Hello, friends! Gretch here. It’s been a while since I’ve taken you inside my apartment, and admittedly, you won’t see much of it in this post. But we’ve got a new friend in the mix, and just like me, she could probably benefit from a little cosmetic work! This little leather beauty here is what you might call a “hand-me-down”, but to me, she’s an absolute treasure! For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted a leather sofa. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a house with one (identical in color, too) and I’m a sucker for nostalgia. A sleek, leather seat is also very “cool girl” in my eyes–a sofa you might find in a real city girl’s loft apartment. And there’s just something so nice about its buttery texture and wipe-ability. In a lot of ways, leather really gets better with age…with proper care, of course!
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You know what’s fantastic in terms of design and furniture? When form meets function. I’m a huge fan of that. So when a friend of mine asked me recently if I could help her find a “not totally ugly” recliner sofa, I suited up and got to work. After all, I used to work for a company that sold recliner sofas you’d never be able to tell were just that (though sadly they no longer sell them, so I was back to the drawing board). Recliner sofas and chairs, for that matter, are the kind of thing designers balk at because well, they look like a half risen tray of cinnamon rolls. As if someone decided long ago that “feet up” also had to mean lumpy, bumpy, and inexplicably curvaceous in all the worst ways. Like this: Sitting on them though? Pretty okay. Once those tootsies go up and you get to sit back, you kind of forget about looks and only focus on comfort. BUT WE CAN HAVE BOTH NOW! According to this article from Yahoo Finance, the recliner sofa market is set to grow by almost $9 BILLION by 2028. That number is staggering, considering it feels like almost no one is buying these things anymore. Though maybe it only feels that way because so many mainstream companies are finally starting to offer recliner sofas with some actual design and style behind them that you really don’t know if someone is sporting a recliner in their living rooms until you see it in action. Just take a look at this corner sectional by Sundays. You’d truly have no idea looking at it that it has three motion footrests and reclining backs. NO CLUE. Some of them now have headrests that unfold to come up and support your noggin like the Jarron from Castley (left), but once you close them, they just look like normal sofa back pillows. You can even find some that look like the sofa at right from a company called Povison, with French seams a la Sixpenny. I mean it’s kind of mind-blowing that the sofa on the left, by Hooker Furniture, turns into the one on the right at the click of a few buttons. What a time to be alive…(for furniture innovation, everything else is questionable). Reclining Sofa FAQs Speaking of buttons, there are some things you need to be aware of if considering a reclining sofa (also called power motion sofas, in case that helps you search for them during your research). Here’s what to know before buying one: They are far more expensive than a traditional non-reclining sofa. Chances of finding a standard 3-seater sofa for under $2,000 is rare, and if you do, I’d be worried about the longevity and quality of it, TBH. I did find two under that price point, but they are at least from reputable brands/sites that likely carry some sort of warranty. Most are electric now and need a power source, meaning, you’re going to need to have an outlet available. If you’re used to floating your sofa in the middle of your room, I hope you have a floor outlet. Are you one of those people in #2 who float your sofa? Well, a lot of them aren’t the prettiest from behind so you’ll want to be aware of that. Read the product description closely to find out if just the leg rest comes up or if both leg rest comes up and the back reclines, because both exist. You definitely don’t want to drop a few thousand on a sofa thinking it’s one thing, and it ends up being only half of what you expected. Again, read closely to see how many footrests come up (especially in a sectional). Most sites will give you the chance to customize it, but not all do. Also, some might have footrests that move individually, or together as a bench. Be mindful of what you’re looking for compared to what you’re buying. Check the warranty because they malfunction/break. Anything with a button just simply does not last as long as something manual. It’s a tale as old as time. Buy an extended warranty if you can. Make sure you have the clearance for both the fully extended footrest and the fully reclined back, because these babies are BIG and DEEP. They’re mostly sold in just a few neutral colors like white, cream, and gray. A few retailers will give you more custom fabric options, but those are likely much pricier. Most of the good-looking ones on the market right now kind of all look the same…chunky and blocky, but it’s a fairly transitional, versatile shape that works in a lot of home styles. Alright, time to go shopping. During my hunt for good-looking reclining sofas, I found that most range in price from around $3,000 to upwards of $6,000 for a larger sectional. Of course, there are variations below and above that, but that’s the median range. I broke them up into two price categories: Under $4,000 and $4,000+. Let’s take a look: The Best Reclining Sofas Under $4,000 At first glance, I’m sure you can understand why I said they all have a very similar look. There’s kind of three versions here: The pillow-top plush cloud sofa look, the tight Italian modern look either squared off or rounded, and a classic mid-century tufted vibe. My previous company actually used to sell #5, and it was simple yet effective and comfortable. I really love the offerings from Homebody and Castlery (the white feels nuts but it’s a performance fabric, at least), though it’s hard to not be drawn to something like an olive velvet from West Elm, a brand that does provide a fair amount of fabric selection for their reclining sofas. If you are within the delivery areas of a Living Spaces, it’s hard to beat the price of #4. The same goes for the really cute curved sectional from Scan Design, which is shockingly under that $4,000 price tag. The Best Reclining Sofas Over $4,000 If you have some more money to spend, the designs get a little bit more daring, though not much. For instance, the sloping arm of #1 is so nice and doesn’t read “grandpa’s recliner” in the least—plus it’s huge at 116 inches wide. Of course, that channel tufted leather option from Layla Grace has been a popular design for the contemporary set out there, and this one has power footrests! I’m fairly certain #3 and #7 are the same sofa just by two different names, one in fabric, one in leather, but they are both a super classic shape that won’t go out of style anytime soon. For something a little more traditional, the Pottery Barn sofa at #6 has a rolled arm, which would satisfy the needs of someone who likes more of a vintage vibe with the guts of modern living. Arhaus’ version (#8) is a shape I love for a family or media room, with the soft pillow-like arms and base. And this is where I leave you, design friends. The reclining sofa isn’t for everyone, but if functionally, it fits what you’re trying to get out of your seating in your home, there are so many more options than you probably thought there were. You do not have to be relegated to cinnamon roll recliners, as today’s post taught you. You can have the best of both comfort and style worlds. Hallelujah! Until next time…
