How I Maintain A Cohesive Look For Our Whole Home

Today I’m talking about how I maintain a cohesive look throughout our entire home, and what benefits there are to designing your home in this way.

I think creating a cohesive look for your entire home is very important because the more consistent your home is in style and color palette, the more intentional your space is going to feel. Whenever possible, I ensure the wall color and flooring is consistent throughout the whole home. If you want to pull in some color with paint, select something from the same color family that’s within the palette you’ve chosen for furniture and accessories, so that the rooms don’t start to feel too disconnected or chaotic.

The main benefits to designing your home with a cohesive style and color palette, are that it’s going to feel larger and more relaxing. If the rooms transition seamlessly, you’re not going to be as aware of the individual spaces and will take in the home as whole. I believe this also contributes to the overall feeling of the home, and creates a more relaxing vibe no matter what your style or color palette, since everything you’re taking in visually is working together, rather than competing with one another.

Another great benefit to maintaining a cohesive style and color palette is that you can easily move small furniture and accessories to other rooms for a quick and easy refresh for free! It’s natural to get bored with your surroundings after a while, and if you have the ability to shop your own home, it prevents unnecessary impulse purchases, and fulfills your need to something fresh and new in your home.

My personal approach to this is to keep most of the larger or more expensive pieces I bring in to our home very neutral. I know that I like a light and bright space, and that won’t be changing with any trend for the foreseeable future. All of the higher price point items in our home are classic pieces that can withstand trends and are neutral in tone, so that I can easily add in various colors, patterns, and textures to create new looks without spending too much. I like to pull in color through textiles, affordable or diy artwork, and florals.

I’ve designed our dining room so that the color palette and feel is dependent upon the fresh florals or greenery I bring in. I love florals, so I really like this approach because it allows me to feel as though I have a fresh new look with only the cost of a floral arrangement. If I really want to change things up I can swap out the vase and pillows, and even then the investment isn’t too big.

Overall, this approach to design is how I make sure I have a home that feels cohesive, but is still versatile. I can easily rearrange what I currently own for a free refresh, or spend a bit of money on some new textiles, florals, and accessories and create a whole new look without breaking the bank.

Affordable Bathroom Light Fixtures

Today I’m sharing a roundup of affordable bathroom lighting options to fit any budget. Lighting is such an important part of a bathroom’s functionality to ensure the space is lit well enough, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be pretty and affordable. Below I’ve rounded up a few of my go to sconces from single light two three light depending on the needs of the space.

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Your Favorites This Week

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Affordable Vintage Bedroom

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Affordable Window Treatments

Today I’m sharing a roundup of affordable options for neutral window treatments. I like to keep window treatments simple and minimal with either a roman shade or curtains, but in some spaces where versatility and functionality are key, I like to layer both. Below I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite roman shades and curtains to finish out your windows while staying on budget.

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Serena and Lily Finds Under $100 + Free Shipping

Starting today, everything at Serena and Lily ships free! To celebrate, I’ve done a roundup of a few finds under $100. Check them out below, and use code “DISCOVER” to get free shipping on your order!

Pillow + Art Combos

Today I’m sharing a few pillow combos and artwork that would make a great starting point for figuring out the color palette in your space. If you’re not sure where to begin when it comes to the color palette, I like to start with one item in the space that’s going to be a focal point, and pull from that. In this case, I’m using artwork, but you could easily use a rug, statement furniture piece (like an accent chair or ottoman), wallpaper, etc.

The key is to pull from the same tones and color family, but not make the space feel too matchy matchy, or else the design will feel predictable and uninteresting. Don’t be afraid to mix patterns and textures to ensure the space has it’s own unique personality. The best way to keep your pillow combination from feeling too one-note is to make sure you’re mixing pillows from at least 2-3 different places (or designers) so that the overall look feels like a thoughtful collection.

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A Before and After Tour of Our Home (Part 2)

Today I’m sharing part two of our before and after home tour—this time, we’re heading upstairs! Our second floor has some of my favorite renovations, and honestly it’s probably the floor we’ve done the most work to so far!

We’ll begin with the rest of the stairwell and hallway, along with my most recent renovation—the linen closet!

In the stairwell we took out the half wall and continued the railings all the way up to the second floor. It made the stairwell so much brighter and gave it a more open and spacious feeling. We removed the accordion door to the linen closet, and I made a bar door and just last week, I made a custom built in inside the closet.

To the left of the staircase is our bedroom, and one of my most favorite spaces in our home. The transformation in this room is definitely at the top of my list. We continued the same wood flooring throughout the entire second floor, along with the SW Extra White paint color. The transformation in this room with paint alone was incredible, but the shiplap wall and window seat also helped this space to feel more architecturally interesting.

Our bathroom was the only space in the home that the previous homeowners had renovated. Though it wasn’t done terribly, it wasn’t my style, and had functionality issues. They did a neutral gray tile throughout the entire space, which we decided to keep for the time being since it was brand new and would still work with my design plan. The double sinks I did not care for, so instead of getting rid of them altogether, I simply gave each a makeover and used them in our other two bathrooms. I replaced them with a double vanity and two arched mirrors, along with a shiplap accent wall to give the space more dimension. I also swapped the single light fixture for three sconces on dimmers to give the space more versatility.

