Home Tour

 

Creating a beautiful & functional home for my family is a passion of mine!  

Our Weddington, NC brick colonial - built on one acre in the the late 80's was seriously dated when we bought it 18 years ago.  We've since painted (Diy & hired) almost every room in the house.  The biggest challenge was making our home feel more modern and updated, all while on a budget.  Here are a few spaces, Welcome!

Our House

Welcome! 

Open Concept

Family Room

Built Ins

Dining Room

Kitchen

Wine Room 

Home Office

Screened Porch

Deck & Grill Area

Diy Fire pit

Thanks for stopping by! 

I hope you found some simple ideas for making your house feel like HOME :)

Client project, faux stems, a McGee dining room & more!

Hi there, I can't believe it's been over a year since I last posted!  

My two kids are finishing up college and the hubby & I are empty nesters now - how did that happen?  On a sad note, I lost my precious Mom this August due to a severe stroke, so it's been a difficult Summer.  But checking in here always lifts my spirits - and I know my Mom would want that for me.  So here's what has been happening here at The Collected Interior and our home this Summer! 

I've been loving this look below lately!  Overall a traditional dining space but with loads of texture and clean lines.  Love the traditional art but with dark, moody colors.  The dark cabinet adds contrast and interest to the room, while the overall color scheme is neutral and easy on the eyes.  Would you believe this look can be extremely affordable?  It is - many of these pieces below are from the Target Mcgee line.  Yes Target is stepping up their home decor game!  Rug below is from Boutiquerugs.com.

boutiquerugs.com

Here's a Mood Board for one of my client projects!  Love this color combination of smokey light blues and greens mixed with neutrals.  This sofa fabric in the upper left - love a good textured, oatmeal colored sofa fabric!  Just enough color to hide stains, yet still light & airy.  Paint colors are SW - Ivory Lace and Oyster Bay.

This table above is my clients and used to be red.  We had it professionally refinished in the color SW - Balanced Beige by Cindy Wood Designs!  Love the pretty shape and unique hardware of this piece.  One thing I love to do when decorating for clients is to use a few pieces they already own.  This saves money and gives a collected, gathered look - as if the room came together over time.

Are you a fan of faux flowers?  I didn't used to be, until I found these beauties at Hobby Lobby!  Love the neutral white & green, and the organic shape of these make them look real!  Fall is coming and I'll be switching these out.  But I can't wait to bring these back out next Summer! 

faux stems @hobbylobby

Need an outdoor project that will bring you joy in the warmer months?  Put a potting table or two in your backyard area.  This old table below sits next to our deck and my hubby's grill area where we'll sometimes enjoy a glass of wine while grilling.  If you zoom in, this table is falling apart and I'm currently looking for a replacement.  To say it's developed a patina from the sun and elements is an understatement ;)

This shelf below sits on our screened porch.  Showcasing my favorite outdoor accessories and plants is one of my favorite things!  Also potting tables and shelves make great focal points, making any outdoor space feel more like an outdoor room.

screened porch

Finally this Spring I gave our traditional brick home a refresh!  Our house is very simple with it's colonial style.  However I wanted to add some interest, and I did it with two large black planters by the front door and new carriage style lights.  Now the scale of the home looks and feels bigger.  Often times when decorating bigger is better, and this definitely is true here.

Okay that's all I have for now!  What a joy to be able to design and update our own home where we've raised our family for 18 years now.  And to help others do it as well. 

I'm currently offering Affordable Interior Decorating & Design Services in Charlotte and surrounding areas.  This includes South Charlotte, Matthews, Weddington, Waxhaw, Marvin area, Fort Mill, Huntersville, Lake Norman and more!   We offer hourly Design Consultations as well as flat rate - Interior Room Designs (design boards and space planning included).

If interested, contact me at 980-322-5920  I look forward to hearing about your Design & Decorating needs!

Before & Afters, String Lights and a MCM Design Plan!

 

Well hello it's been a minute... stopping in to share my latest projects! 

