Model Home Inspiration

Do you ever wonder what the inside of the house across the street looks like?  What's their floor plan?  What's their design style?  I do all the time.  New houses are still being built in my neighborhood and I love walking through the empty ones before they are sold.  This gives me a chance to see other floor plans and how the house is laid out.  What makes this experience even better is when the houses are staged.  In my neighborhood, there's only one model house that's staged.

When I come across signs for new subdivisions nearby, I love to stop by and take a peak.  Model homes are great places to get ideas for your own home.  Sure, sometimes model homes are staged very unrealistically and too perfect but gives you general ideas about decor items or placement of furniture.  I also like to look online for new subdivisions because usually the model home pictures are there as well.

I love the openness of these two spaces.  An open floor plan was definitely at the top of our list when searching for a home.  These two homes have a similar layout where the living room and dining room are connected.  You can see the difference the furniture has in the look of the spaces.  The furnishings in the first are more neutral and wood tones.  The second space has greens throughout.  The simple addition of hardwood floors in the second changes the feel of the space.

 

The dark walls of this space grabbed my attention.  Even though the walls are dark, the room still feels open and spacious.  They used light furniture and curtains throughout the room as not to weigh it down with more dark.  The lighter floors also help balance the room.  I've been wanting to go gray downstairs but definitely not this dark.

 

This is a nice study area for two.  They created an office in a hall walkway nook.  I'm sure we're gonna need something like this when both kids are in school and doing homework.

 

This same home has a fabulous two story foyer.  Love that chandelier!

 

This home has a beautiful mix of greens and blues throughout.  The lighter walls allow the accent colors to be the stars.  Seeing those dark wooden rails makes me want to stain ours now.  I love those dark hardwoods.

 

 

Such a pretty blue in the bedroom.  The furniture is all neutral and the curtains, accent wall, and pillows all bring in the color.

 

I love looking at other homes to find design inspiration.  Next time you see a new home sign, pull in and take a look.  You may leave with some new ideas.

Soul...

I love to embrace the imperfections in life, it makes life so much more interesting and relaxed.

all images via

Best wishes!

New Inspiration Boards Page

I recently added a new Inspiration Boards page to the blog.  As I create new boards and plans I will add them here.  This way I can always go back and reference them at a quick glance and you guys can see them as well.

 

We're headed to Florida for spring break with the kids next week!  We are so ready for a vacation.

Have a great weekend!

DIY Furniture

I love a good DIY project.  Especially when it involves tools.  I feel inspired whenever I see others build pieces of furniture that look like they came straight from a furniture store.

This octagon dining table from Shanty-2-Chic is fabulous!  It looks great with her chairs.

Sew Woodsy built this adorable dresser for their baby's nursery.  It's simply stunning.  It reminds me of other dressers I've seen at a much higher price.

 

Centsational Girl built this x-base table.  Girl's got skills I tell ya and she never disappoints.

How lucky are you when your friend and hubby make a cool desk for you like at AKA Design?

How about this desk from Designed to Dwell?  I would love a girly desk like this but me and the hubby share the office and I don't think he'd like the white.

I dream of having a tool shop one day so I can build amazing things too!  If I could just clear some space in the garage, that table saw would be mine.

 

Foyer Seating

Forever the space at the bottom of the stairs has been empty.  I have been looking for a nice bench to go there but have never found the perfect one.  Every week I make a few Target runs for diapers and things and I always make a quick dash for the home decor section.  You can probably tell by now Target is one of my favorite stores to visit.  I came across this storage ottoman that I had liked since it first came out.  It was small but I liked the pattern and the colors.

On this visit it was marked down to $20.99 from $69.99.  That's 70% off.  I love those little red stickers!  At that price it was meant to go home with me.  I had other things in the cart and the kids were with me so it was tough getting it all to fit.  I originally bought it with the intention of putting it in our loft but it ended up not working there.

At another Target the next week, I saw they had one of the same ottomans sitting by its lonesome.  It needed a playmate and it was waiting at my house.  I grabbed it up without even thinking twice.

Now they make the perfect sitting spot at the bottom of the stairs.  We can easily sit there to put on and take off shoes.  It has also become a drop spot for things that need to go upstairs.

 

I hung the DIY subway sign back up since removing the mirrors.  I love the pop of blue it brings.
 

One of the best things about them is that they open.  I can quickly throw things in that I don't want to see.  It never hurts to have extra storage around the house especially when you have little toys rolling around on the floor.
 

Every time I go in Target, I never know what deals I'm going to find.  I always check the clearance areas and use their Cartwheel app.  I'm always looking for ways to save a few extra dollars.

 

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Delineate Your Dwelling * It's So Very Cheri * Under the Table and Dreaming * Between Naps on the Porch * Homecoming * Making the World Cuter * The Dedicated House * A Bowl Full of Lemons * Home Stories A to Z * Homework * My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia * The Winthrop Chronicles * Ginger Snap Crafts * The Blissful Bee * Embracing Change * A Glimpse Inside * Glamorous Affordable Life * It Happens in a Blink * Remodelaholic * Just Us Four * Thrifty Decor Chick * Not Just a Housewife * A Bowl Full of Lemons * Homework * A Stroll Thru Life * Home Stories A to Z * The Gunny Sack * Tiny Sidekick * Tip Junkie * New Nostalgia * Ginger Snap Crafts * DIY by Design * Tatertots and Jello *

Indigo...

I can't get enough of indigo... especially in vintage fabrics that are perfectly incorporated into monochromatic spaces.

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... the possibilities are endless

What's Your Spring Style?

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I came upon this What's Your Spring Style? quiz from Lonny.  I decided to try it out and see what the results were.
  
The results are based off random questions about your ideal place to live and where you would like to eat.  Not sure they are relevant to decorating style.

My results: The Professor. 
You don’t put Monocle on your peg-leg coffee table to impress—you actually read it. And your bookcase, meticulously arranged (by theme, not by color—how preposterous!) is sparingly interspersed with curios of the magnifying-glass and agate-bookend variety. If you were ever to get a tattoo, it would be Dieter Rams–themed, reading “less but better," and when it comes to seating, you’re on a strictly last-name basis: Wagner, Eames, Bertoia, and Saarinen.

Your taste in decorating is informed by years hitting the books—design-oriented or otherwise. When it comes to your ideal space, you're all about subtle textiles, midcentury accents, and pedigreed chairs; the more it brings to mind Alvar Aalto's home library, the better. Click through for decor suggestions based on your well-honed style.

Really?  This quiz is all wrong.  Most of the questions didn't even relate to the things I like anyway.  This is how my home would look according to this quiz.  Muted tones and no color.

I love bright colors and open spaces like the board I showed you yesterday.  This board mimics what is actually in my home now.  

Take the quiz and tell me what you think.  How accurate are your results?