 You probably know by now that I like to decorate! I enjoy watching the trends for home style come & go. I like to mix modern & farmhouse decor with a splash pattern! Keeping up with trends can be an investment but I don't treat it that way. I love to search for home items that achieve the same look without overspending. Usually I will piece together things I find from various stores with items I already own. This keeps decorating fun with less stress!! Here are some recent finds that will have your spaces feeling stylish yet approachable. Let's face it......one of the kids WILL spill something on my $15 table runner but I won't feel like crying over it! Our family has seen many place mats over the years. All item names below act as links. These are also items that you might be able to find similar options at resale shops or other discount stores. Let this act as an inspiration for your future shopping!
I hope this serves as a fun source of inspiration for any small home purchase! Previous home decor posts from HOUSE ON THE HILL: Refresh: Fireplace Styled for Summer Mixing High & Low Home Decor Currently Loving: Linen & Gold 
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Have you ever wondered..."How could I quickly give ____ an update without putting forth max effort or cash?"
I have this thought ALL the time. Ha! Luckily, I have become quite skilled in the area of mini-makeovers or as I like to call it "mini refresh." I wanted to spruce up my fireplace in the living room to add a lighter/brighter feel. It's current state was not inspiring! Let's be honest, the before picture in this refresh is post-Christmas defeat + quarantine boredom! After Christmas, I usually am so worn out that whatever I see first ends up replacing the stockings! As long as it doesn't resemble Christmas I feel satisfied for a few months. Couple that with quarantine later on and you have the before! At one point in the spring I added a few different things but I never finished (hence quarantine boredom & lack of outside sources). So I needed a plan I could stick to...... It is a difficult area because it is... - shallow - dominated by a t.v. & speaker - surrounded by various textures that can become very manly - dark My goals for this area were: + light colors, mostly white + add in different textures of glass + use 90% pre-owned items (modify if necessary) + use Pinterest for inspo.....of course! 
I did a tiny DIY with some random glass vases from around the house. I used spray paint with a matte "chalk" finish. I wasn't sure which shapes or textures I wanted yet so I grabbed a few. I will use the other items somewhere else in the house. I am in no way an expert in this area but it was fairly easy & affordable!
I am loving this mini refresh! I think it will get me through until early fall. I like to keep things for 3-4 months if possible. It keeps me sane & inspired! The only new thing I purchased for this refresh (other than the spray paint) was the basket on the hearth. It will function as storage for magazines & small books. Every other item was something I already had, painted or moved from another space/storage. I only had to rummage through my glass recycling once for the wine bottle. :) The random books were stripped of their covers & turned backwards to add height for the vase. The picture frame is one I purchased earlier in the year. Which happened to come with the orange background picture & I never wanted to change it!
The final result incorporated: + Lots of white (matte & shiny) + Various textures (glass, concrete, basket, greenery, books) + Function (basket) + Homey touches (candles, Joanna Gaines??) I have my eyes on our half bath downstairs next..... I hope this inspires you to do a mini refresh in some area of your home! Send me pictures or tag me in your stories on Instagram or Facebook! 
As trends come and go I tend to grab onto ones that fit my lifestyle and go beyond fads. I am currently loving anything linen & gold!
I have always loved the look & feel of linen. It usually gets a bad reputation because it wrinkles....badly. But, if you go into it knowing the second you iron linen it will be back to it's original self then you won't be disappointed! Here are a few home finds that I have incorporated into our space recently. I personally love the rich texture it gives any room. It can also be extremely comfortable if you get the right type! I stray away from the looser or heavier knits. They tend to be scratchy. * All products will be linked in the scrolls below! 
We recently added this light quilt to our master bed. It is so soft and comes in this beautiful dusty pink and a few other colors. Threshold calls this color "Copper." Perfect for warm summer nights, not heavy at all!
These linen pillow covers are so versatile! They come in a handful of colors & are so easy to change out. I like to change the colors based on the season. I steam them once when they arrive to get the creases out then leave them alone.
I also find linen to be so comfortable to wear in the summer. It breathes easily, it's light, & can be worn in so many ways! Here are a few ways linen bottoms can be styled... 
Another "trend" I am loving lately is gold accessories. The 90's are coming back & I'm here for it! Plus, gold looks good with anything black which is half of my wardrobe! 
Why not add a little gold into the home as well?? I am working on a face lift at our office & came across these drool worthy gold hardware pieces. They are a great mix of feminine & masculine. It will be hard to choose!!
What trends are you loving lately?? Leave a comment below! I am always looking for something new to try out! 
