design: why every piece can't be your favorite piece

When you're designing your house, just buy what you love and it will all magically look fantastic.

This is a lie.

I hear this a lot. People buy their favorite sofa, favorite table, favorite lamp, favorite rug, and are then baffled why it doesn't all work together. I like to call this the "hot mess" phenomena. We all understand that we can't wear our favorite shirt, skirt, shoes, jewelry, jacket, and scarf at the same time. It would look ridiculous. But then we go to design our homes, and that logic goes right out the window. 

 

{sidebar- I tried to go into my closet and pull a horrible outfit together to illustrate the point, but darn it if every combination I pulled together looked cool. I smell another blog post about assembling a fool proof wardrobe, but we'll save that for another day.}

Here's what this looks like in a room. These pieces are all great. Good quality, great design aesthetic, etc.  All together, though, it's a crime against design. And this isn't an exaggeration (okay, maybe a little), but people fall victim to this all the time. "Well, there's green in the pillow and the couch, so that goes. And there's red in the rug and the art, so that must work too. And on my gosh is the chair comfortable! So I have to have that."

 

 

{sofa and art from Room & Board, chair and lamp from PotteryBarn; table, rug, and accessories from West Elm}

 

The problem with this approach is that there is no focus. If everything is the most important piece, then nothing is most important. Something has to take the lead, and other things have to play supporting roles. Designers have a term for this: Focal Point.

So here's how we take that hot mess room and make it work. In this example, if you're going to have a green velvet sofa (and you absolutely should), then by God it needs to be the center of the room. Everything else in the room exists to make that sofa look amazing. Brass accents, coordinating colors, simple forms, and great textures make the sofa sing. Your eye has a place to rest in the room. There's no question about who is the star. The color is repeated in the room in smaller amounts to help it make sense with the other pieces. 









 

{sofa, chair, and art from Room & Board; table, rug, lamp, and accessories from West Elm}

Don't think that this means everything else has to be boring and matchy-matchy. Far from it. You just don't want everything in the room competing for attention. It's exhausting.

Here's how I've applied the Focal Point principle in my house. When we moved to our house in April of 2013, we finally had room for a king sized bed. Can I get an amen for a king sized bed?! I can almost sleep like a starfish and not disturb Steven. He's happy, because according to him, I'm a bit of a bed hog. Preposterous.

 



{headboard, frame, and gold pillow from West Elm; lamps, shades, mirror, and throw from Target; bedding from Bed Bath and Beyond; euro pillows from IKEA; nightstands are vintage and awesome and mine and you can't have them from Again & Again in Dallas; wall color Benjamin Moore Hale Navy}

I digress. We decided to get a king size bed, so I went with a tall headboard from West Elm that had some stage presence. The headboard is a luxurious velvet texture (I clearly have a thing for velvet, and I will not apologize for it) with brass nail head trim. To reinforce the focal point, I added a brass mirror centered above and painted the wall a bold navy (Benjamin Moore, Hale Navy). The bedding, nightstands, and lamps needed to be cast in a supporting role, so basic white was the best choice. 

 

The result: pure happiness. For me, a bedroom is a place to rest and relax, and having multiple competing focal points was just not going to work. We couldn't be happier with how this turned out.

 

Other ideas: an awesome piece of art, a rug, accent wall, mirror, or light fixture. It doesn't have to be furniture.

 

But, of course, it's a design principle, not a design rule. So feel free to break it as needed. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

momma fuel: skinny-ish banana chocolate chip muffins

I'm going to get real for a second. I love nursing babies. It's super healthy for them, good for me, promotes bonding, the list goes on. The potential downside- it makes me more ravenous than a 16 year old varsity linebacker after 2-a-days in August. And when you're trying to drop, oh let's say hypothetically, 51 lbs of baby weight, if no healthy snacks are available, I'll down a half bag of chips without missing a beat. 

So I went in search if something that would taste like a treat, but that would lasso help me get back into real person jeans. Pinterest had my back. I found this recipe, made it, LOVED IT, then made a few tweaks to make it my own. 

First on the list, swapping semi-sweet mini chocolate chips for big fat dark chocolate ones. And since dark chocolate is so much healthier for you than regular (don't you dare tell me different) I went ahead and doubled the amount of chips. I found that 1/2 a cup meant that some of the poor little muffins ended up with like 2 chips, and we can't have that, can we?

Enough chit chat. I'm starving. 

First, wrangle up your wet ingredients. 3 bananas, 1/4 cup agave nectar, 2 tbsp honey (just eyeball it...getting it out of a measuring spoon wastes about half of it), 1 egg, and a teaspoon of vanilla and give 'me a whirl. You could mash the bananas first, I guess, but then you'd have to clean your potato masher. And why make extra dishes for yourself when Sir Mix A Lot will do the work for you. 

Then add your dry ingredients.  1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, and 6 oz vanilla Greek yogurt. Some of you may be thinking, "Tara, yogurt isn't a dry ingredient," and to you I say, chillax and just go with it.  