I've had some fun client projects recently.  As a Decorator, what are my favorite projects?  Updating any space with paint.  I seriously can't get over what a big impact paint can make and it's so affordable!  Also refreshing bookcases.  Give me a cluttered bookcase and I love to add cohesive style that will make the most of your existing family photos and favorite home accessories.

Before

After 

I helped a friend and neighbor update her kitchen and wow - what a difference!  We used SW - Pure White, love this bright white because it has no odd undertones.  Just perfect if your looking to do a classic white kitchen that will never go out of style.

The gray painted Island is SW Classic French Gray.  We also incorporated new black hardware.  Love this light & bright kitchen!

Before

After

Here's another before & after - a client bookcase refresh!  

All this transformation took was a shopping haul from Target, and many of my clients existing home accessories.  One of the things I love to do in client projects is mix new items with existing items.  This way we can achieve an overall updated look, but still keeps the space personal to the home owners.

You guys, I have wanted to tackle this project for years and finally completed it last year!  String lights on the deck, and it was so easy.  Literally my hubby hung everything in just a few hours.  He really did a great job, and I helped ;) 

I seriously don't know why we waited so long to do this!

Here is a design plan for my latest client project.  This client is renovating a brick ranch in North Charlotte.  When I asked about his style, he didn't really know but likes dark woods.  So I started there and then incorporated nature inspired art, furniture with clean lines, a rug with great texture.  Finally bold color and subtle mid century modern style will bring this space to life! 

Okay always fun sharing my design adventures here, thanks for stopping by :) 

My favorite metal finishes, a modern farmhouse kitchen and a MCM design plan...

 

Ahhh back to reality and some normalcy...right?  

The world is finally opening up, and all I can say is - what a difficult year this has been!  I've been busy this Spring with hourly design consultations and a handful of flat rate interior room designs (room makeovers). It's been so great getting back to work and doing what I love!  Here are a few fun things...

I was so happy to receive an email (above) from one of my clients and it absolutely made my day!  We had an hourly design consultation in their home, and then met a week later at West Elm and found the perfect sofa and club chairs for their small apartment space.  

Today and every day, I am thankful for wonderful clients. 

Our kitchen is finally finished with the addition of new gold hardware and I am loving the look!  

Clients always ask me about which metal finish I prefer for hardware, door knobs etc... For me personally I like to mix gold with dark oil rubbed bronze in my home.  Gold hardware works beautifully in a more traditional home.  However, If your style is more modern, you can also mix silver with dark oil rubbed bronze. 

 Tip:  when choosing oil rubbed bronze, look for a darker one that almost reads black.  Black hardware is another popular finish right now and If you have a white kitchen, bookcase or built-in, adding black hardware is a super fun & affordable update!  

Finally, all the finishes in a home do not need to match. It's perfectly fine to mix and match.

Speaking of kitchens, here's a fun client project - kitchen design board we completed this Spring!  

My client needed to update her kitchen, but wanted to keep her existing cherry wood cabinetry (center).  So we went with a modern - farmhouse look mixing creamy whites, warm woods and black for contrast.  New quartz countertops took center stage, classic subway tile, black lighting & hardware and finally new LV flooring completed this space.  

Current Project

Mid century modern is one of my favorite design styles, so I had so much fun putting this Design Board together.  A beautifully renovated mid century modern home is getting a colorful new family room designed around my clients soon to be delivered Crate & Barrel sectional sofa.  This room has a vintage inspired wood accent wall, as well as a huge stone fireplace, Can't wait to see everything come together!   

So that is what's happening around here guys, thanks for checking in!  Always fun sharing my design adventures here :)

A coast design plan, swivel chair LOVE & our Diy Kitchen Island!

Well hello!  It's been a minute.  With this Pandemic actually it's been almost a year now :( 

I hope everyone is healthy and safe!  Getting through this year has not been easy but praying we're getting close to rounding the corner of this awful virus.  As you know I don't blog a lot anymore.  But I do like to check in a handful of times per year to share my design adventures.  So here are few fun things...

