Arco Avenue Gets A Facelift!

Exciting things are going on at Arco Avenue!!! I am SO excited about the new look they’re debuting today! 🙂 Elish from SummerHouse has worked with Katie on redoing pretty much the entire store, and it. looks. FAB!

While the brown paper was up in the windows covering up the progress for a big reveal today, I got to make the sign telling people what was up and that things were changing–

Katie found that awesome quote, and I LOVE it! So appropriate for a big change like what they’re doing! And as of last night, the store was looking goooorrrrrgeous! It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint and some new furniture can do! But you’ll have to go by and see it for yourself! Or you can go to their grand RE-Opening on Friday from 6-8! It’ll be great.

One of the fun changes is something I got to work on– the wall behind the cash wrap. If the greater Jackson area were to have a subway, the map may look something like this! I’m not 100% finished yet, but it’s coming along. Hopefully it’ll turn out to be really cool!

Glad I got to be a part of all of this fun, and I’m SO excited about the new look at Arco! Hope you can stop by soon and see it!

Visit www.arcoavenue.com for more!

Nursery Underway!

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday!!

I hope everyone’s week is off to a great start! 🙂

Mine is because I’ve gotten a little work done on our soon-to-be nursery!! YAY!!

I’ve had several people ask me what direction we’re going in as far as decor so I wanted to share some things we’ve already picked out plus some things that just totally inspire me! We are going pretty neutral so it’ll work with a boy or a girl!

Here are a few things we’ve already gotten or have decided 100% upon! I’ve never had so much fun with any project in my house before! 🙂

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This wallpaper is going to go on one wall in the room– The wall that’ll have the crib against it!

And speaking of crib… Here’s the one we ordered! I wanted something super simple so this one from Ikea did just the trick. (Don’t worry… We are NOT getting that bedding!)

I wanted a moroccan-esque rug, so when I found this one, my heart skipped a beat! It even has a little color to it! These aren’t normally “my” colors, but I just fell in love with this thing. Ahhh! ❤ It just seemed perfect for a baby’s room.

I KNEW I wanted/needed a swivel rocker for the nursery, so I’ve zeroed in on this one after lots of looking at back height, size, and slipcover options! I’m so excited about this super comfy chair! 🙂 We’re going to go with a lighter slipcover than what’s pictured. I’m thinking a washable white! 🙂

We are doing a loose woodlandsy theme, and we are in LOVE with these Little Darlings photos, so we’ll more than likely be getting a few of these to put in the room! They have some super cute stuff! I particularly love this little guy–

And I LOOOOVE Studio Bon fabrics. These are the ones that we most like, but we haven’t narrowed down what will be used where yet… Here they are!

This white floor lamp is SO pretty in person, so I’m excited to have this lovely light source in one of the corners of the room!

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I’ve got a few more fun ideas that I’m trying to flesh out, but for now, that’s what we’ve got! I’ll leave you with a few pics of nurseries I love, even if most of them are pretty different  from what we’re going for. Pretty nurseries are just so inspiring! 🙂

Aaaaaaand I think that’s enough! (p.s. I’m in love with the Ikea light fixture in that last picture… Thinking about adding that to the list too… But I need to ask my design co-workers if they think it’ll work! 🙂 So glad I have them for idea bouncing!)

(original sources can all be found by following this Pinterest board!)

Have a fabulous day!! 🙂 Thanks for visiting! XO!

My Favorite Room :: Our Den

It’s about time to explore the favorite room of another one of my favorite bloggers! I absolutely love this addition to the My Favorite Room series! 🙂 Allow me to introduce you to Lauren Steele, bloggista over at Sunshades & Snowflakes!

Lauren and I were at Mississippi State at the same time, and I actually went to high school with her husband David! She’s a dog lover (Nilla is a precious lab!) and quite the talented fashionista! I absolutely love following her blog and think her style is just impeccable! Let’s take a look at her favorite room now, okay?! 🙂

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What is your favorite room in your house?
Our den!

What about this room makes you love it so much?
It’s one of the only rooms of our newlywed apartment that I consider “fully decorated” and it’s where we hang out the most. It also has it’s quirks – like the closets being in it.

