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- [00:02]
Caroline
Welcome to how to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team.
- [00:11]
Taryn
And I'm Taryn and I'm a product designer.
- [00:13]
Liz
I'm Liz. I head of the creative team. We're your hosts.
- [00:16]
Caroline
Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world.
- [00:22]
Taryn
Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode.
- [00:25]
Liz
We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us@podcastallardesigns.net now, on with the show, ladies.
- [00:34]
Caroline
We have not done trials and triumphs in a hot minute. So that is what we are here to do. And who wants to go first? Not it.
- [00:46]
Taryn
What a good start. Also not it.
- [00:49]
Caroline
I'll start. No, I'm okay.
- [00:51]
Taryn
Start. I wrote mine down in advance. You're all welcome. I'm just kidding. I was prepared this time. Um, some things I've been doing recently, so I think we. I talked about how I redid my younger son's room and put in two twin beds. Um, finally got his crib out. He is way into four. Should have happened earlier, but it didn't. Um, so I had put the trim on the bed on the actual duvets. And so I had just these white, very basic bed skirts. And my mom had actually purchased me two creamy bed skirts from Ollie's at some point for like $2 each. Something. She just likes to shop. And she was like, oh, I'm here. And I was like, sure, if I put these to Goodwill, they will. It will be fine. So I was like, I don't think these match the actual duvet, but I'm just gonna get em and see. So my mom got me these. I had these white ones on the bed. So I had these two different sets of bed skirts. So I had a while ago, I was like, I'm gonna dye them. I think I'm just gonna try dyeing them because.
- [01:57]
Caroline
Oh, this is your classic move.
- [01:59]
Taryn
It is a cla. I know. I always talk about my rit dying and I always, it's either a fail or, you know, half the time it's a fail, half the time it's a win, so.
- [02:06]
Caroline
Oh, I think your odds are better than that.
- [02:08]
Taryn
Oh, thank you.
- [02:09]
Caroline
I I towards win, I mean.
- [02:11]
Taryn
Yeah, thanks. So I'm like, all right, do I dye the white ones that are very cheap, like super cheap material, or do I try dyeing These, like, off white ones, which. Because the base is off white, even the dye, when I'm making it, it's going to absorb and look different because it's on a creamy base fabric.
- [02:31]
Liz
Right?
- [02:31]
Taryn
But they were a nicer, heavier weight. So the cre. The creamy ones. So I'm like, all right, I think I'm just going to dye both and see what happens. Like, see which one looks better. Because in both cases, my investment was, I mean, I'm up to $30 plus, I don't know, $15 for two bottles of dye to make the tone of blue to match the Wayne's coating. And that also compliments the wallpaper in this bedroom. So I, like, kind of figure out the blue I want to kind of go with. You know, I put it in the big, hot boiling thing of water outside in some bucket, and then I, like, do the dips of paper towel. And this is all on their website, rit dye. So I'm not. I'm just following suit. And then I'm like, ah, it's too blue. It's too, like, it's not dark enough. It doesn't need to be lighter. You know, I'm playing this game, and I dye both sets. I just decided to do it. So I do one set first, then I do the second set. And of course, the white looked. Ended up coming out like baby. Baby blue. Like, this soft, weird blue that was not good. And then the creamy one ended up being, like, too light of shade, but, like, it was the correct shade of this. Like, it's. It goes teal. This blue goes teal. In his room, it has this hint of green in it. It's definitely a greeny blue. So I'm like, okay, I'm gonna try again. I'm gonna dye it two times. So I did the whole wash and, like, see how it came out? And because of the amount of fabric I was putting in, parts were still, like. It almost looked tie dye, you know, like, not the actual solid. And I didn't do it in the machine. You can do it in your washing machine. But for me, I just am like, is it gonna get stuck in there? I don't know. I just. I did it in the bucket again. So I did it in the bucket again, and this time, I did it one bed skirt at a time, and I got it more evened out. The dye was much more even, and that was, like, perfect. So I washed them and dried them, and I ironed them, and I was like, let's see how it looks. And it is Perfect because now that the bed skirts match the wall you don't see them. And that's exactly what I wanted in this case. I didn't want your eye to see it but I also just wanted to keep the metal rails and I'm not redoing the headboard or anything like that right now. So I'm kind of just sticking with the wooden headbo because I owned those already and I. I love them. They're a little too short for the space but you know I'm making it work as. As we teach everyone and it matches my blue baller gourd lamp too so it's like right in the same shades and anyway so I was really proud of myself so that was definitely a triumph for.
- [05:10]
Caroline
Definitely. You were so resourceful.
- [05:12]
Liz
I always so great.
- [05:13]
Caroline
Yeah. Love your dying stories because I am. I've never tried it but I've always wanted to try it but I'm too nervous.
- [05:21]
Taryn
I respect your nervousness because you do like it's one of those things that like if you splash anything around you've like put dye on it so you're like wearing all black. I'm doing it outside. I've got gloves, I've got paper towels and newspapers down. Try not to even dye the like the cement because I don't want to do it in the grass because no grass in it. So it's like this whole like where do you do it? How do you do it? But it turned out and it was so worth it because it's exactly what I needed in there. Cuz I couldn't do another pattern because there's a gingham on the bedspread, the wallpaper so it's like it didn't need any. There was no more pattern needed so it needed to be a solid and I think it was the perfect. It's great and I didn't have to like have ones customade so it just worked out so it was worth it. Cuz had it been a loss it would have been 30 bucks and I could have just been shopping around for the right blue. But it's perfect. Other things I worked on I about this time last year was finish trying to finish my mural in my dining room and then I fully lost steam and shoved things against the wall called it a day. So I did spend some time recently finishing up some of the elements and I was very proud of myself. I'd still say I could. There's some areas I'd like to finish connecting over the doorway. Just some of the rows kind of intertwined above the arch that I wanted to do, but that required the bigger ladder. And anyway. But anything else? I finished out some birds on wall, added some flowers to the ground and stuff, so that was kind of a fun. So now it just feels a little more finished in there to me. So that was another triumph that I was very proud of.
