It's finally here!
A year ago the fabulous team from Better Homes and Gardens paid us a visit to shoot a few rooms in our house for their spring garden issue. Photographed by Brian McWeeney and produced and styled by one of the best in the business, Janna Lufkin. The team, headed up by Shelley Caldwell of BH&G, pulled together a story that's true to me and my style and how we live in and enjoy our home.

I am so grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity to be featured in the April 2016 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

My personal style is a mix of custom pieces, vintage and fine art, personal collections and flea market finds. As beach lovers, our dream house would be a cottage by the sea with a killer view. Our reality is that we live in a typical builder house in the middle of suburbia. However, we live with the things that bring us delight and create an atmosphere that suits our home and lifestyle which keeps it from feeling anything but typical. That's also a philosophy I share with my design clients.

The white slipcovers seen in the article are custom from LS Slipcovers in Houston, TX. I'm so in love with those slips. I know they're not for everyone and I get asked all the time how I live with white sofas and 16 year old twin boys. The truth is they're probably the cleanest thing in my house because the covers can be washed. Yes, they get Cheetos smashed into them and dirty puppy paw prints. But they come out of the washer looking brand new and smelling like Heaven. I couldn't do that with my old upholstered sofa's. Read more about the slipcovers here.

Art plays a big part in my personal style. Antique botanical charts, pressed botanicals, and coastal paintings (some by me) mix with bead board walls to create the light and airy cottage look we love. Also included is the beautiful work of my dear friend, fine art photographer and mixed media artist Lori Vrba of Chapel Hill, NC.

Don't afraid to mix and layer your art.

In fact, don't be afraid of anything when it comes to decorating. Fear holds so many people hostage from simply enjoying their homes. Fear wastes so much time! I think fear is a decorating epidemic. I've worked with so many clients that are absolutely terrified of making a mistake or a choice that they stay frozen and never make any progress. They're worried about trends, or rules or what their mother-in-law might think. I want to give you permission to have fun with your home. Don't take it all so seriously. Have a little fun playing in your house.

I approach decorating my own home like I would a styling job. Adding and editing as I go. Not everything works all the time. It's a process and I'm never done. And that's ok! I allow myself mistakes and time to enjoy the hunt for new things. I hope the story inspires you to live with the things you love and bring you delight as well.

*You'll have to be a BH&G subscriber to enjoy this feature as it's not included in the newsstand version. You can also purchase a digital version of the magazine through their app in the itunes store. As much as I love to hold a copy of the magazine, I really enjoy the digital version as well for zooming in on details.

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Our Home Featured in Better Homes and Gardens April 2016