Defining My Style {Dining Rooms}

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{What Emily Does via Young House Love}

Today marks the last post in my little "Defining My Style" series. I'm a little sad because I've loved pulling together inspiration photos for this series and taking a hard look at my interior design style, but it's time to move on, friends! I've covered most of the "major" areas of the house with this series including exteriors, entryways, living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms. Of course if you need more inspiration, you can always follow me on Pinterest where I'm constantly adding new photos :).

To wrap up this series we'll be taking a look at some pretty dining spaces. I love the idea of having a "real" dining room, since that's something I haven't had since I lived at my parents' house. I'm less of a formal dining room (in the traditional sense) kind of gal, but I definitely want to have a designated space for a big ole table where we can have lots of people over for dinner and be able to host larger gatherings. What we have now is actually an upgrade from our last apartment in Richmond where we didn't even a real place for a table! At least the floor plan in our current itty bitty apartment has space for that :). Y'all have seen it before, but to jog your memory, this is our current dining area:

It's where we installed our wood shim pendant light, which I love because it makes that area feel more intentionally like a dining space even though it's really just a table against a wall :).

SO, what kind of dining space would I have if I actually had a room? If I had to define my style (since that is what this series is all about after all), I'd say it would be farmhouse with industrial and modern touches. I'd keep it mostly neutral with pops of color here and there using accessories, dishes and place settings. Various textures and and a mixture of wood finishes would definitely be a part of it as well.

Enough words though, let's look at some pretty pictures!

{Jones Design Company}

{Centsational Girl}

{Erica Burns via House of Turquoise}

{What Emily Does via Young House Love}

{Pottery Barn}

{West Elm}

{Canadian House and Home}

{Remodelista}

{House Beautiful}

{Unexpected Elegance}

Ok, I'll cut myself off. There are just so many beautiful (and different!) dining rooms with the look I'm loving. Did you have a favorite out of all of these? I just can't pick one. They're all lovely. What's your dining room style?


Just a reminder...remember to pin any images that do not belong to May Richer Fuller Be from their original sources. Click the link underneath the photo to pin it from its home! Thanks :).

Defining My Style: Bedrooms

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We're moving right along in this series I'm calling Defining My Style. We're heading "upstairs" this time to the bedroom. I've been thinking about this one quite a bit lately since I DIY'd our upholstered headboard a month-ish ago and I find that I'm torn between two styles for bedrooms: neutral, light and serene, or colorful and energizing. 

Here's an example of a neutral bedroom I love from Centsational Girl:

{Centsational Girl}

Doesn't that mix of gray, white and cream just make you want to relax, cuddle up and take a nap? Many people think neutral equals boring, but when you mix and match patterns in similar colors, they provide plenty of visual interest while maintaining a calm and inviting feel. You trackin' with me on that one?

Here are a few other (mostly) neutral bedrooms that caught my eye while I was prepping this post:

{Emily Henderson}

{BHG}

{Phillips deVeer Interiors via House of Turquoise}

{Collected Interiors}

{House Beautiful}

Lovely. Yes?

I think one other key to doing neutrals in an interesting way is to vary the textures in the room. Even if you've got a 100% white bed, mixing linen, crisp cotton and matelasse (for example) can keep it from becoming boring and cold.

Oh! but what about the fun factor a colorful bedroom brings to the table? I'm also so drawn to something like this from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs, which I've shown you before:

{Sarah M. Dorsey Designs}

Hello coral, slate gray and gold - nice to meet you. Can we also talk about the brilliant pattern mixing in this room? I think I'm partly drawn to this because the color scheme is pretty similar to what I've got going on right now in our bedroom after installing our upholstered headboard.

Along with that bedroom above, here are some other colorful ones I love:

{Jana Bek via West Elm}

{Caitlin Wilson Designs}

{Decor Chick}

{Caitlin Wilson Textiles}

There's definitely a lot of coral, blue, gray and white going on here! At least I can decide on a color scheme if I go with saturated color in the bedroom :). Did any of these images catch your eye?

I'm still feeling torn on what my "ideal" is, even after pulling the photos for this post. Maybe that means what I'm really craving is a happy medium. Perhaps a white duvet with lots of other color and pattern mixed in with pillows and the headboard?

Where do you stand on bringing color into the bedroom decor?

Defining My Style: Kitchens

{Style At Home}

We're making our way though this semi-regular series I'm calling "Defining My Style" and today we're onto one of my favorite parts of the house - the kitchen! So far, we've talked exteriors, entryways and living rooms, but I've gotta say, the photos I've gathered of kitchens might be my favorite so far.

For me, nothing beats a white kitchen. It's classic, clean and I'm pretty sure I'll never get tired of it. So forgive me if you're sick of white kitchens, because you're about to be overloaded :).

{Amber Lewis via Casa Sugar}

White is definitely my go-to cabinet color, and I like the idea of mixing solid wood with glass front doors for an open, airy feeling.

I'm also a huge fan of light-colored stone counter tops (marble, quartz, granite...all of them are lovely).

{Terra Cotta Properties via HGTV)

Beadboard or planks are also a must for me in some capacity. Be it on the ceiling...

{Coastal Living}

...or on a kitchen island. I like the nod to the cottage-style without it being too kitschy.

Speaking of islands, I think it's pretty fun for it to be a different color than the rest of the cabinetry. I'm digging this light aqua one below:

{At Home Arkansas via House of Turquoise}

It adds a little something extra, don't you think?

{BHG}

Let's talk lighting for a moment. I'm in love with these glass ball pendants in the next photo. Pendants are my favorite kind of lighting for a kitchen. They can really add some something unique and different.