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When I retire I’m going to do this once a week for fun (and a little extra spending dough) – pop into a home, edit, curate, and restyle, then “BYE”! Like a fairy god-Styler (??). It’s INSANELY satisfying. Nic and Curtis were stumped with how to hang all their art down in their new dark basement (for their almost teen girls) and I assured them that I could do this in my sleep. So Gretchen and I went over one day, took inventory, ordered some new sconces, poufs, pillows, and a fake plant then came back and redid it all in one day. The Basement Before: Here’s where they started – a huge dope leather sectional, white lacquer furniture, and a vintage chair. Everything was leftover from their old basement and I knew that we could make them work (and this is not where they wanted to invest any real money). Also how rad is that wall-to-wall carpet?? They had a pile of art for us to play with (and we ended up stealing from a few other rooms, too). All really fun, graphic, youthful pieces that are perfect for a tween hang space. And because videos are so fun below is a cute little video Gretchen put together to show you the space and a little bit of the process (just wait for the ad to play first:)) One Day Later… Oh, she is moody and dark and oh so cozy!! The trickiest part was hanging those sconces – we wanted to integrate them into the gallery wall, but without symmetry. Once they were up we hung, the rest of the art in between, balancing the shapes, colors, and orientations. The poufs were added for extra seating for kids and to fill out the space (the TV is opposite the sofa) and I kept them low, wide, and tonal so they felt balanced. Then above the credenza, we styled more art (keeping the room balanced) and then used what they already had to style out the credenza. We found a bunch of board games which helped, but in general, it was pretty minimal. The sconces can articulate all different ways and since they are plug-ins they could be moved if need be. They are more mood lighting, wall washers versus a super bright light but they have other lamps for that reason. It’s dark and cozy and then all these huge pops of pink and white are youthful and wild and I think they have a memory with each piece, so it’s a room of nostalgia as well. At first, I had a ton of wild pillows on the sofa but pared it back to these which felt less messy, and slightly more refined (but still playful with the ball shapes). Also if you want to see the basement before they moved in here you go: Wild, right? It’s such a personal preference, but I personally love a dark room to be dark like this one because without any natural light, it feels dead so you may as well lean into the vibe and make it cozy. Who is next??????
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People use the word “thrilled” far too often when it should be reserved for me in moments like this. When it comes to this house I’m like a proud grandpa shoving wallet photos of my grandkids into strangers faces. Expect pride + bragging, with a big dose of personal bias. This is one of my best friend’s homes in Portland and I weaseled my way into decorating it because I wanted my hands on this house (and I needed a solid excuse to hang out with them frequently). It wasn’t a secret, but it was a project I did on the weekends so I haven’t really shown it to you. Nicole and Curtis are two creative executives who are very cool, have great taste, and really appreciate good design. They are willing (and able) to invest in awesome pieces because they value good craftsmanship, and are even willing to sacrifice a bit of function for more style (YAY!!!!!!). And yet with two tween girls and very busy lives, it had to really work for them. This house is really traditional (A colonial from the 30s) so the goal was to, of course, work with the home’s style, but in an edgier, more youthful way. Think “Soho House” as their designers do such an incredible job of taking risks within the style they are leaning into. Now, when I joined the project the paint and wallpaper were done (they did this before they moved in) so I inherited these elements that were a bit risky and frankly not what I would have chosen, but I LOVED THEM and I was really excited that these risks were taken. They have worked with Max Humphrey so I believe he weighed in on some of these decisions, but he was super busy working on another project of theirs so I took over. I pulled together a plan for all the furniture, rugs, and decor (and Max did the window treatments, bundling them with the other project). Basically, I got to do the fun stuff, and they had an assistant who handled all the minutia and labor (unpacking, booking electricians, returns, etc). We did it over a year and I knew that someday we’d shoot it, but it really was more for fun (nothing was sponsored or gifted…at least not for this project). So yes, it took about a year, meeting on weekends here and there, and me badgering them with mood boards or links for stuff for them to buy on Saturday mornings. It was 100% fun and I consider it a true gift that I get to use my job and talents to hang out with my best friends in the name of “work”. I suppose these are the perks of being best friends for 30 years :) This is a real story in color and cohesion within a juxtaposition of styles because as we reveal this house (four rooms done thus far) you’ll see how they all flow and yet each room has a very distinct vibe. They all talk to each other in a way that feels so vibey (you are getting peeks into the other rooms here, of course). The Living Room (Which Is Also Their TV/Family Room) This room needs to function as both their living room and TV room, so we set it up to do that job. There was nowhere else to put the TV except over the fireplace, which I think looks pretty great here (it’s a Frame, obviously). We flanked the main sofa with a small loveseat (super comfy) and I sold them my vintage chair that I had recovered in a cream boucle. The room is so cozy, the tones are so warm, with a really good amount of contrast and balance. The sofa was a big purchase from the Sarah Sherman Samuel Atelier and it couldn’t be more beautiful. It is very very very firm (we were surprised) as it looks more loungey. So we took off the back cushions and put pillows to help it be more loungey for TV. We did it in a really pretty blue velvet from the Kate Ause Studio in Portland (the nicest showroom owner ever). The coffee tables are from Soho Home, so heavy and the organic textures of the marble and burl wood are incredible (very jealous). If you want to see a video walkthrough of the space – we’ve got it for you here…(just wait for the ad to play!) The ceiling fixture is stunning, from Urban Electric and I love how it makes a statement, adds a lot of light being three fixtures and is still really short (close to the ceiling). This was super splurgy, so it seems like there is a hole in the market