Your home is this ever-evolving project where spaces are tweaked and adjusted as your family lives in it. We have been in this home for over 3 years, and I still have quite the project list I’d like to see through one day. But at 3 years in, I finally feel as if I’ve established how spaces work for us, and how best to configure them. How do people do it faster than that?! I’ll always be amazed. But today’s post isn’t about how I think we would potentially renovate our bathroom in 2024 or how my dad really thinks we should enclose our patio for a sunroom. Today we are covering a home Q&A. At the end of May, I polled you all on Instagram about the top questions you had in regards to home decor. Let me know in the comment section if you are constantly adding in home projects and drinking coffee and rearranging all the things! 😉

Question 1: What wallpapers do you have throughout your home?

In Maxi’s bathroom, we went with a traditional Ralph Lauren Print. It is called, Matilda Ribbon Trell in Blush. It’s also very similar to this one. You can see her full bathroom post here.

In our bedroom, we went with a print by Jenn Thatcher. I don’t currently see it on her website, but I’m sure you can reach out to her about commissioning. While, I’m not necessarily one that’s for an accent wall, our bedroom is so large, with high ceilings. I worried wallpapering the entire space would feel overwhelming and less peaceful. You can see our bedroom post with it here.

We recently finished our wallpaper project in our dining room. We went with Scrolling Fern Fond Wallpaper in Azure, by Soane Britain. You can see our dining room complete here.

I often get asked about wallpaper I love for a powder room, and I adore Bali Hai Wallpaper Purple on Almost White, by Quadrille Fabrics.

Question 2: What are your dining room chairs?

You can grab our dining chairs from Wayfair here. We had custom cushions added that your seamstress could do based on your taste preferences! Here is the original post with them.

Question 3: What is your favorite MacKenzie-Childs piece?

Now that’s like asking if you have a favorite child- it’s impossible! ha. BUT, if I had to move and could only bring one MC piece with me {the horror} I’d go with a tea kettle. I shared a few things I’d register for:

“a tea kettle, placemats {some of my favorite MC items!}, a 3-tier sweet stand for serving, cookware, mugs, a set of plates in your favorite print”

in this MacKenzie-Childs Q&A blog post.

For me, the tea kettle truly sets the tone of the kitchen. Call it the inner Sally Clarkson lover in me, but there’s not much tea and a homemade cookie can’t fix for me. I use my tea kettle religiously and it’s such a gorgeous statement piece as well. If tea isn’t your thing, I use my 3-tier sweet stand each time we host! But if you want to start with something small, I cherish my MacKenzie-Childs mugs.

Question 4: What are some sources for traditional decor?

While Target may assume we all live with farmhouse decor or have a European Modern style, Instagram gives us Traditional enthusiasts a little platform to share. The one thing I love about traditional style {I veer towards New Traditional, with modern and playful accents} is you can find SO many wonderful pieces that have been pre-loved. I bid on Instagram auctions all the time for antiques. Here are a few sources that I think you should add to your feed:

• @ThePottedBoxwood- Christina shares traditional and timeless home tours out of Dallas and Fort Worth. She shares sources from the homeowners in the videos and on her blog.
• @AGlassofBovino- Alisa teaches you how to find New Traditional interior finds secondhand on the internet. She’s got a great sense of humor and takes you through all her DIY endeavors.
• @HappyHydrangeaHome- I’ve found many pieces of art or accent pieces for my children’s rooms via Instagram auctions. Happy Hydrangea Home is a great follow for this.
• @ErinDonahueTiceArt- My favorite trick for finding interior designers you have an affinity towards is to follow artists. I deeply admire Erin Donahue Tice’s art. She is based out of Austin, Texas and her home is to die for! She shares many of her commissions in clients’ homes, and with that, I’ve found so many interior designers to follow. From that, I’m able to source secondhand pieces that inspire me.

Question 5: Do you have options for a look-for-less for your dining room buffet lamps?

Absolutely! Our buffet lamps are by Visual Comfort, but I will link some similar options for less below.

Question 6: How do you make a patio cute and function with kid toys?

