5 Things I've Learned from Working With Emily Henderson, so far

Happy Monday! Did you get hit with the snow storm this weekend? It was a weird relief to finely get some seasonally appropriate action. It snowed here before Thanksgiving, then nothing! We didn't mind it so much. So today I am doing a little post about what I have learned so far, from working with Miss Emily Henderson. Ya know, HGTV Design star Winner? Host of Secrets from a Stylist, your favorite HGTV show. Personally I think she's the most relevant design on TV. She gets it. She knows how to make a room look like a million bucks, while looking lived in, while not breaking the bank. So what have I picked up in the 7 months I have been on board? 

1. Sometimes a turban and a Red Bull is all you need. This pic was taken after a Fashion Week Party. I learned something this past September while working with Emily. This girl wakes up early and stays up late in order to get things done, and she's always doing it in style. I once heard "We as people are only good at either fashion or interiors, never both". Emily is defiantly the exception to this rule. Cram as much as you can into a day, you'll be surprised what you can get done. 

2. Options. When we get a new client, it's all about sourcing options. I know it's easy to think designers know exactly what the room will look like as soon as they set eyes on it. I kinda did, but in reality that doesn't make any sense. I have learned that sourcing options is probably the most crucial thing you can do in the whole design process. You may know a perfect couch for the living room, but that couch can be 10K! Knowing how to source and having enough options something similar is way more important than I thought!

3. Ugly can be pretty. You know when you shop junk or vintage you pass by 99% of stuff and think "no way!"? Emily has defiantly taught me to look more deeply at objects. Shape, quality, scale. It can be transformed into something beautiful that works. Finding unique spots beyond the big box stores, and knowing how to find a gem has been so much fun!

4. You don't have to be one thing. People often compartmentalize themselves into a specific style, and it's OK to be attracted to two, three, or even four styles at the same time. We have a client that's Lake House with Japanese flair, in an un kitchy way - and one would think that's strange - but it's looking insanely amazing. 

5. Mixing is vital. Yes, we buy stuff from West Elm, CB2, and Room and Board like the best of them, but the majoity of styling is done with way off the beaten track items. This is where Emily sets herself apart. She takes the extra step to find those unique items the clients totally connect with and is a master at grouping them.

Sometimes you don't get it right on the first try. If you watched Design Star when Emily is on it, you remember this:

So don't beat yourself up. Try, try again. It's been a blast so far, and I am so excited to share finished projects. Emily and Orlando have been doing the majority of the designing (I don't want any confusion!), but just being around them is so inspiring. 

I got 99 problems, and the kitch is still one...

The kitchen. If you remember we have had a long long journey with out kitch. We started here...

Well, this photo was taken before we even owned the house. So you can really see where we started. Sweet floors, eh? Gotta love Joey's face. We made some edits, starting with the floors...then we painted.

Then realized matte paint for a kitchen was a bad idea. Bad. So we painted again with semi-gloss. Better idea. Much better. We painted the mudroom door entrace red. We added some reclaimed wood detail, and redid the kitchen cabinets, which post has been on progress for months.

We also replaced the countertops, and redid one side of the kitchen's backspash. 

So what's the deal? We grouted the left side of the kitchen, but coulen't start on the right side, until one little deed was done.

Here is the deal. And it's kinda a big deal. The kitchen was loaded with 70's appliances. We had always planned on replacing the dishwasher - so we pulled out the old one when we replaced the countertops a few weeks back. 

So, we couldn't live with out any countertops, so we simply laid the 24" oak countertops from Ikea on top of the cabinets until we actually agreed on a dishwasher. We didn't want to lay the counters and then tile the backsplash before we installed the dishwasher because once those were laid - it would be a beast to get the dishwasher in. Good call Joey!

So we have been living with the counters floating like above, however we installed the sink of course. And finally, finallllllllllly, we have decided on a dishwasher. And STOVE! Hello shiny new appliances!

For the dishwasher we landed on the Whirlpool Gold® Series Dishwasher with Sensor Cycle – Monochromatic Stainless Steel. It usually retails for around $550, but our super generous aunt and uncle are part of Direct Buy and we got it for $337! The stove is a Frigidaire 30" Free Standing Gas Range - Stainless Steel. This is also via the Direct Buy route for $515! This usually retails over $600. Shipping for both was less that $100. Can you say score? So, in 2-4 weeks, our shiny new appliances will be here. We are scouting a microwave which houses an exhause vent for above the stove. We wanted to keep everything on the super cheap and then pound out walls and totally redo the kitchen in about five years. I am so excited we have been able to do this all super cheap, even though it's been massivly time consuming. The financial breakdown has gone something like this:

Kitchen Countertops: Ikea 96" $169  and 49" $89 + shipping 

Subway Tile and black grout: Home depot $30 box of tiles (we may beed two boxes), grout was $8 a bag (we think we will need 2 total)

Moen Faucet: Home Depot $135

Ikea Floors: Around $200

Paint: $30 gallon

Cabinet Refinishing: LOTS of time, and about $150

Cabinet fixtures: $80

Stove: $515

Dishwasher: $337

Shipping: $96

Reclaimed accent wood: $15

Red Oil Paint for Door: $18

Chalkboard Paint for fridge: $21

Total Spent so far = $1,931

While the kitchen has been a disaster zone for a while, it's been nice to peek out into the mood room and be remembered, IT WILL GET DONE! IT WILL BE GOOD!

Are you part of a discount club? Do you love it? Let us know! We are thinking it may be a good idea!

Cha cha cha changes!: Master Bedroom

Sooooooo, we made some changes to the bedroom. When we build the bed, we placed it on the far side of the master bedroom - in front of a window. We were always "eh" about it, but it made the most sense because of where the cable is hooked up. Then Mr. Orlando questioned it, and while I was defending my decision, I realized I was talking fluff. Here is what it's looked like for the past six months:

Meh at best. To give you an idea of what's going on, on the other side of the room:

So with the new year, we went for a new look. A little more interest, color pops, and smiles.

We kept the moose in his home (check out a nifty tip on how we hung him!), and added some more art and curiosities. 

Things changed by the bathroom hallway a lot! We moved our Timothy Oulton chest console and put a real vintage school map above it. We really love it over here now.

If you take a few steps back, the couch and coffee table are pretty much in the same spot they were before. It just works. 

The window that was covered up by the bed, is now free to let even more light in! So much better!

The chest across the room got a new lamp and shade, and I moved the succulants closer to the natural light. 

The bed was moved to where our old bed use to be when we first moved in. It looks a bit wonky because we still have a queen mattress on the king frame. Shame on us. We resolve to get the king mattress in the next few months. I was able to find our old duvet cover from dwell again, right after I purchased one from Orla Kiely. Oh well!

We added some light to that dark corner. 'Sup classy brass?

Joey got me this super cute peace plate for Christmas. I wouldn't dare eat off of it. Hello new home for air plant. 

So that's where we are with our master bedroom. It feels more lived in and less sterile than before. I love what a little color has done! Have you ever had that happen to you? Just add a little color, and the whole feeling of the room changes?