A CHICAGO BUNGALOW TOUR (EMILY'S NEW HOME)

First of all, I want to thank everyone that went to have a look at my guest post at Must Love Junk, Susan's Saturday Night Feature:  The Blogger Behind The Blog.  If you missed it and feel that there is anything else you need know about me (!!), you can visit that post Here

Now, I have been promising you a little tour of daughter Emily's first home and today I have that for you.  We had a really great time doing this together, she running from room to room adjusting pillows and picture frames, and me trying to work with the wonky light that day.  But we did it.  For the sake of anyone new, Emily is an interior designer and works for a large Chicago based furniture company as both a designer and salesperson.  Just 26 years old and a newlywed, she and Mike bought this home in May, and on both a budget and an eye for what works, she transformed this little Chicago bungalow into a very chic and relaxed home.

And by the way, she made this wreath...mine didn't turn out nearly this well! lol!

Emily picked me up one day recently and whisked me off to Sherwin Williams.  "I'm doing stripes!", was all she said.  She got to work in her foyer while at the same time making  dinner for her her in laws.  And this (above) is her foyer.  The wall color is a light cream and the stripes, which she measured and taped out, were done in a soft taupe.  She also did a few well placed stripes in the adjoining living room.  After serving her in laws dinner, they marveled over how well she had made her first roast and were equally impressed with the walls! 

To the right of the foyer is the living room, which is done in different tones of taupe, cream and gray.  These colors flow throughout the house along with a touch of blue.  She found these club chairs at Overstock.  See the stripes near the glass block window?

The sofa and love seat are from the shop she works at.  All the tables, lamps and accessories are from Homegoods, the ottoman from Overstock and the area rug from Ballard's.  See their pup, Rusty, curled up on the loveseat?  What a life!

The hallway off the living room was painted a "Tiffany" blue, which offsets the beige and brown.

There is a full bath upstairs and downstairs.  She left the wall color neutral and has color in the shower curtain and rug.

Very clean and simple...I have to ask if she has any other plans for it.  This home was totally move in ready.  We all knew the previous owners and everything had been updated a few years prior, from the roof to the kitchen cabinets.  And all the rooms were freshly painted before Emily and Mike bought the place.  She just made a few slight changes.

Emily and Mike love to turn in early, watch some television, read and work on their IPads, so she paid particular attention to the master bedroom.  The queen size bed is from her shop, nightstands and lamps from Target, bed linens from Macy's.  She also has a beautiful area rug from Ballard's here that you can't see.

I love the tufted headboard and in this color, it looks so luxurious!

Down the hall is the guest room...this is where The Husband and I will sleep when we spend the night with our future grandchildren! ;-D

Emily recently picked up this old, repainted dresser for a song.  I could just steal it!!

And I wanted to give you a peek of the area rug she scored at Joss & Main.  All of her rugs are textured and I just love that.  There is one more bedroom but it's empty.  It will be the nursery for those future babies!  Yes!

She has a generous sized kitchen that came with  newer appliances.  The oak cabinets are just a few years old as well...not sure what she plans to do with anything yet. 

She does love the mixer we gave them as a wedding present...she wanted this sea green color because she knew this home (which they hadn't even bought yet) had a light aqua backsplash.

A few weeks ago she picked up some chalkboard paint and painted her pantry door.  The door is a bit more narrow than a closet door and it looks so cool!  I love the boxwood wreath.  She has so many neat little decorative pieces and vignettes, but I wanted you to see more of the "big" picture. 

This is the dining nook.  The table and chairs were given to them by the previous owners.  She jazzed things up with two parsons chairs from Ballard's, as well as the wall prints.  She found the ladder when we were out antiquing with Kris last week...I wanted one, too!  Wahhhhh!

They have a beautiful deck in the backyard under an old maple tree.  I love this little bench from Overstock, and you might recognize the pillows from Target.

And she has a green thumb!  Maybe it's from all those hours that she sat in the middle of my veggie garden helping me pull weeds as a toddler!  No, really, she has always loved to help me plant pots, especially choosing colors.  See Rusty at the back door?

Oh, here he is again gnawing on a bone under the patio table and chairs (from Target, rug from Overstock).

So there you have it...sweet, relaxed, cozy and a style of their own...Emily and Mike's new home.  I feel so comfortable when I go over and I love that it's just blocks away.  She describes her style as transitional and I agree.  We are very similar in that we choose furniture and pieces based on what we love.  And I just love how everything in this home flows. 

I hope you've enjoyed this tour.  I think Emily did very well mixing quality pieces, such as the sofa, loveseat and bed, with budget minded tables and accessories.  Her rugs aren't cheap but with so many of us preferring hardwood floors, it's nice to have something beautiful and durable under our feet. 

I have a busy week planned that involves cleaning up, clearing out, weeding and killing weeds, and amending the soil in my backyard beds. I plan on tackling this with a vengeance! I'm transplanting bulbs and adding new.  I've promised myself that if I work hard today, then maybe tomorrow I will treat myself and pick up a few new plants!   I think we have enough time before the first frost, and we are so lucky here in the Midwest, the temps are in the low 70's, so it's a perfect time to be outdoors..  I have really been feeling guilty for neglecting this backyard and fawning over my gardens at the lake.  So I'm putting my heart, soul and tiny little muscles into making a dent in this big yard.  I'll take some before, during and afters, and pray I have the strength to type a post after! lol!  See all of you soon! :)  Oh...and hope you had a  Happy Labor Day!

XO,

Jane