Mac's Nursery

I was digging up a paint color and came across this photo of Mac's nursery that I never shared here on the blog...we took this photo right before we moved. It reminded me how much I LOVED this room in our old house:

This room was my nemesis...I tried 3-4 paint colors and combinations of furniture/usage...but it was never right until we turned it into Mac's room. The Setter fabric from Cowtan & Tout is one of my all-time favorite fabrics...I just called the showroom so I could use it in our current living room and learned it was discontinued. Broke my heart.

Speaking of my heart, sweet "baby" Mac is now F-I-V-E.

Happy weekend!

Christmas Tablescaping at Boxwood!

Our Thanksgiving tablescaping class at Boxwood was a success so we're doing it again! Join me tomorrow, Wednesday, December 11 from 7:00-8:30 for a Christmas tablescaping class featuring my favorite theme - nutrackers!!

If you know me, you know I love nutcrackers, so this class is going to be lots of fun! And my dear friend Leah and her co-owner Joanna have decked out Boxwood to be the coziest, merriest Christmas shop! Come if only to see the store and get some gift-giving crossed off your list. Register for the workshop here...

And as proof of our fun Thanksgiving workshop, here are some lovely photos from that event. We had a great time sipping wine and talking tables.

Join me! Thanksgiving Tablescape at Boxwood

Friends, I'm coming out of semi-retirement to share with you an exciting event happening in Old Town Alexandria tomorrow night (Thursday, 11/21) at Boxwood. I'll be leading a tablescaping class to get us all in the holiday spirit and give you those last minute tips so you stop stressing about what you're going to do with your table next week.

Register here and come by to sip wine, learn a little something, and ask me why I haven't written a blog post in over a year! (How did that happen??)

Miss y'all...I think 2020 is going to see a return of AO. Let's talk about it tomorrow!

xoxo

Octagon Dot Kitchen Floor

I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger TWO MONTHS AGO re: our kitchen floor. Let me tell you that during those two months, I went to the brink and back. I'll say it again - renovation is no joke.

But, alas, I believe we emerged triumphant. During a random Pinterest search that was going nowhere on an unrelated topic (story of my life), I came across this photo:

Carter and I both had a simultaneous "that's it!" moment when we saw the floor. The very classic black and white octagon dot tile pattern, but with the colors reversed. It was genius and exactly what we wanted.

(Sidenote: Our kitchen will not at ALL be this dark and sexy, but it's lovely isn't it?)

So, empowered by this discovery, I launched a thousand ships in search of this tile. This was obviously going to be easy to find - it's so simple! so classic! I was v wrong.

I did end up finding it online for a great price - easy peasy. Until they informed me they had zero stock and the tile maker had discontinued making it. Of course.

And that was it. It was NOWHERE to be found in the size we wanted, which is smaller scale. I turned around one hundred million non-octagon-dot options...but they all kept coming up short.

Until another random search (God bless 'em) landed me on a local vendor that makes mosaic tiles all day long. This was after about 6 weeks of searching.

So, we're going custom. Although not the most budget-friendly option, the big upside is we got to choose the materials. We were really digging the option of a marble floor (see July cliffhanger picture) but the ready-made octagon dots were porcelain. And now we get to marry the marble and the pattern we want. Should look something like this:

I'm pretty happy about it, despite the additional gray hairs it gave me.

So cabinets are set and ready to be delivered. The floor is selected and we should have it this weekend. Our den has been stripped to studs and is being drywalled...it's all happening.

I have so much to tell you that I get paralyzed with every post. There is just so much to share! An excellent problem to have...but my plan is certainly to document it here. Slowly but surely...

Flooring Hunt

Team - I'm having a lot of trouble nailing down what I want for the kitchen floor. I know most do hardwood and although that option isn't totally ruled out, I prefer to do tile.

But I can't find anything I like that isn't complicated.

I really like the vibe of this below from Miles Redd. I always like black and white but I think I want to stray from the big checkerboard we had in our last kitchen.

What do we think this is? Marble?

I like that it's classic black and white but has a tumbled/worn appeal. And that the checkers are not equally sized. Anybody want to fill me in on sources to recreate? Guesses on material? Maybe travertine?

I'm also going down the cement tile rabbit hole - solid colors. I don't want a crazy pattern. Just something simple with some soul.

I opened up comments so you can help me out if you have any info. TIA

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Powder Blue Kitchen

Remember this post? I was debating the off-white kitchen vs. the colored kitchen? Drumroll please....(bonus points if you do it Griswold style)....

We're going with powder blue!

^ Tobi Fairley ^

Signed, sealed, but not yet delivered. Cabinets are ordered and we went with Sherwin Williams' Sleepy Blue for the paint color:

It's a lovely light, powdery, celestial blue with just enough gray to not feel too baby-colored but the blue still dominates.