{Style At Home}

In addition to regular ole cabinets (solid or glass-front), I like the idea of mixing in a little bit of open shelving. Not too much, but a little for everyday dishes, cookbooks, or to show off some favorite serving pieces. These natural wood ones and the white ones in the following photo are some of current faves.

{Our House}

{Jenna Sue}

(P.S. I also love simple subway tile for a backsplash. Another classic choice! Seeing a trend here?)

And even though I said I'm all about white kitchens, I'm certainly not against adding color in with accessories, dishes, etc. I mean, how awesome are these BRIGHT orangey-coral bar stools? So fun!

{BHG}

And lastly, I'm sold on the look of a giant farmhouse sink with an apron front. Another nod to the cottage style.

{Houzz}

{Young House Love}

{Neely Design}

Alrighty, so how does all of this tie into my style? Overall, I'm a classic, cottage-style, white-with-pops-of-color, clean-lined kitchen kind of gal. 

And how about you? What's your kitchen style? Are you with me on the white kitchen bandwagon, or are you SO over it? Let's talk. I'd love to see a photo of the kitchen that represents YOUR style!

Thanks, as always, for reading! Come back tomorrow for a FUN giveaway, especially if you're looking for a gift for a little one in your life!

Defining My Style: Living Rooms

Today we're continuing the series I'm calling "Defining My Style." For an intro to this series, head to the first post about it here. The gist of it is exactly what the title implies - I want to collect photos of rooms that say to me: yes, that's it, that's what I want or house to look like. But I don't want to do this alone, I want you to chime in too! What's your home design style? I'd describe mine as modern, comfortable, coastal cottage. 

As I mentioned at the end of Friday's post, we're headed into the living room next. I'll let you browse these pretty images and then I'll talk about what they have in common at the end...in other words, why I love them so. :)

{Canadian House and Home}

{Erica Burns via House of Turquoise}

{Elizabeth Newman via House of Turquoise}

{Milk and Honey Home}

{Love and Marriage Blog}

{Jenna Sue via 6th Street Design School}

{HGTV}

{Jones Design Company}

{Southern Living via Centsational Girl}

{Four Chairs Furniture via Hiya Papaya Photography}

Hmm, let's talk about the obvious things first...apparently I'm a huge fan of white and light-colored furniture. :) I'm not usually one to go for a saturated color look, so this isn't surprising. We do already have a white couch and white chair in our apartment's living room. I'm all about bright color in small doses though - for example, I LOVE that bright yellow pouf ottoman in the last photo above. How fun and unexpected is that?

One thing I noticed when putting these photos together was that every photo I pulled had lots of seating centered around a big ole rectangular coffee table. I think this comes from the idea that I want my living room to be comfortable and inviting with plenty of room for people to gather around. Building community is really important to me, and I absolutely love having people over and hosting, so this desire is reflected in my decorating style.

I also love incorporating texture and natural elements in some form or fashion. This really brings a sense of warmth and invites people to hang out and get comfortable. Each of these photos has that - whether it's a woven basket, planked walls or beadboard ceiling, a natural fiber rug, or even something creative like the wood shingled fireplace from Jones Design Company. This "look" certainly goes with the modern coastal cottage-y vibe I'm going for. 

So to summarize, my "ideal" living room style incorporates:

• A white/light foundation with room for pops of color
• Plenty of seating for guests
• Natural textures
• That feeling of openness that invites you to come on in and make yourself comfortable!

What do you think? Did any of these images speak to you or your design style? What's your goal when you're thinking about decorating your living room?

To see other posts in this series, click on over here.

June Project Round-Up

It's that time of the month again - no not that time of the month! (bad joke?) - it's time to take a minute to look back at the projects I did on this little ole blog over the past month. This is a great way for you to catch up on anything you missed, or if you're new here, it's like a highlight reel, so you can click around easily and find posts that are of interest to you.

If you find you like what you see, you can always have my posts delivered to your inbox (fill in your email address in the "follow by email" form on the sidebar), follow MRFB using an RSS feed reader like feedly or Bloglovin', or find me on Facebook and Twitter. I'd love for you to stick around awhile.

So what did I have going on here in June? Well, let's start with my favorite projects...

The appliqued onesies and customized burp cloths definitely topped the list. I gave the two sets I made to a couple of my cute pregnant friends, and they were definitely hits! I love giving handmade gifts.

My other favorite project was the coral and gray dipped side table. It's just such a fun piece!

I started a new semi-regular series called "Defining My Style" where I'm showing off some pretty photos of homes I love - room by room - that I feel represent my style. Last month I covered exteriors and entryways, and showed the current state of our tiny entry to our apartment.

I DIY'd a whiteboard out of an old frame to hang on that little sliver of wall on the right side of the door to liven up that space as well as add some functionality. We've definitely been using it a lot!

The most viewed post in June was on how to create a font out of your own handwriting. I was actually pretty surprised by that - and I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking that was a pretty darn cool idea :).

Operation {Re}Organization continued kinda casually this month. I conquered some little things like the freezer and a trick to speed up your dishwasher routine.

And lastly, I designed this little print for the Lilly Pulitzer Style Soiree Series and it makes me smile every time I look at it. You can download it for free here if you've got a spot for it in your home, or if you'd like to give it as a gift.

Before I go, I'd also like to give a big thanks (and a virtual hug) to some wonderful blogger ladies who featured my posts this month:

Serenity Now

House of Hepworths

Love of Family & Home

DIY Showoff

Sparkles and a Stove

Rain on a Tin Roof

Tatertots and Jello

And of course, thank you for reading my little blog!