I was so excited for this coastal inspired project above!  

However right when we finalized the design board, Covid made it's awful appearance and we put everything on hold.  My client's existing sofa and art are up top, and I've added a handful of new accessories to give the room a fresh new coastal look! Go here to read learn more about our affordable Room Refresh Services.  They're a lot of fun! 

I am in LOVE with this small scale swivel chair.  It may be smaller in size, but I'm telling you it sits big!  I used two of these for a client project in the South Charlotte area and both my client and I couldn't believe how comfortable this chair sits.  And the color - neutral flax toned fabrics are one of my favorites!

Have I told you how much I love paint color consultations!  

For this project above we used a cool cream (with no yellow undertones) in the main part of the house - entry, up the staircase and down the hallway.  We used a warm gray in the office and a smokey light blue for the dining room.  It's simply amazing how different a home can look and feel with new, updated paint colors.

Space Planner

One of the Services we offer are Flat Rate Interior Room Designs.  This is where we source furnishings & accessories to do an entire room makeover!  

With this service both Design Boards and Space Planning are included.  These help give my clients a visual before the design process begins.  In this space planner above, we've maximized the seating in this family room with two large sofas, two club chairs and even a large ottoman. 

So this beauty above is our latest Diy Project!   

We decided to get new quartz countertops back in November.  But quickly realized if were getting new tops, we need a bigger island.  So my hubby built a new one!  This one is 7 inches wider and 15 inches longer with room for a third seat.  My favorite part is the board & batten trim.  Shout out to my husband for doing an Amazing job.  

Okay guys thats what's been happening around here, thanks for checking in!  Praying the Covid vaccine can get rolled out quickly so we call all get back to living our lives fully again.  One thing I think we can all agree on is it sure has been a difficult time.

New rug in the family room, a client project & The Charlotte Heart Ball!

Hola my Design loving friends!  

Well it's been a while since I've posted here, but glad to be back!  Feels like the older my kids get, the harder it is to find the time for blogging.  And they are 18 & 20 years old now, gah we're about to be empty nesters!!  Okay back to sharing what I love, here's whats been happening around here...

After years of having an indoor - outdoor rug in our family room that was super practical with our kids and dogs, we made the switch to a lighter and more stylish rug from www.rugsusa.com.  

I also added new blue throw pillows to the sofa and now our family room feels soooo light & airy.  Amazing how just a few new pieces can totally change a space! 

Spring is right around the corner!  And when things finally warm up, you will find me here many evenings.

I love this outdoor space and don't think I could live in a house without a screened in porch.  These black and white striped outdoor pillows I purchased years ago from Pottery Barn, and they are still going strong with very little fading.  And I keep them out all year round - I love that!

I had a fun Design Consultation this week in Fort Mill.  We’re doing a Family Room Refresh and the Inspiration is my clients coastal themed gallery wrapped canvas! Can’t wait to get started sourcing throw pillows & accessories for this space. And how cute is this guy Oliver?

Click here to learn more about our affordable Room Refresh Services, where we can give any room in your home a fresh new look! 

Heres a Design Board from my latest Flat Rate - Interior Room Design.  

My client wanted a master bedroom retreat that is light and airy, with all new gray wood furniture. And this solid wood bedroom set from Birch Lane hit the nail on the head!  I also sourced an upholstered bed where my client can finally ditch the dusty old bed skirt. Love how this project turned out, my client is super happy too!  Hope to get pictures soon.

And finally, the hubby and I cleaned up for an event here in Charlotte - The 62nd Annual Greater Charlotte Heart Ball!  My husband recently took a new position for Supply One in the Charlotte area, and they are a contributor for this event.  This was our first black tie Ball and it was such a fun experience and supports a great cause - The American Heart Association!  

So that's all I have for now guys, thanks for stopping by.  So far we've got a great start to 2020!  And look forward to many more design adventures this year :)