for more affordable versions. The green suede rug was chosen because of its rich tonal colors, but also because suede rugs are impossible to stain and this room is a pass-through room so I knew it would get a decent amount of traffic. I chose it way before our new rug line came out with so many pretty green rugs so of course I wish that were in there instead, but admittedly this rug is rad. The rust velvet loveseat is where one of the girls lays down to watch TV (it’s so soft and comfy). We switched out their big canned light with these pretty brass spotlights which might not create as good of light but it looked so much better in this older home. The big arched hutch is from Lulu and Georgia and really helped anchor the space and balance out all the dark trim. They had that dresser forever which works well here, and I shopped and brought a lot of my own props to style it out. Sneak peek into their green dining room that I can’t wait to show you :) But also look at that sofa – it’s just ridiculously beautiful (that arm! the skirt!). I was so glad that Nic and Curtis were all in to get it. They had that massive photograph from their old house which at times I was worried was too intense, but it also really helped edge up the floral wallpaper (Farrow & Ball, incredible). The black marble table is CB2 and we just found those scallop ottomans at World Market which we were nervous were tonally off, but ended up loving them in the room (and they were $130 which felt like a good price). I found that vintage painting at 20th Century Interiors, which is a Scandinavian vintage dealer in Portland and if they didn’t love it, I was going to keep it. It’s so beautiful. I’m so excited to show you the other three rooms. And let me know in the comments if you want us to pull together a “get the look” but on more of a budget. The vibe is just incredible and I think there is absolutely a way to do this but on a budget. Thanks to Nic and Curtis for making my job so easy and making me look really good – that’s what friends are for :) Oh, and of course, here are some VERY fun before and afters…
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Ilove having creative friends and will brag about them endlessly – especially those who are braver than I am design-wise. I can be so safe and care so much about “timelessness” (especially with permanent finishes) so being friends with people who take risks so naturally, without second guessing is so fun for me. So today I’m showing you my friends Annie and Derek’s den/bonus room that has pink wall-to-wall carpet, a vintage school popcorn maker, and the same Spoonflower fabric pattern on the sofa, walls, window shades, vintage dining chairs, AND window seats. IT’S SO WILD. This is their home in Toluca Lake that she shares with her husband Derek DBone Reckley (a musician – check out his album here!), 11-year-old daughter Violet, and three pups. Annie remodels houses with her partner in ASOM Home (give them a follow). During the year-long remodel she told me that she was planning on pattern drenching this entire room in the same Spoonflower wallpaper and fabric pattern and I all but begged to come and shoot it even before I had a partnership with Spoonflower. But be prepared to see some risks that might surprise you – like that lamp! I have such feelings about that lamp! (and so does TikTok – its apparently a ‘holy grail’ find). For styling the room we really leaned into their style which is very rock ‘n roll, totally funky, wild, and highly creative. I pulled pieces from her house, hung their guitars and art, and embraced all the things that make them THEM. Color, vintage, and in this case even some kitsch (can you spot the velvet paintings?) The star of the room IMHO (besides them) is that incredible vintage round sectional that they had reupholstered in this Spoonflower velvet fabric a few years ago for their old house – which inspired the whole pattern-drenching idea. I can solidly say this is the genius thing about Spoonflower – that you can get the same pattern for so many different applications. There are companies that offer fabrics and wallcoverings, sure, but not to their level. For this project, Annie chose velvet fabric for the sofa, linen for the shades, and pre-pasted wallpaper for the walls (but they also have cotton, canvas, traditional paper, and removable wallpaper). It’s so incredible to be able to provide all these options and why I wanted to tell this story. This room is a bonus room upstairs and when they have friends over with kids they send them all up here to do their worst. They pulled the pink out of the pattern and went wall-to-wall with the carpet (which we love for this type of room – so soft). Annie loves vintage and had been hoarding these lucite chairs for a while so she had her upholsterer redo the seats and backs in the same velvet. We hung the art and guitars and decided that the controversial lamp was worth keeping (Gen Z on TikTok love these lamps but I KNOW that that feeling will not be shared by everyone). Annie pulled the yellow from the fabric as well and painted the window trim, built-ins, and ceiling in this deep butter color. I personally want her to wallpaper the ceiling or paint it the dark green color – just to really go for it. But I love these little seats and the round pillows she had made as well. The same fabric covers the window treatments along that big bank of windows, and we tried to shoot all of them closed so you could get the full effect, but it was impossible to see, ha. But ideal for a TV or movie watching during the day! Here’s a sample of what they look like closed:) I think this sectional against the wallpaper is so powerful and really shows you the impact that pattern drenching can have. Yes, this was a thing in the 50s and again in the 80s, and yes, I am a bit scared to do it myself, but it’s SUCH A VIBE to be in :) Annie even put the same pattern on her TV (also on the vintage coffee table book on the ottoman). Spoonflower’s Design Library is filled with thousands of gorgeous prints created by talented independent artists around the world. The design she used for this project, by Spoonflower artist peacoquettedesigns, draws inspiration from a medieval tapestry. It also comes in a few other colorways, although I love that green. Spoonflower also sells any of their patterns in pillows, duvets, curtains, and shower curtains – the customization feels endless. So rad. The scale of it is a bit smaller on the walls, FYI, so double check that if you want say the fabric and walls to be paired next to each other and repeat seamlessly. Every time you purchase you are really helping to support an artist, graphic designer, illustrator etc. I’m VERY tempted myself to create some patterns for our next project mostly to see if I can stretch myself that way. Shooting this space was a trip in the best of ways. The energy of the family comes through – their irreverence, fun, and creativity. And they could never have done this level of pattern drenching without Spoonflower’s inventory and abilities. Of course, you don’t HAVE to pattern drench and you could just order wallpaper like we did for our laundry closet and my niece’s closet. But if you want to really go for it, like Annie did in this room, you have thousands of pattern and color options, as simple as just a stripe or plaid.
