My Love for YHL

A while back I posted Domino’s Top 26 Design Blogs, needless to say each week I have quite a bit of glorious design reading material in my inbox.  One of my favorite blogs wasn’t included in this list by Domino, it was included shortly thereafter in their Top 17 DIY BlogsYoung House Love is not only my favorite blog but they have a fantastic book and a home line at Target.  I look forward each week to find out what project this family is working on.  I swear they never sit down.

So the last post that I saw was for curtains in their master bedroom and contemplating what curtains they might want in their home office (both are rooms that I love).  Reading the post inspired me to re-take the home tour of their current house and refresh my design hungry mind of all the rooms that I just love.  They also worked with Habitat for Humanity on a Showhouse for the Homearama fundraiser.  This house is everything my dream home would/could/should be.

So after drooling for a little bit this morning glazing at the lovely, happy, family friendly interiors that is Young House Love, I decided to collect all my favorite rooms and share them.  And hopefully you will love them just as much.

 

bright powder room, painted existing sink cabinet and new mirror.

before living room (most of the rooms in their house were in this kind of shape, outdated colors, lots of dark wood, I just had to include a photo of what they had started with)

after living room. painted brick, exposed ceiling beams, neutral soft gray, fun pillows and accessories.

home office. I love how clean and bright it is. It so wonderful that there’s a desk for their daughter to do projects too.

master bedroom. I love this color gray! I love the gallery wall and the bright pop of yellow and aqua and the clean white bedding and curtains.

little girls room. I love the painted door and the pretty contrasting blues and pink. Such a happy room.

little boy nursery. This green is such a great boy color.

another shot of the nursery. This is the inspiration to recover our IKEA shelves (that house all the boys toys and book) to help tie into all the dark wood furniture in our living room.

guest room. This room is so cheery and gorgeous. Someday when we have an extra room that I could make a home office/guest room, I would like to pull these colors in. Just a touch of feminine in my all boy world.

Ok, now onto the showhouse.  Because this was a ground up project there wasn’t any “let’s work with what we got” projects.  Everything is brand new and built to order.  I am always attracted to blues and grays when it comes to interiors which is probably why I’m obsessed with this house.  And to top things off, each room has a fun pop of pink or yellow or green and the crispest white.

Exterior. I love the dark blue with the bright white trim and the timber and stone details.

front porch. I love the little seating area, the light fixture, white and blue with pops of red.

living room. Ahh! Colors, comfy seating, minimal but still fun accessories. I’m dying.

another view of this gorgeous haven.

kitchen. I would never have put this combo together but I love it. The light fixtures are fantastic, the bar stools are so awesome and not so tall that you can’t showcase the kitchen still.

another view to show how pretty the marble is with the backsplash and the gray cabinet. again with a pop of aqua.

adjacent breakfast nook off the kitchen. I love the built-ins and the custom giant table, so great for family dinners with lots of food on the table.

nook

powder room. I just love this tile. Amazing.

butler pantry between kitchen and dining room. chalkboard paint with local chalk artist work. I also love the idea of having friends doodle on the wall during a party or event.

dining room. I love the dark paint with the wainscoting (and that chevron pattern in the wood is fantastic!). I really love how the room feels very masculine but the art and curtains brings it back into the feminine realm. And of course, the running theme in all the rooms is beautiful light fixtures.

home office. I love these colors, light fixture, simple clean desk, geometric shapes. I want to work/play here.

 

master bedroom. Although I do love this room and all the colors for myself, I think if Ryan and I lived here we would definitely steer towards YHL’s current master bedroom. I do love these dressers and nightstands to pieces.

master bath. I love all the tile in this room! I love the sink cabinets and driftwood mirrors and light fixtures. Hands down I will steal that tile someday!

laundry room. Why not make a room that you have to use beautiful like the rest of your house? I love the wallpaper and the light fixtures. They add interest to a usually drab space.

guest bath. I just thought this was really lovely and clean. I’m seeing a running theme in the Showhouse. All bathrooms are clean, simple rooms. Elegant tile, sophisticated fixtures and sink cabinets. Other than the white and gray with a dab of light blue, these rooms do not include the loud pops of color as seen in the rest of the house. I really like that.

playroom. I love the colors and built-ins and sliding doors with glazing in them (so when they are closed the light from the window will still fill the hallway).

girl’s bedroom. This room is so outrageous to me. I love the carpet (as seen in the boy’s room below), I love the bright pink bed and yellow patterned wall, and I’m strangely attracted to the chicken artwork.

boy’s bedroom. This room is made for my little explorer’s in mind. I love that the bed, drawers, shelves, and reading bunk and all built-in so the floor is completely open of activities. I don’t know if I would ever get Cash out of the bunk.

another view of the boy’s room. I need this carpet!

outside dining deck. It’s simple, it’s covered, and in nice weather those doors would be open all day long.

outside patio. I imagine sitting around the fireplace during parties after a long day of barbequing and watching the sun go down. This only thing this area is missing is a nice pool with a simple water feature. Then I would be torn between wanting to hang out inside or outside all the time.

floor plan. I was so excited that they included a floor plan on their site. It helps me do a mental walk through.

I think I’ve posted enough of my favorite things from their site.  There’s so much more to see, swing by and take a gander for yourself.  They have two other home tours of their previous houses and what they did to them and so many DIY how-to’s just in case you see something you like.