- [07:02]
Caroline
It looks so good. Are you just not so proud of yourself? I would think that every time you walk by that room, you're like, oh, my God, I did that.
- [07:08]
Liz
Right?
- [07:09]
Taryn
I weirdly met, like, am I over this? Does that make sense?
- [07:16]
Liz
I'm.
- [07:16]
Taryn
I know. It's like, I finished it, and then I was like, am I over this yet? But I do. I think the color combo that I went with, I'm still in love with the bright yellow and the soft lavender. And I know right now it's like, I feel like those colors have fully submerged the market, and we're just getting past it, you know, so it's a little bit of this dream come true, but now it's here. And then I'm like, do I still love it? But I do. I. I think I enjoy painting. Is also why I said, like, instead of it feeling like a. Yeah, like, wash your hands of it. I'm like, is there more to be done, or do I need to dab?
- [07:49]
Liz
There's more to be done. I mean, there are more little birds and butterflies and things that can pop in here whenever you feel like it, right?
- [07:58]
Taryn
Oh, absolutely. I mean, the. The later elements I have liked more. And so even the trees in there, some of them that were my initial ones, I'm like, these need a lot more branches and leaves. So to your point, I. I'm not done, but I've been working on that, I should say, so.
- [08:15]
Caroline
I always feel like I get such a. Like. Like, you had a vision. Oh, and you made it happen. Like, yeah, right?
- [08:23]
Taryn
Yes. Really cool. Yes. I still don't have, again, the cushions made in there, and I do think I need that element to finally, like, truthfully feel like, oh, and art. There's art I need on the. On one of the walls. I didn't finish the mural there, knowing I'd kind of put something on top of it. And my husband said he. He's does dabble and stuff, and I kind of gave him direction. And we're just playing to see while we're, like, also looking for something, because it's really got a compliment, you know, my table is black and so stark, and everything else is, like, these weird light colors. But then the yellow and the black are these really hard colors. It's weird. My dining room's weird, but, like, I love it. It's just. I think it goes together when you're in there. But it's one of those things where I feel like the art needs, like, some black to it. Like, it needs some heaviness to make you look up, but it needs to not be so light that you're looking at the painting on the wall. You know, like the walls themselves.
- [09:23]
Caroline
Black frame.
- [09:24]
Taryn
A black frame would probably really help in there because then you'd at least, like, the art would be separate from the wall mural, which is art in itself.
- [09:32]
Liz
Right.
- [09:32]
Taryn
So I've been looking at a lot of, again, Gracie and de Gornay wallpapered dining rooms just to see how other designers have, like, kind of handled the art in the space. And, you know, art is so personal. So we'll see what I end up, like, doing in there. But I have, like, I want something a little more modern because my walls are so, like, feminine, girly, whimsy, that I'm like, I need something a little more.
- [09:59]
Liz
A little bit harder, a little bit, like, stronger.
- [10:03]
Caroline
Like, what. What genre are you thinking? Like. Like.
- [10:07]
Taryn
Well, I have the big, bright yellow abstract, so I. I already have a abstract, so I don't think I need another abstract. So it does need to be, I think, graphic, but not whimsy, not too abstract all at the same time. So it's kind of. I don't know. I've been thinking more of sort of a still life, like, in my mind, like some kind of funny dining. Like, kind of playing off the fact that this is a dining room is, like, something in that.
- [10:37]
Caroline
I love that. Yeah, I love that.
- [10:38]
Taryn
That's what I'm looking for. And I kind of have. I'm brainstorming. So anyway, those are two other things in there that. But yes. And then I will feel. You know, it does feel good to cross off rooms. Like, my son's room. He still needs art in there, but, like, the actual twins and beds and side table is. You know, we did the burlwood side table in there to kind of complement the darker woods and some rattan in there to get in that kind of mix. So I'm feeling pretty good about how that turned out. And it does. It feels so good to kind of sort of check off a room in a way, you know, like you said, your vision.
- [11:13]
Liz
Yeah.
- [11:14]
Caroline
So. Yeah.
- [11:15]
Taryn
So my only trial that I was even gonna mention is we have hit. My house has been here now for Four years in the elements, and I feel like it.
- [11:27]
Caroline
Wait. Okay. I'm sorry.
- [11:28]
Liz
I'm really.
- [11:29]
Caroline
I'm like, I can't believe it.
- [11:30]
Taryn
You.
- [11:30]
Caroline
You've been moved in for four years?
- [11:32]
Taryn
Yeah. Yeah. 21. That's crazy. I know.
- [11:36]
Caroline
Wow. I'm sorry. I know. That's, like, the most cliche thing ever to be like, oh, my gosh, time flies.
- [11:41]
Taryn
I think I moved. Maybe I moved. Wait. Yeah. This is our third. Third summer here. I think so. I think the house has been a. Right. So the point of my story has been about four years of this house standing and being finished and obviously still tons to do, because I'm in your same boat where I'm like, how do I not have drapery in my living room? As somebody who preaches that everyone needs it, and it's been four years, Tara. You know, like, it's things like that. But my point was there's a lot of things that have settled now, and we've hit that. And so I was just letting anyone else know. I've hit the window where, like, the cabinetry where it was all connected perfectly, has now, like, everything settled a little. The stairs treads have settled a little. And it's things that you would walk into my home and I'm sure never notice, but, like, as the homeowner and something that is driving me nuts is all the white columns outside have started. The wood has started to rot, like, because it was wood that has been attached to an outside surface that would, you know, like, moisture gets in. And so, like, some of these, like, decorative elements have already started to, like, rot and need to either be painted or replaced with new pieces and then painted. And obviously that's like, you know, it just feels like I gotta go to the store and get the pieces cut em. Paint em. That sounds like a whole weekend, but I'm sure it wouldn't be in reality. But, you know, so that was my. Like, I felt like I needed to tell it everyone, so they knew, like, yeah, it's. I'm already there. I'm already at, like, all right, we need to fix this stuff. How are we already at fixing? And the stones have settled, you know, like, so now not everything's perfectly even outside in the stone work. You're starting to get, you know, so anyway. Well, I.