I’m no stranger to color inside my home, but I try and keep the patio a bit more cohesive with the color scheme. For our patio, I stuck with taupe, white, black, and blues, because the outdoor kid toys are loud enough. 😉 For patio toys, I purchased this basket from Serena and Lily and I am obsessed. It’s deep enough to hide kid golf clubs, baseball bats, and plenty of plastic. I also use extra planters to house hoses, sidewalk chalk, and more. Another thing I recently did was take strung faux florals and put them on our kids’ swingset. You can see a photo of it here. It may be a smidge cheesy, but it brightens up a pretty plain space, and we love it! Overall think cohesive colors so the toys can be loud, use baskets and planters for storage, and get creative with storage. That may seem like an obvious one, but I recently purchased an iron garden cart at Homegoods. It’s 100% meant for plants, but I’m using it to house my kids’ gardening tools and watering cans. Instead of having those strewn about, I have a pretty place to home them. Compromise by finding storage solutions you love with your decor, and letting all their toys be there!

Question 7: What do you use for toy storage?

I’ve simply never met a basket I didn’t like. ha! Here is a blog post on toy storage as well as a post on barbie storage and lego storage. I’ll link what we love below. To simplify, I keep two large baskets in the living room for Harry’s toys, we have a playroom for larger toys, and then I use an array of baskets and containers in their own rooms. I keep everything labeled in clear bins in closets to help make clean up a bit easier! I also love the storage ottomans from The Inside!

Question 8: What is your front door stain?

We just checked our order form and the stain color was “Special Walnut.”

Question 9: Where is the white hutch from in your dining room?

It’s from Restoration Hardware! I don’t see this exact model still on their website, but I do find similar at antique stores!

Question 10: How do you feel confident while mixing things together?

I heard a Vogue Editor in a video once say, “Does my home look like me or do I look like my home?” And I just loved that! I’m not perfect at mixing patterns or styling shelves, but homes aren’t meant to be perfect. One of my favorite authors, Sally Clarkson, always speaks to how a home is meant to recharge our family. What makes you or your family recharge? Once I assess the colors, textures, and furniture styles that serve our family to live and rest, I’m very definitive in the accessories I like. Here’s what I mean by that. Harry is 2, and I know I need an ottoman since he likes to climb. I need slipcovers on our living room furniture, because while I’d love to be the mom that only allows my children to eat in the kitchen….open concept homes kind of ruined that one for us. It’s 2 steps from our kitchen island to a chair and far too easy for Harry to sneak off with a cracker or two. Those things allow our family to live best in our home. For accessories, I like to ask myself this, “Can you find it older?“

I think one reason I love New Traditional design is that bits and pieces of it stand the test of time. Sure, when I look back at a photo from this post I will know this was our home in 2022. Even if a bride selects a traditional dress, she will still look back on wedding photos and know when she got married, simply due to makeup styles, etc. So I try to not put too much pressure on myself in terms of style dating itself. But, oyster plates on the wall, Schumacher fabrics, copper accents, and ginger jars can be found on numerous antique sites, so it is safe to say I can use these pieces for decades to come. I ask myself if I can find this older and then I try to pair the old with the new. As I look at our tv console, I have a Rose Famille Medallion bowl next to lamps from Homegoods. In our dining room, I have an antique silver tray for a bar next to “trendier” frames.

And that’s kind of how I find myself styling from my wardrobe. I love girlier pieces, but with just a touch of trend. I’m not always confident in how I mix or rearrange. In fact, Monday evening I spent a solid 3 hours moving furniture…only to move it all back in the same place. Don’t you love when that happens?! But I am confident in the types of pieces that work best for our family and I enjoy mixing the old with the new. I did a blog post on mixing MacKenzie-Childs prints here, and I do think there are a few key takeaways in it as well.

Question 11: What storage ideas do you have for small bathrooms?

If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you may have seen posts where I’ve shared our bathroom is on a list of future projects. And it is….but goodness, do I put it off. I’ve seen my parents renovate bathrooms and watched friends sit through the process. I just can’t fathom how it works with little kids, so if you have any tips for me, please speak into that! All of that to say, our bathroom here is smaller {there is a random closet in it that we need to open up to give us more space} and I’ve found a few things to help with storage.