Sometimes I think there's great value in sifting your dry ingredients together. This is not that recipe. Just throw it in and enjoy the 60 seconds of your life you just got back. 

Now for the best part. Chocolate. Can I get an Amen?  Add your beautifully delicious chocolate chips in there. I let the mixer stir them for a moment, then mix it up with my spatula a bit. 

The dough  is pretty thick and wet-ish at this point. Grease up a muffin tin (and I mean it. Pam the heck out of it, because these muffins will stick to it like white on rice).  I use an ice cream scoop to get them all relatively the same size. 

Pop them in the oven at 350° for 17-20 minutes. The tops should be golden, and honestly, pretty wonky looking. I'm not sure if it's the whole wheat flour or the yogurt that makes them look this way, but they are unique and I like them.  Let them cool for 2 minutes in the pan, then use a paring knife/fork combo to extract them and place on a wire rack to cool completely. 

Now, you have 3 choices:

1. Eat one, put the rest in an air tight container.

2. Eat them all and tell no one.

3. Eat one, put the rest in a freezer bag and freeze them for later. 

There is a small mathematical error with option 3, however. You will want to have 2 for breakfast with coffee, 1 as a mid-afternoon snack, and 1 (or 2 or 3) for dessert. If you freeze them, you will just have to thaw them tomorrow.  But if this is what you want to do, just pop one in the microwave for 12 seconds (yes, 12.  10 is too short and 15 is too long.  If the micro machine would let me zap them for 12.5 seconds, I would).  Or let it thaw on the counter or in a bag in your purse for a couple of hours and it'll be happily waiting for you when the craving hits.

Oh look, here's one now!

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to scarf down this muffin, because Max looks hungry again.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 6 oz Vanilla Greek Yogurt
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat honey, agave nectar, egg, vanilla and banana until blended. 
2. Add flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and yogurt. Beat for 1-2 minutes until fully combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Grease cupcake tin with nonstick baking spray. Spoon batter into each tin (about 1/4 cup). Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 18-20 minutes. For mini muffins, bake 11-13 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for later use. 
4. Eat and repeat. Yields 15-18 muffins. 

a new chapter: designing the life I want

Just a few short months ago, I was obscenely pregnant with my second kiddo, Max, working hard at an Architecture and Interior Design firm that I love, and trying to balance a successful and demanding career with family life, which includes my hubby, Steven, and 2.5 year old Henry. 

 

I happily entered maternity leave and we welcomed Max on November 13, 2013. I was thrilled and scared. At my core, I was truly fearful that I would fail at being a mom of 2. We all have those insecurities, I'm sure, but I was kind of terrified at the thought of keeping up with the demands of a newborn and a potty training toddler at the same time.

You see, I had not liked the mom I had become.  Anyone who has spent more than 8 minutes with a 2 year old can tell you that it's stressful and exhausting (and yes, rewarding and sweet and all that good stuff too).  But I would get home at the end of a stressful 9 hour day at work, and I would have nothing left to give my family. My temper was short and I wasn't enjoying motherhood like I wanted to. I needed to simplify my life. 

Then a funny thing happened. After Steven went back to work, and my mother in law left after taking care of us for 2 weeks (she's kind of a saint), and I was alone with both boys....I was happy. Not just "oh the boys were good so it was a good day" kind of happy, but "oh my goodness, this is exactly where I'm supposed to be, life-altering realization" happy. I really liked my job, and you can't ask for a better firm and better people to work with, but something had to give.  Leaving after 9 amazing years is the toughest decision I've ever made, but I knew in my heart of hearts that it was the right one.  At least for this season of my life. The boys will never be this small again, and if I was going to seize the opportunity, now was the time. 

Thankfully, Steven was totally on board.

Then began the long soul and budget searching process of determining if we could really do this. Cutting our income in half would be one challenge; one I will post about another day.  The other big concern (and the one I was most worried about), can I be creatively fulfilled long-term if I'm at home? Interior Designers are born, not made.  I can't turn it off. I need an outlet. 

That's where Simply Crafted comes in. It will hopefully be the vehicle for my creative endeavors. Interior Design, of course, but also cooking, baking, sewing, DIYing, parenting, organizing, dance parties in the kitchen, and all of the other things I could never find the time for while working 40+ hour weeks. 

This is not about being Wonder Woman or Super Mom. Far from it.  I am imperfect in every way, but through the grace of God I get up every morning and try again. It's about simplifying life. Living more by doing less. Spending time and energy on the things that really matter. Crafting the life I (and maybe you) always wanted. I'm blessed to have the chance to take this journey. 

Honestly, I'm doing this for me. If other people can relate and get some enjoyment out of it, even better. And if nothing else, my mom will like hearing about what's going on in my life (that is if she can figure out how to work the Internet.  Love you, mom).

Well, that's my story. At least the beginning of it. If I had the money, I'd give all four of you $100 for reading to the end, but it's not in the budget. But thanks anyway. Come back soon.

 

 

{beautiful photo by Emily Mulkey Photography}

XOXO

Tara