Hollen Home | Marin's Big Girl Room

When we were expecting our first kiddo, we decided early on that we weren't going to have a pink, princess nursery. I wanted something that was fairly neutral. We went with lighter green walls with lots of black and white accents. You can see the before and after of Marin's nursery here.  I've loved this room for the past 3 years.

When we found out we were expecting again, I started clearing out our office space in our spare room in preparation for our newest little one. Once we found out we were having a little boy, we decided it would actually be much easier to keep Marin's current green room as the nursery and make the office spare room Marin's new room.

I wasn't sure if she could be convinced to have a different room and give her little brother her old room, but once I mentioned that she could paint one wall whatever color she wanted, she was sold. I knew what was coming. Marin is all spunk and all pink. Most of our lives are covered in glitter and princess pink.  I now have the one thing in our home that I didn't think we ever would: a bright pink wall. I actually kind of love it. Only painting an accent wall and then painting the trim white really helped.

We gave Marin a big girl bed for Christmas that just sat in a box until her big girl room was completed. The matching dresser, an awesome little chair, and a new white bookcase were added as well. I bought her a little rug. My mom made her awesome pink curtains and she has some awesome princess bedding. It all has come together quite well.

Now when the sun hits the front side of our house, Marin's room glows a nice pink color all the way out into the hallway. She loves her new big girl room. I can't quite believe we have a bright pink wall.

Next up in nesting....A revamped baby nursery. Stay tuned.

Sources:

Rug: RugsUSA

Bedding: Walmart

Bed, Chair, & Dresser: American Furniture Warehouse

Bookcase: Amazon

Paint Color: Behr Sweet Chrysanthemum

Wall Art: Hobby Lobby

Weekend Project: The Front Door

We own our home. I love it really mostly all of the time. Being a home owner also gives you the ability and opportunity to paint whatever nook and cranny of that home that suits your fancy. I always love how a coat of paint can completely transform something. 

This past weekend's project: The Front Door

Our front door was bland, predictable, and the same color as the rest of the house. Boring. What fun is that?

Somewhere in the midst of building our front porch, I was looking through paint swatches to find our perfect door color. I feel that red has been fairly overdone and wanted to find something unique to us. I've been placing more orange into our house over the past few year or so and have been trying to get away from red. (Nothing against red, but I've just used it far too long!) 

Here enters: Maple Leaf. The color of our freshly painted door. In the course of a few hours we had a spruced up door, some pumpkins to go with it, and my wreath hung up on the front door. Home Sweet Home.

I love it. For an inexpensive, weekend project: this is it. Aside from cleaning the door off and making sure that it was ready to be painted, this project was seriously a piece of cake. You just need a bit of patience in making sure the first coat is dry before you add the second, but other than that: easy as pie. (Clearly, I must want cake or pie, or really any dessert of any kind, due to my use of sayings today.) 

I need to quit thinking about dessert. 

I really must fix the number on our sign. The crooked two pretty much drives me nuts. 

I also managed to get some decorating done on the inside of our little home as well. 

I love this season. 

White Walls, Wood Floors

Normally my decor taste leans far more towards bold, colorful walls and lots of prints. Lately, I've been noticing that I'm drawn towards fairly minimal spaces, with white walls, and wood floors. The thing I love about this type of home design is that even though the walls are white, like a blank canvas, the pieces in the room speak for themselves. Color pops from places other than the paint on the walls. I am also entirely envious of the wood floors that I find throughout all of these photos. Someday, I will rid our home of carpet forever! 

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 Source: unknown source, on Pinterest 

 Source: unknown source, on Pinterest 

I want to sort through so much of what we own and start over. I also want to buy a bunch of paint and create a clean slate. 

Bedroom Inspiration

Earlier this year, we embarked upon re-doing our outdated kitchen. We had to work with a small budget, couldn't replace any appliances (someday), and did it all with our own hands and the hands of others. My lovely friends help me paint every nook and cranny. My dad built cabinet doors and I felt like I had white paint on my hands for weeks. The outcome was exactly what we wanted. 

Now my current endeavor is that of re-doing our bedroom. Truthfully, I haven't even started it yet, but I've been collecting ideas for the past few months. After Christmas, my goal is tackle this room and make it our very own. Pinterest has helped me with my decorating obsession. This is the direction I am hoping for....

