High Point Market Design Bloggers Tour

If you’ve been following me for any length of time then you know that last Spring I was fortunate enough to attend my very first High Point Market. I was invited to speak on a panel talking all about e-design! Then this past Fall I returned to market, hosting my own Mentor & Mingle Event, but never did I ever imagine that a year after my first market appearance, I’d be attending as part of the High Point Market Design Bloggers Spring 2019 Tour! Presented by Esteem Media, the Design Bloggers Tour consists of 10 design bloggers — us — chosen to tour the sponsoring showrooms and share all the upcoming trends, collections, and launches with our readers — you!

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Apartment Sized Sofas in Every Style

Based on the 10 styles of my Decor Discovery Style Quiz, here are 10 Apt2B sofas that’ll not only fit your space but that are customizable to complement the personality of your home. With so many silhouettes available on the Apt2B site — apartment and full-sized alike — and even more fabric options available, there’s no way your next sofa won’t be full of style and personality!

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How to Stay Comfortable (and Sexy) Working From Home

Last year I did a whole series on my YouTube channel sharing some of my productivity hacks & habits, from an A to Z of my go to resources to staying physically & mentally productive as a work from home mom. One of my simple yet super effective “hacks” has always been to get dressed — I learned the hard way that while it sounds nice to say you’re working from home in your pajamas, it doesn’t make for a very productive day. After having my daughter, I decided I deserved better, and now working at home full time, I made a commitment to myself to not just find bras that fit or “good” bras, but bras that I could look good and feel good in all day at home and outside. Enter ThirdLove

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E-Design Shopping: Home Depot Finds

As a renter and as someone with a very renter-centric audience, I’ve noticed that some retailers end up becoming synonymous with home ownership and/or home improvement…retailers like The Home Depot. So I was pleasantly surprised when preparing for a new project I found that I was able to specify the ENTIRE redesign on The Home Depot site! If you’re like me, and you’ve never considered The Home Depot for your design project — whether it’s a a full do over or some quick styling updates — I’m gonna share with you some of my recent favs from the Home Depot site that are stylish, chic, and perfect for any space.  

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16 Books To Get Inspired & Start Decorating With

I love decorating with books, especially on my shelves. With every new vignette I do, I pull out the books whose covers & spines are the best fit for my palette, and they easily become part of the decor. This isn’t to say I don’t also read my home books — because I absolutely do — so really, it’s like I’m paying one price for two functions! Whether it’s for your coffee table or your next shelfie, here are 16 of my favorite picks for books that’ll not only inspire you, but will make great additions to your library and decor styling:

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Lessons from the Fyre Festival Documentaries

A few months ago the internet blew up with news about the Fyre Festival documentaries that were premiering on Netflix & Hulu — same topic, different documentary. In case you missed it, the Fyre Festival was slated to be a massive music festival intended to be the modern-day luxury Woodstock. 

What it was, instead, was a clusterfuck of poor planning and even poorer execution that resulted in social media going crazy over how hundreds of people lost thousands of dollars to attend an event that never came to pass. 

The documentaries, each in their own unique style, illustrated how this event, and the aftermath, played out. After watching both, and having a hearty laugh, it hit me that there were many lessons to be learned from what transpired, especially for those of us in the entrepreneurial space. 

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Valentine's Day Tablescape Ideas: Three Ways

It’s that wonderful time of year where getting a restaurant reservation is harder than trying to get a toddler to bed on time. Call me old fashioned but I’d much rather celebrate my love in the quiet, intimate setting of my home. There’s no wait time, no mandatory gratuity, and no dress code. Here are three tablescape ideas — whether you’re celebrating romance with your significant other or Galentine’s Day with your best friends — to make your at home Valentine’s Day plans fabulous & unique!

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The Personal & Professional Benefits of Being an Amazon Prime Member

As a mother, a wife, and an entrepreneur Amazon has become so much more than a shopping site — it’s a resource! There is a myriad of ways to take advantage of all that Amazon offers — whether it’s by simply shopping the site, getting a prime membership, or using their devices and that’s not even scratching the surface! How and why I use Amazon only makes up for a fraction of the site’s features & benefits.

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Cost Breakdown: Renter Friendly Bathroom Upgrades & Refresh

Last year, during the holidays I began working on refreshing our rental condo’s bathroom, to take it from dated & dull to feeling tranquil, spa-like, and Hygge inspired. While everything is always a work in progress, it was definitely one of the first places in the condo that felt “complete” and really like ours. Before I even knew the One Room Challenge was a thing, this was definitely a One Room Challenge. The transformation, with a few stylish storage solutions, cost-effective DIYs, and creative design was exactly what our little bathroom needed; and more than that, it was renter-friendly & affordable. 

