Welcome to the girl cave! The one place where you don’t have to apologize for your pink, your tulle, your bows. This room has been a dream-come-true for me. Our bedroom is on the small end–we can fit a queen size bed in it and nightstands.. and that’s all, folks. This closet makes up for that. When we purchased our house this had two doorwarys, one connected to the master bedroom and one to the front entryway. It also had two small closets in it, which didn’t make much sense to me (see the original layout here). We closed off the doorway to the entryway and made this 100% closet. Billy has a small, reach-in closet in the bedroom that he’s happy with. I’ve offered to share, but I think he likes to keep a few things in our marriage separate.

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I love a bold, over-the-top interior saturated with color. Rooms filled with unique pieces that you can only imagine the story behind. They are ripe for inspiration. These bits of decor and furniture weren’t bought from Pottery Barn or Target; they were found, and they were hunted. New York Magazine, The Cut, featured interior designer Sasha Bikoff’s fifth avenue townhouse, which is full of pink, velvet, lavish features and color on color.

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If there’s one decor item that I’m obsessed with, but don’t yet have in my house, it’s wallpaper. I just go goo-goo-ga-ga over a room that’s perfectly papered. Let’s take the following papers for example: I love the little drawings of animals all over, their fine lines, their whimsical nature. Aren’t they swoon-worthy? 

Children come up every so often between my husband and I, and it’s almost always in relation to decor. I love that these whimsical papers are neutral in color (black and white is so classic!) so that they can go with either a little boy or girl and none of them read too young. There’s no surprise that the majority of these inspiration photos are of nurseries.

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Billy and I like to describe ourselves as DIYers. We bought our home a few years ago and had a mountain of work in front of us. We did a lot ourselves and because of it were able to save tons of money and splurge on a few other things like getting new insulation and stone counter tops. But, Billy does the mountain of the work. We have a joke that I’m “Good Idea Mandi” and he’s “Make it Happen Billy”. It helps to have a great partnership and encouragement when it comes to new projects. Working with tools can be quite intimidating, and I’ll admit there’s a lot I don’t know, but I’m always game to learn. We are now somewhat proficient drywallers and have framed pantries and walls, put in windows and painted our home.

The other week I was invited to hang out with some pretty amazing women doing some pretty amazing things at Habitat for Humanity and Lowe’s Girls Night Out during National Women’s Build Week. Across the country, Lowe’s parking lots were partitioned off for us ladies to get our build on. Seventy-five percent of women avoid construction type volunteering because they feel they lack the skills. If anyone is ever intimidated by building or feel they don’t know enough, I encourage you to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. Not only will you feel awesome about helping families in need, but they also spend the time to teach you how to use tools and break down projects in really approachable ways. Habitat’s goal is to have 1000 families in new houses before the holidays. At the end of the build, I felt empowered and brought back a lot of knowledge.

You can also start building skills and confidence with a few small, easy projects. Below are some totally awesome, totally easy DIY projects with specific instructions and a complete material and tools list (I love a good list). Take those craft project to a whole ‘nother level ladies!

Mirror with Storage 

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Today I woke up to find our little abode on Apartment Therapy. I may have a smile on my face the rest of the day. This house has been a labor of love. For those of you looking for some sources, see the links below. (check out a more photos on our Home Tour page)

House Source List

Living Room:
Couch – Vintage
Coffee Table
Octopus print (local Wayzgoose print)

Kitchen
Farmhouse Sink
Cabinets
Exhaust Hood
Paint: Benjamin Moore White Dove
Faucet
Cabinet Hardware
Backsplash tile 

Dining Room
Sideboard – Antique
Table – Thrifted
Bar Cart