Hi friend! Can you feel the excitement is in the air today? Today is final reveal day for the DesignOff between Jojotastic and myself sponsored by Decorist. All the hard work has finally come to fruition. In case you’re new to this neck of the interwebs woods, Joanna and I got a little crazy and decided to lose all control of our new homes to let you, our reader, vote on which DesignOff project we should move forward with. WHAAA!?!? At first I thought I was completely insane, and I’ll admit to having a couple nightmares of Hildi Santo Tomas from Trading Spaces, gluing hay to my walls. EEEEP! But when I opened the email and saw the initial mood boards, I let out the biggest sigh of relief! My interior designer, Ashley Redmond, blew both designs outta the water. 

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Be sure to stop over to Jojotastic to check out her final reveal as well! And don’t forget, Decorist is offering a super generous 20% off your next design project. Just use the promo code DesignOff20 when you check out. Also, be sure to hop on over to Rue Magazine tomorrow for their final wrap of the Decorist DesignOff. 

MORE AFTER THE JUMP…

Sadly, I could only move forward with one look. The overall voters choice was Neutral Glam. Slowly but surely the room started to come together…and well, mind blown.  I couldn’t believe I lived here! First and foremost, I’m giving Ashley and the entire Decorist team the biggest virtual high five! This was quite possibly the best housewarming gift a gal could ever ask for. Here’s another peek at the 3D Virtual Design Decorist sent over. Can you believe that’s not really my room? It’s a computer rendering. Holy shmoly. 

If you saw my Instagram Stories Home Tour a few weeks back, you probably caught a few sneak peeks. Because I’ve been dying to share the space with you, I broke the reveal rule a couple times…couldn’t help myself. Shhhh, don’t tell.

Before we get into all the nitty gritty deets, let’s take a couple steps backwards shall we? This is the first room in the new house that I tackled…besides being hit with an unexpected basement renovation…if you haven’t heard, The Boy flooded the basement so I’m knee deep in wet drywall right now. More on that endeavor in a few days.

We bought the house back in March, but didn’t officially move in until late June. When we initially toured the house, the living room looked like this:

That’s quite the before picture, huh? Not exactly my cuppa tea, but once the former owners moved out, it became a blank slate. We slowly moved some of my most favorite things into the room, and I waited like a cat in a bathtub patiently for the UPS man to arrive with the remaining pieces. Are you sick of me blabbering on and on? Ya, me too, let’s get to the good stuff…HERE’S THE DESIGNOFF ROOM!!!!

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Check out that before an after! Can you even believe it’s the same room? A few of my favorite pieces are: the Interior Define Caitlin sofa designed by The Everygirl, that gorgeous Milo Baughman vintage brass etagere from South Loop Loft, and that chrome George Kovaks swing arm floor lamp from ATG Stores. Wanna take a closer peek? Good! Me too!

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

I was thrilled when Ashley decided to keep my vintage brass side tables. At first I thought they might be too small to be used as a cocktail table, but when the Interior Define sofa arrived with the chaise, it was obvious that this was not Ashley’s first rodeo.

Painting the french doors black was one of the bigger risks she had me take. Quite honestly, I didn’t think The Boy would go for it, but we are both head over heels in love with the look! Don’t look too close, I’m still missing the door knobs. Insert monkey covering its eyes emoji here please.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

The main question I usually get asked when doing a post like this is where is everything from, so I’m going to try and get that outta the way after every image because there’s a lot going on here. That cute little rustic side table on the left is from ATG Stores. I love the little brass feet and tabletop. That navy pillow is also from ATG Stores. It’s been my napping pillow of choice since it’s arrival. The artwork above the sofa is a piece I’ve coveted for quite some time. It’s by Lani Trock and available at Tappan Collective. I texted Ashley a link to it late one night…bless her heart she answered immediately, and I think I heard her squeal in delight through my phone. Turns out, she had just used it in another client’s room and loved it just as much as me. I swear her and I are a match made in heaven.

basket  //  pink marble pillow  //  cream shag pillow  //  vase  //  throw (similar)  //  strip rug  //  jute rug (on sale)

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Can we talk about that etagere from South Loop Loft? Clutch the pearls! It was love at first sight. I called up Beth after looking online at her shop in a slight panic. She had a few for sale that all of a sudden sold…ERMERGERD!!! Thankfully she had just found a few more that she hadn’t photographed yet. Mark that sucka sold lady! Insiders scoop…always watch the Instagram Stories of your favorite vintage shop to get first dibs. More often then not, vintage pieces are sold before they even hit the shop floor. Beth is always posting her latest scores, and I’m always drooling and ready to pounce. And as an FYI, I’m teaching a How To Use Pinterest For Business class at her showroom this Thursday. If you live in Chicago, you should come! Tickets are available here.

leather moroccan pouf  //  franco albini rattan chair  //  driftwood table  //  brass shell  //  white planter  //  geometric black and white pillow  //  white throw