Walking back into the hallway, you see our home office at the end of the hall, along with our guest bedroom and bathroom.

Our guest bedroom hasn’t gotten much more than new flooring, paint, and an overhead light fixture, but they’ve made a big change in the space. The previous homeowners had a king sized bed in the room, but I chose a queen size to accommodate more proportional nightstands and better room to navigate the space. It’s the perfect size for our guests, and we love having this additional room!

Across the hall is our guest bathroom. This was another space that just needed some cosmetic updates to make it more my style, and cohesive with the rest of the home. We took out the old vanity and tile, and added in a new herringbone subway tile floor and a shiplap wainscoting, plus floral wallpaper to bring in more personality. You can see one of the old master bathroom vanities in the space that I painted SW Attitude Gray and brought in new knobs and a bronze faucet to give it a new look. We kept the tub and I added in an extra tall shower curtain to conceal it and create the illusion of taller ceilings.

Finally, at the end of the hallway is our office. Again, we didn’t do much to this space other than paint, flooring, and a light fixture. A couple years ago I added in the board and batten accent wall and think it helps give this all white space a bit more dimension, along with the oversized woven light fixture.

I hope you enjoyed our before and after home tour! I will continue to share more progress as we keep renovating and updating this home, but I wanted to share how far we’ve come in the last three years. Renovations take a lot of planning, hard work, and patience, but are worth it when the final result is a space that is not only a reflection of your personality, but makes you feel safe and relaxed. I hope this tour inspires those of you who are going through, or planning to go through a renovation!

Target Fall Finds

Lately it’s been feeling like fall is right around the corner, and it’s been giving me the urge to gently shift things in my home to the next season. Today, I’ve rounded up some recent Target finds that have a subtle fall feeling to them for those of you who want to start thinking about making a transition in your home this time of year, without going over the top.

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Your Favorites this Week

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Weekend Style: Sitting Room

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IKEA Pax Hack: Linen Closet Reveal

The linen closet is done! I’m so glad I was finally able to get all the materials I needed from IKEA and check this project off my list. It was one of the most fun projects I’ve done in a while, and it challenged me to broaden my diy skill set a bit.

There are two reasons I wanted to make over this space in our home. First, was functionality. The shelf configuration we previously had in this closet was original to the home. When we moved in three years ago, I took off the accordion door and made the barn door, and made some new shelves since the old ones were in bad shape. The closet is fairly deep, and with just those shelves things were always getting lost in the back of the closet, or folded items would get messed up when I’d reach for something in the back. I thought adding in some drawers would be a great way to fully utilize the depth of the closet, and keep things a bit more organized.

Before photo from when we bought the home.

Second, I’d really like to do the IKEA pax hack in our walk in closet, but I wanted to test out the pax system before we made the investment in the entire closet. I also wanted to be sure that my carpentry skills were good enough to complete the project with the quality level I was hoping for. The inset drawers were very daunting to me since my measurements and cuts would have to be very precise. I’m happy to say that the linen closet project turned out better than I expected, so the walk in closet is definitely on the list!

I’m going to stick to before/after photos for the reveal post, but I will definitely go into more detail soon about how I completed this project, along with my tips and tricks, and what tools and materials you’ll need if you’re interested in tackling it yourself!

Affordable Pendant Lights

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Serena & Lily New Arrivals

Serena and Lily just launched over 150 new arrivals this week and they are so good! I’ve rounded up a few of my favorites on the blog today. Also, be sure to check out their bedroom sale going on right now if you’re looking to refresh your bedding or furniture! With the seasons starting to shift, I always like to give my home a refresh to welcome the new season.

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Affordable Faux Plants

Happy Monday! Today I’ve put together a huge roundup of faux trees and plants, along with some faux stems. Plants and greenery add a touch of color and bring in a natural and organic element that every space needs in order to feel fully styled and complete. I love live plants, but I know that’s not always an option for everyone, whether they have concerns about taking care of them, the expense, or limitations due to allergies. So today I’ve done three roundups—one with large faux trees, one with smaller faux plants, and one with faux stems!

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Weekend Style: Study Room

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Weekend Sales

I can’t believe it’s already Friday! There are a lot of great sales happening this weekend, so I’ve rounded up my favorites along with a few of my picks from each below. I hope you all have a nice weekend!

World Market — 30% off everything Friends and Family Sale

Target — Up to 25% off furniture and decor

Pottery Barn — Up to 20% off

J Crew — Extra 70% off 3+ sale styles

Anthropologie — Up to 25% off select kitchen and dining

McGee and Co — 25% off pillows

Nordstrom — Anniversary Sale

Floor Lamps Under $100

For today’s post I’ve done a roundup of affordable floor lamps under $100! Lighting can be one of the more expensive items in a space, and while I personally like to allocate a bit more of the budget in this area, I know that is not always possible for everyone. In any case, I think there are great lighting options out there at any price point, so I’m sharing a few affordable favorites today!

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Coffee Table Decor

Today I’m sharing a huge roundup of some of my favorite styling objects for coffee tables—or anywhere, really! I like to keep decor fairly minimal to avoid clutter, but I think a few well chosen items go a long way in a space, and can make it feel more warm and welcoming.

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Boho Playroom Design

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