Wednesday, July 11, 2018

PayPal Cash Giveaway!








Hey guys! I’ve teamed up with some of my favorite Bloggers and YouTubers for a great giveaway!! πŸ’–

 One lucky person will win $600 in PayPal Cash. The Winner will be announced by 8/16 on this page. You'll receive 3 points for each entry. By entering this contest you're subscribing to the hosts email list. Be sure to enter the contest below! Good luck!

                                                 

                                                 a Rafflecopter giveaway

                                                       XOXO
                                                     
                                                        Laila






Wednesday, June 6, 2018

A Colorful Outdoor Summer











Welcome to my colorful, outdoor summer tour where I joined some wonderful bloggers to showcase our homes for summer! You can find the link to their summer tour at the end of this post! πŸ’•

Although inside of our home is mostly white and neutrals....but our outdoor doesn't have to be! We've planted some beautiful colorful plants in our courtyard and can't wait to show you in this blog post!



My husband and I like to enjoy a drink out here in our courtyard..either a cup of coffee or a glass of red 🍷One of our favorites reds is Silver Oak.







I've always been a fan of black and white! When I first saw this bistro set, I knew it would make a perfect sitting area in our court yard! The black and white umbrella I ordered separately and is currently sold out but I linked a similar umbrella for you... The umbrella pole and stand I also ordered separately on line. FYI; since I was looking for a small umbrella; this is 5 ft wide patio umbrella which most standard umbrellas are between 7-9ft. {Pillows are from Home Goods}.




Flowers! Lets talk about some of the flowers we planted! These are some petunias we planted in these pots. Love the vibrant colors! 🌺




A pop of fuscia PINK!


Bougainvilleas we have on each side of the arbor & love the vibrant color!




More colorful plants in our courtyard 🌸🌷🌿



Calla Lily



Mystic Spires Blue Salvia



Pink Geraniums




Mystic Spires fully bloomed


Another close up shot of the lovely bougainvilleas 🌺





Love colorful Petunias


🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿


Next, we are taking a short trip to our forest themed backyard!


We just finished adding this beautiful cedar gazebo and are enjoying our new sitting area. But we still have some work to do as in finding furniture pieces, and more planting. If you don't already know, I LOVE everything about nature! 🌿




I love this bridge that leads to the forest trees, I really think the bridge is the focal point of this backyard 🌲



Just a little simple sweet treats for a summer table scape πŸ‹ got some yummy lemonade, fruits, lemons, I also got a store bought carrot cake which my kids love and made a delicious cheese board.



You cant go wrong with bright yellow and white pom poms!! πŸ’›
















πŸ’—πŸ’—πŸ’—πŸ’—πŸ’—πŸ’—


THANK YOU again for visiting!! I hope you all enjoyed my colorful summer tour! Til next time, friends! 





 Please visit all my wonderful friend's home for the summer, here's everyone who's on the tour!!

πŸ’—πŸ’—πŸ’—


Summer Home Tour

Wednesday's Blogs

Yuni | Love Your Abode

Leslie | My 100 Year Old Home

Ashley | Modern Glam

Judy | Life Is Better At Home

Thursday's Blogs

Bethany | The Posh Home

Laila | Designs By Laila

Kim & Lacey | Styled With Lace

Amie | Meme Hill Studio

Rhonda | Hallstrom Home

Jackie | Finding Lovely


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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Kitchen Remodel


Hi guys! I'm finally getting the chance to share the other side of my kitchen that I have never revealed before & I'm super excited! Having the opportunity to design your own kitchen has truly been a dream come true! I've enjoyed every process of this journey of ours.  

Being that the house was built in the 70's; everything was in its original condition (oh my!)  We demolished EVERYTHING inside the house...I shared a few photos of how this kitchen looked like BEFORE & would love to know your thoughts at the end of this post!



One thing I love about doing a remodel is the feeling of having a fresh new start! Out with the old, in with the new...The kitchen was very dark before so I went with white shaker kitchen cabinets and love how it brightened up this space!




This is the right side of our kitchen when facing it and we added a pantry, coffee station and a Viking refrigerator.



I love my Pink Mixer and Mackenzie-Childs canisters! 




Previously, the kitchen never had an island. Creating an island in the center not only became a focal point in our kitchen but it just really tied everything together nicely.





Opposite side of the coffee station is where my main sink sits. We got a farm house sink which I absolutely love! If you ever are interested in purchasing one in your home, I suggest getting a sink grid so the surface doesn't get scratched.








 Along the same side as my farm house sink is where my La Cornue Stove sits.  I have to admit, I've been dreaming about this stove forever, I love it so much lol!! I decided to go with black because it adds a nice contrast against the white shaker cabinets.

As for my back splash, I wanted to be able to see a little more variation vs it being all white so I decided to go with carrara honed marble and we love the look of it! You can never go wrong with a little marble in your life ;)



For the fixtures, I went with all brass for the knobs drawer pulls and kitchen faucets. I love how it complements the brass knobs on the La Cornue stove.




Deciding on having white floating shelves with brass brackets is one of the best decisions I made! I love the open and airy feel whenever I cook. So not having cabinets on either sides really gave me that feeling and makes a big difference. I'm also not a big fan of clutter especially when it comes to kitchen counters, I prefer 'less is more' kind of space.







Chandeliers are like beautiful jewelry you wear around your neck. In fashion, sometimes an outfit can be incomplete without jewelry...that's how I feel when it comes to lighting in home decor. Adding a beautiful chandelier makes your whole space look complete! I've linked similar chandeliers for you here and here!

 I also get alot of questions about my counter stools. I really love the color, size and shape of it as it fits perfectly for my kitchen island. I also linked a similar one you can find here.

As for my kitchen counter tops, I went ahead with Calcutta gold white quartz marble and couldn't be happier! Wiping and cleaning it has been so wonderful especially with the amount of use we put into it because we have such a large family.







In case you may not already know; I'm obsessed with flowers!!








Photo #1 Here's a pic of the kitchen BEFORE:

*Note- the right side is where my pantry, coffee station and frig is now. The left side is where my farm house sink and stove is. As you can see, there was no island in the far center before.






 Photo #2 AFTER demolition:

*Note- This is the view from my new kitchen island looking onward.  In this photo, the right side is where my stove is, left side is frig, coffee station and pantry.







ALL COMPLETE 

{Same view as Photo #1}









I hope you guys enjoyed seeing the before and after pics of our kitchen remodel! I know that I love seeing transformations, it gets me so excited! I always believe that your home should be a reflection of who you are. If you haven't experienced going through a house remodel; it is part of a journey that ends. One advice I can give you when going through this journey is 'enjoy the moment.' While you are in process of making your house a home, your also creating memories throughout the process that you and your family build together to create a place you call home and reflect on it one day :)

Til next time friends!

xo
Laila