Enjoying the Small Things

Enjoying the Small Things

Our Living Room Glow Up

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I’ve been meaning to post our living room glow up. Now that it’s all decorated for Christmas, I figured it’s the perfect time. It’s more of a cosmetic glow-up as opposed to a full transformation because the bigger things we’d like to do to transform the living room (rip out the soffit, rebuild the fireplace wall, put custom built-in cabinets around the TV, etc.) require a lot more time and money. Our cosmetic glow up made such a huge difference though, and the room feels so much more “us”—makes me so happy!

I’ve always been aesthetically against having a sectional couch, but after staying in several Airbnb’s over the years, I’ve fallen in love with sectionals (a good one, at least) and the way they bring our family together into a good huddle and make a room feel warm and inviting. I pictured movie nights with us all sprawled across the couch, pillows everywhere and as close as we can be to each other. So this summer while we were in Michigan, I noticed a site I love was having a great sale, so I pulled the trigger on a sectional I’d been eyeing. The rest was history. If you give a mouse a cookie.

Let’s start with where our living room was before. I actually loved our couches, but I wish I would have been more daring and gone with something that had a little more character. There were a few design things in the room I knew were off as well that could be simply fixed. First problem—our curtains were too short, so they were hung just above the window. I knew buying longer curtains and hanging them closer to the ceiling would make the room look bigger. This window wall was also a constant frustration. It’s really great for flooding the room with light, but there was nothing grounding on that wall—no place to hang art above the couch, no stopping point for the eye. The lanai is right behind that door, and with nothing grounding to stop the eye from looking beyond, it just became a giant sea of clutter—pool floats, lanai furniture, beach towels hanging everywhere. I wanted either a dark color on this wall or a fabulous wallpaper to ground the room and create separation between the living room and the lanai.

The other problem is this TV wall. I really want to close off the bookshelves with cabinetry and have a Frame TV here, but for now, I needed an easy cosmetic fix—paint behind the TV so it doesn’t stand out so much.

So a little paint, some wallpaper, new curtains properly hung, a delicious velvet sectional and some pops of color…

Our Glow Up:

The sectional is the Asher corner sectional from Interior Define in Peacock. I ordered it on the last day of the sale, and I wish I would have ordered swatches because I probably would have gone with the emerald green. The peacock is more blue than I thought it would be; and if I was going to go blue, I would have done the cobalt. But it’s grown on me and I still love it.

It’s such a fun color to play with contrasts for pillows and accessories. I like down throw pillows, so most of the pillows are either pillow covers with down inserts or pillows that came with zip covers and polyfill inserts, so I could switch their polyfill for down. I sourced everything at the bottom of this post.

Other than the couch, my favorite thing in the room is the wallpaper. Once I ordered the couch, I started playing around with different wallpaper and accessories by visually laying them out in story boards (see how the photo of the couch here looks more green?).

Once I found this wallpaper from Anthropologie, it was a done deal.

It creates the exact effect I was hoping for in this room. This window also never had trim (not sure why), so my dad added some which makes it look so much more finished, especially with the curtains hung higher.

Painting behind the TV hides the TV and helps make that area look a lot less cluttered too.

I knew I wanted a lighter colored round coffee table because of the darker colored corner sectional and spent hours this summer searching for one. I’d find something I love and then realize it was too low, or the diameter wasn’t big enough, or it was out of stock. I had my sister on the hunt, my cousin on it, links being texted day after day. I had ordered this one (still love it!) in Winterwood from West Elm, but the wait time on it was so long (Covid has really delayed a lot of furniture production!). We ended up canceling the West Elm one and choosing this one from Haverty’s over their Labor Day sale because they offered an amazing protection plan at an extra cost if it gets damaged (which is likely in our home). It wasn’t supposed to come until late January, but we got lucky and they called us last month and reported it came early. I haven’t styled it yet with what I really want to display, but for now…Christmas :o)

The chairs are from Joss & Main (also available at Wayfair), and we love them. They’re 50% off right now. Someday, when our dog is less crazy and our kids are older, we’ll invest in an amazing wool rug or something vintage. I love Rugs USA for these rough-on-stuff years, and this rug we bought is the perfect foundation for a bolder couch (we did 9 x 12).