Our bedroom only has one small closet, which I think means this room (my favorite room) was really supposed to be the bedroom, but it’s the biggest room in the apartment so I wanted it to be the den. I think it’s funny that we get ready in the morning in our den and I know ONE DAY it will be one of those “remember the first place we ever lived….” quirks that you look back on. Although right now I’m constantly reminded of the lack of a dresser and how if I try on multiple outfits, it’s our den that becomes messy! Haha

If you had to pick your favorite element in the room, what would it be?

Surprisingly, the couch. The couch is made of half down feathers which makes it VERY comfortable and it’s also oversized. You really sink down into it. Because David is so tall and has a hard time fitting in our “breakfast nook” we end up eating most of our meals “tv dinner tray style” in the den on the couch. It’s also where we watch movies and the first place I go to decompress with a glass of wine and some cheese after a long day. I love it.

I also love that it’s white, but it’s really a slip cover so I don’t lose sleep over Nilla hopping on every now and again.

What’s your paint color?

I have no idea – the landlord won’t let us paint. What color would y’all call it?

At what time of day do you most enjoy being in this room?
Around 10 a.m. Because if I’m there around 10 it means it Saturday… and I LOVE Saturdays.

If you had to describe this room in 3 words, what would they be?
Cozy, simplistic, enjoyable

Anything else you want us to know about your favorite room?!
I like that the chair was David’s Dad’s chair he used all during medical school to study in and it was in David’s house growing up. I have really enjoyed the oversized sheet music art piece with the notes from our first wedding dance song “stand by me.”

Although “things” don’t matter, I truly do love my Annie Glass cabinet because I used to work in a gift store that sold it. I would always admire it and wonder if I would ever own a piece – I love every single piece and remember who gave me which ones. I also installed the lighting on the cabinet which required me to learn how to use a drill.

I like that the rug is a little rough and wakes me up in the morning with my coffee and I like that even though I begged David not to bring that coffee table over because I didn’t like the way it looked, it’s been the best piece of storage furniture in our tiny newlywed apartment, reminding me to keep an open mind and go with the flow!

That about wraps it up!

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Thanks so much for the tour, Lauren! (Price and I danced to Stand By Me as our first dance too! Love that you turned it into art– brilliant!)

I hope you’ll take a moment to go explore Sunshades & Snowflakes to get to know Lauren a little better! 🙂  And if you liked this room, check out the rest of the posts in the My Favorite Room series!

Have a wonderful, wonderful day! XO!

One Seriously Awesome Apartment

I love yellow.
I love 70s style.
I love great interiors.
I love Amy Adams.

That’s why, when we saw American Hustle a few weeks ago, I was absolutely SMITTEN with the apartment that Amy Adams’s character Sydney (or Lady Greensly to some!) lived in…

I was searching for pictures of it and found a really great site called Retro Renovation! On this site, the editor did some great research in getting the scoop behind the design of the homes in the movie. It’s a pretty interesting read, especially if you’ve seen the movie!

Anyway, I wanted to share a couple of my favorite pictures from the article… I’m just IN LOVE with this place! I’m a sucker for white painted brick, grasscloth, white upholstery, and yellow accents… So it’s easy to see why this place takes my breath away!

What do you think?! Do you love it as much as I do, or were you more into the style of Jennifer Lawrence’s character’s home? (Pictures of her home are also in the article!)

Check out the original source for the photos above and the story behind the set design (plus more) RIGHT HERE! Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great one!

My Favorite Room :: Sam’s Nursery

Today’s edition in the My Favorite Room series is from my darling friend Katie from A Beautiful Blog! Katie and I used to work together at SummerHouse until she moved back to Birmingham a couple of years ago, but thanks to blogging, we’re able to keep up with each other really well! 🙂

Her favorite room is her son Sam’s nursery… I’m in love!! Check it out…

1. What is your favorite room in your house?
My son Sam’s nursery is definitely my new favorite room, not to mention the only room that I can say with confidence is finished in our home!

2. What about this room makes you love it so much?
I love the light this room gets during the day! It is such a happy room, and some of my best organization can be found here (and these days, only here!). I also love the sweet baby smell it has 🙂

3. If you had to pick your favorite element in the room, what would it be?
I would have to say the dresser and crib. Not really because they “make” the room, but because my hubby and I had one of our best days tripping it to Ikea. We got the dresser, crib, picture frames and window panels for a steal! We grabbed lunch at West Egg before heading back to Birmingham (highly recommend!). Once home we started assembling the furniture while listening to the Braves opening game against the Cubs and eating $5 pizza. Literally one of my best memories.