- [13:24]
Caroline
It's so funny you say that, because I have a friend who, like, her and her husband always have a debate about, like, they wanted to buy a new house, and he. And she's like, no, I want to renovate our current House. And he's like, no, I want a new house that, like, I don't have to be constantly updating. And I'm like, dude, every house, you're going to have to, like, house. That's just how it is. So you. I mean, if you want a new house, get a new house. But it's not like it's going to be free of maintenance. No. So.
- [13:52]
Taryn
And we've had these crazy storms in. At least in the southeast, and I think across the country, everyone's had crazy summer storms. And one of them, I was working here, and all of a sudden I was like. It was. The rain was coming in sideways. Have you had one of these storms at your houses? Yeah, it is coming. Like, everything is all of a sudden just bl. Going sideways. And you're like, this storm is insanely intense. And it's only like 10 minutes, but super intense. So I kind of got nervous, and I was like, I'm gonna kind of go towards the interior of my house because, like, I was watching the trees, and I was kind of like, I'm just gonna go towards the center. And I ended up in one of my son's rooms, and I heard this, like. And I'm like, what is that noise? And it was from the ceiling. And I'm like, that has to be a drill. You know where you're like, that has to be a drip.
- [14:37]
Caroline
No. Yeah.
- [14:38]
Taryn
And David wasn't home that day. So I climb up into the attic and, like, go across all the beams, and I, like, get to the spot and I see it is dripping, and I can't find from where, but, like, it's a perfect story of, like, it. There wasn't other water damage there, so it's not like a constant leak when it rains, but this sideways rain, somehow I think it, like, did it shift some of the, like, roofing, the shingles, or how did this happen? But I, like, couldn't lift the. Like, anyway, I put a towel up there, and I was like, David, this happened. It was only like 10 minutes, but yeah. So brand new house and that happens.
- [15:18]
Caroline
Yeah.
- [15:19]
Taryn
So you can't. You can't win. I think a house is just a lot of love. A lot of love and a lot of maintenance.
- [15:27]
Caroline
Yeah. Yeah. Constant.
- [15:28]
Taryn
Constant.
- [15:29]
Caroline
Yeah. Wow.
- [15:31]
Taryn
Okay, I'm done. 15 minutes in.
- [15:35]
Caroline
I'm done. Okay. No, that's perfect. We each get about. We each get about a 15 minute. That's the perfect length.
- [15:41]
Liz
That's great. Okay, so I'll go next. So I think I have trials and trials today. And lots of good, positive learnings. Okay.
- [15:58]
Caroline
Oh, I love that spin. Good job. Yeah.
- [16:00]
Liz
Yeah. I've got some takeaways. So I decided to not wait for my husband to renovate a room in our basement. So our basement is really just storage. I use part of it as a little greenhouse in the winter. I use a little bit as a holding area for stuff in an art studio. And then we have one little room that you first walk into that's really just kind of our shed. Right. So that's where we keep like lawnmowers and tools and bikes and things like that. And it was getting really crazy, so I hired a contractor to come in and to. We cleaned out that whole area. And so just so everybody kind of understands the state of this room. Like it's. It's. It's probably about 19ft wide and so it's a good width. But then it's only about, I'd say like eight feet deep. So it's. It's a good sized room to keep all this stuff in. All of the walls were not finished and they. So it's brick of the house. And then this kind of add on and wood was rotting, you know, the floor, the floor seeps water. The. You know, there was one wall that was all brick that was covered with floor linoleum. So like there was demo that needed to happen. And then putting in new beams and put. You know, the door to the basement was rotting out at the base and at the frame. So like termite damage, the whole shebang. So I had a contractor come in and I walked her through the house. I walked her through the basement because I have other projects too. Right. So here's my first learning is I got really super excited and I started talking about like, oh, and there's this project over here, and there's this project over here and there's this project over here. And then I want to do this to the basement, but eventually I want to do that to the basement, you know. So in my mind I was talking about all of these different things and in her mind she was hearing, okay, paint the dining room, fix the basement. Got the basement, great, one room done. And our level of expectations were totally different. Yeah. So there were some challenges throughout that. So I hired the contractor and her team to come in and they gutted the basement and they also painted my dining room. So that's a totally separate thing. So we'll talk about that one too. Cause that's a trial. But, but the level of expectations were so, were so different because I had mentioned a whole bunch of, like, I wanted to have water run down from the laundry room above the basement room to the basement and to outdoors, but that didn't happen. You know, I wanted to have the floors kind of just sealed because they're up against dirt. They're going. They're going to seep in some moisture. You know, my house is almost 100 years old. It's going to happen. That wasn't done. So I reset my expectations.
- [19:38]
Taryn
Mm.
- [19:39]
Liz
Kind of had to wait.
- [19:41]
Caroline
So wait, that wasn't done and you thought it was going to be, or you, like, pulled that off of your list because the list was getting too big.
- [19:48]
Taryn
Did you make a list?
- [19:50]
Liz
See, there's my problem.
- [19:52]
Taryn
Root of the problem.
- [19:53]
Caroline
That was the right question.
- [19:55]
Liz
The root. Yeah. The root of the problem is, is that I did a walkthrough with the contractor, and we talked about a bunch of things. She did not provide a written estimate, so there was nothing written that could say, like, this is what I'm paying for. This is what my expectations are. So my biggest learning is we have.
- [20:17]
Taryn
A podcast on this.
- [20:19]
Liz
I know, right?
- [20:21]
Taryn
I know mine wasn't renovations. So to be fair. Fair. Continue. So your learnings are.