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Iam absolutely blown away by the response and the engagement in my last post about possibly taking my dining room and turning it into a dedicated play space in order to bring some peace to my living room. There were so many great ideas in the comments; some that I decided weren’t right for me, and others that I acted on. So today, I want to walk you through what has changed since I wrote that post a few weeks ago, where I currently am mentally about it all, and where I’m planning to go with both spaces. First and foremost, the advice I knew I needed but just didn’t have the impetus to act on: GET RID OF HALF THE TOYS! While many of you recommended I purge, I’m entering phase one of this: keep almost everything (except for the things my daughter is obviously too old for), and find a way to rotate things out. I may find that I don’t want to spend the energy rotating, and that no one misses anything that’s tucked away waiting its return, and it’ll be refreshing to know I can pass things on to other families. Another piece of advice I was given was to pick one space, designate it as the “adult” room, and make adjustments to the other to accommodate my toddler and all her stuff. After a lot of hemming and hawing that helped us realize what we really needed *and* wanted, I decided to actually leave my dining room how it is: as a dining space and casual home office for myself. But that’s not to say there aren’t things I can do to our current living space to make it less cluttered AND ALSO a more practical play space. Let’s get into it. Here’s Where We Started Alright, so the above and below were the set up of the toy situation in both my living and dining areas. What’s wild is I remember taking these photos not even three weeks ago and thinking “I mean, it’s not that bad, is it?” I knew it could use improvement—otherwise what was even the point of writing the post—but I had gone so blind to the toys stacked on top of the toys that it felt normal to me. I look at it now and my eyes feel uncomfortable. Heavy. Dizzy. Overwhelmed. There are puzzles on top of puzzles, things pushed behind stacks of books, drawers that could barely open because they were stuffed to the brim. I know now that my daughter played in spite of the madness, not because of it. Someone in the comments recommended bringing this one IKEA Trofast unit down to the living room so they all lived together, and it made me remember that that was always the point, but we couldn’t manage it because we had too much else in the way. The little messy-looking table there used to be a baby activity center that comes apart to become a toddler table. We keep it in the dining room because I feel okay with my daughter using her finger paints, watercolors and acrylics here where there is limited potential for permanent damage (it’s also where she plays with her kinetic sand so it doesn’t get lodged into the carpet). Spoiler: I haven’t yet come up with a solution for where she can do her arts and crafts, but hey…maybe someone here will know what to do! Where We Are Now OMG THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER I’M SCREAMING. Two Sundays ago, during my daughter’s nap, I put on my sound cancelling headphones, blasted early 2000s jams, and got to work. I went drawer by drawer, pulling things out. I assessed everything we had, organized them by groupings, then took half (or more) of any given category of things, and put them away in bins I already had in my garage. I also collected all of the toys she was well past the appropriate age for and put them in a bin to save for a potential future child. If that child never comes, then buh bye. I also took out my label maker and labeled the bins by rough category: things like “balls and cars” and “dress up” and “paint supplies.” There are two bins I couldn’t quite pin down but I’m okay with that for now. I can be flexible, after all (she says, twitching). All the stuff that was crammed on top basically disappeared with the exception of my daughter’s Tonies (a little music box that plays songs and stories), the scale she loves to throw things in, and some books she grabs regularly. I also cleared out 2/3 of my IKEA Besta unit under the TV wall for some closed storage. So far, she almost never opens those to play with anything in there, so that might not work for the long haul (unless it’s more of a bank than an in-play storage solution). Here’s everything I pulled out of her stash and set aside. One of these is going into the garage, and the others are going into her closet to be rotated at the beginning of every month. It’s what we’re calling our “toy library” and my girl was such a champ about it. It’s actually quite cruel to leave these out for her to walk by every day, asking me when she gets to play with the toys in her library haha. But there is a little shift that needs to be done in her bedroom to allow room for these. Hopefully it can be complete in a week or so once I find her a dresser (and move a small, not-so-functional dresser out of her closet). It’s hard to believe that ALL OF THIS was downstairs in the living room. The living room STILL has too many toys in it, even after taking these away. In an ideal world, I’ll get to a place where we have half what we currently have now, but I’ve gotta start somewhere. Listen, I’m the type of person who brings 14 undies in my suitcase for a 3-day vacation “just in case,” so it’s not easy to just chuck three-quarters of my daughter’s prized possessions. I know the studies about how children focus harder and longer and play better when they have fewer things to play with, so I’ll get there eventually. Give me grace, please. :) Where We’re Going So, part of the plan for the living space was to make it work better as a play space, which for me meant two things: 1) Make it look more fun by giving it a little refresh, and 2) Swap out the coffee table for something small that could be moved out of the way to create an open play area. Because our rug has different pile heights, it’s fairly terrible at facilitating things like balls or cars rolling, little toddler chairs being pushed in and out, and even sliding a coffee table around to make room for…anything. Not to mention it’s had three years of constant living with a small child and has dot marker blemishes, embedded kinetic sand and dried Playdoh…it’s a full-on Monet. Looks pretty from afar, but a big old mess up close. I still love the rug and plan on getting it professionally cleaned, and saving it for when we have a larger home one day in need of rugs. Swapping out the rug kind of inspired me to consider a few style swaps for some other things in the space, mostly to make it feel more “us” now: colorful, playful and happy. Here’s what I’ve come up with, quickly: I know I don’t want a rug that will add too much visual clutter because that’s what I’m actively fighting against. I like the idea of a solid color rug, but also like the subtle pattern on this olive and cream grid. My existing white curtains have always been too short for that window (a hold over from my previous home), and were put up one weekend as a “just for now” solution to provide privacy…that has lasted two years. I’ve toyed with a pattern here, as well, but worry that the sheer number of panels needed to cover this three-pane sliding glass door would be A LOT for my senses. A soft steely blue is more up my alley right now. Oh, and for anyone who remembers my post about updating my IKEA Besta unit, I love the light blue stain of these door fronts, tops and sides from Fronteriors. I believe the color is actually a bit brighter in real life, but it’s so fun and different! I think a smaller rectangular coffee table would work far better than the two-tiered round one we have now, and I envision taking it and pushing it against the wall where one of the Trofast units is (which I plan on moving upstairs potentially). It could serve as a “desk” for my girl as it’s a good height for her existing chair; this would open up the center of the room for more playing. Then, after bedtime, when it’s adult time, we can easily shift the table back into place to hold our drinks, laptops, casual dinners, etc. I’m not sold on