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June 7, 2017 By Melinda 5 Comments

A Touch of Summer

There is a feeling of ease when it comes to summer, isn’t there? Spring is a very busy season, with the welcoming return of light and warmth. In summer, nature slows down a bit and subtlety becomes the new path to take.

When April from House by Hoff and Krista from The Happy Housie asked me to join them and 25 other bloggers in The Seasonal Simplicity Home Tour, I couldn’t resist the invitation! I was so excited to share how I add a nod of summer to our home.

If you are joining the tour by way of my talented friend Abby from Just A Girl and Her Blog, welcome and thank you for joining us. Now, let’s get started!

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I like to begin decorating for the seasons starting at our front door. It is the first moment you see when you visit our home and it sets the feeling for what is to come when you open it.

I decided to try my hand at making a wreath of my own using a wreath form, floral wire, and the most beautiful rosemary branches from Rose Bredl. In the winter season I place emerald green boxwood wreaths against my painted black door and I absolutely love the contrasting colors. I thought the rosemary branches would provide a similar effect. What do you think?

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This time of year means the local farmers markets are up and running. I love to visit the busy scene on the weekends, find inspiration, and stock up on local foods. There is just something about the sun shining on a beautiful day, seeing some of the familiar faces of my neighbors, and trying the goods of people who put a lot of care into their products.

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On this particular visit local breads and eggs found their way into my basket at the market. I thought they would be a wonderful addition for a summer breakfast outside on the patio.

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I gathered different “serving” pieces that I have collected over the years to hold the bread, eggs, and butter. It just makes the everyday feel a bit more special.  Of course it is not something that I do all of the time, but I thought a nice summer weekend with my family was the perfect reason to use it.

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I love to decorate my home in a way that just feels like me.  If you have any interest in learning how to do the same I am teaching a FREE 5 day email course called, “Finally Decorate Your Home”.

If  you doubt yourself when it comes to making decorating decisions for your home and/or you feel overwhelmed by all of the choices available in making those decisions this free course is for you.

In this free course you will be  introduced to the step by step process I created that teaches you the right way to making decorating decisions for your home. It is a framework that will teach you how the feeling you want to create in your home (hint, it has a lot to do with your personality) has specific patterns, textures, colors, collections, finishes, etc., that will communicate it best. Making decorating decisions for your home becomes easier and something that you are happy with for a long time.
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Okay, now it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy our beautiful breakfast with my family. A simple summer morning that is made special with what might be little effort, but effort that can create some of life’s biggest moments.

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I hope you enjoyed your visit to my home today. If you have any interest in learning the same process I use to make the decisions I do for my home please sign up for my free 5 day email course, “Finally Decorate Your Home”.

Please be sure to visit the next stop on the tour with Kristy from Robb Restyle. Also, don’t forget to check out all the home tours throughout the week!

Monday

House by Hoff / House of Wood / Refresh Restyle / Cassie Bustamante / That’s My Letter

Tuesday

The Happy Housie / Simplicity in the South / at HOME with the barkers / Sincerely, Sara D.

Wednesday

Nina Hendrick Design Co. / The Wicker House / A Burst of Beautiful / Paint Me Pink / Town and Country Living

Thursday

At Charlotte’s House / Just a Girl and Her Blog / House 214 Design / Robb Restyle

Friday

My Fabuless Life / The Turquoise Home / Erin Spain / Place of My Taste / Cherished Bliss

Summer Seasonal Simplicity

Filed Under: home Tagged With: authentic, blogger, classic, cook, decorate, design, family, feeling, home tour, kitchen, living, moments, simple, summer

March 9, 2017 By Melinda 16 Comments

Spring Home Tour

When I was asked by April from House By Hoff and Krista from The Happy Housie if I would like to participate in the “Seasonal Simplicity” home tour, I thought what a fantastic way to celebrate the start of this time of year. I knew from the beginning that  I wanted to represent new life, optimism, and the changes that take place outside that all occur at this time of year. Budding branches, a fresh feeling, and learning something new were all at the top of my list to help welcome spring.