I want grey and yellow to be our main color scheme. I also love the idea of throwing a little teal in there. I'm leaning towards grey walls with yellow/teal accents. I want the overall feel to be very calming but with a few splashes of color. 

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I would love to create a plush headboard as well. 

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I want to focus on more natural, warm wood pieces. 

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As I head into this new challenge, I will keep you all updated. Once again, we are on a small budget, but that challenge makes it even more fun. 

Please Meet: Geoff the Cat

Well, I'm officially the crazy cat lady blogging about her new crazy cat. It's happening. Right now. 

Earlier this year, we faced a difficult decision to put down our kitty, Lewis. He was a sick little fellow and his time spent with us here was very short. He was a part of our new little family and the absence of him was greatly noticed throughout our home. 

Months later, we discovered a friend of a friend that was giving away a little kitten. 

Insert Geoff here.  

(Yes, like Jeff. My husband fancies the idea of naming an animal a typical human name. Geoff or Geoffrey. Or as I like to call him Jeffey.) 

This is our new little guy. He is a handful. We trip over him constantly because he has to walk right in our feet and he follows us everywhere we go. He is our little shadow. He's kind of feisty and vocal when he doesn't get his way. But, boy can this little guy cuddle. 

He is a welcomed addition and challenge to our little home. The kitten stage is always full of new lessons and experiences. 

This is the only photo I have managed to capture of him. He's a quick little booger. 

I declare at this point to NEVER have a soccer mom haircut......

I’ve been greatly pondering the idea of what it means to be a wife, a homemaker, and someday a mother. Daily, as I sit at my neatly ordered desk at my place of work, my mind is swept off with ideas of what’s for dinner, the lack of a maternity leave at said place of work, and the cost of the Kitchenaid mixer that I just can’t seem to get my hands on. 

What’s happening to me? 

These new thoughts and occurrences have lead me to question...

At what point does a girl become a wife? A mom? Suzie Homemaker? 

It’s as if a switch that was once buried deep inside of me has been turned on by some unknown force. As of late, my mind has been filled with decorating my house or making zucchini bread. The simple joy of leaving my work everyday and driving back to our home to spend time with my husband is reason enough for me to simply love my life. 

My desires seem to be changing overnight. I am known to be a driven individual. Always dreaming my way into the next course of my life, swiftly riding upon a wave a music, photography, and an entrepreneurial spirit. I am always seeking, always searching, always striving. Those things will always be a part of me, but not the biggest part, as I am coming to find. 

There’s something else. A spirit of legacy and family. Of banana bread and vacuuming. Of coming home to cuddle with my husband on the couch and talk about all of the business ideas that have been running through my head. 

Yet, many of those ideas seem outlandish compared to what has been placed on my heart. 

And strangely enough, I becoming alright with all of it. Almost. 

For so much my life, I have been consumed with doing, doing, doing. Working, working, working. I was in a place where if I wasn’t moving, I felt lifeless. I wanted to be a successful, creative individual that would do anything to get where I felt I was supposed to go. There was always a song to write, a practice to go to, a photo to take, a connection to make.  

Now my thoughts are filled with a very different picture. I see myself as a stay at home mom/working part time, learning for the first time what it is to truly care for another human being in a way that I have never known before. I would bake that banana bread, have a garden out in our backyard, and go to those play-dates with those so-called soccer moms (although, I declare at this point to NEVER have the soccer mom haircut). The music and photography would still be there, in some form, but not in an all consuming one as I have seen in the past. 

Someday. 

Someday, we will grow a family and a home. 

DIY Envy

I have kitchen cabinets on the brain. Life is slowing down a tad for a while. We have only one or two music gigs set up for the next few months. I welcome the down time. I have a house that still isn't quite yet a home.

First project to focus on....our kitchen cabinets. I love the gallery kitchen we have. My goal is for my color scheme to be aqua and red.

Current cupboards...

I want bold cupboards. I don't want to play it safe. I think we have the balls to pull that off. Some ideas.....

Or even something as crazy as this....fabric cabinets! I don't know if I'm that daring...

I'm going to dream of aqua and painting tonight!

Should I go bold or subtle?