this exact table, as I’d prefer to find something solid wood and second hand, but that’s the gist of what I’d be looking for. Okay, so now an idea I’m throwing around my brain cells: I have some mixed feelings about this. The “design-y” part of me loves trying new things and challenging myself to find solutions to “problems.” But the parent in me doesn’t want to cover my kid’s stuff and make them have to work to play. Will she see this curtain and internalize that her “stuff” is somehow less-than in her own home? “Mama, why are my toys hiding?” I can almost hear her asking me. “Well, baby, mama’s brain can’t handle seeing lots of different things all at once so I put up a fun curtain, just like over the windows! Let’s see what we can find behind them!” Eh, I’m not landing that one. Anyway, I digress. I’m intrigued by the concept, but the execution is in question. One way around my girl feeling like her toys are in time out is perhaps to not have the curtains up most of the time, but instead, having them on hand to put up (possibly with velcro?) when it’s just adults in the room or I need a mental/visual break from the clutter. I do worry that it’ll all get too fabric heavy, but in real life they wouldn’t have so many folds in them. I grabbed that photo off the internet to use here and I’d create something flatter. This is the same fabric I have on my curtains in my kitchen (from Tonic Living), and I love it. It has such a soft stripe that adds some oomph without being overkill. An unexpected red moment via some ric rac trim could shake things up. Now, on to my dining room… While I still have all those bins (a.k.a. the toy library) hanging out on one side, once I make room in my daughter’s closet for the overflow, this space will be mostly an “adult” space. She’s of course welcome to play in here, but when everything is tucked away, this is MINE. What’s interesting when I look back at this photo is how homogenous it feels. In real life, it’s actually much less boring to my eye. It feels peaceful (when I’m not looking at bins of toys and art supplies and paint-smudged toddler tables) and happy, especially when the curtains are open. But I can see that it could really use a rug to ground it. I skipped having a rug here because my then one-year-old used to eat all her meals here before we set up the breakfast nook, and it was such a gross mess on the floor all the time. No rug would have survived it. But she’s mostly a civil eater now and rarely frequents this table anyway, so it’s time to finally get what I want: a rug. These are a few I’m looking at: The Danish Floral rug on the left (especially the ochre one) makes my heart sing. I’ve been itching to add in some more folk-y prints somewhere, and I think it plays nicely with the living space. The rug in the middle is one I’ve crushed on for close to five years, but it might be too heavily printed for what I’m after. And this Nina Freudenberger rug from Lulu & Georgia is another I’ve admired for years, though I worry the colors are too muted. I’m not sure yet, but I know anything would be a vast improvement. I’d also love to recover the lampshades on my sconces, and figure out my curtains because those are a work in progress. In my last post, I talked about maybe swapping the bar for a bookcase, and that’s a possibility, as well, but I’m going little by little and not sure it’s what the room needs, necessarily. — So that’s where I’ve landed. It’s all a work in progress, but I already feel SO SO SO much better sitting in my living room. I literally feel my soul take a deep sigh of relief when I sit on the couch now and look around. Everyone, including our babysitter, knows where all the toys can be put away thanks to my labeling, and some big bulky things that used to live on the floor or under the coffee table now have room inside the TV cabinet. Things are looking up, people. Thanks to everyone for all your advice. No, I’m not making any drastic moves here, but this is just a reminder to everyone that it’s not always giant changes that make our homes work and feel better, but the little things. Cleaning out one drawer, decluttering one corner, freshening up your curtains…small shifts that can breathe new life into you, your room, and your life. Stay tuned on this, and as always, if you have any more advice, please chime in in the comments! Until next time…
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If you like friendship romance stories you’ll like this one. Girl-meets-girl in 6th grade and stays best friends through long-distance high school, reuniting as college roommates, ripped apart to spend decades across the country pursuing careers only be reunited, able to live 7 minutes apart and go on long weekly walk and talks. That’s us and this project has been so fun. Today is Robyn’s living room reveal and to be fair Robs is only one of my three best friends – all of which were huge factors in moving back to Portland, and helping them love their homes more has been one of the joys of this job. While she lives close it still took a year to squeeze in during all our other projects so I hope you agree it was worth the wait. A quick recap: Robyn and Ryan bought the house last summer and these before shots were when they had just moved in. It’s such a beautiful house, and they were ready to upgrade from their 15-year-old starter furniture but were paralyzed on where to start, and like most people, really didn’t want to get it wrong. The previous owners had stripped the house of color (or maybe just painted it a neutral to sell). So we needed to A. replace almost all the furniture with more high quality “grown-up” furniture (i.e. heirloom quality where possible) and B. add color, coziness, and charm – The three C trifecta that so many people (myself included) want in their home. And a year later, here is how it turned out :) We are collectively pretty darn thrilled with it all – it’s so layered and warm, and yet still works functionally so well for their family (two teen boys and a dog) as both a living room and TV-watching room. We also have a video tour of the space below (just wait for the ad to play): We grounded the living room with this beautiful Persian-inspired rug from Rejuvenation that pulled together all of our colors (and is just so durable and forgiving). The coffee table, another RJ heirloom is so gorgeous and solid. We knew we wanted a reading corner and I ended up finding this chair online that checked all our boxes – really comfy, affordable, roll-armed but not too granny, and green velvet – which Ryan loves – GO DUCKS! We custom-made the ottoman because we couldn’t find what we wanted on the market, and it’s honestly the first thing you see (so we don’t want to throw in a pouf or something basic). We worked really closely with Rejuvenation on this space because I had some of their brand new furniture from our partnership that needed a home and I thought that Robyn and Ryan’s was that perfect fit for their entire vibe (and all Portland-based which we love – Rejuvenation is an institution here and has so much Portland loyalty). The layout was pretty darn intuitive since this is their living room/family room and TV room (they have a basement TV room for the boys but it’s not done yet). So we put the sofa facing the TV and swivel chairs that can also face the TV (or one person can put feet up on the other one to lounge) and a cozy chair and ottoman in the corner. I’m extremely envious of this color palette – so rich and yet cozy and casual. These jewel tones are so pretty and are so grounded by all the wood and leather. Add that deep dark blue on the fireplace and boy does it feel balanced (very much tooting horn here, which I don’t always do but we are OBSESSED with this room and it turned out so much better than expected so I’m pleased as punch writing this). The Lighting Once again I was so grateful for Rejuvenation’s customization ability. We chose unlacquered brass finishes for all four hard-wired fixtures, knowing that it will age so nicely with this older home. We didn’t want to move the J-boxes above the fireplace but they were pretty high so we chose these sconces that hang down a bit (and the directional light on a dimmer is nice not to blind you