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Interview with HGTV Star Leanne Ford…

November 12, 2019 by Michelle Hinckley

I recently had the opportunity to interview the amazingly talented HGTV designer, Leanne Ford. I have followed Leanne from the get-go and respect her design eye tremendously.

What I admire about Leanne’s work is that she isn’t one of those designers who goes in to a space with grand plans to demolish every wall, and make everything look new and shiny. Occasionally yes, but she’s very selective. Instead, she seems to have a “horse-whisperer” sense (except for interiors) where she gets in touch with a space’s soul. She embraces an interior’s character, “flaws” and all, and makes them the stand-out star of a room.

Take this room for example…any designer would have probably turned their nose up at this heavy wall texture but she embraced it with a two-toned paint treatment, almost bringing more attention to it, and now it’s visually interesting.

Another aspect I love about her design is her ability to break the design rules and have it look even more beautiful. Check out her “shelvie’s”…I’m over here trying to achieve the perfect balance, color scheme and collection of items while she on the other hand, makes shelves functional AND beautiful.

“Rule of thirds”? Forget it. Just throw what you love on the shelf . She debunks the idea of perfection when it comes to interiors. Leanne is helping people create spaces that are actually functional rather than museum-esque rooms to be observed and not used.

The last point I want to emphasize is Leanne’s use of vintage pieces, which is what I think really sets her rooms apart from other designers. One of my complaints about buying new is rooms are starting to look like copy-cat versions of everyone else’s. You start to see the same sofa’s, lamps and tables in everyone else’s homes.

Good luck finding that sofa…

Or those carts…

Or that cabinet turned wash basin…

Leanna Ford can be found on HGTV, she recently wrote a book or check out her website. She is definitely one to follow!

New Roman Window Shade.

August 28, 2019 by Michelle Hinckley

You may not think what you put on your windows is a big deal but it makes a huge impact when you read a room. Window coverings are not only functional when it comes to light control and privacy but it’s an opportunity to really put an exclamation point on the style of a room that so many people miss.

5 years ago we installed a natural woven shade from Smith & Noble in our kitchen window. It was perfect because it let light through while giving privacy when pulled down. (Perfect since I can look right into my neighbor’s backyard and home and they in to mine). The other thing I ADORE about this shade is that it was cord free. To maneuver it up or down, you simply pull it down anywhere on the bottom of the shade or lift it up without any cords. I kid you not, I could lift the whole shade up by using just one finger. Simple and no strings to get tangled.

I believe it’s very important for us bloggers to be honest and truthful when we use products in our homes and you’ve probably noticed I do quite a number of reviews months and/or years later on how those things have held up. Admittedly the shade malfunctioned after 5 years. Somehow the uppy/downy mechanism (for lack of the correct terminology) popped and it stayed in the downy position (no more uppy). I immediately called Smith & Noble customer service and they were extremely helpful. They were eager to fix the problem and replace the shade at no cost. In fact, life got chaotic for me this summer with my kiddos where I dropped the ball and they stayed in touch by consistently following up with me. Unfortunately, they no longer had the same material in stock to make a new one, but fortunately, I was able to pick a new shade. (Great because you know how much I like to change out and update things in my home).

I went with a fabric Roman shade in the “Traffic/Dove” material.

All the samples are free so you can see and feel how they really are in person. This material ended up being a little darker in person which I actually loved even better.

To maneuver it up/down you simply pull the ring cleverly hidden on the back of the shade. It has a mechanism similar to those spring-loaded rolling maps your teacher used to fight with in class. The only difference is this actually works and works WELL! It really is so easy to use and again, no hanging cords to get in the way or tangle up.

I’m not exaggerating when I say, “I LOVE HOW IT TURNED OUT”! Not only does it provide privacy and light control, but it’s just dang pretty. It’s like lipstick for the window. And now that it’s up, all my other rooms’ windows look pretty sad and frumpy.

Smith & Noble does everything from blinds, shutters and shades to curtains and pillows. They really are a one-stop-shop for everything windows. They’ve also partnered up savvy designers like the Property Brothers, Wendy Bellissimo and the Madcap Gents to bring their exclusive lines of window coverings which will leave you swooning. Definitely check them out!

DIY Floating Corner Shelves.

November 13, 2018 by Michelle Hinckley

One of our most pinned and re-posted projects are the corner shelves we installed in my son’s room.
A linen closet on the other side of this wall is the reason there is this awkward little nook.
We were able to turn this annoying detail in to one of the best additions in the room with some DIY corner shelves.

I almost wish they would have just made the linen closet bigger on the other side of the wall in order to keep the whole wall in this room flush. There’s just barely enough room for a twin sized bed. If I wanted to put a night stand next to the bed it would be floating in the middle of the room in front of that nook. Not exactly ideal.
My solution…when life gives you lemons make floating shelves.

Making them is not as difficult as one might think. The wonderful carpenter I found on HomeAdvisor (who also installed the wall planks) whipped these up in no time. First, put up two pieces of 1×1 (which will be the main support for the shelves). Make sure to nail directly in to the studs behind the wall.

Next, cut a board so it aligns with your two walls. Nail directly in to the top of the board so it hits the 1×1 support underneath.

For the bottom of the shelf, cut an identical board as the top one and nail through the board directly in to the underside of the 1×1.

Measure a face board that will cover the gap and nail to the top and the bottom boards.

As before, make sure you are nailing the face board in to the top and bottom boards.

I filled all the nails holes with stainable wood filler. It you look closely you can probably see where the wood filler is. Because the wood filler wasn’t the same color as the boards it also stained up differently. In hindsight I wish I would have not filled the nail holes and just left the holes undone for a more rustic look.

I used Frog Tape to protect the wall which worked great on top but staining the underneath was a different story. Applying the stain without having it drip was really tricky. Save yourself from having to do paint touch up and use two rows of tape or wider tape when staining the underneath.

Now that the shelves are up I really love the odd little nook.
And that, my friends, is how we turn lemons in to lemonade (or rather floating corner shelves).

The shelves are going to provide some much needed storage for that little bedroom.

See the whole room reveal here.