Absolutely gorgeous, swoon-worthy rooms

So maybe it's not the best idea to pine after homes I will most likely never own, but A. I can't help it, and B. It keeps me motivated to work harder!

But for now, with our wedding 10 DAYS AWAY, I need a little serenity.  Enjoy!

 

via pinterest

Hranowsky can do no wrong.
via Angie Hranowsky

via pinterest

Pretty close to my dream kitchen, except for the open shelving

via Houzz

Love that this backs up to the woods, and the multiple levels.
via Houzz

via Houzz

via pinterest

Tips on Selling Your Home at Top Market Value!

Chris and I bought our first home this year, and so far we love being homeowners. We know that one day we will need room to grow, so when we start looking for our next home in 5 - 7 years, we are going to want to sell our home at a great price. We have already been researching the best investments to make in your current home to increase it's value. Here are some tips from realty pro Kathy Doyle to help get us started:

Use trends that fit the style of your house.
If you have a Cape Cod beach house, do not remove the beautiful wooden floors and cabinetry for stainless steel and radiant heated cement. Take all trends in mind with your home’s style and unique footprint on the real estate landscape.

Cape Cod Beach House via Picklee


Have an updated home.
Buyers of luxury and high end properties are looking for a house that is move-in-ready, in line with the investment they are making. The last thing any buyer wants is to envision a major remodel in their future, after spending millions on the home itself. The most important wonderful impression that must be made is a modern, updated kitchen. Top of the line fixtures and appliances are key. The top must-haves for appliances for today’s luxury buyers are a sub-zero refrigerator, excellent water filtration system, center island and second sink, dishwashers, trash compactor, and plenty of storage space. Beautiful bathrooms with tasteful design are also very important to the discerning buyer. (Me: Our home is very, very far from a luxury or million dollar property, but these principles can be applied still, just with a lower price point.)

 

Transitional Dining Room by Los Angeles Architects & Designers Studio William Hefner


Top Kitchen Trend: Warm and Inviting.
Forget the trendy kitchens of years past which came across as cold and utilitarian. Today’s top trend in kitchens is to embrace the space as the center of family and entertaining life. The color schemes for today’s top kitchens are warm and inviting to all the guests in the home. It is common for the kitchen to open into other entertaining spaces so that guests can mingle while hors d’oeuvre and drinks are being prepared. No more stuffy chef’s kitchens of years past, modern luxury is comfortable, warm, and casual. (Me: One of the first projects we have in mind for our home is either opening up the dividing wall between our kitchen and living room as a breakfast bar, or removing the wall entirely.)

This is pretty darn close to my dream kitchen.
Warm and Inviting Kitchen via My Random Inspiration

Eco Friendly can be chic via Ozvip


Be Eco-Friendly
Today’s buyers want to purchase a property that is friendly to the environment and on their wallets. When they purchase a home with large square footage, buyers must take into account long term energy and utility costs. So build savings into the home. Buyers love homes with double paned windows, lots of natural light, low-energy appliances, low-flow toilets, excellent insulation, and solar panels. Eco friendly is wallet friendly, and maintaining a luxury property is much nicer if you save money on utility
costs at every turn.

 

Luxury Pool via Luxist

Got a lot of lot space? Add a pool or guest house.

Luxury buyers want Guest Space for friends and family to enjoy the benefits of their good fortune. Guest space is key for almost every buyer I work with to find their dream home. Many want pool and spa for their guests to enjoy, and any property with one or both of these amenities goes up in value tremendously. Be clever and combine them both. Build a pool, and have the pool house double as guest quarters. One client in Beverly Hills built a gorgeous indoor/outdoor pool house with a daybed which served both as a seat for evening cocktails and as quarters for overnight guests to sleep in the open air. Sauna, Gym, Home Theatre and Massage Space are also high-end upgrades that add value to today’s luxury homes.

Luxury living room via La Dolce Vita

Stage for Success 

If you are selling your home it is key that you stage for success. You want your home to feel personable, but not personal (as though only your family can live in it). So remove personal family photos, clutter, tchotchkes and the like. The right buyer will imagine their life in this beautiful space. Have style which is welcoming, tasteful, and leaves room for the imagination to play! 

Find the Right Realtor

Kathy Doyle is a luxury real estate broker in Southern California. She is a leader in Beverly Hills and Malibu luxury real estate. With a keen eye for design, she loves to help her sellers make key remodels to make the most of their gorgeous properties so that they can get the highest purchase price on the market today. Buyers are looking for high end and beautifully updated homes, so to get the best price for your luxury property it is important to have the qualities today’s buyers are looking for.

this post is in partnership with Kathy Doyle Estates

Stunning eye candy.

Cause I need it today. Enjoy!

via Pinterest via architectureartdesigns.com

Houzz

pinterest

DecorPad

Apartment Therapy

DecorPad

What to do...real hardwood floors or laminate?