- [20:26]
Liz
I mean, seriously, like, I feel like we've even. We've talked about this so many times that I went in there just, like, feeling like I knew what I was. No, did not. Did not. Did not know what I was doing. Also didn't have a clear understanding of what her time frame was because she thought she was going to get all of this done within a day.
- [20:49]
Caroline
Oh.
- [20:50]
Liz
Painting the dining room, gutting the basement, and putting up new beams and boards in the basement. I can't even tell you. I can tell you that it's not going to be one day. I mean, she did have. She did have people a little between three people, right? It was three people.
- [21:08]
Taryn
Like, I just said I couldn't do. One day is two columns replaced pieces in a day.
- [21:13]
Caroline
I'm like, that can't be right.
- [21:15]
Liz
Three people in the basement maybe would have been a day, but, like, maybe because they knew what they were doing.
- [21:21]
Taryn
With, like, pipes and stuff, too, based on what you just said.
- [21:25]
Liz
But we ended up not doing. We. We ended up not doing that. We ended up not doing the water. So I'll have to do that in another phase. You. The flooring I'll have to do in another phase, and I'll probably do that myself. But, yeah. So my big takeaway from the basement is to write down all of the expectations, you know, And I'm sure interior designers have all of this, but I don't. And so I'm making a form for myself. If you all need it, let me know.
- [22:00]
Taryn
All right. What's on this form? Yeah, what's on this form? From your learning.
- [22:05]
Liz
Okay, so what's on my form is so, you know, listing the project and the dates of space for, like, drawing out your sketches, bullet points for all the things you expect to get done, and, like, signing off on those. On those things. You know, putting any finishes, wallpaper colors, things like that. So you have that as notes. Estimated costs for labor and materials, and then who's buying those material. Yeah, because that was a thing, too. So, you know, are you buying the materials or is the contractor buying the materials? And you're reimbursing them with receipts and then a timeline. Just a basic. Like, when are you planning, starting, and when do you plan on finishing? And then, you know, just. And I mean, I know this. I've had my own business before. Like, you have everybody sign it off, and you're good, and you're good, and there's no drama. I really. I really did my best to keep drama down, but I did just about lose it when they started installing the new door. And they had to. It's a odd size, and they had to buy a door and the door frame and then trim it down to size. And the door that they bought swung the wrong way. And I was like, no, it should have swung the same way that the.
- [23:36]
Caroline
Door swung, like, in whatever way it was. But exterior doors always swing in.
- [23:43]
Liz
It swung in, but it opened.
- [23:47]
Caroline
Right.
- [23:47]
Liz
The placement of the door handle was on the right side. And so you would open it and it would swing to the left, which.
- [23:57]
Taryn
I'm sure in this small space was an issue.
- [23:59]
Liz
And this small space was a very big issue, especially because we're taking bikes in and out of there. We're taking.
- [24:05]
Caroline
Yeah.
- [24:05]
Taryn
And a door's 36 inches wide, approximately. So, like, that's 3ft of your 8ft that it's, like.
- [24:11]
Liz
Right.
- [24:12]
Taryn
Sticking in there.
- [24:12]
Liz
The whole flow. The whole flow of the room would have been different. So I brought. I brought it down a few notches. I walked away. We came back. We, like, figured it out, and they were able to reverse the door. But. Yeah. So, like, it was a very challenging, long weekend.
- [24:35]
Caroline
I'm sorry.
- [24:36]
Liz
Yeah. No, but the room looks great, Functions great. Now it's not creepy to go in there. You're not going to get attacked by spiders, you know, on your first step. It's all great. That looks great.
- [24:50]
Taryn
Yeah.
- [24:50]
Liz
Yeah. And so the function of this room, where it. It holds our lawn equipment, it holds our bikes, and it holds our outdoor cushions, so all of those things are very easily accessible. It's organized. It's great. It's great. It really turned out. It really turned out great. So it's very simple. Just plywood boards all around the whole thing. And, yeah, it's. It's really nice, and it functions. It's a basement. Everybody, like, don't go crazy. But. But I do want to talk about my dining room, too.
- [25:25]
Caroline
Yeah. Oh, gosh. You said that was a trial.
- [25:27]
Taryn
I know. I don't like that part.
- [25:29]
Liz
No, I mean. Okay. It's all. It's all gonna be okay. So I picked a paint color this winter, and I was so super excited. I didn't want to. I didn't want the front rooms of my house, the living room into the dining room, into the kitchen, to be too dramatically different. Right. So I picked. Right now they're all white. Sherwin Williams Greek villa. And I wanted to paint the dining room something a little bit different, but not too different. So it wasn't a jarring. And I also just don't want to have, like, oh, and now you are entering the green room, and now you are entering the blue room or the purple room.
- [26:17]
Taryn
Right. It's a cohesion.
- [26:19]
Liz
I don't want to be so color blocked. So I picked a really beautiful color called ancient marble by Sherwin Williams. And it's a really kind of lovely, soft gray green. Really, really pretty. Okay. So the painters came in that they finished, you know, in a few hours. It was great. I cleared out the rooms of all the furniture. They wham, bam, got it done.
- [26:51]
Taryn
And you have all the wood trim, right? The traditional.
- [26:53]
Liz
Yeah.
- [26:53]
Taryn
Yes.
- [26:54]
Liz
So I have very dark. Very dark, large molding in that room. And so it looked really great. And it looked like there was a difference between the white and the green. There was a value difference. It was great. Once the whole room was done. And this is now, like, the spring, summertime. Granted, I picked this color in the winter. What happens in my house is the green of all of the trees that surround my house bounces that green light into the rooms. So when that green light bounces into the rooms that have the Greek villa, I'll tell you what, Greek villa looks a whole lot like ancient marble. They look exactly alike. So it doesn't even look like I painted this room at all. It's the weirdest trick of a color.
- [27:56]
Taryn
How wild. But this is Such a classic again, where we say people ask what color something is in the catalog, and you're like, try it.
- [28:06]
Liz
But, like, it depends on the lighting. It depends on north, south, east.
