Friend's Houses - Meet Stacie!

I am pretty much completely in love with my friend Stacie's house! I love the overall coastal vibe and all of her beautiful accent pieces. Such a light, happy, beautiful home!

Here are some pictures shortly after she moved in as she was getting settled. I love that there are so many different arrangements that work so well in this space. It is the perfect shape! (You might think that is a random thing to pick up on, but if you had a long narrow family room like I have you would completely understand my envy!) 

I also love her entry table here on the left and the hanging lanterns next to the door. Such great accent pieces!

Love how her white dining set just pops against the dark floors. Perfect contrast!

Finally, I am obsessed with these awesome light fixtures! They totally tie in with the coastal feel of her house and have great character!

And how cute is her puppy Kingston? I want to dognap him and keep him for myself!! ;)

Stacie thank you so much for sharing your BEAUTIFUL home!

Friend's Houses: Meet Kelly!

As I mentioned yesterday, and I am very excited to share with you my good friend Kelly's BEAUTIFUL home! What you can't tell from these pictures is how far this home has come since Kelly and her husband John bought this house several years ago. They have transformed every inch of this space!

Most recently they updated their family room with these incredible navy blue walls. I'm in LOVE! It makes me want to go paint all of the walls in my house blue!

Their dining room contains this incredible harvest table. John made the table top and they attached it to an existing table base. It looks amazing and it seats ten people, so perfect for the upcoming holidays!

Kelly also made the slipcover for the chair below. Love the fabric and the ruffle at the bottom!

Below is their beautiful kitchen! I wish I had some of the before pictures because you would never even recognize the space. Upon moving in, they removed numerous walls and an oddly placed half bath and made the kitchen open to the dining room.

Most of the time we are here we are gathered around this awesome island drinking wine! :)

They are currently refinishing their basement, so I may have to invite myself back to take some pictures of that transformation when it is complete! Thanks for sharing your home with us John, Kel, and Jack!

Friend's Homes - Meet Lindsey!

I am excited to show you another one of my friend's beautiful homes! Next up is Lindsey - I went to college with Lindsey and her husband Matt and you will just die when you see their beautiful DIY kitchen renovation! The before and after is remarkable. All together, the transformation took them a total of two months, on and off. They painted the cabinets (which took about a week), tiled the backsplash (took about 3-days), and painted the walls. You can't tell from this picture, but they also took down a half wall between the kitchen and the family room and had to add in flooring, so that took another week or so.

 

Two of my favorite things? The countertops and the light fixture!

 

The countertops (which they had professionally installed) are quartz, and I am in LOVE. (As you know, we've been debating doing a  white quartz in our kitchen too! This may have finally convinced me!)

 

The light fixture was from Ballard Designs outlet that Lindsey scored for $30!! $30!!!! I totally want one of these in my house.

 

I also totally love the new cup pulls and the bright green mixer! Lindsey is quite the cook, in fact, you can also visit Lindsey over at her website Eating Clean and Saving Green!

Here is a picture of Lindsey and Matt and their adorable family! (Love their little blondies!)

 

Lindsey and Matt thank you again for sharing your awesome kitchen transformation!

 

NEW SERIES - Friend's Houses! Meet BJ :)

SO, I know I just posted for an entire week about million dollar, professionally decorated, immaculate houses - but let's be real. That is NOT reality for most of us, and certainly not for me! 

Truth be told, I am usually much more excited by REAL people's houses and the projects that they do to turn their house into their dream home! I love seeing how other people my age live. Just because we don't have a million dollars and 5,000 square feet doesn't mean our habitats can't be awesome. Have you seen the before and after pictures of my house? I think I'm living proof that with a little creativity, a LOT of elbow grease, time, and a vision, that a boring and outdated house can be turned into a happy, humble abode!

That being said, I'm starting a new series where I share with you some pictures of my amazing, awesome, creative friend's houses so you can be inspired with what real people on real budgets do in real homes, similar to what Evan and I have done in ours.

If we haven't met but you have done some pretty cool work to your house, e-mail me at fathydrangea@gmail.com and I will be happy to be your friend and share your home too! ;)

Without further delay, first up is my beautiful friend BJ from college! How cute is her family? Her sweet baby boy Ean turns ONE this week! BJ and her husband have lived in their house since June 2012, and this summer went on a painting spree of their first floor, and I absolutely LOVE the results!

First, take a look at the difference in the kitchen! I love it! (Scroll below for a before picture) The color is Valspar's "Wet Pavement." I love the gray against the white counters and dark cabinets. Looks so modern and fresh! 

Just like us, BJ and her husband decided to reuse the cabinets that were in place in their house when they moved in. They gave theirs a facelift using Rust-Oleum's Transformation Cabinet Wood Refinishing System.  The difference is amazing! Seriously makes the cabinets look new again! 

Also just like me, BJ's next plans are for new countertops and a new backsplash! (And like me AGAIN, feels very thankful to have white laminate in the meantime!) One of my other favorite things in her kitchen is the new chalkboard, made with a little chalkboard paint and trim. Looks awesome!

Next room on the tour is the family room. I LOVE the accent wall, fireplace, and bookshelves in their family room! As a mom with a kid with tons of toys, I'm jealous of that storage!

They also painted their entry hall and dining room. (Where do you guys find this energy with a little guy running around? Please share your secret!) Overall I just love the colors. They are 100% right up my alley!

Last but not least, love her mums :) 

BJ thank you so much for being the first friend to share your house on my site! And Ean, I hope you have a wonderful first birthday! :)