unreal and will really make this room complete, but for now, this room is exactly where I want it to be. Unexpected and playful with a few timeless pieces thrown in. 

How to choose 5 "words" to drive your decor style

While we were renovating, I kept several words in mind to help keep me on the right path. It can be incredibly overwhelming to choose finishes, fixtures, paint colors, and all the other home fixings, but by keeping those words in mind, I was able to narrow selections a lot easier. 

I actually started this post intending to go one direction, but when I thought about how I used those words to drive my design choices, I thought the concept might help some of you. Here's how I developed my own set of words (and how you can develop yours too!):

1. Start by going through all of your inspiration images. Yes, all of them. That means pouring over your Pinterest boards, the magazines you've been hoarding, and those saved images on Instagram. 

2. As you scroll through different rooms, write down what you like about them. Here's an example of a room I love from BHG: 

What words would you use to describe it? For me, words like classic, timeless, colorful, serene, preppy, French, and fun all come to mind. Essentially, do this step for several rooms/photos that you love. Write down as many words as you can. 

3. Next, go through your list of words, and circle the words that pop up again and again. If you wrote it down more than 2-3 times, circle it darker (or highlight it or make a new list). 

4. Finally, narrow down your words to your top 5. Make sure these words are not only the ones that were the most prominent, but are also the ones that speak to you! No use having words on there that don't actually describe what you like. Want to know what mine were?

- Playful

- Southern

- Charming 

- Classic

- Timeless 

5. Keep these words somewhere safe. Mine are on my phone in a note called "Words to Describe the House" - no secrets here. ;) 

As I chose hardware, fixtures, tile, and even paint colors, I kept coming back to these words. Now that I've shifted my focus from finishes to decor, I'm doing the same thing. Each decision that I make, I pull my list out. Does the lamp, rug, artwork or piece of furniture fit into one (or all) of those words? If not, I leave it behind. Sure, I can still love it, but I know that it's not necessarily the right fit right now. Not only does this keep my house consistent, but it keeps me focused! Plus, when I speak with store associates or design professionals, I can easily describe what I'm looking for. 

Give it a try, and let me know if you do! I'd love to hear your words.