First, I use an acrylic makeup organizer. My beloved, GLAMbox company is no longer sold. These things last a lifetime they are so well made! But you can find similar at Homegoods, etc. I also like to use clear lazy susans in the drawers for housing products. I find it easier than storing in one big box container. Then, I love this marble tray from Crate and Barrel. I use it for perfumes, face masks, or any current products I find that took pretty. 😉 I repurpose candle jars to hold makeup brushes, I have a blog post on that here. And for a touch of color, I use monogrammed Weezie towels on our towel holder. I’ll link below what we use in our bathroom, as well as an older post on styling a small bathroom. But truly, talk me into or out of renovating a bathroom- please and thank you! ha.

Question 12: What rugs do you have in your home?

You’ll sense a theme in these with my love of oushak rugs! I get a lot of my rugs from Milagro Collective and I do have a discount code there, it is KATEY10.

Our kitchen runner is from Milagro. Here is my blog post on our kitchen.

In our entry, we have a vintage rug from Simple Things Furniture– one of my favorite furniture stores!

Maxi’s rug was another Milagro purchase. You can see more photos here.

Our living room rug is by Stark. Linked here.

Our dining room rug is by Lindsey Meyer.

In our hallway, we have a sisal rug by MacKenzie-Childs.

Question 13: here are the mirrors from in your home?

In the photo above, you see Harry’s bathroom. I was pregnant and determined to DIY something I’d seen similar and I’m so happy with how they turned out. My post is on them here.

For his bedroom, this mirror was sourced by Maddie Hughes. When he was born, I was able to find it online, but can’t seem to find it now. However, there are many similar options, I’ll link.

Maxi’s butterfly mirror is from Horchow, but there are some similar options for less! I’ll link her’s as well as others.

Her long mirror is also from Horchow. We bought it before she was born, you can see it in her first nursery here.

Her Venetian bathroom mirror was a find when we were first married and has moved in each house with us.

The large mirror in our bedroom is from Overstock. It’s currently out of stock, but comes back in stock at many places. I’ll link some for you!

This mirror was an antique store find with my mom a few years back! We love to go to antique tea rooms and then hunt for a great deal. This one reminds of it!

Our dining room mirror is from Pottery Barn, but sold out. I have similar below.

This mirror is and oldie but goodie! It’s from Horchow from our first house, but no longer sold.

Question 14: What are the lighting sources in your home?

• Kitchen Pendants
• Living Room Flushmount
• Dining Room Chandelier
• Harry’s Flushmount
• Harry’s Lamp
• My Closet Flushmount
• Maxi’s Chandelier
• Playroom Light Fixture
• Our Bedroom Lamps
• Living Room Rattan Lamps
• Maxi’s Lamps
• Kitchen Chandelier

lamp link

Question 15: What are your favorite shops for home decor and furniture?

• Kathy Kuo Home
• Horchow
• Frontgate
• Little Design Co.
• MacKenzie-Childs
• Oyster Creek Studios
• Liven Up Design
• The Inside
• Milagro Collective
• Simple Things Furniture
• Caitlin Wilson
• Restoration Hardware
• Chairish
• Jenn Thatcher Art
• Homegoods
• Lo Home

Question 16: What are your paint colors?

I wish I had more of them than we actually do! We were told our wall color was color-matched to Benjamin Moore White Dove, when we have tried to swatch that it comes up a bit lighter. It may be 10% darker. We do not have trim or cabinet colors.

Maxi’s paint is Clare Paint in “Wing It.” Harry’s paint is Sherwin Williams “Underseas.”

Question 17- What is the carpet in your home?

Here is the link to our carpet. The shade is “Almond.”

Question 18: What is the color of your tv console?

Benjamin Moore Eagle Rock 1469

And with that, I’ll leave you as you’re probably sick of me! I hope this was helpful and if I missed anything you are usually curious about, please let me know!