Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a great weekend and were able to soak up tons of Summer goodness! It’s been stormy here in Palm Springs all weekend, which is such a treat since the weather here is consistently sunny. I love a good Summer thunderstorm like nothing else! But that is neither here nor there….I’m really here today to share this home of Minneapolis stylist Madelynn Hackwith Furlong! I’m in love with it’s brick wall, neutral color palette and wide array of textiles (without even mentioning the lovely pup!). It’s beautiful, isn’t it?! Hope you adore too. xx- Sarah
I’ve got a little bit of home inspiration for you today that has me wishing we had ten more rooms in this house! We’re nearing the end of our decorating and it makes me a little crazy. Which is a sickness, I totally recognize that I promise! I know I should just live in the absolute happiness that I adore our home (AND I DO!). But I also think things like “wouldn’t be amazing to live in a mid century house with a white brick wall and a fireplace?” and “wouldn’t it be incredible to have a long farm-style dining table for entertaining?” I suppose it’s how I feel about dogs- I could weep that I’ll never be able to have all of the types and personalities of dogs that I want. Same-same for homes and decor. Such is life, right?! Too little time here on this earth, too much goodness to be had…. Hope you find these homes as day-dream inspiring as I do! xx- Sarah
Hello Tuesday, and all of you! I’m so excited to share a bit more of our outdoor space today. We just tied up all of the loose ends with the patio and our outdoor dining room is officially complete! I know I shared peeks of the house in this backyard makeover post, but I didn’t share the before photos. Our house used to be this greenish-grey color which never truly suited our style- so the fresh coat of Benjamin Moore pure white paint was pretty much cause for celebration. It’s a crazy difference isn’t it? I was jumping around like a schoolgirl when the paint was going up!
Since the patio was all concrete and stucco we wanted to bring in some organic elements with the potted plants (primarily these, these and these) and the Jardine bar from West Elm. Our amazing pal Ryan from Falling Waters Landscape helped us choose just the right plants- I especially loved his idea to put the tall spiky plants in the tall plant pots! The Ikea dining table was inexpensive and wonderfully simple. And the rug from Lulu + Georgia added the perfect graphic element to tie it all together and ground the space! I kind of got carried away with photos on this one, so there is a so much more after the jump. (I’m excitable, forgive me!) What do you think? It’s a pretty major improvement isn’t it?
If you follow along with my Instagram then you’ve seen the sneak peeks I’ve been sharing on Lowes’ Instagram this past week of the progress on our backyard makeover! But in case you haven’t I’ll start from the beginning! Lou and I loved the backyard when we moved in, but the huge lawn (seen below) was expensive to maintain (SO MUCH WATER!!!) . We also barely ever utilized the space. So we decided, with the help of the fine folks at Lowes, to turn it into our TRUE dream backyard. And I have to say, it’s so far beyond what I could have imagined and we are just pinching ourselves fifty times a day that we get to live here!! Thank you so much Lowes for making this possible!
We planted Bougainvillea bushes in these cute pots I found at Lowes to add color and height to the yard while we wait for the plants to grow in! Eventually we’ll move them to another part of the yard, wherever seems fitting once everything has grown! The plant selection at Lowes is stellar- we made a dozen trips there to pick up plants and each time I found ten more I wanted! #plantnerdproblems
When we fantasized about possibilities for the yard the first thing that came to mind was a designated space to hang a hammock (the one shownabove available here!). We knew that tearing out all of the grass and completing such a major overhaul on the yard would be well beyond our DIY skill level so we brought the incredible Falling Waters Landscape on board to help with the landscape design/install. We also enlisted our incredible friend Greg Coleman to design the structure. Knowing when you’re in over your head is so important with home projects! Both Falling Waters Landscape and Greg Coleman Designs are based in Southern CA and I couldn’t recommend either of them more, they made this project so much fun to work on and so far surpassed our expectations!!! Greg came up with some brilliant ideas for the structure to keep it from overwhelming the yard. The floating ceiling, thin white support beams and floating posts all help keep it visually light and modern! We had those pieces fabricated, but all other parts of the structure were made from supplies we found at Lowes. I realized during this process that they have EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER NEED. Seriously. One stop shop for home projects!
This before and after is pretty incredible, right? Eventually the plants surrounding the hammock structure will grow in- some will be tall, some will just fill out and cover the ground. We expect it to feel lush and full of life. There have already been so many more butterflies and hummingbirds around the yard, I’m ecstatic! Once the plants are established they’ll need way less water and we’ll be able to start really noticing the savings from having the grass removed! Falling Waters Landscape did such an incredible job with the design-we’re so in love with all the concrete pathways and how they divided the space so perfectly. They were our dream team. AND, we’re now the proud parents of a pomegranate tree! CANNOT WAIT TO PICK MY FIRST POMEGRANATE! (There were so many fruit tree options at Lowes that I was tempted to scrap the whole hammock structure idea and plant an orchard instead!!)
I’m so in love with these pink flowers, and most especially because they attract hummingbirds like crazy! I am so looking forward to next winter/spring when the yard comes into bloom! Down the road we may take down the hammock and put a 12 person dining table under the structure. There are walkways leading to it from the pool and the grill, so it would be perfect for outdoor entertaining! But for now we’ll be taking hammock naps every chance we get!!!
Our house feels like a resort! SERIOUSLY, PINCH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TEN TIMES!!!!! Also, come over, let’s have a party!!!!!
There’s the handsome man of the house, Lou Mora. You may not be able to tell but he’s bone tired and beaming with happiness! Love him. {See more of our Palm Springs home here}
This post was produced in partnership with Lowes. Thank you for supporting our sponsors! xx- Sarah
Hello, Hello! I’ve rounded up some spaces that have my heart pitter pattering this week! I know I’ve been on such a food kick lately, it’s time to round out my posting with my other loves! I’ll be sharing a majorly exciting house update on Friday (in the meantime, if you’re curious, I’m sharing sneak peeks here). And I’m aiming to shoot a style post tomorrow morning, which for me signifies getting back in the saddle of life as it involves a shower and mascara. HA! Ok, hope you find these spaces as lovely and inspirational as I do (I strongly recommend clicking through to see more!) xx- Sarah Sources: 1 / 2 / 3 /
I can’t even cope with how beautiful the photos of this space are. Just another Australian home I’m dreaming about getting adopted into! I know, my Australia obsession is kind of annoying but with everyone being so obsessed with France and French women, maybe I’m just throwing some balance into it? I don’t care where this house is, it’s ridiculously good. And it makes me want white floors in my bedroom. And more plants, stat! Hope you love it as much as I do! xx- Sarah (via The Design Files)