while watching TV). The flush mount is so simple and pretty. They are classic and modern and look very high-end and original to the house (plus work so well with the dining chandelier which you’ll see later). I know that Rejuvenation rugs are investments for sure, but man are they forever pieces and like all high-quality Persian knotted rugs, just hide everything so well. So with two boys + a lot of their friends, a ton of foot traffic + a dog, Robyn and Ryan have ZERO stress about wear and tear on this rug, which is a real gift. And the color palette of this one is really gorgeous. The Window Treatment Saga Ready to nerd out? No project goes unscathed from annoyance and figuring out the window treatments here was the biggest issue so imma go off for a bit. They had cheap shutters and they liked the function of them (can easily angle for privacy during the day while still getting natural light coming through the slats). They were a hard no for me but telling my friends they needed to spend $3k on custom window treatments felt wrong when they liked what they had. They also didn’t want five Roman shades that would have to go up and down every day – up when they wanted light, down when they wanted privacy from the street walking traffic. They wanted light and a privacy filter, which the shutters gave them. I felt that this wall needed floor-to-ceiling curtains to add the coziness, so layering curtains with shades is doable…but custom fabric Roman shades are so expensive and this house is too traditional to do a roller shade, and a wooden or natural shade felt too beachy/boho for them (but I could have made it work). We went round and round and I just wanted to snap my fingers. Now I’m sure there are other solutions for this, but two weeks before when we thought we were going to shoot I just made the call to do sheers layered with heavier curtains and use a double curtain rod on the main street-facing window – a move I haven’t done in a while and frankly didn’t feel confident about, stylistically (if done wrong it can look dated, TBH). But it just made sense functionally and I knew we could execute in time with readymade curtains and rods. This way they can easily pull the sheers open and closed (or just leave them closed since they let so much light through) but they are flanked by more substantial curtains (which is great for summertime evening TV watching since this room faces west and gets blasted). We used four sheers and four panels, two on each side, and Robyn’s mom is going to sew them together at some point (but we didn’t for the shoot). But that’s not where the saga ends. The rods were drilled and installed as high as possible because I was supposed to order 96″ curtains, and then hemmed to the perfect float length. But I ordered the wrong length of curtains and when we held up the 84″ ones we realized that if we used clips with rings they would actually just barely float off the floor (my preference). I usually prefer S hooks which hang close to the rod. The clips added the extra 2″ in length that we needed to not have to hem at all. This felt like BY FAR the easiest and best solution (and I was so over troubleshooting these things), plus the rings slide so fast making them super easy to pull open and closed all day. IT WORKED THANK GOD AND IT STILL LOOKS GOOD!!! But what about the shorter windows??? Right. Everything is a thing. Well as you can see below, we took the same curtains (ordered their shortest version) and DIY’d them via hemming tape into cafe curtains. We treated the hardware the same (except no sheers so just a single rod) and used the same rings/clips. The rods are from West Elm and unfortunately don’t come with the finials (they say they do, but they don’t when you read the fine print and they never arrived) and you can’t order the finials separately (we were on with customer service for a LONG TIME and even they couldn’t figure it out what the deal was). So we bought the finials on Amazon at the last minute – just a heads up. Why didn’t we order from RJ? Because we thought we were going to shoot in November and they were on backorder but we ended up shoving the shoot til January due to holiday overwhelm. SO THAT IS MY WINDOW TREATMENT TED TALK THAT I WOULD NEVER SIT THROUGH. But look how good they turned out!! The curtains actually really soften the space and the color and the fabric really balances out the intensity of the dark blue shelving. It is honestly such a win. (Shout out to Gretch for her meticulous hemming tape skills). I love the rosy tones of the curtains, with the more deep aubergine of the pouf and all the blues and greens – it’s my new favorite color palette. Robyn and Ryan already had all these vintage dark red books and were an inspiration to bring in more of that so we have punches of this deep red/brick throughout the space. The Pretty Leather Sofa The leather sofa from Rejuvenation is such a classic, feels so “library” and is extremely comfortable. The leather was scratching easily so the first year of ownership is hard emotionally if that bothers you, but the patina really comes alive and it gets better every year. The tufts with the modern curve are so pretty. The Picture Molding Gallery Wall I wrote a full post about how we hung this gallery wall on these art rods (my new favorite trick – SO EASY if you have picture molding but still doable if you don’t) so check it out here if you are interested. We collected all the vintage art from local antique stores (except for one – can you spot it??) We incorporated a lot of pretty wood side tables and brass lamps throughout – all so high quality and perfectly curated. Rejuvenation’s quality is just superb and I feel confident that they’ll have them forever and pass these down to their kids. Clyde, their perfect dog is really nailing these makeovers (he was also the star of their former basement makeover, seen here). Quite possibly the perfect tones of browns and reds in his fur :) Here are a couple of before and afters:) I know that are dying to see the dining room and I can’t wait to show you, but I will because this post is already too long. So here is a sneak peek of it but please come back and get the full tour – Kaitlin’s photos are just so pretty and we set it all up for a meal which we don’t do that often. It’s such a homey and elegant dining room with an epic view of Mount Hood:)
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This blog post has a very happy ending – which is a very good thing as I was the one who kinda forced my best friend to invest in painting (which wasn’t cheap) and I got a lot of pushback from readers (which I don’t mind, but at times doesn’t help with the self-doubt). Well, I have news for the doubters – I’ve never felt so good about a paint color decision in my life, which could be an exaggeration or untrue as I’ve had a lot of great paint decisions, but I’m telling you when we walked in after it was painted, both Gretchen and I sucked in our breath and said: “it’s perfect, just perfect”. I think the pressure to get it perfect felt higher than usual because it wasn’t my house – this was my best friend’s living room and they had just moved in and the white was fine! It just felt boring to me, but painting it needed to be professionally done and cost $3k – aka they weren’t going to “just repaint” if we got it wrong. Also, choosing a darker color is harder and riskier, often with undertones you don’t pick up til it’s a larger portion of a room (not just a little swatch). So PHEW, here we go. They had just moved in in these photos and brought their furniture from their old house in here – mostly starter pieces which didn’t help the blandness of the neutral color palette. This room needed a design direction (which we came up with – PNW Library Lodge), but with that came the need for color and pattern. While we debated painting the walls instead of the shelves and fireplace, I pushed hard for these as I knew that they would anchor the wall, pull you into the room as well as minimize the black firebox. Additionally, the rest of that floor, including the kitchen, has this neutral airy feeling and we didn’t want all of a sudden these two rooms to be dark and make the whole house feel off balance. I didn’t