- [28:10]
Taryn
Wait.
- [28:10]
Caroline
Okay, let's talk about that. Let's talk about. Let's talk about how you tested it. Did you, like, do the whole swatches and the thing. The whole, the whole doodad?
- [28:18]
Liz
I did a. I did. Not a huge swatch, but I did a swatch and I put it on every wall. But I really think that the issue is, is that of. I picked the color and I settled on the color when there was no foliage on the trees. And I thought about it and I put my whole heart into this color.
- [28:42]
Caroline
So. Okay, so what if you were gonna do it again? Would you just pick like a, A darker value of the same color? Like, go another shade or two to, like, make the, the difference more dramatic? Or would you just not paint at all?
- [28:57]
Liz
Okay, so I already picked a new color.
- [28:58]
Caroline
Oh, my Lord.
- [29:02]
Liz
I have to go get the swatches. But I've picked a new color called Sherwin Williams Retreat, which is the same value as my family room. So it's this, like, it's a medium dark, dark tone. Because I really realized, like, oh, I thought that I wanted this, like, tonal value going from room to room. But I think that what I really want is a distinct separation. That's kind of what. What I felt like. So Sherwin Williams Retreat, she's holding up very pretty.
- [29:38]
Taryn
Thanks.
- [29:39]
Liz
I'm holding up the swatch. It's. It's a very pretty. Again, it's a gray green, so it's not going to be.
- [29:46]
Taryn
Can you hold it up again? It looks like a gray, gray, green, blue in this, but I know it's like a zillion. I trust you.
- [29:53]
Liz
Right.
- [29:54]
Caroline
It's pretty.
- [29:54]
Liz
It's. It's very pretty. It's a darker value. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna try and get some larger swatches this time, put them on multiple walls and just, just kind of go for it and see what this means. Because there's a whole lot of, like, look through from room to room.
- [30:14]
Taryn
Yeah.
- [30:15]
Liz
And that's, that's what's really killing me because I'll stand in my kitchen and look through the kitchen into the dining room and into the L. All just looks like the same color.
- [30:25]
Caroline
Yeah.
- [30:26]
Liz
And they're not. And it's such a. It's such a freak out.
- [30:30]
Caroline
How much light does the dining room get? It sounds like it gets a good amount. It doesn't oh, it doesn't. Okay.
- [30:35]
Liz
It doesn't. It has eastern facing windows and north facing windows, but the eastern facing windows have a covered porch attached to it. So all of that morning light that would come in is pretty much blocked out. So it's dark.
- [30:53]
Caroline
So are you worried about it being too dark? It's a pretty dark green. No, I don't think so. All right.
- [31:02]
Liz
And I'm. And I'm still just kind of feeling like, you know what? It's just paint. The hardest thing about the whole process.
- [31:07]
Taryn
We preach it.
- [31:08]
Liz
The hardest thing.
- [31:09]
Taryn
Yeah.
- [31:09]
Liz
The hardest thing about the whole process was moving the furniture 100%.
- [31:13]
Caroline
Yeah. It's the biggest headache.
- [31:14]
Liz
Right. And again, my silver lining with that was, you know what? Okay. I reorganized all of my storage in my dining room. Great, Great.
- [31:23]
Caroline
But.
- [31:25]
Liz
But yeah, I. I can do it again.
- [31:27]
Caroline
Are you gonna have painters come and do it, or are you gonna do it yourself this time?
- [31:32]
Liz
You know what? I think I will have painters come in and do it. It's just so worth it. I've just kind of hit that point where it's so worth it to have somebody who knows what they're doing and how to tape things off or like.
- [31:49]
Taryn
Yeah.
- [31:50]
Liz
Or hit those edges. And also two coats, and they're done in, like, in hours versus a weekend or a week or however long it would take.
- [32:02]
Caroline
And oh, my God, the backaches and, like, your arms. Oh, my gosh. I'm always so sore after painting.
- [32:07]
Liz
I mean, I love. I love doing it, but. But no, I think I would hire painters again. But again, I'm probably gonna wait a little bit, because until the. The sting of paying for painters the first time around and getting the color wrong.
- [32:24]
Taryn
But you're up against time because you're about, you know, you hit fall, and then you lose all those leaves again. You're like, actually, this tote's fine.
- [32:31]
Liz
This tote is fine. I. I kind of.
- [32:34]
Caroline
That's so true.
- [32:34]
Liz
I've kind of am curious to see what it looks like in the fall. So even if I wait, like, that's totally fine. But, yeah, I mean, I think everybody here knows I'm used to living with paint swatches on my walls, at least in some capacity of, you know, just taped up swatches.
- [32:51]
Caroline
Yeah.
- [32:51]
Liz
Around. And then I take them down when company comes.
- [32:55]
Caroline
Oh, okay. You know what? No, even better. Keep it up so that you can, like, you know, get some opinions, get the feedback. Yeah.
- [33:01]
Liz
You know what? And I did do that with this color.
- [33:03]
Caroline
It's a fun little conversation starter. Yeah.
- [33:06]
Liz
In the fall, this color is probably going to look really great.
- [33:10]
Caroline
Yeah.
- [33:10]
Liz
But right now it bothers.
- [33:14]
Taryn
No, it's just paint, as we say.
- [33:17]
Liz
Yeah, it's just paint.
- [33:18]
Caroline
Yeah. That is reminding me that I am hitting five years in our house and I probably do need. It's like time for a repaint. A lot of scuffs on the wall. Like, it's. Yeah, I feel like it. Which is crazy because I'm like. I feel like we just painted.
- [33:36]
Taryn
But anyway, I mean, preach right? Like, I already feel like the outside needs to be repainted for me. And I'm like, it is like, laughable. Like my husband.
- [33:46]
Caroline
You're like, I haven't even finished paying for. Yeah, y' all both had. Let's see. Liz had all trials. You had mostly triumphs. Taryn. I'm like. Like I'm in the. I'm in an in between sort of. Okay, I'll And. Or unrelated. So I'll explain. To be honest, I haven't really, really been doing that much around my house, but I have had a lot of creative projects. And I believe I told y' all about my needle pointing project.
