Texas On Repeat

Is there really anything better than Texas on REPEAT? 🙂 Yes, I’m an Oregon girl. But I do love me some Texas.

Last September when I was in Texas working with some favorite clients, Mike & Christie, we started dreaming about the next visit. We decided I’d come back down in April so we could hit the local Vintage show, freshen up their home for spring/summer, and do a project for some friends of theirs as well. The months flew by, and before we knew it, April arrived! Last Tuesday I hopped on my flight, and our whirlwind week began!

As always, my first order of business in Texas was to go visit with this sweet family’s farm animals. They’ve added quite a few to the farm since September, and it was so much fun to see (and hold) the new additions!

It was a warm, windy, sunny Texas day…and oh my goodness. That vitamin D never felt so good (Oregon has had SO. MUCH. RAIN. this year!)

We ate a delicious home-cooked meal and sat around talking and catching up.

Day 2 arrived and after a great breakfast and a Diet Coke, we were ready to roll! Christie’s friend, Danielle, arrived to pick me up (I would start the Texas projects with her living room and entry way).

This day was all about shopping. Danielle and I worked together via e-design to get the plan in place, and most things ordered, but we still had quite a few finishing touches to purchase. Plus, a couple of our key items (media console and area rug) didn’t work out, so those were on the top of our to-do list. Whew. A lot to accomplish, but we both had a great feeling we’d be able to knock it out.

Our first stop was Nebraska Furniture Mart. I must admit, I have ALWAYS wanted to check this place out, so I was super excited! Ummm, wow. It did NOT disappoint. When we walked in, I was immediately overwhelmed and couldn’t even remember what we were looking for! 😉 We pushed past the inviting home decor section to focus on our big ticket items first. We were able to find the perfect media console and area rug with no problem at all…I love it when that happens! (You’ll see it soon!) After that, we wandered through the decor and picked up some great stuff.

Uh oh, after this first stop, Danielle’s SUV was filled to the tippy top. We stopped by her hubby’s work to trade cars so we could finish our shopping. 🙂

After a full day of fun finds, I returned to Christie’s for the night and got to see the latest additions to the farm…two darling bunnies, “Bom Bom” and “Patch.” (Uhh, could this trip get ANY BETTER??)

Day 3 was Install Day for Danielle. She was working from home that day, but promised not to “peek” so she could be surprised at her reveal! I could hardly wait to get my hands on the beautiful things we had ordered or found the day prior, and pull the look together. Install day is PURE HAPPINESS. 🙂

How ’bout some before & afters? Let’s start with the entry. This family has an amazing, long hallway-type entry. What an opportunity for fun! Here’s the before:

Aaaand the after, of the left side:

Danielle had expressed that she loved the idea of a church pew in the entry. Um, YES, YES, YES. I told her I was COMPLETELY on board with THAT idea and she and her husband, Ray, were able to find the perfect pew at a sweet little shop in Waco, called Junque in the Trunk. We topped it with a fun hook rack and this beautiful custom sign by a local maker, Knabe Woodwork (you can find them on Instagram @knabewoodwork). The rug added so much as well…you can find it here!

Here’s the other side of the entry, down the hall just a bit:

This table. Gah! I just LOVE it!! You can find it here. The lamp is from Nebraska Furniture Mart, as is the topiary and chalkboard (and then I just wrote the words on it with chalk…so easy!). The mirror is from Wayfair and you can find it here.

Ok! Moving on to the living room! Here’s the before:

And after:

How fun is the teal color in the rug & media console? With this dark sectional and dark hardwood floors, we needed something to brighten the room. When Danielle saw this media console she fell in love…and it became the jumping-off point for the whole look! Here’s another before angle:

And after:

The fireplace got a pretty custom sign from Knabe Woodwork as well, and we owe a huge thanks to them for rushing our order! Thanks guys! Here’s a fun before of the fireplace:

And after! 🙂

The white sign really brings attention and focus to this pretty area.

Here are a couple more angles of the room, just for fun!

 

Special thanks to Mike & Christie, for bringing me a couple additional decor items that were needed, and to Mike for hanging ALLLLL of the things. 🙂

It was so much fun to reveal the finished spaces to Danielle and Ray. They both immediately noticed the old books in the room, which was so interesting, as it’s always one of my favorite things as well. 🙂

On the way home from install day, Mike, Christie, and their girls took me to the most stunning flower farm! We “picked our own” and it was the most beautiful evening imaginable. Warm sun, no wind, and gorgeous flowers everywhere. What a treat!

*sigh* Day 4…SO. MUCH. FUN. We headed off to Vintage Market Days of Denton…sooo ready to find some treasures! And DID WE EVER!!!

So much anticipation as we waited to get in! If you’re in the Dallas, Texas area…this show is a MUST! Amazing vendors, incredible finds, and a fun atmosphere!

Mike made numerous trips out to the car with the stuff we found…what a great sport. Thanks Mike!

Ok, got the goods! Time to go home to Project #2 of this trip to Texas, adding some spring/summer to Mike & Christie’s house!

I decided to start with the front porch. We found this adorable rustic bookshelf at the Vintage show, from a vendor called Shop 405 (you can find them on Instagram @shop405junk). It was my favorite booth at the show, and man! We found some fun things there!

Christie already had the rug and chairs, and the pillows were in the attic. Add some pretty flowers, and this cute “S” (also from the vintage show)…and we were good to go!

Here’s the front door view too, in case you’re curious. 🙂

Does this house look familiar? I’ve been here to work with this sweet family several times now. You can see the original blog post here, and then last fall’s visit here. Let’s head inside and I’ll show you the other areas we freshened up for spring!

Well, this girl was pooped after that. We took a break to enjoy a delicious home cooked meal and watch a favorite TV show together. After that great food, I got a second wind and stenciled the “toilet room” in the master bath with this fun design. You can find the stencil here. I miiiiight be a little bit obsessed with stencils. It’s such a fun way to add detail without committing to wallpaper! A little tip when stenciling: get some paint on your stencil brush, and then dab a bunch of it back off. A lighter, “mottled” effect is better than solid lines. It gives it a fun aged quality!

Day 5 started out delicious. 🙂 These Texas-shaped waffles were so yummy! Thanks Christie!

After breakfast, it was time to tackle the mantel, built-ins, and couple other small areas.

Want an inside scoop? Christie said this might be one of the weirdest things she’s ever seen me do. Ha, ha! Can you guess what it is? I wanted some height on the right side of the mantel, so it was time to get creative. I cut up some of the shopping bags from the previous day’s outing, and rolled them up to stick in the basket. Something about the texture of the paper, and the height…it just felt right! Am I the only one? I can’t explain it, but I insisted it was pure genius. 😉 After Easter, the “He is Risen” sign will be replaced with a “Farmer’s Market” sign. Perfect for summer!

This little ladder got a small change too…clean and simple.

This cabinet to the left of the kitchen sink was due for an update…so much fun to remix things!

Aaaaaaand, WHOA. Time flies when you’re having fun. It was time to catch my plane home to Oregon! What a blessing it was to work with this DEAR family again. I think I smiled the entire trip, and I boarded my flight with a full heart and tons of sweet new memories. How did I get so lucky?

Thanks for stopping by to let me share this experience with you. It’s always fun to chat with friends! xoxo