4. What’s your paint color?
Sherwin-Williams Useful Gray.

5. At what time of day do you most enjoy being in this room?
I love the early mornings in Sam’s room. The soft light is welcomed company for those early morning diaper changes 🙂

6. If you had to describe this room in three words, what would they be?
Playful. Sentimental. Peaceful. (Playful and peaceful are conflicting words I know, but depending what we are doing in the room they both apply!)

7. Anything else you want us to know about your favorite room?
Designing this room was unlike designing any other room in our house. I like for our home to evolve over time and not to look like everything was purchased in one fell swoop. However, in this situation I had 9 months! I set a budget, decided on what items I could spurge on and which ones I could get for a deal (hello Ikea!). The glider ended up being our most expensive purchase and so glad we decided to do so because I spend a lot of time in that chair 🙂 We have had the best time watching Sam grow and enjoy his room!

Thank you so much Katie!!! I love the theme of this room and Katie’s color choices. Seriously, such a cute room.

For other favorite rooms, check out The Wowie’s SummerHouse room, Mary Straton’s daughter’s nursery, and my master bedroom! And don’t worry, there are more favorite rooms to come! 🙂

My Favorite Room :: The SummerHouse Room

Today, I bring you the third installment in the My Favorite Room series! I’m having so much fun seeing the favorite interior spaces of a few friends of mine! Today, The Wowie shares about her gorgeous living room!! Here we go…!

1.What is your favorite room in your house?

My favorite room is our “SummerHouse” room. I call it that because most of the furniture is from Summerhouse, and one of their talented designers helped me choose fabrics. I know what I like… pretty much everything. Never hurts to ask for some help to narrow things down a bit.

2. What about this room makes you love it so much?

The SummerHouse slogan is “Always Summer,” but the SummerHouse room motto is “Always Clean.” Unlike the keeping room, there are no piles of mail or laundry. No toys. No dirty little boys. Even when the entire house is a disaster, this room is neat and tidy. So, I hide in a corner with a glass of wine and pretend the whole place is spotless.

3. If you had to pick your favorite element in the room, what would it be?

I really like that we didn’t cram this room with a lot of filler. Everything has some meaning. We have trophies that belonged to both of our fathers…my father in law’s debate trophy and my father’s football trophy. SK’s homerun balls from Dixie Youth Baseball are in the bookcase. Our children’s silhouettes by Clay Rice, a set of 1960s science encyclopedias that my sister gave me, other gifts from family, pieces by local artists… we tried to make everything special.

And had you asked my favorite piece of furniture in the entire house, it would be this chest in the dining room. We got it at a local antique store to use as a changing table in Graham’s nursery. I liked it because it was taller (like me), and I didn’t have to bend down to change him. Once he was potty trained, it began its second life.

Didn’t we all.

Not a real question. Incorrect room. Let’s get back on track…

4. What’s your paint color?

I have no idea. Isn’t that a terrible answer? I do know that I would like to paint it white. Two things stand in my way. There are 10,020 different shades of white paint. And I don’t paint.

5. At what time of day do you most enjoy being in this room?

If I get up in time, I love to have my coffee here. Since the windows in the room face the east, there is lots of natural light first thing in the morning. This time of year is perfect for opening the two sets of double doors to the screen porch and enjoying the beautiful weather. All the colors are calming, and it is the perfect place to start the day.

And I truly enjoy it that one day a year I don’t peel myself out of bed at the last possible minute and drink my coffee while applying makeup in the car. (Kidding about the makeup… I’m too busy texting).

6. If you had to describe this room in three words, what would they be?

No toys allowed.

7. Anything else you want us to know about your favorite room?

We put our Christmas tree in here and entertain guests here. We snuggle up for family movie night and have our dance parties here. This room doesn’t see as much traffic as the rest of our house, but it does hold the best memories.

Thank you so much to The Wowie for sharing her favorite room! So much fun… I love it!

I’ve got another gorgeous favorite room to show y’all next week from my friend Katie at A Beautiful Blog. Y’all are going to love it! Especially if you loved Mary Straton’s favorite room… 🙂 Stay tuned! XO!