- [34:14]
Liz
Yes.
- [34:14]
Caroline
At the beginning of this year, whenever the heck that was, because I've been working on it since New Year's and I finished. Nuh. Yes. I finished all four of my stockings. So for anyone who's not up to speed, I got a wild hair like three days before Christmas and was like, I wonder if I can needle. I saw this tick tock of a woman who cross stitched needle or stockings for her family. And I'm. And I've. I've never done any of, like, the needle arts. Like, I've never cross stitched, never sewed, I've never knitted or anything. But I do have a good friend who has. Has always made needlepoint things for me. She's made me coasters and ornaments and stuff. And I saw this TikTok and I was like, I wonder if I could do that. And went down this whole rabbit hole and talked to my friend who's been needle pointing since high school and decided that I was gonna try it. I painted my own stockings and. Or like canvases. So, you know, like, you paint the canvas and then you. It's basically color, like paint by numbers, but with thread and did Blair's. Blair's looked okay. I kind of upped my game a little bit. Liz talked me through her Apple pencil, and so I got like an iPad and Apple pencil and they have like this needle pointing app where you can like, kind of plan your canvas out. So I did that second one. Birdies looked a lot better. So I did Birdies. It looked like it looked good. It might actually be my favorite. Then I did wills. Then I did mine. And then I had done birdie's wills and mine, all with this app. And it was like I had done sort of a more refined version. And so then I was kind of like, okay, well, I'm kind of unhappy with Blair. So then I went back and refused.
- [35:59]
Taryn
Oh, my gosh.
- [36:00]
Caroline
So you did like a crazy person. Yeah. So I did five stockings, but they're all done. I took them to the finisher. They told me they hoped they would have them back by Christmas. So hopefully I will have my stockings by Christmas.
- [36:11]
Taryn
Wait, but they. That's. I have so many more questions with this finisher. Why is there not that many?
- [36:18]
Caroline
They just get so much stuff. They get. They have like so much volume.
- [36:22]
Taryn
So should I become a finisher? Is what I'm hearing? I'm hearing, yes, we should become 100.
- [36:26]
Liz
There's demand there. Okay.
- [36:27]
Caroline
It's funny. I was talking. We went to Chicago and I went to the needlepoint store in Chicago just like for fun, and was talking to them and I was like, yeah, it's crazy. I'm. I'm hoping that I'll have it done as soon as possible so that I'll have him by Christmas because I'll be so mad if I've done all of this work and.
- [36:45]
Liz
Right.
- [36:45]
Caroline
And I don't even have him for Christmas.
- [36:46]
Taryn
Murder.
- [36:48]
Caroline
Anyway. And she basically was like, well, needle pointing has just exploded. So many people are doing it, but we have the same number of finishers. Like, a lot more people haven't gone into finishing because that's more sewing.
- [36:57]
Taryn
Is that correct?
- [36:58]
Caroline
Yeah, it's. Yeah, there's more to it. Like, it depends on what you're turning it into. Like, you could turn it into a pillow or stocking, and that's sewing. But some people turn it into like stand ups. They make ornaments. You have to like add batting. And some people add like cardboard or stuff. Anyway, there's. There are other wow options.
- [37:19]
Taryn
Like I said, things to learn. Maybe. Yeah, maybe that's.
- [37:23]
Caroline
And some people do their own stuff, but with a stocking. I was like, I'm. I want to heaven.
- [37:27]
Liz
I put all the effort into creating.
- [37:30]
Taryn
I would be in the same boat. No, no. Someone else do this. Like, correct and. Right.
- [37:34]
Caroline
Yeah, exactly. So. So that was my, like, that's been my creative project, honestly. And taking a lot of my creative you know, sort of like brain power.
- [37:47]
Taryn
I feel like these.
- [37:49]
Caroline
I'm really happy with it.
- [37:50]
Taryn
Are going to be like your whole Christmas will be around. Like, if these are on display, I feel like you're going to plan your whole Christmas, like, decor around it. And I'm excited.
- [38:00]
Caroline
No, they definitely, I think, fit with your. Yeah, well, I'll. Okay, so I did. And I've. I mean, we've talked about this on the show before. We've all kind of shared our holiday things and I'm not really like a red and green Christmas gal. I love, like a non traditional Christmas and I always feel like if I do wreaths and garland and metallics and it's going to look festive and I don't have to have red and green for it to look Christmassy. Right. That's sort of been my thing. And so a lot of my Christmas decor is not red and green. And I sort of had that same approach. Thinking of the canvases, I didn't really want, like a Christmas motif on it. Not because I didn't like it, because I. But because the ones that I had seen, I had seen some inspiration where they sort of had like, little icons of things that you were interested in. So, like, Blair's has like a little bee, because that's her school mascot. It has a little bum, a little ballerina. It's got, like, bunnies and just. It kind of has like, cute things that. That remind me of her, like a little sun hat. And then Bernie loves animals. So it has like, sort of an animal theme. Will has, like, a bike and some topiaries. And so I kind of added things that. Mine has little Louis chairs on it.
- [39:26]
Liz
That's sweet.
- [39:27]
Caroline
And like, chocolate chip cookies and a KitchenAid mixer. So I kind of pulled, like, things that represented each person, so they're not. They're not, like, Christmasy at all. And Blair's is pink. Birdie's is purple. Will's is green. Mine is, like blue. So I love it. But again, the stocking is a part of a whole. Right. So it's going to have garland and greenery and ornaments and candles and ribbon and stuff. So I just kind of felt like it will feel festive without having, you know, Santa, like, imagery on it.
- [40:02]
Liz
Yeah.
- [40:02]
Taryn
Anyway, so are the colors of the finishing, because I'm assuming needlepoint is one side. So there's a color on the back side. And is that. Yes.