I’m mostly happy for more color in this space. It feels so much more “us.”

We’ll normally position the sectional against the window wall and only have it this way to make room for the tree, but it’s nice to have this option (which is why I wanted a corner sectional). Is it just me, or do you walk in people’s houses and wonder where the tree goes? I have a friend who’s buying a house and my first question when I saw the living room was, “Where will the tree go?” Obviously not everyone puts trees up and I’m evaluating the world based on my own celebrations here, but seriously—very important design question for those who are into trees.

 

 

All Sources:

Corner Sectional
Chairs
Coffee Table
Seagrass Accent Table (out of stock right now)
Marble Top Accent Table
Rug
Merete Curtains (my sister got me on to these IKEA curtains—they never fail. And they come in extra long sizes for our high walls,)
Wallpaper
Mantel Mirror: antique, a present from Heidi for my 40th birthday
Test Tube Plant Holders on Plant Wall

Pillows
Down Inserts (I always buy 22 x 22 inch inserts for 20 inch pillow covers. I like them fully stuffed. I’ve bought this 2-pack so many times. All of the throw pillows in our house have these in them.)
Salmon Velvet Pillow (We have several of these velvet pillows from World Market. They’re super affordable and have a zipper so you can take the polyfill out and replace it with a down insert.)
Golden Velvet Pillow
Oui pillow was Clare V for Anthropologie but no longer available
Red Pom Pom Pillow (so glad I snagged one of these—just bummed it doesn’t have a zipper)
Black and White Pillow (my mom had this on her couch, and I loved it so much I ordered one from her house)

Happy Weekending!

Our Home Learning Classroom

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I picked up the kids’ textbooks and laptops from school this morning, my lone car sitting in an almost empty parking lot that is usually a bustling carline this time of year filled with teachers and students finding their places during the first week of school characterized by nothing less than electric anticipation. It took me a minute to recognize the face of the masked assistant who took my paperwork from the window and passed two laptops and two large bags filled with text books and materials that have been carefully organized by teachers. I’m sure the school staff is weary of replying to all the obligatory comments–“This is so weird,” “I’ve never seen the school so quiet!,” “2020, eh?“–but I couldn’t help myself: “I can’t wait until we’re all together again,” I mumbled. “You guys are working so hard. Thank you. We miss you all!” And then I drove away and cried.

It is what it is, and we will make the best of it. We have chosen the option to stay home, following the kids’ regular curriculum online. We opted out of a full live virtual experience because my kids will tap out with that much screen time. Everything is fluid though, and we have the option to change plans if our current situation isn’t working. We look forward to our kids being back in their classrooms with their friends when we feel enough has been worked out for them to safely and comfortably do so in a setting that doesn’t cause them stress. My heart goes out to all the teachers and administrators working so hard right now to fit a square peg in a round hole. Our teachers are heroes, and we fully support them and can’t wait to hug them.

So what do we do with these moldy old 2020 lemons? We make the best damn lemonade we can. I’m pouring all the love and attention I can into supporting my kids’ at home learning, and it begins with a designated space–a learning home base, if you will. The kids will probably move around several times throughout the day, and Lainey will probably do a lot of her work in her bedroom; but I wanted a central area where the little ones can at least begin their school day in a spot where I can easily supervise them. The kids used my office a lot last for e-learning last year, but I had to kick them out so many times when I needed my own space. When we were in Michigan, I started thinking about where we could set up desks and build an affordable classroom (especially since this is temporary). I pulled up photos of my dining room, realizing there’s a wall nook that would probably work really well for an extended desk. My neighbor ran over and measured the space for me, and before we even left Michigan, I started ordering things to build my dream learning space. I called my sister who is an amazing decorator, space planner and D.I.Y. genius. She had built a similar desk in her house to the one I envisioned. Within an hour, she sent me links to modern classroom art for the wall, helped me decide on some chairs, and we created a story board for inspiration.

Before:

And After,
Our beloved new at-home learning space:

My favorite thing about this space is how inexpensive it was to create. I had seen some inspiration online for similar desks that called for pricier drawer units as bases and expensive butcher block for the workspace top, but we created this desk in a matter of hours for a little over $100. The cube units are the exact height of a desk and are $30 each (drawer cubes are $10), and the desk top is a $45 15-inch wide formica project panel I bought and had cut at Home Depot. It’s cut into two halves (you can see the seam in the middle) just so I could manage getting it into my car alone.