mind the dining room being dark and cozy, but the living room (also their TV room) needed to walk that line – cozy, but not dark. The built-ins continued through the dining room with this sideboard and flanking desks. We decided not to paint any of the window moldings or trim work, hoping to make them work. For now, we’d start with the built-ins and once we started to get quotes, the sticker shock helped solidify that decision. The first quote for painting just the shelves, fireplace, and dining built-in was $4,500. The second was $3,200 – which is who they went with and still felt high, TBH. But they had to tape off the whole room, sand, prime, spray, sand, spray, sand, spray, fill hardware holes, touch up, etc. My advice was that it was still high, but honestly, we didn’t want to hire someone who didn’t know what they were doing so they bit the bullet. How We Chose The Color We knew that we wanted really dark but we didn’t know if it would be in the blue or green realm. We also didn’t want it to be so dark that it would read as black, nor so saturated that if the sun hit it it would look teal. It needed to have undertones that worked with the rugs, the wallpaper, and the overall color story. We debated a lot, per usual, but felt about as confident as you can choosing Mount Etna from Sherwin-Williams. It was dark, but when the light hit it it had so much blue and green in it. It was powerful, but still a color, and not a super bright saturated color – just a moody tone. Again, I can’t say that it will look good anywhere and everywhere you put it – this room is a medium light, no direct light room that can handle this darker tone so well (but if your room gets a ton of direct natural light it could read like a really saturated dark teal). But I was so afraid that you’d walk in and it would just read as almost black, which felt too intense for them and just not what we were going for. We looked at it with both the rug and the wallpaper, even reading as different tones in those different lights. It was a bit of a gamble, but like I said I felt about as confident about it as you possibly can. You truly don’t know what a bold paint color is going to do for a larger area when you are choosing it from a sticker or a paint deck. A good rule of thumb is that whatever it is, it’s just “more” the bigger it gets. ie. you see more of the color, it has more of an impact and this is the mistake I HAVE made a few times (my bedroom is a good example – I love the color, but with the direct sunlight it’s just a lot and the saturated colors come out and play in a really bold way – which was not my intent). Painted Before Styling!! There she is!!! We chose a satin finish, BTW, which is typical for durability without a ton of shine. Oh, it’s so happy but not bold. A color, for sure, but not crazy saturated – still subtle enough to work in our color palette. The dining room is RIDICULOUS. I’m so excited to show you the reveal but for now, you can see how Mount Etna reads far bluer than black, which we are so glad about (but not so blue that it looks “BRIGHT”). It’s absolutely perfect. Color Palette Ok, here is our color palette to give you a better idea of the direction (which honestly I’m jealous of). So many warm tones, mixed with the ever-popular blues and greens. Again, I’m so excited to show you the reveal! Stay tuned. xx
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We talk a lot about what makes something “dated” or not timeless and today’s post I think is a great conversation starter for that. So I recently stumbled upon an old post that had been WIPED from my brain. I suppose when you write/create over 300 blog posts a year for now 15 years you can’t mentally retain everything (OH SHOOT I FORGET TO CELEBRATE OUR 15 YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY!!!!) I showed the team, none of whom were here when we published this post 10 years ago, and we all agreed that some of them are still so fun and worth reposting, with some fresh commentary. This was when I had a photo studio and we spent so much time and money creating non-sponsored original content, like not in a home, just a set strictly for content purposes. We moved away from this, choosing real homes instead (thus all my friends and family makeovers). We also changed gears because these take so much labor (which is money) and money (which is actual money). These days (well, the last 8 years) we try to “create content” in real homes where we can leave everything all styled out, versus spending time and effort on styling out spaces just to unstyle them (feels wasteful) but there are times where I wish I had the time and resources to do, say, one mantel four ways. Anyway, without any further ado please enjoy some Vintage EHD content with 2025 eyes:) Ok so I rented this credenza, I think from MidCentryLA or Amsterdam Modern – two of my favorite dealers in LA. “Coastal” I think my point was to show you how you could bring any vibe or context through styling, not just furniture (the piece of furniture is obviously mid-century Scandinavian). If you’ve been following along for a while (THANK YOU) you know that I actually love every single style (which you can see in my portfolio). It’s honestly way harder than sticking to 1-2. Would I say I’m “coastal”? I mean, technically I am from the Oregon coast, and I CERTAINLY love vintage seascapes, but no, I’m not particularly “coastal” and yet here we are. I think the only thing that is a tiny bit dated is the Manzanita branch – not that anything is wrong with it but there was certainly an era where we, stylists, used these on EVERY SINGLE BOOKSHELF. I think they are still very appropriate in a coastal setting for sure. Additionally, that lamp is boring, but it’s also kinda fine. Not sure what I did with that bluge piece of pottery but sure wish I had it now!!!!!! “Mid-Century” Ok, probably my favorite. I still have some of these pieces (which I’m both proud of but also, hoarder much??). This vignette was driven by this incredible Stephanie Vovas photo which despite how awesome it is we never could seem to land it anywhere permanently. I think it’s rad, but it’s very specific and intense (and fun fact, I ended up finding out who the actual model was, she was the ex-wife of a friend of a friend and once I found that out it was even weirder to own it). I’m sad to say that I don’t have that blue pot anymore – WHY??????? Maybe these vintage posts are going to be harder on me emotionally than I thought – not that I need more things, but it does make me miss them (and I have strange nostalgia for the years when I was building the company so relentlessly). “Glam” UGH. I love this, too! But I think I’d call this a bit more traditional now. Those paintings are incredible (I have no idea what I did with them but hopefully I sold them for enough). This is also a reminder of how good the thrifting and vintage shopping is in LA – up here it’s just a lot of antique/primitive/country but in LA you get a real variety of styles. Remember when I collected so. many. heads???? And that blue vase that you see there on the right? Still one of my favorites ever. Def more regency than “glam” or even “traditional” but I’m still into this look (except for that picture frame – it’s fine, but meh). “Eclectic” OH WAIT…. now THIS is my favorite!!!! The art is incredible (I still have the huge piece but I’m devastated to say that I must have sold or gave away the cubist lady painting). The blue lamp I just sold to my brother for his bedroom (the pair with new shades) and the string art is long gone (which I don’t need but I’m still sad to see it and not own it). One of my favorite pots ever was/is that vessel with the aloe in it – if anyone knows who owns it now let me know (I might vaguely remember it breaking, but I’m not going to let my head go there today). I think the colors in this vignette are just so exciting and fun to look at. Which One Is Your Favorite? I think the only thing to do next is vote – like which do you like the most and which vignette do you think holds up the best 12 years later? I would honestly own ALL of this stuff again, which I think is a great sign. What say you??? “eclectic”, “glam/traditional”, “midcentury” or “coastal”???