- [40:09]
Caroline
Oh, I'm so glad you asked. I'm gonna do a red and white ticking on the inside of all of Them, So they'll all be lined with a red and white ticking stripe. And then the backs will all be a velvet coordinating to the. And the. And they' all be. They'll all have like a self welt with the velvet.
- [40:26]
Taryn
Amazing.
- [40:27]
Caroline
So, like, Blair has a light pink, Birdie has kind of like a plum. Will has green, and mine has like a teal color. So. So yes, it's a velvet backing. Um, so yeah, that's been my thing. And then my next project is for needlepoint. Well, I have a few in between, but we were getting rid of some Louis footstools at. At the. At our photo studio, so I snatched one of those up for myself. And I'm going to do a big needlepoint canvas and then upholster it onto the top of my Flex tool. So.
- [41:01]
Taryn
Amazing.
- [41:02]
Liz
Nice.
- [41:03]
Caroline
That'll probably be a while before I get to that one. And it'll be like a really big. Like, it's just a big surface area. But that. That's sort of on my list of things to do, which also is going to require me to reupholster. Not require. I've been wanting to reupholster the chair that this footstool will kind of sit in front of. It's like a little antique chair, and it's just worn out. Like it has holes in the seat. And I just have not decided on a fabric for it. And like, I'll pick something and then four or five months later I'm like, oh, find something else. And so I just like, haven't landed on just the right thing yet.
- [41:43]
Liz
Have you upholstered something like that. That by yourself or do you. Are you planning on taking it somewhere?
- [41:48]
Caroline
No, I'm gonna have it done. That's one of those things where it's like it. There's lots of sewing, there's courting, and I just am not willing to.
- [42:00]
Liz
Yeah.
- [42:00]
Caroline
To spend the time on it and not do it. Well, I'd rather like someone do it properly.
- [42:07]
Liz
No, I totally get it, but it's so inspiring to see people upholster.
- [42:12]
Caroline
Oh, yeah.
- [42:13]
Liz
I don't know about you, but, like, okay, this is how geeky I am. Like, all of my Instagram feed is pretty much upholsterers.
- [42:21]
Taryn
Really?
- [42:22]
Liz
Oh, I have hit some kind of upholsterer's dream of an algorithm. Yes.
- [42:27]
Taryn
Have you tried it?
- [42:28]
Liz
No, but my mom has. And so in like, my mom is such a DIYer and like, has like, like there's no project around the house that she didn't take on when. When we were Kids. And so I always think of it as something like, oh, yeah, I could take that on, but really? No, no, no.
- [42:50]
Caroline
Have I not told y' all about when I worked in an upholstery shop?
- [42:52]
Liz
I have fake recollections of this. How?
- [42:55]
Caroline
Yeah, like, I'm not. But you. This was pre. This was probably 2010 maybe, and I was living in Birmingham and I had a remote job, but it wasn't like a full time thing. And so I just went down this upholstery. I don't know. I actually don't know where this instinct came from, but I just was like, I think upholstery is really cool. I'm gonna go, like, find the shop. I found the shop. I walked in, I was like, hey, can I work for y' all for free? And so I used to go there, like, three days a week in the afternoon or something and just like, help. And it's hard. Like, it's like, physically hard. Yeah, it is. Like, you've got to pull out all of the nails. Oh, my God. I always had, like, gashes all over my hands from, like, using the tools. And if you don't have an air compressor, it's really hard. You, like, you have to have an air compressor to do a good job anyway. And so I know kind of what goes into it. And it just. It's not. It's. No, it's not. I wouldn't do it on my own, but it is fascinating. Oh, my God. And I loved seeing, like, they would get really old antique pieces because they had, like, sort of an antique store and then an upholstery shop. So they would get, like, old antique pieces with, like, horse hair, you know.
- [44:21]
Taryn
Wow.
- [44:21]
Caroline
Seats. And. And like. Oh, my God. I loved, like, you would take off the. The fabric and see, like, five layers of fabric underneath of, like, all these old. And you could kind of like, you know, amazing. An old silk stripe and then a calico and then a thing, you know, and then it's so. It was always really interesting.
- [44:37]
Taryn
That's really neat. It's really neat.
- [44:39]
Caroline
And then just seeing, like, how things would change depending on what fabric you put on it, it's. I know. Anyway, it's really cool. I need to be on that algorithm. Liz, that sounds fun.
- [44:49]
Liz
I'll send you some. And then.
- [44:50]
Caroline
Yeah, and then I can, you know, it can do.
- [44:52]
Liz
Go down that rabbit hole.
- [44:54]
Caroline
Anyway, other. Only other thing I have really have kind of in the works is I have been wanting to have a daybed made for Birdie. So anyway, years and Years ago, we redid her room, and it's very, like, we had to put up a wall anyway. We had to do, like, a little bit of renovation, like, light. Light renovation to make her room a real room when we were. When I was pregnant, because essentially the laundry room was in her room. Anyway, I won't bore you all with that, but at the time, I kind of. We kind of knew going into it, okay, a day bed is really the only thing that will work, because it has to be. It can only fit, really, a twin bed up against the wall. And so it just. The time has come for me to finally have that bed made. And I ordered one of our Cotswold collection fabrics, which I'm really excited about. It's called the Kier Capri, and it's sort of this, like. What would you call it? Like, it's sort of a graphic. Organic graphic.
- [45:58]
Liz
A little.
- [45:58]
Caroline
I wouldn't call it geometric because it's.
- [46:00]
Liz
But it does have, like, elongated diamonds, and then it has, like a. A natural kind of floral element in the middle. It's. It's really, really lovely.
