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Too many cooks in the kitchen sure, but never too many guests. In our home the kitchen is always the most popular spot in the house. Whether it's a parent coming to pick up their kiddo or a group of friends who coming over to share a meal, it's where we hang. It's like the kitchen is a magnet for people. It's always where people gather around to carry on a conversation, sip a beverage or enjoy a bite. Sorry living room :( This home is a perfect blend of Minimalist, Modern Organic and Quiet Luxury. The custom kitchen has to be the best example of high-low design in the home. High-low design is the pairing of high quality (=$$$) pieces with lesser quality (=$) pieces. Sound simple right? The majority of my clients don't have budgets that allow for all premium products and finishes. That's where my design super power kicks in. Making premium and economic finds work together to create one cohesive space. If you are looking to remodel the heart of your home make it work for you and your family. Don't worry about what the trends are or what others are doing. Make it more than a space that is more than a place to cook. Quiet Luxury of a Modest Midwest Home – Tour A Designer's Own Minimalist Remodel & Addition3/4/2024
This post is dedicated to my husband, James Janvrin. For being the forever supporter, doer and one to making the impossible possible. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts. *Trade discount price
After years of designing spaces for clients it was finally my turn for a home makeover. My husband and I have finished turning our modest raised ranch into a minimalist oasis full of light and luxury. The moral of this design story is that every home is worthy of moments of thoughtful design and premium details. This post is a long time coming – over three years to be exact. That is how long my husband and I have been planning and executing our whole home renovation and addition. This remodel had so many set backs and obstacles over the years. From having to terminate our original general contractor and framing crew mid-build to being shut down by the city inspector. We have since moved in and loving all the functionality and beauty we have created. Now that we are here, I am not going to rehash the jagged journey. Rather simply showcase all the sweet spots we will be enjoying in for years to come. They are intentionally minimalistic and meant to inspire you to slow down. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts. *Trade discount price
It's been a long and arduous journey to get my own home ready for its whole house remodeled and new addition. In the past couple years the ability to build a new home; remodel an existing one; or add on to one has been burdened with a layer of difficulty. Due to increased material prices; labor shortages; and rising mortgage rates home renovations have seemed impossible. Personally, I started and stopped working with five different builders and general contractors. Not to mention I reached out to several others. I was Goldilocks! This ones too much. This ones too little. This ones a terrible communicator. In the end I decided to manage the bulk of the project and be my own general contractor.
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Some design projects we share on the blog hit close to home but the reveal I share in this post is my actual home. For over a decade I have had visions for how I wanted to update every square inch of the dated raised ranch we purchased in 2009. Early on there was my son’s nursery, and now big kid's bedroom, which has gotten a lot of attention with its super makeover. It was the room that inspired me to open YouthfulNest. This last summer was finally time for a family room remodel – taking it down to the studs and rebuilding it into my vision of Midwest Coastal. This space had become our son’s playroom and occasional hangout for the older kids to get their gaming on. It wasn’t just unattractive, the old carpet was nasty and smelly. There was water damage behind the fireplace built-ins and most certainly mold growing in places we could and couldn’t see. I hated being down there myself; it made me depressed. Except I couldn't ignore it since it was the first thing guests in our home saw and more importantly where kids played. It could no longer be ignored.
This post is sponsored by some of our favorite brands and retailers, but the content and opinions expressed are our own. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts.
Last March I was introduced to a high energy, high powered mother-to-be Zulay Henao. In our first video consult call I learned a lot about this first-time mother-to-be and her nursery design needs. First, her name is pronounced like July but with a "Z". She is an actress, co-founder of Modern Muze, a lover of all things boldly feminine, and she knows how to rock a bathrobe. I also learned that she and her partner, actor Kevin Connolly, star of Entourage, were expecting a baby girl in August 2021. Her vision for the nursery room was an eclectic one. Bringing together vintage and modern aesthetics, inspired by nature and kissed with glamour. Like I said eclectic style. This post is sponsored by some of our favorite brands and retailers, but the content and opinions expressed are our own. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts.
Where do we start with this insanely happy place of a boys' bedroom? It's like no matter where you look there is built in fun even when it comes to the bed situation. We've got bunk beds that look like the most stylish tree houses, a play gym mounted right onto the wall and something literally named a play sofa. So you can just imagine how excited these two little boys were when they saw their new space?
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Pandemic or no pandemic babies and kids continue to grow and outgrow their rooms. This is why the producer of the hit T.V. show Get Out of My Room, from NBC Universal Kids, turned to YouthfulNest. The typical formula for a T.V. design makeover show has a designer and crew working with the homeowner in person. Unfortunately, with the new normal of social distancing, this in-person scenario has not been desirable. Instead, YouthfulNest was welcomed into the New Jersey home through a completely virtual process. The Mann’s family worked with their designer via an initial voice consult call; an online eDesign service and final room walkthrough via Zoom. Two years ago the young Mann sisters had their shared bedroom designed on the show Get Out of My Room. It was bright and bold and the sisters loved it. Then they outgrew it.
This post is sponsored by some of our favorite brands and retailers, but the content and opinions expressed are our own. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts.
Oh girl, here we go! This fresh, feminine nursery designed for a mom of three boys is so ready for her spotlight. It started with a blank canvas and bloomed into a whimsical space full of flirty fauna in pinks and greens. We started following Megan Sullivan on Instagram a couple years ago. She was already following YouthfulNest and we appreciated her likes and comments on our work. When we learned she was pregnant with her fourth child, her first baby girl, we had reach out to her and recommend our eDesign service. Doing new things can be scary. When it comes to change in your kids' lives it can be downright terrifying. We’ve all experienced some big lifestyle changes in the past year that thinking about more change might be exhausting. Unfortunately, baby and kids don't stop growing. We want to shed some practical suggestions for some of the key transitions your kids will go through and how to address those those in your home.
Change is good but sometimes staying where we are is easier. Or at least more comfortable. When it comes to raising children there are changes and transitions at every turn. In this post we address three common transitions faced by our clients and share how we suggest moving forward with more grace and confidence. “The days are long but the years are short.” It’s one of those sayings that never feels cliché because it rings so true. Some days of parenting can feel like moving through glue but then you look back at photos from just a few months ago and it seems like time has flown. There are more teeth (or less!), different activities and interests, funny faces they no longer make, and wobbly steps have become confident sprints.
So many of us have high hopes of keeping meticulous baby books and recording all the memories in the making. But let’s be honest -- sometimes real life doesn’t provide an opportunity for scrapbooking. Luckily, in this digital age, it’s easier than ever to aggregate memories in keepsakes. We wanted to share some of our favorite ways to do just that. |