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BOY, do I feel some satisfaction with this one – every time I walk in I’m like “Damn, this is just so good”. It really demonstrates the power of good furniture, a good layout, and some color and pattern. Fine, and some dope tile and a new window. But this blank slate turned out far better than I had imagined. Like I thought we were going to make it better, sure, and more functional, of course, but for how much effort we put into it (not very much, TBH) it is a grand slam. Of course, a ton of credit has to go to my partner in design, Article, because indeed we were able to furnish every major piece of furniture and have it arrive within weeks of ordering. And the best part is that it doesn’t look like a weird set or match too much or anything. You wouldn’t know that it came from one store. This is Kaitlin Green’s (our wonderful photographer and friend’s) living room and I can’t take full credit (she chose some of the art and was super involved). It was so wonderful to be able to help my friend have a better home/life :) Let’s show and tell. Here’s a little fun video of the living room if you want to check that out first! (just wait for the ad to play): The Leather Sofas Two years ago I sat on this sofa at my friend’s house in Lake Arrowhead and could personally attest to the comfort (squooshy, not too firm with a nice supportive back, and great height for elbows). So without much convincing, I forced these sofas on Kaitlin. We knew that we needed a lower sofa in front of the window, and leaning into the 70s vibe really worked here. We ordered the sectional (a sofa and a loveseat) and ended up separating them (for now) because we liked how it filled out the room more (plus hot tip – dudes don’t always love to cuddle with other dudes while watching a game, so it gets WAY more use during game day as two different pieces). The leather is so beautiful and SOFT (I don’t know how they do it, but it’s buttery, not tight). It also comes in a lighter, caramel color too. And yes this entire collection (the Cigar) is completely modular meaning you can “build” your perfect configuration and the pieces have sturdy attachments underneath to lock the individual pieces together or, as we have them here, slide away to be kept apart. We floated it out from the wall, and while I wanted to add curtains to frame the window Kaitlin had other plant plans and bought this awesome sculptural plant from Dennis’ 7 Dees. Then we added the lamp to enhance this 70s vibe and create a great ambiance. She was right – we didn’t need curtains, just needed something tall and sculptural to soften the lines. The blank wall is totally transformed – two matching media units (The Torme) created a low long built-in look that not only created a lot of record and game storage but was a great surface and grounding element for a gallery wall above. Each unit features adjustable shelves inside and soft close fronts but the real kicker are the thoughtful design details – those rounded legs and beveled doors are chef’s kiss. And yes, that is a Frame TV (non-spon, just can’t stop using them) along with a few other pieces that Kaitlin sourced from The Yo Store, a vintage painting and Gretchen even made her that little painting. It’s SO GOOD. The art on the Frame TV is from this amazing artist that Kaitlin also found named Abigail Bell. Go check her stuff out! The Coziest Green Chair The green chair and ottoman are excellent and are real “stars” of the show. They’re from Article’s new Sanders collection – a striking yet minimal Scandi-inspired style for them. How good is the rich mocha brown sofa it also comes in? So comfortable, such a pretty color. Again, I know I have a lot of good stuff in my home, but everything in here looks so good together that I want it all! The Fireplace Obviously one of the biggest changes we made was tiling the fireplace with this incredible blue and green tile from Clé Tile. I know (from first hand experience) that these things are hard to pull the trigger on, that they aren’t cheap ($1,200 labor, $1k in tile) and the fear of not loving the outcome can be high. But all of us agreed that this tile would be perfect and lo and behold it SURE IS. Clé just does such a great job with their color combinations and the texture is always so warm. Of course, now I want to clad over our brick fireplace instead of lime wash it…I’m so easily influenced!! We had the installer just miter the edges so it had a clean line, then Kaitlin and her husband chose a really nice complementary grout color. We finished off the major pieces with this bar cabinet in the corner – contemporary and playful (and I love how the round elements contrast so well with the vertical and square elements of the fireplace). Popped on a squiggle mirror (your regular reminder to NOT sleep on Article’s decor) and a really graphic oxblood colored lamp and this vignette worked instantly. I bought this framed print from Form & Function, one of my new favorite stores in Portland that has a ton of Scandinavian accessories (and vintage furniture). Kaitlin did a lot of the shopping for accessories (she has great taste and didn’t make sense for me to try to guess what she’d like, lol). I brought in a few pieces from Schoolhouse that I’m obsessed with, but otherwise, she went to the usuals: World Market, Anthro and Target. She had a ton of books and trays to play, as well as the turntable and cool speakers that her husband was excited to show off. The thing that makes me the happiest is how much Kaitlin and Corey love this room. They NEVER USED IT and now they not only use it nightly but they invite friends over to hang in, they host so much more, and they truly love their house so much more. As a friend/designer, it’s actually really thrilling to be a part of it. A huge thanks to Article for partnering on this living room – it’s always such a pleasure. We’ve used Article’s furniture for years and years in projects ranging from bedrooms to living rooms and the experience has been consistently remarkable. If anything, I think their offerings have just gotten better. The quality and value of the furniture can’t be beat, the style offered is simple with some extra edge and usually delivered very quickly. If you want to treat yourself I suggest having them put together the furniture and take away the boxes – it’s a full-service treat.
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