If you are here by way of At Charlotte’s House or any of the other talented bloggers on the tour, welcome, and thank you for visiting me!


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Learning how to arrange flowers was a fantastic way for me to kick off the spring season. Doing it with friends made it even better!

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I have a passion for teaching and the home, and teach the “everyday home designer” that design isn’t about a look, but a feeling. A feeling that is about emotion and simply put, feels right to you and your home. It is that “something” when you walk into a space that just feels right.

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The feeling you want to create in your home (hint, it has a lot to do with your personality) has basic design elements that you can choose to communicate that message consistently. Making design decisions for your home becomes intentional, easy, and something that you are happy with for a long time.

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In my kitchen you can see evidence of the feeling I created in the space. Timeless, simple, and welcoming are the words I used as a guideline for the design elements that I chose for the room. By using these words as a guide and their design framework I was able to make decisions with intention, rather than make decisions on what the latest trend was at the moment.

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As I noted above, I wanted to create a fresh feeling in my home to help celebrate the spring season. Pastel greens, fresh greenery, and forsythia branches were all ways that I created that feeling in the space.

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Spring Seasonal Simplicity

Please be sure to visit the next stop on the Seasonal Simplicity Home Tour, my friend Jennifer from Town and Country Living, and all of the other homes on the tour for more inspiration!

Monday

House by Hoff / The Happy Housie / The Turquoise Home / Maison de Pax / Refresh Restyle

Tuesday

The House of Wood / Simplicity of the South / Place of My Taste / Tidy Mom / That’s My Letter

Wednesday

Sincerely, Sara D. / at HOME with the barkers / Paint Me Pink / Nina Hendrick Design Co. / A Burst of Beautiful

Thursday

Just a Girl and Her Blog / Cherished Bliss / At Charlotte’s House / House 214 Design / Town and Country Living

Friday

Cassie Bustamante / Robb Restyle / Erin Spain / My Fabuless Life / The Wicker House

 

Filed Under: classic, design board, giveaway, home, home tour, interior, Kitchen, laundry room, Outdoor, Real Goods, summer, timeless, Uncategorized Tagged With: blogger, classic, design, diy, family, feeling, home, home design, house, interior. interior design, interiors, kitchen, living, spring

June 23, 2016 By Melinda 5 Comments

A Timeless Home Tour

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When I was ten, my parents moved my siblings and I to Ohio for my father’s job. My parents bought a house built in 1931 that comfortably had the living space for a family of six, but needed quite a bit of work to say the least. Throughout the years, there were kitchen renovations, bathroom remodels, landscaping projects, just to name a few, that were all done in such a way as to honor both our family and the home.

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{Add your email address below to receive the free mudroom drawing plans and resource list}

Mudroom Drawing Plans and Resources

Yes, please send me the plans and resources!

Wonderful! Please check your email to confirm your subscription. If you do not see it in your inbox you may need to check your spam folder. Take care! Melinda

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We were young, newly married, and looking for a starter home. We both had gotten jobs in Ohio, my husband in sports management and myself a position as a first grade teacher. Neither one of us were that familiar with the area which explains why when our realtor asked about neighborhoods we would be interested in we mentioned one well out of our price range.

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After a few discussions about what we were looking for and our budget, our realtor mentioned a neighborhood that had tree lined streets, old homes, and character. Those words were music to my ears. We spent a number of days looking at these old homes, but were disappointed by the updates many of them had seen over the years. Homes built in 1922 had additions added on over time that did not suit the time period or home itself.

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After seeing quite a few houses, our realtor drove into what was to become our driveway. I can remember falling in love with the charm of the front of the house, the original oak floors, and the large backyard. There were definitely many projects to be done, like ripping out wall to wall — it literally went up a wall — brown shag carpet from the sunroom, but it felt like home. It felt like a place we could start a family.