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Rooms for the Boys

We’ve been in our house for just over a year now and some spaces just don’t feel right.  I recently started a major spring cleaning overhaul and have been throwing out garbage bags full, some stuff I wonder why it made the last two moves with us.  A lot of stuff was little baby items that Levi, my 10 month old, not longer needs or fits in.  That was the purge that was both heartbreaking and rejuvenating.  Now starts the time where my boys are active and full of personality, AND need a space to call their own.  Cash is still rockin’ a few decor items leftover from his nursery (which was mostly rocket themed which I translated into a half assed attempt at Star Wars theme once he moved into a big boy bed).  He’s lately is into everything super hero.  He loves Batman, Wolverine, and the Hulk the most.  He still loves Star Wars and gets excited every time he sees the Millennium Falcon on the movie. “Like my bed!” he shouts.

So while cleaning out our tiny house, I decided to make each space work better for us and make us happy.  I would say the upstairs bathroom, the kitchen and both boys rooms are lacking the most personality in the whole house.  Since Cash moved to a big boy bed around 18 months (more out of necessity since I need his crib for the soon to come Levi) I designed Levi’s room keeping in mind that he will soon have a big boy bed of his own (most likely by the time I get to finishing everything).

I’m not ready to let go of having some Star Wars stuff in the house, I would sleep on those awesome Star Wars sheets at Pottery Barn Kids if I could.  But I do want the art and accessories to be something both boys can grow older with.  I found some awesome art on Etsy and pulled colors from the art into the bedding and accessories.

Here is Levi’s soon to be new room.

OB-Levi's Star Wars Room

Star Wars Original Trilogy set, 8.5″ x 11″, $29.95 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99

2  Hayneedle Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 crib, $379 (we’re actually still using Cash’s original crib and by the time the remodel is done we’ll be using a big boy bed that my hubby will make but for the sake of the ideaboard I thought I’d put a nice white crib in)

3  Target’s Room Essentials Easy Care sheets in Orange Grid (these were actually just on clearance and I got the last set for $11.75)

4  This is the comfy fleece I got at JoAnn’s just over a year ago and I made a twin size quilt with it, it’s edged with red ribbon so I’m going to pull the off and find an orange ribbon to replace it.  It’s currently being used on Cash’s bed so I’ll make sure to get Cash’s new room done and store the Star Wars quilt until Levi is ready for his big boy bed.

5 “May the Force be with You” print, 8″ x 10″, $15.95 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99)

Digital Download set of 3 Star Wars prints, 11″ x 14″ (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99)

Teal Blue Roped Cotton Pouf Ottoman, $139.91 (if anyone has little boys then you know that they like to climb and jump on everything so I thought I’d find a piece of furniture that wouldn’t cause bodily harm when all this climbing and jumping happens, plus it adds more color to the room).

Ikea Ekby Jarpen shelf and hardware, $14.99

9  Star Wars Retro Alphabet print, 11.75″ x 16.5″, $30 (to be used with Ikea Ribba frame, $9.99)

10  Ikea Mariam Curtain set in Orange, $19.99 (I think I might line the curtain with fabric for extra darkness)

11  Endor Poster, 11.75″ x 16.5″, $25.80 (to be used with Ikea Ribba frame, $9.99)

12  12″ Industrial Faux Metal Letter, in Zinc, $15.50, “L” for Levi

13  Ikea Hemnes 3 drawer dresser in gray-brown, $149

14 Mulig shelving unit, $24.99 (I have a lot of junk in both boy’s closets, adding a simple shelving unit will help me utilize the wasted space on the floor)

I want to make sure there is plenty of art in each room so there’s plenty of color and stimulation for their little imaginations.

Cash’s Super Hero room is similar in color pallette with just as much art.  I had a fun time finding all the art.

OB-Cash's Super Hero Room

Digital Download set of 3 (Captain America, Wolverine, and Iron Man), 11″x14″, $16.00 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99)

Room Essentials Solid Yellow Quilt, twin, $39.99 (OMG this is so soft)

3  Target’s Room Essentials Easy Care sheets in Yellow Grid, $11.75 (still on the hunt for these, might have to find something similar)

4  We have an old school desk that I would love to refinish to look like this.  I’ll probably paint it a blue to match one of the colors in the art.

5  Comic book Super Hero Letter, 5″H, in “C”, $12.50 (I thought about getting Cash the same metal letter that I’m getting for Levi’s room but I thought this would help separate their rooms a little more).

Teal Blue Roped Cotton Pouf Ottoman, $139.91 (once again, adding more color/furniture/climbing utensil)

7  Dynamic Duo print, 11″ x 14″, $20 (to be used with Ikea Ribba frame, $9.99)

Be Brave print, 8″ x 10″, $15 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99), I think I can duplicate this print myself.

Digital Download Justice League, 11″ x 14″, $6 (to be used with Ikea Ribba frame, $9.99)

10  Be Brave print, 8″ x 10″, $15.95 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99), I think I can also duplicate this print myself.

11  Ikea Hemnes 3 drawer dresser in red, $149 (we actually already have this in his room)

12  Vintage Incredible Hulk print, 6″ x 6″, $12 (I’m not crazy in love with this print but Cash loves the Hulk and I’m trying to find something not too scary for him).

13  Ikea Merete Curtain panels, in gray, $27.99 (the current curtains in his room are not very good at keeping the sun out, it would be nice if he didn’t realize it was morning for a little bit longer)

Obviously they will be tweaks here and there.  As I was making this post I swapped out a bunch of the art in Levi’s room for cheaper digital downloadable stuff.

What do you think?

P.S. new living room ideas to come soon!