Currently our home is about 35% wall-to-wall carpet. The carpet is at least, fairly new, but it's just not for me.  In my mind the only option is hardwood flooring. However nice hardwood floors are not cheap, especially considering the square footage we need for our home.

When you buy flooring for a home there is always the tough decision of either spending a lot of money for a great look or saving your pennies and going for a cheaper option that doesn't fully achieve the stunning result you want.

These days, more and more people are turning to laminate, but I've only ever seen cheap laminate that sounds like you're walking on thin plastic. I'm wondering if upscale laminate might be a budget friendly option that doesn't sacrifice looks or other qualities of real wood....

Here are some of the examples I found:

via Houzz.com

Along with cheaper flooring costs, laminate also costs less to install than hardwood. That's two ways to save if you are on a budget...

I seriously can't believe some of these are laminate flooring.  The laminate flooring I've seen never has the groove between planks, which is what always makes it look so fake to me.  Below are actual laminate planks.

via Houzz

I've also read that if you have pets or children, some laminates are actually more durable than some hardwoods when it comes to holding up to wear and tear.

With us having a new puppy in the house, easy to clean floors is a MUST.

via Houzz.com

If cleanliness is something you love, laminate definitely wins the spot on that one. Sounds like it's really easy to clean and keep clean!

You all know how much I love a bright bedroom and this light bedroom laminate flooring looks just as nice as real wood. Once the puppy is potty trained I can add a nice throw rug too...

via Houzz.com

Luckily, with  laminate floors you get just as many options. There are so many different styles of laminate flooring, it isn't going to be hard to find one that fits your style perfectly.

Whether you like a simple sleek finish or one with great texture and color, laminate is a viable consideration if price is a big issue.

via Houzz

This post is in partnership with carpetright.co.uk

Happy Friday - eye candy!

I feel awful I've been so neglectful of Decorology lately!  Our settlement couldn't come sooner, because I'm not going to feel like the house is really ours until I have the keys.  Now I'm just in countdown mode until May 28th!

Here are some gorgeous spaces to get your weekend started off right:

via Pinterest via House Beautiful

4 above via BHG

?

I might test out having white floors in my home office.  I love the look but would only want to commit to a small space in the beginning.

via Elements of Style

via BHG

Dreaming of our new home - what is on my inspiration board

Our settlement is getting close!  May 28th and I am getting really excited!  Here is the direction I think I'd like to go in with our space:

You know I'm all about a white kitchen!

That backsplash and that counter...swoon

I've always loved this photo.

My dream dining table and chairs! This is from the Washington School House Hotel.

I'm not always a fan of chalkboard walls, but they're prettier than white boards, and it might be a good way to really keep on top of my project milestones for the week.

1-3, 6 via BHG 4, 5. via Elements of Style 

A bright, white, beautiful kitchen

"Simple and white" was homeowner Julie Holloway's mantra for her kitchen renovation, and it's one I hope to have the means to adopt one day as well.  I adore white kitchens, they look so clean and bright!

Check out Julie's gorgeous Atlanta area kitchen (and some more of her gorgeous 70's home)

For some reason I have a lot of trouble finding bar stools I like, especially in a more open layout where they have to work well with the living room furnishings as well.  I think the brushed stainless steel ones look good.  What do you think?

One thing Julie manages that I don't think I could is open shelves instead of cabinets.  It would force me to get matching dish sets, which is good, but it means only I would ever be putting the dishes away, cause my sweetums wouldn't have the patience to stack everything perfectly.  He'd rather wash dishes by hand than unload the dishwasher!

I adore the dining area - everything about it - chandelier, table, mirror, shades....

Here are some shots of the rest of the house.

 At first I thought this was a home office, but now I realize that maybe that mirrored piece isn't a desk...Regardless, love the space.

Oh la la...white and dark wood - how I love thee!

Julie is co-owner (along with Anisa Darnell) of Milk and Honey Home, check it out, you'll love it.  All the images seen here belong to Milk and Honey Home, and some were featured in the Nov. 2011 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.


this post in partnership with Lakeland Furniture

A fantastic surprise home makeover for a soldier returned from Afghanistan!

What caught my eye in this home makeover was the casual, "collected-over-time" look. What I loved way that newly wed Meg Stein surprised her Army sergeant husband with this home makeover when he returned from Afghanistan! How sweet is that?

I love the cozy but clean design of this dining room.  Wood chandelier - $50 at a garage sale...vintage Duncan Phyfe table - great deal on eBay.

It's all about white kitchens for me.

Meg already had the flat file coffee table, so she designed the room around it.  I really like the file as a coffee table.  It's unexpected, and what a great way to store mags!!

What do you think of this charmer?

via HGTV Mag June/July 2012 issue