Hello! I'm Suzannah, a home design lover and mom of two, with one more on the way in January 2027. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, design tips, occasional sewing and crafty projects, and de-stressing goals.
I show you how to create a beautiful home that still works with kids!
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I've definitely made progress on our master bedroom makeover since the "before" pics--starting with paint and window treatments which honestly has been a huge, incredible change. I'm also finally ready to SHOP for stuff which is a little unnerving (I have a hard time committing!) but really helpful to see it all come together.
I am so excited to be able to participate in the One Room Challenge this season! I've followed along for a couple years now and love seeing the HUGE changes people make in a room in their homes in just 6 weeks. The timing has never worked our for me to join in before but now, I have lots of rooms I want to redo--and the October-November ORC is the perfect motivation for me to make our bedroom into a fabulous, beautiful space.
I'll be sharing updates with you every Thursday for the next 6 weeks, but this post is a meaty one--the "before" photos (a couple stages), my inspirations, my top two mood boards (feel free to weigh in, things are still in flux!), and plans for a big DIY project that will be part of the makeover!
I recently shared the living room mood board for one of my e-design clients. Another space in her home that I got to help with is her sunroom, a charming small room off the living room and back entry room with big leaded glass windows on two sides and built-in bookcases on another. It's going to be a "library" space for her and her family and the design just clicked as we were talking about it and as I got to sourcing!
The home was built in 1926 and has a lot of special architectural features, like this little room and the incredible windows. This room was used as a TV room by the previous owners, but my client is a reader and wanted a cozy low couch (lower than the windows, which start 31" up) and really comfortable vibe. Here's what I came up with!
Tudor Library Room Update
This room will get not only a new look, but a new purpose! It will be great as a reading area and will feel so different with just a few new pieces and paint color. We talked about:
Remove curved element, repaint bookshelves same ivory color
Low sofa or armchairs
Floor lamp or side table with lamp
Square rug, modern pattern
Paint walls a dark/dramatic/saturated shade, like green. My client liked the green of Anna Smith's kitchen island, basically Benjamin Moore Cushing Green (HC-125)
Ceiling fan update
Here are some examples of shelves with a dark wall color behind or nearby. She certainly could go darker with the green paint, so get some swatches and try it out, but I think Cushing Green is a beautiful, warm color that would work great!
I recently started offering e-design services, but one of my first clients was actually in-person! A blog reader, this fellow Portlander just purchased her first home with her husband and two small children in a great neighborhood in Portland. It's a beautiful Tudor revival-style home built in 1926 and very well-maintained, but it doesn't fit her style yet and she wanted some help with the living room, library/sunroom, kitchen, and general updates throughout like lighting.
Living Room
Room and goals
The living room is long, with a fireplace on one end and the front door in the middle. The walls are and will remain a pale color, and the original woodwork is painted ivory. Some inspirations for this space included this living room by Joanna Goddard:
More big news! As I shared in this post, I have some big things planned for 2018... not only did I start a podcast, I will be offering remote interior design consulting services! I have learned SO much in the past few years of decorating and I absolutely love helping out friends with their design projects, so I'd love to do it for more people.
You can find the details on my E-Design page. I can help you redecorate one room or give you advice on consistent updates throughout your whole house. We can easily work remotely and collaborate by email and video, and I'll provide you clear lists and graphics of the products you like most. (You know I love creating mood boards!)
It's that time of year! Reflecting back on the old, and looking forward to the new. In this post I shared top projects we did in 2017; today not only am I sharing what you should expect to hear about on this blog in 2018, I have a BIG announcement/new project to share with you! Actually sort of two!
What to expect on Create/Enjoy in 2018
1. Baby
Baby Stanley is due April 18, 2018. You can follow along with baby posts so far here and pregnancy posts here. So far you guys have loved reading our updates along the way and I'm so touched! Thank you! This has been a goal of ours for a long, long time now and it's been so crazy now that it's happening.
Looking forward to learning and sharing more as we go, and of course, following item 3 on this list, creating a nursery!
I have a friend who recently moved into a charming old house and is decorating room by room. Her 1-year-old daughter's room is on the empty side and she wanted to create a playful, pretty space for her!
I collected a bunch of ideas inspired by some of her favorite pins, and helped her shop. Check out the mood board we came up with!
Making over our entire house in 11 months has taught us a lot. One thing I've learned is how to put together a room, with visioning and budgeting, to get the look I'm after! It can take HOURS and hours (like going over our master bathroom choices did), but it can be really fun, too. And it's a skill I am happy to share with others and friends as they do house projects, too!
One of my friends found a bathroom on Instagram that she LOVED for her c. 1960 ranch with its current pink sink, cabinet, and tub. I told her I could help her recreate it! I put together two options, budget-friendly and moderate, and found lots of choices! I'm curious to know which ones you like best, too!
After our successful smaller bathroom renos last month, we've been feeling energized to tackle our master bathroom reno this month! It will be a bigger project, and there are a lot more design decisions to make. We spent 5-6 hours over the past week and weekend (Jason spent about 3, bless him) looking over design inspirations and products, after considering our vanity and plumbing options prior. We are torn but think we have a direction! We put a lot of time into some mood boards that were very helpful, and I've shared them with you below!
We'll be removing a wall in our bathroom between the toilet and vanity, and will have space for a 72" vanity. I'd love to have a lot of counter space and only one sink, but there are almost no one-sink vanities that size on the market. So I've been planning to need something custom. Oh, by the way, here's the "before."
You guys, I just have so many ideas spinning around in my head (and on my dream kitchens pinboard) that I had to make this mood board for myself!
I couldn't even settle on an overall style, or a word to describe the style we wanted, until I put all my ideas in one place. Despite loving so many of those dream kitchens, not a single one has every element we've decided we want. But now I think I've got it almost figured out!
Part of the problem was, husband doesn't love all my absolute favorites, the all-white kitchens. They're too stark or too girly for him. But he does like a lot of the things I want in a kitchen, so we've found a blend of things that work for both of us.
It is so totally exciting that it's almost time to start actually purchasing these things. (In fact, I already bought the hood because there was a great price from a seller. We'll store it somewhere till we move... :/ .)
What do you think?
Compiling all these ideas visually was really helpful, and I think I may need to do it for the rest of the rooms, too! Have you ever made a mood board? Any tips for me in decorating our spaces from scratch? Anyone know of any kitchen remodels I should look at?
All of these pieces are affordable! Shop them here.
