Our living space has come a long way. There used to be a wall between the two rooms, right behind where the couch sits now. The kitchen and dining space were covered in bird house wallpaper, the trim was standard size, builder-grade oak, and the floor was linoleum. The living room donned a low quailty beige carpet and all the oak woodwork to match the kitchen.
The space receives light all day long, and I wanted to play that up, lightening up the walls but grounding the space with the dark floors.
I spend the most time in this space. When I only had my son, I seemed to have more time to switch things up and really decorated for the seasons. I used to keep everything very neutral and add pops of color for the different times of year. While I enjoyed that, it also seemed to limit me. After making some pillowcases out of the Orangerie fabric, I now feel like anything goes with the color palette of the floral. I love the freedom it has given me to buy what I love, not just what “goes with my stuff.”
I’ll be back later in the week with more details on this space, specifically furniture sources and some stories about certain pieces. Please let me know if there is anything in particular you are curious about. Have a wonderful week!
You can see the details, including the custom paint color, and a few more shots of the space here.
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ola says
Oh Gwen. Your home is so gorgeous and elegant but at the same time totally cozy! You've done an amazing job decorating. I swear, I'd move right in! 🙂
Can't wait to see more of what you share.
xx
ola
http://www.stylesbyola.com
Emily A. Clark says
Gwen–It's beautiful! I love the mix of everything in your home. Excited to look through more of your blog 🙂
Genna Rene says
I love all the leaning frames and mirrors. Pretty home!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thank you, Genna! It allows me to change my mind a lot. 🙂
Anonymous says
Beautiful! Absolutely love the mix of colors and textures. Can't wait to hear more about the space, hoping you include the wall paint color! So perfect. Thanks for sharing. Love your blog!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thank you for your kind words! I will definitely do my best to include it (it's actually a custom color, it was kind of a very lengthy process 🙂 ). Check back tomorrow for the post!
vanessa says
Wow, your place looks amazing!!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thank you, Vanessa!
Punctuation Mark says
Beautiful design… looks very elegant!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thank you for your kind words!
Sherri says
Over from Emily's blog. What a vote of confidence and what a blessing for Emily to feature you. You deserve it. I like your style. It's classic and classy, very appealing to the eye. And you are a talented photographer as well. Good luck in the blog world. It's refreshing to see new talent!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Sherri, thank you so much for your heartfelt comment. It really was a huge honor and blessing for Emily to feature me. Your kind words really mean a lot to me! Thank you for making my day and it's nice to meet you!
Autumn Beach says
Oh my goodness…I am seriously giddy right now! I just discovered you via Emily's blog, and I have to say that I am ecstatic to find a blogger of your caliber from KC. 🙂 I'm a Kansas City native, so it thrills me to no end when I read about your finds from Nell Hills or see a copy of Spaces resting on your bed. I have become quite the blog junkie over the past year. It's almost dorky. I just had to stop and say "hello" and tell you that I LOVE your blog. And your house. And just your style in general. Congratulations on this new adventure! Best wishes for blogging success. Consider me a fan!
Megan Davey says
where are the baby toys!? Need to know how you stash those away! 🙂
Great meeting you this past weekend! Hope to see you soon!
Megan from Chasing Davies
themakerista@gmail.com says
Megan, for some reason this comment is just showing, so I'm sorry I'm just responding to it!
I am big on baskets and bins and a basement for the big plastic stuff. 🙂 I'm hoping to do a post more on that sometime soon.
It was really lovely meeting you as well, and I'm enjoying following your pregnancy journey!
Lindsay at Life of Splendor says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your home 🙂 So glad that I found you through Julia!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Lindsay! I appreciate your kind words!
Merry says
Hi Gwen! Any information you can give me on your bed frame in your master? Still hoping to hear what it is! Thanks!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Merry, I'm hoping you found my other reply. Let me know if not!
Merry says
Oh, no I haven't! Where do I look?? Thank you for addressing this.
themakerista@gmail.com says
You can find it here Merry:
http://www.themakerista.com/2013/07/making-home-living-and-dining-spaces.html
It's at the very bottom, where you left your first comment. Hope you find it ok!
carmela_n says
Is that Urban Bronze at the back of the bookshelf? Lovely!
themakerista@gmail.com says
It's actually just a matte black spray paint on some foam board, but thank you, carmela!
Molly Ekkens says
Love LOVE your dining table and chairs! Do you think you could put a quick tutorial together to teach us DIY-Rookies how to?
themakerista@gmail.com says
Hi, Molly! Thanks so much! I actually did a quick tutorial on a bench I recovered, and it's very similar. You can see it here: http://www.themakerista.com/2013/08/making-it-work-diy-abstract-black-and.html
Thanks so much for reading!
MasonScrapMom says
so, I am in love with the gold nesting tables in this space. do tell where they are from. 🙂
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks so much! I snatched those up for $20 at an antique mall…it was a great score! Thanks for reading!
rachel @ a mother far from home says
Love the freshness! ! I can't seem to find your feed on feedly, can I follow you there?
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Rachel! You can find me on feedly here: http://cloud.feedly.com/#subscription%2Ffeed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.themakerista.com%2Ffeeds%2Fposts%2Fdefault
Kelci T says
Gorgeous! I love how bright and colorful your home is! I have seen that oranagerie pillow and everytime I've seen it, its been for different styles and it always works! I may have to get one. Thanks for the inspiration!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Oh, thanks so much, Kelci! I appreciate your kind words and thanks for reading!
kusen alumunium bandung says
AMAZING nice & cool, love it …. mobil sedan corolla
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks so much!
Megan says
Just found your blog via Better Homes and Gardens. I consider myself pretty well versed in the blog world so how you have escaped me is beyond me, but I'm glad I found you. Your blog tagline could be mine!! LOL. Pinterest loves recipes too, so it is a crying shame.
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks so much, Megan! Yes, my tagline is the cold, hard truth. 🙂 And you're so right, people do have to eat don't they? But why must it be 3 times a day, every day?
Thanks for reading!
Republik Hijab says
Wow, Thank you for sharing. Now, I have idea how to make my home more hommy!
Republik Hijab,
Inspirasi Hijab Fashion Indonesia
Lori C says
Where did you get your sofa if I may ask?? I love that it's cozy & beautiful at the same time. (sorry if this comment posts twice – it made me sign in and my comment disappeared)
themakerista@gmail.com says
Lori, glad you commented twice! It's from Nell Hills, a local store, from about 6 or 7 years ago, but I know Home Decorators has a similar one!
BridgetO says
Hello Gwen, I just discovered your blog via a search of top designer blogs. What fun I've had exploring The Makerista! Can you tell me about the black pillow with the white trim that's on your sofa? Thank you! Bridget
themakerista@gmail.com says
Hi Bridget! It's actually something I made out of black linen and some white trim from Joanne several years ago. Sorry I can't be more help, thanks for reading!