MKR’s Home Tour

A Spring Spruce Up

stepping into spring with ebay
April 29, 2018
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > Get The Look

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With pollen season in Atlanta officially behind us, I’m ready to throw open my doors and welcome spring with open arms.  You see spring is my favorite season. There’s something just so fresh and renewing that comes with spring.

For me, along with welcoming warmer weather spring is also about spring cleaning and sprucing up my home.  I spend at least three weekends going through my entire house and taking stock of what I have. Donating what I no longer love.  Organizing what I do. And freshening up the spaces I live in most.

While this is a spring time ritual for me, this year it was fun to partner with Ebay to invite spring into my most lived in room during eBay’s”liven up your living room event.”

I love shopping with Ebay because I’m able to find those new, trending pieces I crave and also vintage pieces I love adding to my collection. Plus did you know that 68% of items on eBay ship for free?!?!

To freshen and lighten up my living room I added a few new items and switched up a few old.  I folded up and put away my heavier blankets and throws until next season and replaced them with more appropriate ones like this and this.  I also snagged a great seagrass basket to store them all in along with pillows at the edge of my sofa.

I updated my coffee table with a new vintage found vase from Italy filled with the mascot of spring, tulips.  And while I wasn’t searching for him, I couldn’t turn down this brass turtle.  I mean how adorable is he perched on my favorite coffee table books!

While I never believe you can have too much greenery, that thought never rings more true than in spring.  So along with the tulips I added a topiary in a bright green vase.  The combo really makes the room come alive, and topiaries are so easy to care for.

Lastly, I added a few additional calligraphy brushes to round out my collection and complete my coffee table.  Which coincidentally I got from Ebay years ago.

These few simple changes really spruced up the space and made it feel like spring had arrived both inside and out.  Truly, MKR
 


 

This post is in collaboration with Ebay, a brand I love and adore. All opinions are 100% my own. | Photography Rustic White Interiors

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Creating A Cozy Space with Serena & Lily

Switching up my favorite little nook with the help of an amazing rattan daybed
April 2, 2018
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > Get The Look

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Styling a daybed, Waiting On Martha Styling a daybed, Waiting On Martha rattan daybed styling, Waiting On Martha Styling a daybed, Waiting On Martha rattan daybed styling, Waiting On Martha

I’ve always been a fan of the daybed, and as of late daybeds are showing up everywhere in the home.  Outdoor space, add a daybed.  Nursery, add a daybed. Breakfast nook, add a daybed.  Plus they’re chicer than ever.  Take for example this Avalon rattan daybed from Serena and Lily.  When I first spied it I knew I had to find a space for it.  That space turned out to be my sitting room in my bedroom.

Let’s pause right here to discuss something for perspectives sake.  When you read the sentence above you probably thought, if I have a sitting room in my bedroom then my home must be quite spacious.  Not exactly.  My home is great, but it’s not a McMansion by any stretch of the imagination. For some reason when they built our home they added a sitting room to the master making it larger than our family room and dining room combined.  However, because we don’t have a basement and only a family room, I was committed to making the sitting area an actual space that was used and not just a pretty room to look at. 

Since my husband and his abnormally large television took over the family room, I naturally retreated to our bedroom.  Which was fine by me because the bedroom is, and always has been, my favorite room in every home I’ve ever lived in. I know most sleep experts would warn against it, but there’s nothing I look forward to more than cozying up in my bed with a stack of magazines, a great glass of wine, and the apple tv fired up and ready. It’s like that Drake song; “I only love my bed and my momma.” Preach Drake, preach.

Anyway, I’ve gotten off track, back to the Avalon rattan daybed.  Before the daybed entered our life I had a whole sitting area set up with two very large chairs, a coffee table and ottomans.  That worked, but over the years how I’ve used the space has changed.  Before I really only used it to watch a movie.  Now I was craving a new space I could spend my morning quiet time, work, and watch a movie when the mood hit.  And the daybed was the perfect way to make this new vision become a reality.