I'll share more details with the full plans but I'm taking the kitchen in a warmer direction than some of these pix - not accentuating the gray and silvery tones...looking for the warmer tones to juxtapose with the cool blue.

Hand claps for Carter Shuffler who lobbied for the color. I was really going to play it safe with the off-white which would have been lovely, but I think we're going to enjoy that we pushed it a little in this space.

More details to come!

------

p.s. Over my baby-having blogging hiatus, my blog was getting hammered with spam in the comments. So I made it kind of hard to comment. But I love comments so it made me sad. Hoping to make it easy again soon.

Master Thoughts

Photo by Rima Brindamour for Matchbook Magazine

We have so many fish to fry right now, that I sadly know our own master bedroom will not get any attention (or budget) for a while. But I'm actually quite content with this snail's pace because I'm really thinking through what I want.

And what I want has many similarities to this - the Manhattan bedroom of CeCe Thompson. A fabric canopy situation is on my wishlist...except there is a window behind our bed so it would be more of a curtain/bed canopy combo. But framing the bed as a focal point sounds great.

And although my dream sequence includes built-ins around the bed to create an alcove, I will settle for nice bedside tables, namely that secretary number on the right. Unfortunately we don't have dedicated office space so having somewhere to prop a laptop on occasion would be helpful.

That dainty table on the left is lovely but storage is at a premium, so I'm also hunting for a bachelor's chest to be opposite the secretary. I've always loved the look of complimentary but not matching bedside tables.

We'll see where it goes!

Black, White, and Blue

Just like our last house, we have decided to paint the brick exterior of our new house. Last time, we put this project off for many years and then instantly regretted waiting so long once we saw the finished product.

So this time, painting the exterior is one of the first things we'll be doing to update the house. If you remember our last house, we opted for green on green with a bright red door. And we loved it.

This time, I'm craving a classic white house with black windows (actually what I wanted last time but our roof color wasn't going to work). Note I said black windows because that is currently what we have and it was one of the selling points for me. We are going to remove the shutters completely and try that out for a bit.

And although I am Team Red Door at all times...I'm actually leaning toward powder blue this time. This shade of blue is going to have a big moment inside the house and I want to give the exterior a little tease of what awaits.

And I'm really digging the creamy white, punctuating black, and soft blue combo:

We'll be evaluating the gamut of off-white whites shortly...but I'm turning to the Internet because I know this problem has been solved. I've always been a Sherwin-Williams Alabaster lady but am going to compare to Ben Moore's White Dove due to its cult following. I've already nailed the blue which I'll share in a later post.

Foyer Wallpaper

Well, that was a cool two months with no blog posts. I have come to learn that in my new life of 3 kids and a new house, I can't make promises. Because I no longer keep them. But I do know that my brain is full of blog posts so I just need to push to put them down here for you and me to enjoy.

Like what's going on with our foyer. Our foyer that still doesn't exist, but we do have a concrete plan for building it with our contractor.

If you remember, I already had some plans for our foyer before we moved in - see this post. But alas, the vintage wallpaper was not nearly enough to cover what I needed, so I began a new wallpaper search.

Sidenote: I think I have ordered every wallpaper sample available in the United States.

But I am happy to report that after months of samples, pondering, self-doubt, and excitement, I finally landed on Manuel Canovas' Bengale in the Grenat colorway, which is a boisterous explosion of crimson and purple. We are not being shy in this new house.

Our foyer will be a small space so I wanted to go big with the walls. And you know I've had a long love affair with shades of lavender and purple. I've also picked a couple of places where I plan to accent the first floor with touches of red, so it felt right that the house should warmly greet us with this color palette.

We have been deep in plans for six months and we are finally on the precipice of starting work on the house. Hopefully this propels me to share on a more frequent basis now that some real decisions have been made.

xo

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SaveSave

Friday Crush

Design by Mallory Mathison Glenn

I know this room is seeing the rounds on the Internet, but this particular shot of it really spoke to me. An ongoing exercise I have been doing for at least a year is to save images that nail the vibe I want in the new house. Not necessarily spaces that I want to emulate, or that have a certain fabric or piece of furniture I like, but spaces that holistically have a look that I often find hard to describe.

Like this example. I'm not planning on recreating any particular element, but the overall look is on my radar. Traditional. With wonderful use of color. And the color doesn't overwhelm, but elevates. Obviously there is always some Chinoiserie. Color palettes are usually pretty tailored, with room for a small complimentary color to make an appearance. All the layers - pattern, color, texture. 

As I share inspiration, I think you'll see a definite pattern emerge. Hope you have a great weekend. See you next week!

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Kitchen Thoughts

Turns out, we are ripping out the current kitchen and putting in a new one. "Ripping out" sounds so harsh, doesn't it? The current kitchen is a sweet, albeit outdated, space that I know was lovingly cared for by the home's original owner. But it's not working for us...so renovation it is.