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65 Our daughter was our first child to call this house a home. The 1,500 square foot floor plan worked well for our family of three. The sunroom became the playroom and the third bedroom that functioned as an office became the nursery. Once our second child, a son, was born we knew it was time to move or come up with a plan for this home if we wanted to stay.

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I am so glad we decided to come up with a plan. The must-haves for staying in the home involved a kitchen/dining addition, a master bedroom with bathroom addition, first floor laundry addition, and renovation of the old kitchen into a mudroom.

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It took nine long months, but was well worth it in the end. We added about 1,000 square feet and use every inch of it. The added space really helped once we added our third child, another boy, into the mix.

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Once our daughter was born, we decided it would make the most sense for me to stay home. My daughter and my days were filled with adventures at times, but they mostly involved simple things like playing in the playroom together. Having the playroom on the first floor and near the kitchen is one of the best decisions we made as new parents. It allows the children to be near us and feel safe, while they are playing independently or alongside one another.

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After the renovation, the playroom actually became attached to the kitchen and I truly enjoy listening to them play — if they aren’t arguing! — while I cook and clean in the kitchen. It is funny to look back on when I only had one child and remember the type of parent I was at the time. I used to go in the playroom at the end of the evening and clean up the toys and set the dollhouse up room by room.

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Today, after three children, the mess sits until I announce that it is time to clean, and donate old toys. It is funny how much you can change throughout the years in the same role, but in different phases.

When we were renovating the house in 2009 I can honestly say one of the projects I was most excited about was the mudroom. Having a designated place for shoes, book bags, and sporting equipment was exciting to me. It wasn’t in the budget to have built-ins made at the time, so my husband made a coat rack using instructions I found in an issue of This Old House magazine.

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As far as a place to sit was concerned, I wanted to use a bench that my father and his siblings sat on for all their meals on the family farm in Holland. He had had it shipped to the States years ago and I absolutely loved its story. We decided to do the built-in project recently, so now the bench sits on one side of the kitchen table where our three children sit and eat their meals.

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Almost a year after I had my third child, I felt this strong need to create and teach, largely due to my degree in education and because of my passion for the home. I wanted to find a way to combine the two together.

My answer was to bravely post my first picture on Instagram. I didn’t tell anyone, it was out of the blue, but I felt that I had something to say. I had been encouraged by family, friends, and even mothers in the parking lot after school who had design questions to start a blog. Seven months after that first Instagram post I launched House 214 Design, my home design website. It is my platform where I teach the everyday home designer the feeling of home and that the feeling we create in our home is our story.

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What I understand now that I didn’t before, regarding my work, is that when you love what you do the drive you have is unstoppable and you will find a way to keep moving forward. I wake up before the rest of the house wakes up to learn, I listen to podcasts in the car and when I cook and clean to learn, and I read any spare moment I have to learn.

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Do I get tired? Yes, but I am loving every moment of it. I think that after staying home almost 13 years now, it is good for the children to see me have a strong drive and work ethic for something. It is good for them to see me work hard, solve problems, and want to learn.
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Everything I learn I put back into our home. I want our children to remember a feeling, the feeling that I am so passionate about, when they think of their childhood and this home.

Whether they are leaving the house and confronted with a difficult test that day, having a hard time with friends in high school, or leaving to be on their own for the first time, I want them to close their eyes and think of this home. I want the hurt, uncertainty, and worry to be replaced with love, joy, and a sense of calm.

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That is the feeling I work so hard to create for our family in our home every day.
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My hope is that you see a bit of my story in the feeling I have created in my own home. A feeling that will start you on the path to telling your own story.

My course, “Creating A Timeless Feeling Home” , will teach you exactly how to create a timeless and welcoming feeling in your own homes.

Take care,

Melinda

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Filed Under: classic, home, home tour, interior, Kitchen, laundry room, summer, timeless Tagged With: bedroom, children, classic, cook, decorate, family, home, home design, house, interior, interior. interior design, kitchen, laundry room, nursery, vintage

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