How to love your home

Window Treatment - Update, Refresh, Renew

5/3/2019

Living in your home for years without turning it into your dream home is a common gaffe. Surely you have seen DIY shows that guide homeowners to a path of selling their home or staying there because of a new found love of design. Without remodeling or buying new furniture, look to your windows for the biggest impact.

What to do?

Update - Refresh - Renew
Update rods & hardware and rediscover new placement. Buy ready made drapes to fit proper length. Press or steam for a professional look. It’s simple, has impact and finishes the room.

A simple, budget friendly window treatment approach is worth the money to live the dream.
Ikea is the best value for ready made drapes and softening the space.

It’s time to eliminate the design elements or lack there of. Recreate your home to reflect the true you.

Dining Rooms need softening with drapery

Dining Room-drapery brings the eye into the space

Family Room-minimal drapes flank large windows

Window treatment in neutrals are room deal makers.

Neutrals are always a good choice for window treatment

Master Bath-Soft fold shades for large windows, it’s privacy & style

Office-dark linen changes rooms with wooden built-ins

Bunk Room-keep it simple with flat-fold shades

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Black Bedrooms - Deep Space

1/20/2019

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In recent years, design in homes has taken on a lighter & calmer mood. Greys & whites will remain a pillar in design for quite sometime. Deep hues in rooms are becoming a dramatic alternative to "greige". Color is coming!
Bedrooms lend themselves to opening up the space like the night sky. Now black & deep tones are the new neutral. It changes the impression of the room. Your furnishings & accessories will take on a graphic interpretation & tenor. Don't be afraid of the dark!
Rest your eyes on these dreamy spaces . . .

10 Black Bedrooms That Set the Right Mood
Cozy Black Bedroom in New York Apartment
35 Black Rooms That Embody Sophistication
7 Beyond - Gorgeous Black Rooms
Explore Black Bedrooms on Pinterest
Explore Dark Bedrooms on Pinterest

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Simple Solutions to Home Allergens - Clean Up Laundry

12/9/2018

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If you are experiencing allergy symptoms in your family and you can’t identify them, look no further than inside your own home. Finding I am allergic to many scented home and body products, it takes special effort to be aware & eliminate the offenders. While finding the best tools to make my physical needs better, I realized an organic agenda is what works best. We assume organics cost more & are inconvenient -- ENT's cost a lot more than natural products!

Simple solutions are the best. Easy adjustments can change our health. Even those who don’t suffer from allergy problems have everything to gain by changing their ways. Clothing, towels, bedding--all the items that we launder, surround us 24/7.

Using products that you can pronounce the ingredients on the packaging & know what it means, takes us back to how simplicity can be the best solution.
Dropps is a mail order laundry detergent system that is plant based. It has a product for everyone & eco-friendly packaging.
Woolen dryer balls are an amazing find too. They eliminate any scent that penetrates your laundry, prevent static cling & reduces drying time. Plus, these bad boys can last for over a year!

It’s OK to have unscented linens & clothing. The smells are just a signal of baked in chemicals that lead us to believe they are clean. Each polyester dryer sheet is a petroleum & coal product that will end up in a landfill & in your body. The long term benefits are a big win for everyone.

Rethink-Reduce-Replace

How to Add Essential Oils to Woolen Dryer Balls

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Lifestyle Inspiration - Destinations On Demand

9/8/2018

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Finding inspiration for home updates online & television can be endless. Here are a few of our on- demand favorites to elevate your home & garden. Our choices are newbies along with throw-backs, but classics. Good style endures with time.

OWN Network - Home Made Simple
Netflix - Big Dreams, Small Spaces
Netflix - Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Netflix - Stay Here
Bravo - Get a Room with Carson and Thom

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Dallas Garden Shop Legend

7/30/2018

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https://www.facebook.com/nicholsonhardie

Nicholson-Hardie is an old & bold Dallas legend. This 4 time winner of the Best of Big D-Garden Shop is an inspiration destination for year round indoor/outdoor gardening & home design. Gift & garden - it's shear heaven!

See the article & the complete list of the Best of Big D 2018
"Founded in 1899, Nicholson-Hardie is the oldest garden shop in Dallas, and it has the know-how that comes with that title. Between its deep selection and a staff that’s all green thumbs, don’t be surprised if you walk out with a fun and unexpected purchase."

Nicholson-Hardie Nursery & Garden
Best of Big D 2018
Big D Magazine on Facebook
Nicholson-Hardie on Facebook

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Summers Cottage-Is This an Iris Farm?

4/23/2018

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When the first round of blooms hit north Texas, iris are the featured artist! They are big, beautiful and fleeting. Photos don't capture the collection of Summers Cottage ruffled and antique varieties. This garden guru may be retired, but gardening is a full time job . . . and a labor of love.

Our home owner shared her beautiful bulbs with us except the peach & apricot varieties. She couldn't let those leave the garden. These are vintage types that are rarer and often will not propagate as newer varieties do. She is a true steward of her garden's vintage legacy.

We couldn't stop staring at the beauty. It was hard to leave. But with our arms full of samples we entered the car to drive home. The dirt caked bulbs smelled rich of recent rains. How lucky we are to experience that "blooming" moment & recapture garden memories from our childhoods.