Of course, I'm thrilled about this. And I'm also stressed about getting it right. The constant tug-of-war of decorating emotion.

We are smack dab in the middle of designing the new kitchen. And although none of these photos are exactly what we are thinking of doing, they all communicate the vibe in different ways:

I want a kitchen that is simple, warm, and classic.

Definitely painted, but not white. Our old kitchen was crisp and bright with a jolt of color. Now I'm looking for neutral tones and simple lines that almost fade into each other (ie inset cabinets, shaker-style doors, low contrast materials).

The big question is color - green or off-white? Pic #3 is close to what I'm thinking should we choose to go green. A situation where all surfaces have the same color so the overall look still reads pretty neutral. But I sure do like the idea of off-white cabinets, perhaps paired with a statement floor tile.

So that is my inner monologue at the moment.

I also had quite the ah-ha moment while revisiting my Pinterest boards to identify my favorite kitchen pictures...there is nary a statement backsplash. Or a backsplash at all. Granted, some of my inspo pix are butler's pantries, but still. I get it. I don't want a fancy background. Though the function of cleaning these slivers of wall is still a thing to think through.

We've pretty much outlined the layout - a wall is coming down! And now is the cabinetry. After that, we'll hit the counters, hardware, floor, and lighting. So. Many. Decisions.

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Dreams, Coming True

Friends! I'm here! And I'm going to put Scalamandre's Shanghai wallpaper in my new dining room. Dreams do come true.

I have so many updates. So, so many. But really, few beat this bit of news re: wallpaper. I've had the sample taped up in the dining room for a couple of months now. And Carter Shuffler is on board. I was preparing Power Point presentations to convince him that using this paper would be a solid move that would pay dividends in the future. High ROI. But he was in agreement pretty much immediately. Good man.

I have plans for painted moulding and a lipstick red lantern light fixture. So many good things to come with this house....

But they aren't here yet. We still have moving boxes tucked into every corner. Our new microwave and dishwasher might be sitting in our living room. But we'll get there. I'm actually pretty happy that we are taking our time. Not only because doing work on the house will be so disruptive (hello three kids) so I'm avoiding starting, but also because we are being v thoughtful with each decision.

I've missed y'all! Haven't quite worked out what my regular posting schedule will be like, but I hope to start ramping up and getting back to you with some regularity.

xoxo

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Updates

Well, hello. It has been an eventful month.

The movers did come on November 29th...and we welcomed baby boy on November 30th.

Meet Carter Leo Shuffler...he's going by Leo, because why go by your first name when you can go by your middle?

He is a delicious dream. Chill and sweet and making the move much more bearable.

But the move has been exhausting. Unpacking is no joke. We are going on week 3 and only now feeling like we've made a dent. But we're making progress.

I've said it to friends and family, but the sheer chaos of it all has made it easier. I don't have time to think or second guess or fret over change. We've just had to move forward and embrace all the newness. Though let's be clear that it's only been easier for me and Carter...the older kids are losing their minds on a daily basis. They are craving some normalcy, and I don't blame them. We'll get there too.

In decorating news, I'm contemplating cafe-ish length curtains for Leo's nursery. Surprising.

I hope you are enjoying this lovely time of year...I'll be back with another update soon. xo

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Moving

We are officially moving.

Deals are done. Papers are signed. Moving trucks will be here in less than two weeks.

Now we face the task of saying our long goodbye to our current house...among moving boxes, energetic children, and walls thick with memories.

We bought a brand new adventure...a house that needs imagination. Fortunately we have lots of that to spare...to look past the peach carpet, wallpapered kitchen (see wallpaper above), and "quirks" that, over time, will become our own.

The task of bringing another house back to life - this time with three children in tow - is vastly overwhelming. And yet I would have it no other way. Right now my main goal is to put my patience pants on, because this is going to be a project. A long project with no foreseeable deadline - we'll just be taking things as they come and budget allows.

Baby boy has not made his debut. My due date is less than two weeks away (please reference moving truck timeline above) so hopefully we are talking any day now. Fingers crossed.

Will pop in with an update as soon as I have a good one. Hope you've been doing well.

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Wallpaper Bathroom Inspo

Design by Bradshaw Designs; image source

Things are getting real in my world. Closing dates are on the calendar and the movers might be showing up the week baby is due. This is all going to be fine.

I should also note that the blog might take a back seat for a bit. I steal moments here and there to pen my entries but said moments are pretty few and far between currently. Chaos reigns and I'm it's prisoner. 

Moving on...I'm working with some dull yellow tile and faded wallpaper in the kid's bathroom at the new house. I don't feel strong urges to do anything with the tile right away. But I might go ham on some fun new wallpaper. And paint the vanity a bold glossy color. This image above isn't quite the color scheme but I like the vibrant appeal. Love those acrylic pulls.

Ch-ch-changes...

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