My Favorite Room

Today is the first installment of a new column here on { THE HIVE } that I’m super excited about! It’s called My Favorite Room and I think it’ll be really fun… The idea is to focus on one particular room, sharing what it is about that room that makes it so special. I’ve asked several of my blogger friends to send me pictures and answer a few questions about their favorite rooms, so I’m thrilled to see what they all come up with! 🙂

I figured I would go first in talking about my favorite room and answering the questions I’m sending them, so here she blows!

What is your favorite room in your house?

Our master bedroom 🙂

What about this room makes you love it so much?

I think it’s the fact that we just recently mounted our TV on the wall (props to my handy husband Price for running wires so they don’t hang down from the back of the TV!) and I’ve really tried to get more organized in there. It’s finally starting to take shape, so as of late, I just love spending time in there!

If you had to pick your favorite element in the room, what would it be?

I think it might be the lamps flanking the TV on the chest of drawers. They just seem to add so much brightness and character!

What’s your paint color?

Ben Moore Linen White. My fave, thanks to SummerHouse!

At what time of day do you most enjoy being in this room?

Definitely at night, at the end of the day. I love getting in bed with Price and the pups and putting a good show on. I especially love the mood when the overhead lights are off and all the lamps are on!

If you had to describe this room in three words, what would they be?

A-collaborative-effort, fun, and relaxed.

Anything else you want us to know about your favorite room?

I really like that Price and I pretty much designed this room together. He picked out the art over the bed (which honestly, I wasn’t crazy about at first, but once I found some fun pillow fabrics that looked good with it, I started liking it a lot more!) as well as the wooden bed and the antique mantle that we mounted on a blank wall. It was all his idea! I also love that we’ve got washable bedding, so whenever the dogs want to join us, we don’t have to worry about permanently messing anything up (since it’s mostly all white.)

We truly heart our bedroom!!

Ringo keeping my side of the bed warm… I love this guy!! #puppyluv

Stay tuned for more My Favorite Room posts from some friends of mine, coming soon!! 🙂

SummerHouse Lookbook

I’m SO excited to share the latest SummerHouse social media project with y’all!

SummerHouse is in the process of designing a whole new website that will include a web store (YAY!) and a LOOKBOOK, among other fun new things! The Lookbook (which is a Tumblr page) is a collection of things that inspire us at SummerHouse. Gorgeous photos, each other’s interior design projects, our favorite Pinterest pins, recipes, photos from our showroom, and much more. The lookbook has turned out to be such a fun project for us, so I wanted to share!

Click on the image to get to the Tumblr page!

Of course you’re encouraged to pin or reblog any images you see that catch your interest! Hope you love the lookbook as much as I (and the rest of the SummerHouse team) do! 🙂

Gone Scandi In Boise

As I was conducting my bi-monthly Rue Magazine perusal (I know, I know… I’m a couple of weeks late…), I fell head over heels in love with one particular home and now I cannot get enough of it…

The title of the piece is called Gone Scandi In Boise. It features a home that belongs to a blogger named Rachelle, her husband Mark, a youth minister, and their little girl named Kensington. (What a great name!)

The style is super scandinavian, and it’s mostly black and white, but to me, it is absolutely GOR.geous. I literally think I flipped through these digital pages about twenty times! Here’s the spread, but I highly recommend viewing the original source here, where the pictures are much larger and where you can read the words 🙂

Isn’t this house fab?! I particularly love the living area and Kensington’s room.

Speaking of kids rooms, or anything kid related, if you have children, you might be interested in checking out the homeowner’s blog, Kenziepoo. It’s absolutely adorbs! I know one day I will find it as a great source of info! : )

So did you like this minimalist black and white home as much as I did?!

The Latest Portico

If you’re looking for a good read for during the holidays, might I suggest picking up the latest issue of Portico Jackson Magazine? The past couple of months, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to write the Edibles and Elixirs stories, but this month, I had the honor of interviewing Bob LaCour, a Mississippi native who is now big-timing in L.A. as an interior designer, and write a piece pertaining in no way to food or drink! Hah!

Bob is SUCH a nice guy, and super talented on top of that. Pick up a copy (Lemuria and Barnes&Noble both have it on the stands) and read about the adventures he’s had as a designer over the past couple of decades. I promise you’ll enjoy his story (and you’ll love the pictures even more!)