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Interior Design Studio

emily@ecphomedesign.com

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New Year = New Projects

I may not be *quite* ready to take down the Christmas decor yet, but I am ready to tackle some projects to kick off the New Year!

Project #1 will be our guest bathroom.

Here’s a photo of the bathroom from the previous tenants. The shower curtain and wall decor have been changed, but the paint color, vanity, and mirror are the same as in this picture.

I’m not a big fan of the two-tone paint color, but the chair railing and beadboard have great potential. I love architectural details like that – it gives a small space a ton of character. Not to mention that beautiful vanity!

All of the updates I plan to make will be purely cosmetic:

  • white shower curtain
  • updated paint (upon landlord approval)
  • updated light fixture
  • farmhouse style wall decor

Since this is our guest bathroom, I’m aiming to make this space more comfortable, functional, and relaxing as opposed to the formal feel it has now.

I’m choosing a white shower curtain to brighten the room and take advantage of the natural lighting that comes through the small window located above the shower/tub combo.

We received a white shower curtain for a wedding gift that will be perfect – it even has our monogram! DP isn’t a huge fan of monograms…he’s from NYC after all…so we may end up purchasing a new curtain. I’m a fan of waffle piqué and it would add a spa-like feature if we go this route.

$60 from Pier 1

For paint color, I haven’t chosen a specific color yet, but I am leaning towards a neutral blue or green that will complement the office color, since the rooms are next door to each other. The office is painted SW Perfect Greige, shown below.

SW Perfect Greige

Elizabeth Burns at Elizabeth Burns Design provides super helpful paint guides on her blog. This one captures the look and feel of the color I’m thinking for our guest bathroom:

Source: http://www.elizabethburnsdesign.com/blog/2014/1/28/shades-of-blue-design

Here are some photos I’ve found for inspiration for wall decor and light fixtures:

Source: http://cherishedbliss.com/build-diy-industrial-pipe-shelves/

I love how this open shelving is visually appealing, but also provides guests with toiletry essentials.

Source: http://www.blesserhouse.com/home-tour

Another example of open shelving that provides guest essentials. I’m also a huge fan of this paint color (SW Sea Salt) and the use of greenery to create a calming environment.

Source: http://www.lampsplus.com/products/urban-barn-11-and-one-quarter-inch-high-bronze-indoor-outdoor-wall-light__w4596.html?refpath=/products/usage_barn-light/

Source: http://www.lampsplus.com/products/urban-barn-11-and-one-quarter-inch-high-bronze-indoor-outdoor-wall-light__w4596.html?refpath=/products/usage_barn-light/

Both of these light fixtures are under $60! I think I can make that work 

Ok, now I’m super excited to get started! Sometimes it’s stressful turning a rental house into a home that fits your style, but starting with a great foundation really helps. I’ve been off from work for about a week for the holidays, and my brain is finally de-stressed enough for the creative juices to start flowing.

Another bonus to the downtime (in case downtime doesn’t seem like a bonus enough) is I’ve had time to focus on my interior design class! I took my first test and made an A and I’ll be taking my second test in the next couple of days. Considering I hadn’t taken a test in 3.5 years, I’m super proud of myself and excited to keep the momentum going.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and have a happy New Year! Fingers crossed I can tackle this project in the next few weeks.

Christmas Tour 2016

CHRISTMAS TOUR 2016

It’s happening! I promised you a Christmas tour, and a Christmas tour you shall receive. After working hard all weekend to get things in order and snap a few blog-worthy photos, I finally feel ready for this reveal.

Ready? Let’s start in the living room, which (in real life) you see as soon as you walk in the front door.

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Ah. Now that feels like Christmas!

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This is my favorite new addition this Christmas. I snagged him at TJ Maxx last week for $30! It’s the perfect size for the awkward space between the mantel and the chair to the left of the mantel. (Also, in case you haven’t noticed, I have a habit of assigning genders to decorative objects I really like. It might seem weird, but it’s a sign of endearment in my book )

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My blanket ladder is the perfect spot for displaying this adorable pillow and a fun way to display this pre-lit garland.

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Now, onto the kitchen. I had a lot of fun decorating this space because it’s so open and has great natural light and beautiful display cabinets.

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The rug was in my office in our Corpus rental house, but I decided to recycle it and move it into our kitchen after ordering a new rug for the office. I’m really happy with the extra texture it adds to this space without being overly busy or distracting.

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Decorating our bar cart was so much fun! I’m not a huge fan of keeping alcohol out on display, but from a functional standpoint it really makes sense. Copper mugs are fun and festive, and adding a Santa hat to a large vodka bottle completed the look (did I really just write that? You can thank my Polish husband for all the vodka).

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To the right of the kitchen window is my favorite kind of bar – a coffee bar! I found those Rae Dunn “Jolly” and “Merry” mugs during my TJ Maxx “me time” last week and the other two Christmas mugs at a local gift shop. My favorite detail is the tiny Starbucks ornament, which adds balance to the right side of the shelf.

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These display cabinets give me all.the.feels.  My mom had the genius idea to add Christmas ornaments to my crystal dishes – the perfect (and affordable) way to add some color to the top and bottom shelves.

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Framing our Christmas card is a great way to make this functional space festive (and what else would I do with those leftover cards anyway?)

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I found this dough bowl at an adorable shop in downtown New Bern and it’s the perfect piece for our bar area. I had the pinecones leftover from fall, so adding Christmas ornaments was all it needed.

On the backside of the kitchen is our sitting area where we have two chairs and ottomans facing this beautiful faux fireplace. We used this piece as our entertainment center in our Corpus rental house, but since our new house has an actual fireplace () in the living room, this guy got repurposed.