Wooden Folder Holders

The textured brick wallpaper is peel-and-stick–a great temporary way to jazz up a gallery wall. And the upholstered chairs came in a set of two for $100. I love them.

Wall Art: Green Chalkboard (I’m so excited about writing with chalk, I actually bought my favorite teacher item–a chalk holder!), “Together We Will See It Through” Oxford Pennant, Vintage School Supplies Sign, Red School Clock

 

The storage cubes hold all of their supplies and books, one cube unit for each kid. And of course, I had to display all of the school supply delights that make me so happy, out in the open–freshly sharpened pencils, new crayons, markers, erasers…oh my.

The room still functions perfectly as a dining room with plenty of room between the two spaces.

I love this new space and what it’s done for our school morale–the kids are excited to start, organizing their supplies in their drawers and making plans for who will sit where.

And I love that we’re not all crammed in my office and that I can keep an eye on them from the main area of the house. We still have plenty of quiet spaces they can move to if they need a little more privacy. But I love that we’ve created a collaborative learning space as much like their real classroom as possible–and that we did it for very little $$!

We got this. And we are going to learn so much from all of this year’s lessons. We are not putting unrealistic pressure on ourselves. We know that more than anything, our kids need love and reassurance right now. We can do that.

For all those starting school in whatever way, shape or form that works for you, we’re in this together. And for our beloved teachers who are working harder than they ever have and are just as sad as we are for what things look like right now, thank you.

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Sources all in one place:

Cube Storage Unit
Cube Storage Drawers
Set of Two Chairs
Chalkboard
Red School Clock
Oxford Pennant Flag
Vintage School Supplies Sign
Wooden Folder Holders
Peel-and-Stick Textured White Brick Wallpaper

Yes You Can – Oxford Pennant Collaboration

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Early this year, I reached out to one of my favorite companies with an idea for a custom piece for Nella’s room and the possibility of turning it into something bigger I could share with you. It was fueled by my love for clean, colorful design but more so the message I want Nella to hear over and over–that she is not limited by a disability, and that her dreams in life are answered by the anthem of three powerful words: Yes. You. Can.

The company I approached is Oxford Pennant, a Buffalo shop I’ve been following for a few years now–obsessed with their aesthetic, products (made in the U.S.!), and creative passion behind their marketing. I also knew the owner had a niece with Down syndrome.

One banner snowballed into an entire collaboration–the first product collaboration I’ve ever done, and I could not be more thrilled with everything it turned out to be. A portion of the proceeds of every sale in this collaboration will benefit Ruby’s Rainbow, but the inclusive empowering messages are for us all…

Yes You Can.

Everyone’s Invited…

…and I Like You Just the Way You Are.

I was in Buffalo this past weekend for a fun launch event at the Oxford Pennant Shop, and can I just say, BUFFALO! You SLAYED me! What a fun, creative city with the warmest people. Buffalo’s 21 Connect also came to celebrate with us–a portion of the evening’s sales benefitting their continued mission to provide education about Down syndrome and support to families in the Buffalo community.

I brought home the banner that started it all and wasted no time in getting it hung in Nella’s room.

In a little over 24 hours in Buffalo, I got the full behind-the-scenes tour of Oxford Pennant and learned more about the story behind their company and the wonderful creative people who are part of it–all which made me even more proud to have my name next to theirs in these products I cannot wait to see out in the world.

There’s something for everyone in this collaboration…which is exactly what these products are about: Celebrating everything, everyone.

Shop the entire Kelle Hampton x Oxford Pennant collaboration, and when your banners and pennants and sweatshirts and patches are out there in the world, tag me in the pictures!

I love seeing these messages in your homes, knowing you’re loving something we made.
Can you buy everything in the collaboration online? YES YOU CAN!
Can you buy kid sizes AND adult sizes? YES YOU CAN!
Can you buy from another country? YES YOU CAN!
Can you help a passionate young adult with Down syndrome achieve their college dreams by shopping? YES YOU CAN!

So many yeses. xo

And the hugest thanks to my wonderful friends at Oxford Pennant for making these so beautiful.