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What I Really Learned By Going Back To Design School

Pursuing my masters degree what something that I’d always wanted to do when “the time was right” but after almost a decade of being out of school, in 2016, I made the choice to go for it, studying interior architecture & design. While this wasn’t exactly the same type of architecture program I was studying back in 2003, talk about full circle! Have I completed the degree yet? Nope! Yet in the 2 and a half years since I started the program I’ve learned more about myself (and the industry) than I bargained for — and spoiler alert: none of it is actual lessons in design (but don’t tell my professors that). 

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How I Secured Six Brand Collaborations With Less Than 1,000 Followers

Let’s talk about that time in 2018 when, four months into the year, I returned from a yearlong social media sabbatical and over the next eight months spoke on a panel at High Point Market, appeared on four interior design podcasts, launched a virtual conference, secured sponsored collaborations with six brands, and put into motion launching a brand new podcast with sponsorship. 

I share this with you as a sort of humble brag because, while I am immensely proud of those accomplishments, what I am most proud of is the circumstances under which I hit those milestones — I did all of the above with less than 1,000 followers/subscribers across any of my social channels. While we often hear about the pressure to have high numbers as social proof, there is something to be said for the micro-micro-influencer who, as the saying goes, is small but mighty! 

SO HOW DID I SECURE INTERVIEWS AND COLLABORATIONS WITH A SMALL AUDIENCE? 

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20 Books to Help You Launch & Propel Your Interior Design Business

We’ve all heard the debates on whether or not you should go to school & get formally trained as a designers, or if being self-taught will suffice. While I can’t answer that for anyone but myself, what I can say is that no matter which path you choose, you never really stop learning.

A lot of that learning can come by way of doing — there’s no substitute for experience — but some of that learning you have to actively pursue, whether it’s taking CEU courses, watching webinars, listening to podcasts, or good ol fashioned books!

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Renter Friendly Kitchen Backsplash with The Smart Tiles

When we first moved into our condo, there were things we didn’t love — cosmetically — but nothing that was a game changer. While a few of the other rooms required a bit more processing, from the very beginning I looked at the kitchen with a hard squinty eye. And to be clear, it wasn’t that we didn’t like the backsplash, but there was literally wasn’t any. My thinking was this — add a backsplash to offset the look & feel of the cabinets, floors, and counters, for something a bit cooler & more contemporary. Our landlord was perfectly fine with it & so fast forward, and I am finally tackling the kitchen with a much needed facelift. 

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60 Must Haves From The World Market Furniture Sale

Cost Plus World Market is kicking off the year RIGHT with a huge furniture sale event. Now you may be thinking you’re still recouping from all those holiday purchases but with furnishings with discounts as deep as 60%, if there was ever a time for a design refresh, it’d be now! After endless browsing & internet window shopping, here are 60 of my fav finds & must haves from the sale:

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2018 Year in Review: Progress Not Perfection

This past year was quite possibly one of the most exciting in my business & I cannot thank you enough for being part of this crazy, unexpected, one of a kind ride — whether you’ve been here since the beginning in 2016, or you just found me a week ago. The year started off on a great note, which in hindsight, I wished I had paid more attention to because it definitely the start of a theme this year — lots of “oh shit, that really happened” moments for sure!

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Favorite 2018 Resources That We're Taking Into 2019

From new platforms that needed decoding to new resources we didn’t even know we needed, 2018 was definitely the year of a lot of tech! After 12 months of continuing to use old faithfuls from 2017 and diving into the new goodies of 2018, here are the resources we loved from 2018 that we’ll be taking into 2019.

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Cost Breakdown: How Much It Cost To Refresh My Bedroom

As you may already know, for the Fall One Room Challenge, I refreshed our master bedroom — a few major upgrades & some minor decor updates, but all renter-friendly. The transformation made a huge difference in the function & aesthetic of our bedroom, and when I shared it on Instagram, I got quite a few questions surrounding the cost of doing something like this. So I said to myself, “why not breakdown the cost of everything — past, present, and sponsored, that went into creating my Hygge bedroom?”

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IKEA's 2018 Winter Sale Is Here!

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” Word of IKEA’s annual post-holiday winter sale hit the interwebs & I was all over it, and I gotta say — it’s a good one!Now that the fanfare of Christmas shopping is somewhat winding down, if you’ve been putting off updating your home, this is one sale you’re going to want to get into for yourself. In addition to a whole gaggle of new low prices (like actual pricing, and not just a sale) all over the site, select items are as far up to 50% off online. While you can definitely take advantage of the savings online — which is my fav way to shop — I can guarantee, that you’re really gonna get your money’s worth by actually getting in the car & heading to your local store!

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