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Can you tell I ran out of space on my Christmas tree? Ornaments are the real MVP this year – I’ve used them in every room to add a Christmas touch!

Off the living room on the way back to the door, I have the beautiful console table my dad built for me us.

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It was a goal of mine to display more pictures in this house than we did in Corpus, and this is the perfect place. I also love that little Santa! I got him at Hobby Lobby last year and something about him makes me smile. This mercury glass tree is also a favorite. It’s the perfect neutral to help offset some of the reds and greens.

Ok, we’re back at the front door! I spiced up our entryway with some of the garland I found at the Target dollar spot (for $3!).

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to take the tour (say that 5 times fast!). Christmas decor is definitely making this house feel more and more like home to me. Hope you enjoyed it!

The (Moving) Struggle is Real

Hi, friends! I can’t believe it’s already December 1  As of tonight, I have our all of our Christmas decorations up and it’s really starting to feel cozy. I’ll be posting a Christmas Home Tour soon – I promise! Planning to carve out some time this weekend to work on my interior design courses and knock out that blog post.

Sneak peak of my Christmas decor

Sneak peak of my Christmas decor

Since I don’t have Christmas pictures or beautiful photos of our new house yet, I thought I’d share a bit of my heart with you in this post. Anyone who’s ever moved knows it ain’t easy – and if you’re a military spouse (or part of a military family) you move a lot. We have moved twice since April – two moves in six months. As exciting as a “new beginning” in a new town is, there are some parts of moving that really are a struggle. Especially leaving behind great friends and familiar routines.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m up for an adventure! And for our first move, I never struggled emotionally. I was bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for our next chapter. But for some reason with this move, even though we got the duty station we hoped and prayed for, my heart has been struggling to get on board with emotionally moving in. All of the boxes are unpacked, and I love our new town, our new neighborhood, and our new house. But for some reason, I have really struggled with enjoying the things – like decorating – that I normally enjoy with moving into a new home. Any of you out there who’ve experienced this?

It doesn’t help that life in general is pretty crazy right now, especially with the holidays and my busy season at work quickly approaching. I’m hoping we will fall into a routine (we haven’t been home for more than a week at a time up to this point) and I’ll bounce back soon.

Our honeymoon to Colorado was supposed to help us move into this season relaxed and ready to go, but I’m afraid our week away spoiled me! What I would give to be back at our hotel enjoying yummy foods and exploring the mountains.

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On a brighter note, I had some major wins at TJ Maxx tonight! Sometimes all a girl needs is to jump in the car, grab some nuggets and a sweet tea at Chickfila, devour said nuggets and sweet tea in the TJ Maxx parking lot, and celebrate some savings victories. DP was kind enough to stay at home and handle his own dinner – he knows when I need some “me” time, and that two hours I had in my happy place really made a difference. I was happier styling my new decorations than I was when I put up our tree a few days ago! I’m telling you – the struggle is real!

My heart feels a bit lighter now  Thank you to anyone who made it to the end of this post. While we were in NYC at my in-laws for Thanksgiving, I finally announced my Slice of Style Instagram to my personal Instagram followers and the support I received was truly amazing. Thank you all for your support as I begin this journey.

 

Getting Settled

You know what doesn’t sound like a good time? Going 2.5 weeks without your belongings (including a washer and dryer)  Believe it or not, moving in the middle of Hurricane Matthew to eastern NC was not the best idea in the world – although the Marine Corps didn’t give us much of a choice.

Oh well, we survived! And we’re probably better for it. Now that we’re on the other end of this experience, I’ve finally gotten enough sleep to share with you the process of getting settled in.

DP was out of town when our movers finally arrived, but thank goodness both of our moms were in town to help. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them!

DP's mom was in charge of Lilly while the movers unloaded everything

DP’s mom was in charge of Lilly while the movers unloaded everything

Lilly loves move in day! So many people, smells, noises and exciting things happening at once. DP’s mom was in charge of making sure she didn’t get in the movers way (or get stepped on). The movers were super fast and had everything unloaded and furniture assembled in under 3 hours!

After the movers left, I went back to work while the moms started the unpacking process. They helped us unpack at our Corpus rental house, so they know the routine! Having someone else unpack your kitchen is the way to go – seriously, they prevented so much stress.

Settling in is always an adventure. Thanks to the moms’ help, I’ve almost got everything the way I want it. But I’m waiting until it’s 99% finished before posting here  For now, here are some of the “before” pictures to show you what it looked like on Day 1.

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As you can tell by the photos, Lilly is super excited about her new house …and we’re pretty excited too!

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While DP was out of town, I was able to spend the little bit of downtime I had decorating and buying new decor/furniture. Here’s some insight into my design and decor process when settling in:

I designate one room as the “shopping room” and anytime I need something, like a floral or picture frame, I go into the shopping room to pick something out. It’s effective and it’s fun, but the mess always kind of gets to me after a couple of days. Believe it or not, this picture is what I had left after I finished decorating…oops. With all my fall decor out right now, this stuff went in big storage bins until after Christmas. Once the holidays are over, I’ll bring it all out of storage and lay it out on the floor again to re-decorate for spring and summer.

The “after” pictures are coming soon! I can’t wait to show you what the house looks like now. My dad built a farmhouse console table and a farmhouse table for me, and they are to. die. for. When DP got home and saw everything, he walked around for 10 minutes saying, “Wow! Em! This is great.” and other variations of that sentence 

Overall, I think we’ll be super happy here and I can’t wait to continue this journey in NC. I’m starting my interior design classes this week and we’re finally taking a honeymoon next week (yay!!), so there will be plenty of posting in my future.

Moving wears a girl out

Moving wears a girl out

For now, Lilly and I are just excited to catch up on our sleep.

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