- [46:13]
Caroline
It's my favorite from that collection. And it's sort of a blue green color palette. And you might remember that I have this sort of, like, chinoiserie wallpaper on three of the walls. And anyway, so that's what I'm gonna have it made, and I'll have it pull out, trundle underneath. Because Blair's room becomes our guest room whenever my parents come and stay with us at the Trundle. So she'll be able to sleep in Birdie's room on the trundle when we have guests. So that was sort of the. Kind of the function behind it. Anyway, so I. I've been meaning to. I have the bolt of fabric in my. In my house. I just have to actually take it to the guy. Maybe I should do it today, just while I'm thinking about it, and just have it. Have it made. But it's just going to have kind of a soft arch on the back wall, kind of like a rounded arm. And so, yeah, I'm really excited about that because I do think it's going to be so nice. She's still in the crib, like, with the third wall down. And, you know, it's just nice with. With young kids to be able to, like, get in bed and read the books and do the things and.
- [47:26]
Taryn
Yeah, yeah.
- [47:28]
Caroline
So it'll. It'll be a big, big thing to check off the list once I finally do it. So I'm sure I will have more to share once that's done again. Hopefully I can have it back ready for Christmas, because my parents will probably come stay with us for Christma will be the. The goal. And. Yeah, I don't know, y'. All. I. Oh. I have been planning my trip to Paris, and I'm going to go to Clinging Court. So if anyone has some Paris recommendations. Taryn, I'm going to need to talk to you.
- [47:57]
Taryn
Yeah, we need an actual just meeting. Yeah, put a meeting on my calendar.
- [48:01]
Caroline
Okay.
- [48:01]
Taryn
I'm not.
- [48:02]
Caroline
Lunch or something. Yeah, or lunch. Lunch. I like lunch. Because I need some Clinging course specifically.
- [48:10]
Taryn
You know, clingingcourt isn't that big, so you'll be able. Yeah.
- [48:14]
Caroline
Okay.
- [48:15]
Liz
Yeah, I'll hit you up. My other Instagram real algorithm is just traveling to Paris and finding antiquing around Paris. So.
- [48:23]
Caroline
Okay, wait, didn't you do the sidecar tour in Paris?
- [48:26]
Liz
I did, I did.
- [48:27]
Caroline
Okay. I've been getting those, and I think I want to do it. And Will, you know, it's just me and Will going, we're not taking the girls. And so he kind of was like, this looks really goofy. And I was like, it is kind of goofy, but it looks really fun.
- [48:39]
Liz
Okay. It was. It. It is goo. And it is fun. Both of it. So for our listeners, this is a tour guide that will drive you around Paris in a motorcycle sidecar. And so there's one person per sidecar. So you'd get two motorcycles, two drivers. So they drive it. You're in the sidecar. And because we had three people, I was on the back of the motorcycle, and then my. My kid and my husband were in sidecars.
- [49:12]
Caroline
And did you not switch halfway through? You couldn't be like, hey, Steve, let me get in there.
- [49:17]
Liz
No. Little known fact, I actually have my motorcycle license.
- [49:21]
Taryn
Oh.
- [49:22]
Liz
And so it was very cool.
- [49:25]
Taryn
Did not know that.
- [49:26]
Caroline
Okay. All right.
- [49:27]
Taryn
Fun fact.
- [49:28]
Liz
Nice Fun fact. Yeah, I really only drive scooters, but, yeah. And the woman who. Who authorized me to get my motorcycle license was like, okay, this scooter don't go anything bigger than that.
- [49:42]
Caroline
Um, great.
- [49:44]
Taryn
Thank you.
- [49:44]
Caroline
Barely passed is what's.
- [49:45]
Liz
But I do know the rules of the road, and I am comfortable on it. Um, but yeah, I mean, there's just something. So, like, we were just laughing hysterically because we're, like, on motorcycles driving around the Champs, and, like, it was just, you know. And then they stopped, and we did a nighttime tour. And so they stopped on a side of the Eiffel Tower where there was no traffic. And Then we all got off and like, all like rearranged and took like, family photos. And it's my favorite family photo of all time.
- [50:22]
Caroline
Oh, amazing. It just sounds like fun. And we. So when we went for our honeymoon, we. We rented bikes, which is normally one of my favorite things to. Because you can cover a lot of ground. You can see everything.
- [50:36]
Liz
Traffic, though, is bonkers.
- [50:38]
Caroline
Yes, you are correct. And the bus lane is also the bike lane. And so the whole time I was like, I'm going to get hit by a bus today. And so that was why I was like, okay. So that's why I was thinking, like, okay, the sidecar would be sort of like the same experience of biking around town, but without the danger and passing that responsibility of on to someone else.
- [51:04]
Liz
Instead of, you know, I mean, it still feels really crazy because you are in the middle of. Of Paris traffic, which is just beyond me on how it moves and flows. But so there is that kind of danger element that is there. But like, you have. You have guides that are. Are looking up for you.
- [51:27]
Caroline
They have to look for merging forces.
- [51:30]
Liz
They're responsible.
- [51:32]
Taryn
Yeah.
- [51:33]
Liz
Yeah.
- [51:34]
Caroline
So anyway, yeah, I'm sorry, I really don't have that many house house updates, but a lot in. In the work, so maybe more to report next time.
- [51:41]
Liz
Fantastic.
- [51:41]
Caroline
And yeah, send me your. Send me your Paris updates if you have any good ones. So, yeah, awesome. That's all.
- [51:48]
Liz
Well, it's so great to catch up with you guys.
- [51:50]
Caroline
I know it's been too long. I mean, we obviously see each other, but, like, it's been too long since we've had a trial and triumphs. Yeah. All right, well, guys, thanks for joining us and hopefully we won't leave you with without one for a while, but we have to do things in order to be able to talk about them, so we can't do them too often. All right, awesome. That's our show. And that's our show. You can find all of the show notes on our blog howtodecorate.com podcast to.
- [52:22]
Taryn
Send in a decorate. Email your questions to podcastallarddesigns.net so we can help you with your space.
- [52:29]
Caroline
And of course, be sure to follow us on social media. Ballardesigns.
- [52:32]
Liz
Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. And please leave us a review. We'd love to hear your feedback.
- [52:39]
Caroline
Until next time, happy decorating.