 Building a home can be exciting, scary, confusing, and altogether time consuming. My Pinterest dreams are going to come true! I can’t wait to buy all the things for our new home! We can make it just like we want it! Which slowly turns into….. How do we find the money for this? How much are we talking here? Where do we begin this process? Who can we trust? Where is the best place to build? Why don’t people meet outside of normal working hours? There are so many questions you will ask yourself along this process. Some questions you will find the answers to quickly. Others you will research, ask, and ultimately satisfy yourself with a made-up version of an answer! My husband and I went on this very journey in the beginning of 2018. We were first time home builders with no experience whatsoever. We were solid members of the home buying club but wanted something uniquely ours. We learned a lot during the process with the help of family, professionals, and the internet! Here are a few nuggets of information that helped us along the way, tips for any novice looking to build a home. 1. Take pictures of other homes. Write down the specifics of what you like about them. If you are techie edit the photo by circling or adding an arrow to help you remember. For example, a house down the street from us had the garage lighting that I envisioned for our home. I snapped a quick picture and sent it to our electrician, he then knew exactly how I wanted the lighting set up and what it should look like. 2. Pinterest and view HGTV with caution. There is a reason why photos on Pinterest and home renovation shows do not display price tags as they are showing you such eye candy. Big bucks! Apparently ship lap is ultra pricey, who knew? Joanna Gaines makes it seem so mainstream! Take inspiration from these sources but understand they are not reality. You will have to find a way to make those visions fit in your budget, which thankfully there are many budget friendly options that are also stylish.
3. Decide on a color scheme and overall style. Research different home styles and narrow it down to one or two. All of your material selections need to circle back to the style you have chosen. For example, we chose modern farmhouse as our style. When choosing the exterior material we went with concrete siding instead of brick, because siding is indicative of the farmhouse style. We also wanted some modern aspects to our home, one way we achieved this is all of our plumbing fixtures are very square and modern looking.
4. Shop and purchase your own fixtures. This can be overwhelming at first but worth it in the long run. Just make sure you have some space to store finishes if you purchase them before they are needed at the jobsite. We ordered or picked up all of our own plumbing (faucets, sinks, drains) and lighting fixtures (exterior lighting, fans, pendants). Each item that the builder will install in the home will incur a 10% fee from the builder. Anytime we purchased an item we would turn the receipt into the builder along with any information about installation or specs. Before you purchase anything look over the house plans to determine what you need and talk with your builder about the specifics of what is needed for each space. For example, a farmhouse sink changes the dimensions of the cabinets and the countertop which needs to be communicated with individuals providing those materials. 5. Use a notebook. In the beginning, I would write down questions, ideas, and finishes that I wanted to incorporate. I drew various pictures of how I wanted the kitchen open shelving and closets to be done. I took the same notebook with us to pick out finishes, meet with the builder, and anytime my husband and I debriefed about any of the project. It was so nice to have a specific place where all of this could be stored and it really came in handy! Notes in your iPhone will work too but there is something about writing things down that works better for me.
6. Dedicate time each week to visit jobsite. I made time to visit the build at least once a week, typically after work on Friday after a full week of jobs had been completed. This gave me a good picture of what had been done that week and how things were progressing. Usually all of the trades were gone at this point so it was easy to walk around without being in anyone’s way. My husband has a more flexible schedule and began going every 2-3 days after the house was framed in. He went in the afternoon and was able to communicate anything important to the subs, take pictures of problems, and monitor progress more closely. It was very helpful that he was able to be there so often, he caught a lot of things that we wouldn’t have otherwise.
7. Make compromises daily. Unless you have an unlimited budget, the finished product will not be 100% as you have envisioned but it will be close. There will be many compromises made along the way to stay on budget, get the look you want, and make your partner happy. Compromise creates harmony! 8. Let your partner do what they do best. My husband is a very detailed oriented person. I let him take the lead on communication with the builder, additional trips to the jobsite, coordination of materials, and the budget. I am a visual person that thrives off of planning. My husband let me take the lead on coordinating the schedule for material selection (ex. Cabinets chosen by May 1st) , choosing paint colors, and communicating design to subs (professionals hired to do each job). We both took on the job of choosing finishes that went with our overall design; this in and of itself was a large job that was easier done with two heads! 9. Choose a flat builder’s fee. If your builder offers to charge a flat fee for their services instead of a percent of overall cost, take advantage of this. We did not see the value in this decision until the percentage of our build exceeded that flat rate. We ended up paying our builder more because we decided to add several things to our build later on. This could be a difference of several thousand dollars. There will always be hidden costs and add-ons later in the game, but hopefully they will add to the value of your home. 10. Don’t forget about landscaping and window treatments! In the beginning of your build these seem so far off and typically get the shaft in terms of budget. Budget for these items upfront so move-in doesn’t sneak up on you. They can be large ticket items that seem unnecessary but…. you can’t get an occupancy permit until you have a yard and you can’t take a shower (with confidence) in a bathroom with no shades! I hope that these tips are helpful as you begin your journey to build or renovate a home. Everyone's experience is different! At the end of the day you will have a home that you can be proud of and spend many days and years enjoying with your family.  |
Hi I'm Kelsey.
I help busy women embrace cooking at home with my fuss-free family recipes! Archives
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