To start your own iris garden;
Holland Bulb Farms
Argyle Acres Iris Farm

Don't miss McKinney Garden & Home Tour June 9th

Bicycle hidden among the iris at Summers Cottage

Row of Dauntless iris at Summers Cottage

Vintage child's playhouse at Summers Cottage

Child's vintage playhouse at Summers Cottage

Monet's Blue iris with wagon at Summers Cottage

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Tell Your Home's Story With Color

3/11/2018

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http://www.uhozz.com/dark-wall-color-room-design-tips-perfect-ambience.html

http://blancointeriores.blogspot.pt/2017/02/a-prespetiva-masculina.html

http://www.traditionalhome.com/category/beautiful-homes/charming-updated-cabin-lake-minnetonka?page=4

https://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=125288

http://www.decohoms.com/anthropologie-style-bedding/

About 10 years ago a wave of modern rustic style, with Scandinavian origins, hit the design world. The blend of natural, blond wood tones & white as a basic palette brings light to short winter days.

This use of white has dominated home design in America.  It's classic, simplicity gives us a glimpse into a mindset not previously seen across the board like this. This is looked at by many as the "go to" look for all homes.  Many newer builds are incorporating this style. Brick homes are not what they used be. White & raw wood are finding their ways into every neighborhood. Whether a mid century modern, farm house or transitional home, white can carefully shift an outdated interior.

However...there is something about the mood of a home with saturated colors.  There is a depth about the individual spaces that pulls you in. Each color choice evokes specific feelings and reveals a design evolution. It's a narrative. Don't be afraid of color. Tell your personal story with it.

There is no right or wrong these days. Design is something that gives you joy. It's personal. Give yourself freedom to change your mind. Trends come and go, but it's good to incorporate the bits and pieces you love. Stick with your instincts & remember - You are the one who has to live with it, not family or friends. If you are of the indecisive persuasion, enlist a trusted design buddy who knows who you are! Love it.

Inspire - Desire - Acquire - Repeat.

To see all the links listed above:
Dark Wall Color as Room Design: Tips for a Perfect Ambience
Charming Updated Cabin on Lake Minnetonka
A Prespetiva Masculina!
Decorpad-Blue Kitchen Island
Decohoms - Adorable Anthropologie Style Bedding Ideas

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Our YouTube Million View Milestone

12/7/2017

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When we began our collaborative journey, we thought it would be a curious venture to find our way through the inter web. We wanted to build something we had not done before with images and words. The blogging process leads to constant discussion about direction, value and what this vision means -- working creatively to combine our best selves into a rewarding outlet. Not only is this an expression of who we are but how to best share ideas and thoughts. Never satisfied, we have pushed these ideas into YouTube as well.

If you have created a video for YouTube, you will understand the painstaking & time consuming effort it takes to get your idea produced. We make videos about very simple tasks as well as those more complicated, keeping in mind our written words for the best translation since they are viewed all over the world. YouTube offers different ideas, processes and varying degrees of expertise, our no nonsense approach to DIY videos is our strength. HTLYH objective is to help others reach their creative goals in a quick & concise way.

After surpassing our "million views" milestone, we are inspired to keep our blogging and YouTube Channel a vital part of our weekly routine. We are humbled by the possibilities of helping so many people find their way through projects big and small. With much appreciation we thank those who let us into their homes & phones because we want you to know "How To Love Your Home"!

A few faves!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7Y0HRmXcUs

Concrete Garden Sphere

Parsons Chair Slipcover Simply Sewn

Hemming Jeans the Euro/Tricky Style

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Summers Cottage - An Autumn Look

10/14/2017

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We finally made it into Summers Cottage to explore the eclectic nooks & crannies. The style is a blend of Pacific Northwest Cabin & UK Cottage. The saturation of vibrant colors along with the one of a kind tokens & trophies of all sorts, is a near spiritual experience. The owner has an amusing eye for creating, grouping & displaying items that the average person would never consider. It is an inter-mixture & fusion of masculine & feminine, vintage & mid-century elements. She shows captivating design confidence.

The House & Front Porch

The Entry

The Living Room

The Bar

The Kitchen

The Guest Bedroom

The Master Bath

The Master Bedroom

Nooks & Spaces

The Sun Porch

Outdoor Spaces

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Kentucky St Antiques Grand Opening!

8/27/2017

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https://www.facebook.com/Kentucky-St-Antiques-162040291028081/

This little gem tucked north of Historic Downtown McKinney is a great addition to downtown shopping. The owner, Amy Quay, is a retired teacher with a passion for vintage finds. We loved hearing her share the back stories of the pieces we bought. We felt like explorers in uncharted antique shopping on Kentucky St. Previously, this building was McKinney's post office, now it really delivers!

Come join Kentucky St Antiques for their Grand Opening this Saturday (Labor Day weekend) for live music, great shopping & genuinely kind folks who know their stuff. With the expansion of more parking, the boundaries of The Square are ever broadening. Explore the possibilities!

Kentucky St Antiques on Facebook