One of my most favorite things to do is to style a shelf…or as I like to refer to is, style a shelfie. Moving things around from here and there. Shuffling some more until your fingers bleed you get the perfect flow. I really wanted the brass etagere to be full of all the things I loved most…wait Kyla, what about what The Boy wants to see? Honestly, he doesn’t much care as long as I’m occupied and happy. What he doesn’t understand is how two shelves can take a week to style. Oh dear, don’t ask questions. Just accept it for what it is.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

I found these paintings on eBay by the late Rich Buchwald, a painter from Santa Monica. They are absolutely gorgeous and a steal for the price. The marble horse head bookend is from another one of my vintage haunts The Savoy Flea in Chicago, IL. The wooden bowl can be found here.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

The basket above is another favorite piece. It came from Local + Lejos. Not only does it bring a bit of the modern boho feel into the space, but the company itself has a mission I can stand by. They develop long lasting relationships with artisans around the globe. By creating steady employment opportunities, they empower their crafters to build a better life within their community. If you’re digging that ruffled bowl, it can be found here.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

I also adore that throw, again by Local + Lejos. This is the Raya Throw. The black and white tick design is commonly found in Guatamalan textiles. They paired it with neutrals to give it a fresh and clean feel. Local + Lejos works side-by-side with their artisans and provides fair wages and develops sustainable skills. Each throw takes one week to make and the artisan can provide her family with one month of electricity. Pretty amazing, huh?

The geometric pillow can be found at ATG Stores. I always thought black and white didn’t go with navy. Whoever made that rule up didn’t see this little number put together. Ashley, girl, you were on point with this number.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

If you ever see me at a flea market or estate sale, you’ll find me hoarding navy books. And not Navy books, as in ships and sailors, but rather the color navy. I will knock an old lady down for navy books with gorgeous typography on the spine. The chinoiserie double happiness vase on the bottom right was one of my most recent purchases. If you’re looking for one, hop on over to Etsy or wait it out like I did for one to pop up at a local estate sale. I scored this one for $6!!!!! The oversized white vase is by Jonathan Adler. I bought mine secondhand on Chairish. Ashley really tried to be strategic when she shopped for this room. Since we just purchased the house, we had to be budget conscious.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

This table was the one piece in the room I was really on the fence about from the get go, and it took me awhile to warm up to it. Honestly, I think she’s an acquired taste like a nice strong coffee. But now that she’s been in the room, I know I can’t live without her. Ashley managed to find this little lady on Chairish for a fraction of any others I’ve sourced. And the woman I bought her from supposedly has a matching dining room table according to her daughter. Hmmmm, might have to stalk them. The brass shell planter is from The Savoy Flea. It was one of those finds that didn’t even hit the store floor. I had to have that bad boy.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

I recently met Nicole Cohen aka Sketch42 blog through Instagram. Can I just say her photography is amazing. She’s so incredibly talented, and I’m thankful to have met her and be able to call her an InstaBestie. When talking about photography and artwork for the room with Ashley from Decorist, I sent her Nicole’s print shop URL, and she went bonkers. I mean, there’s so much to choose from. It’s virtually impossible to pick just one. If you don’t know Nicole, I highly suggest checking her out.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

I told you we couldn’t pick just one photo! Nicole posted the Adidas print to her Instagram, and I immediately fell in love. Ashley picked the fiddle fig print, and paired together, it was a match made in heaven. That little white alabaster vase is from another InstaBestie Rafael of The Beau Ideal. He owns Gilded Epoch over on Chairish, and is always posting his newest scores. He’s kinda one of my secret vintage sources, so shhhh, don’t tell anyone else. I swear I have the nicest Instagram friends!

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

A few other favorite details in the room  is this elephant hook and tassel. Again from my two favorite gals, South Loop Loft and The Savoy Flea. If you’re visiting Chicago, I highly recommend stopping into their studios. Both are open most Saturdays, but you can always call for an appointment.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Over in the corner is a brass truck I purchased on sale from Etsy. The entire piece was supposed to be Sarreid style, but when I opened the delivery package, it had a mirrored front. Whomp, whomp. My super stoked turned to super sadzies. But like the driftwood table, I lived with it for a couple weeks, and my frown turned upside down.

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Funny blooper, I’ll tell only you cuz you’re my friend. I can’t zoom in on that gold sculpture because I forgot to cut the tag off it. You can actually see it if you look really close at the second disc. Whoopsies. Raise your hand if that’s ever happened to you. Gotta love the blooper reel. You may remember that painting from the old house. She used to live in my bedroom.

Two more pictures and I swear I’ll be done. Sorry, this is like the longest post ever, but I just want to show you everything!

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Would it creep you out if I told you I like to pull those hands inside my sleeves and chase my kids around the house with them? Yep, I do that!

Photos by Emilia Jane Photography

Phew! You made it! Wanna know another secret? Almost all of my plans are fake. There, I said it. It’s out in the open much to Ashley’s dismay. She told me it was okay as long as she couldn’t tell…do you think she can tell?