The chairs and coffee table went bye-bye, and the whole room shifted.  I put the Avalon rattan daybed against the wall and loaded it down with my favorite gingham sheet set and quilt from Serena and Lily plus a few throws, and a good amount of pillows. This created the perfect, and most cozy spot, to spend quiet time in the morning and movie time at night.  Because there wasn’t room for a coffee table I added an end table that can easily move around to where it’s needed most.  And lastly, I brought a small white desk up and placed it opposite the daybed. By positioning the furniture like this I maintained the square shape which helps it feel like a separate space rather than just an extension of the bedroom.

I’ve been living with this new set up for a few weeks now and I’m loving it.  And I’m not the only one, you can see that Addison has really taken to the daybed as well! Truly, MKR

Photography, Rustic White Interiors | This post was in collaboration with Serena & Lily.  A brand I love and adore.  Opinions are 100% my own.

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The Envelop Sectional of My Dreams

And just like that our living room is finally complete
February 26, 2018
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > Living

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Envelop Sectional c/o, Art, Draperies c/o, Blinds, Rug c/o, Chandelier c/o, Floor Lamp, Coffee Table, Tray, Candle, Calligraphy Brushes, Large Bowl c/o, Blessing Beads (call the store for availability)

If you remember correctly, my last One Room Challenge was left incomplete.  The reason; the envelop sectional I’d been dreaming of for months, that was the perfect fit for the room would not be able to arrive in time.  Well friends, I’m hear to say the wait was well worth it.

Technically my Bassett Envelop Sectional arrived about a week after the ORC wrapped. But by that point the holidays were in full swing and between WOMH, hosting friends and family and all the Christmas decor there was no way I was going to be able to do it justice by having it photographed for the Blog then, so here we are.

Having lived with this sectional since November I feel I can better share why it’s truly the perfect fit for me.  A few things I really love about this Envelop Sectional;  it’s BEYOND comfy.  Like it’s name, it really does envelop you. The frame is fully encased in foam for extra softness, and the seat toppers and back pillows are a blend of down which mimics my bed pillows perfectly.  And they’re removable which makes them much easier to clean.

Second, the Envelop Sectional is modular.  Meaning you can move the pieces, at any time, to create the sectional of your dreams.  I like to move the center pieces in to create almost a full square during movie night, and then move them out during every day.

Third, I loved the overall modern, yet cozy look and I really really love the light Bone color.  A lot of lighter fabrics tend to come off too warm which is a big turn off for me.  But, this Bone coloring was cool without being cold, and just made the whole room feel bigger, lighter and more airy.

I know, I know when talking about the light bone color the next thing I’m bound to hear is, “oooooh it’s so beautiful, but I could never get a sofa that that’s light, it would get ruined”.  So let’s talk about this.

First things first, this is our only living area in our home, which means this sectional is VERY lived on. While light in color, the Bone fabric is a performance grade fabric meaning its more stain resistant than most. Bassett also has amazing warranty policies that I implore you to check out and should put your mind a bit more at ease. I do take some precautions by laying Addison’s blanket down during the day, though she still finds her way on to every pillow and cushion.  And I’m extra careful when eating and drinking red wine on the sofa. But other than that, I don’t do much else to ensure the sectional stays stain free.

My main thought on this point though is you should always design your home based on what makes you happy. Decor that you love, and that you will absolutely live on and in. For me, I didn’t want anything dark which means my only option is a lighter fabric.  Embracing the fact that stains are inevitably going to happen is something I had to let go of in order to make my home feel the way I yearned for.  Besides, cushions can be flipped.  And the cushions, as mentioned above can be removed and professionally cleaned! 

So with this space finally being complete I can honestly say I’ve never loved my home more.  Just by transforming this one room, the whole home feels lighter and calmer.  And with this challenge I feel like I’ve finally pinned down the design that makes me the happiest.  Truly, MKR

 


 

Photography, Rustic White

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