BY FAR the most common question we get. Which makes us wonder why it's taken SO long to put this out there for you, our peeps. For the most part, we are Sherwin-Williams girls. Probably because they have a store blocks away from our office. But lately, we've been obsessed with the new line of paints from Schumacher, Backdrop. More on that later. 
Let's start with exterior paint. We tend to stick with white and black because they are both modern and timeless. It's amazing what a coat of white paint will do for a house.

Inside, our two favorite neutrals for walls are Modern Gray and Snowbound. But you all know Shauna won't turn down an opportunity for a bold blue room or a serene aqua ceiling. 

We also love to play with color on cabinets, trim and doors. Blue is a neutral, if you haven't guessed that already. But we don't discriminate when it comes to cabinet color; green, teal, black, even pink play in our palette.

Now to our newest obsession, Backdrop. These colors are as scrumptious as their cheeky names and we can't wait to get our hands on them. Projects are in the works so you'll have to check back to see the final results but here's what we've got our eyes on.

Last thing to remember. It's just paint! You hate it, there's a thousand other colors to choose from. It's the easiest and most economical way to spruce up a room. Or a piece of furniture. But that's another blog post. :-)

What do you get when you take a neglected, boring courtyard in an otherwise fabulous MCM home, add some killer cement tile, and outdoor kitchen and hire one of the city's best muralists to let her creativity flow like margaritas in the summer heat?
Well, if you are Shauna Glenn, you get this vibrant, colorful cantina that would rival the best five star resort in Mexico for #1 Happy Hour spot. 
Welcome to the Cantina.

It's shocking really, to see this space before. Right off the dining room, behind the stairs to the bottom level, the courtyard is nestled between the house and garage, and accessed via a sliding glass door. Courtyards and interior patios are nothing new in MCM homes. At a project we did a few years ago, the interior courtyard was situated smack dab in the middle of the home. And as always with Shauna, she could see the potential right away. An outdoor kitchen setup was already started, just needed a few additions. Container herb gardens make for easy harvesting and the addition of the outdoor friendly cement tile make a significant improvement over the original asphalt.

Evidence of Mariell Guzman's talent is on display all over Fort Worth. Her murals quickly caught Shauna's eye and she knew right away that Mariell would be her artist of choice to take this courtyard from sad to fantastico. Read more about Mariell and her artistic journey here on our Artist Spotlight.
Initially, the courtyard was scheduled to be included in the HGTV Magazine feature on Shauna's house, but unfortunately, it was cut last minute. Since then, however, Mariell has been back to the Cantina to finish what she started with the completion of the last wall mural. 

I mean, who could be in a bad mood out here? Even the foam Easter Bunny is not upset that he's been abandoned on a garden stool until next spring.
And luckily, HGTV Magazine made good on their promise to feature the courtyard. You can find it in the July/August 2022 issue, as well as in the May/June issue of 76107 Magazine. 
Resources:
​Cement Tile: Zia Tile
Blue Dining Set: Table from CB2 (discontinued, similar here), Chairs from CB2
Yellow Dining Set: Table from Wayfair, chairs from West Elm (sold out, similar here)
Yellow Acapulco Chairs: West Elm (sold out, similar here)
Garden Stools: Wayfair
White Accent Table: Article
​Pillows: West Elm and here

This post contains affiliate links and we may be compensated for any purchases.
​

A couple weeks ago we received our Jonathan Adler Spring catalog in the mail and let me just say, there may or may not have been some drool stains on it by the time we got to the end. Goody for us AND for you, that JA is having a mega Memorial Day Sale (including current markdowns!) so all those super fab finds we fell in love with are now 20% off. Now, we know that JA is the opposite of a bargain. But his innovative and creative designs are worth the price. Here are some of our favorites:

Vapor Printed Pillows--Inspired by Art Deco airbrushing, these velvet pillows are made for mixing and matching.

Kiki Cabinet--Usher in a new era of chic storage with this brass and lacquer cabinet. Topped with ivory painted glass and featuring velvet lined adjustable shelves to store all of your treasures. 

Torino Vases--Classic shapes and moody colors, these vases make a statement whether they stand alone, hold your favorite stems or clustered together in a display. 

Create an instant mantle display with three of our favorite JA pieces. 
Pompidou Vase--sexy curves in bold colors
Ripple Lacquer Boxes--stacked for maximum impact
Pompidou Acrylic Candle Holder--definitely not your mother's candelabra

​Riviera Tuffet--For those hundreds of times you need an extra seat at the table, this rattan stool is cushioned with a plushy mushroom boucle.

Paradox Vases--clean, white and anything but boring these ceramic vases add just the right element of texture and shape to your mantle or bookshelf.

Miami Pendant--This hip brass cage pendant nods back to the Art Deco architecture of Miami Beach with its muted colored squares. 

Prisma Table Lamp--This crackle acrylic lamp makes a bold statement with its saturation of color and super sized pyramid shape. The desk chair, is pretty bad ass too. 
I mean, we could go on. But part of the fun with so much amazing merchandise is discovering what's just on the next page. Memorial Day promotion runs May 24-31. Use code SUMMER for 20% off sitewide. 

​All photos courtesy of Jonathanadler.com
This post contains affiliate links and we may be compensated for purchases made via these links.

You never really know what you are getting in to when visiting a clients house for the first time. When we first visited our cute new homeowner back in April 2021 she had just moved in and was looking to hire us to pretty much design the entire house. K, as we will call her, is a bit younger than most of our clients. So Shauna felt she might be a little more adventurous with her design and man, it is SO sexy. The first room we tackled was the living room. It was a blank slate but had built in cabinets that K was not a fan of. So, we pulled out the shelves, put a new stone top on the lower cabinets and installed a cool light fixture above the artwork. The fireplace was refaced in a black porcelain tile to give it a sleek modern look.

BEFORE

terRESOURCES
​Sofa: Four Hands from Burke Decor
Chairs: Wayfair
Coffee Table: Arteriors
End Tables: Anthropologie
Drink Table: West Elm
Rug: Oriental Rug Galaxy. Similar here
Chandelier: Hudson Valley Lighting
Wall Sconces: Hudson Valley Lighting
​Art: Client's collection, similar here
Circle pillows: Etsy
​
While we waited an eternity for these sofas to come in, we went upstairs to the media room. Now, you'll know that we love a mural. So we hired our friend Captain Casual to do this cool Op-Art mural on all the walls. Maybe not so great an idea to hang out here after a few too many cocktails, but perfect for movie night! Leather coffee table doubles as an ottoman, and we tucked two additional stools on either side of the media console so everyone can put their feet up.

 RESOURCES
Sectional: West Elm
Rug: West Elm
Swivel Chairs: Wayfair
Coffee Table: Four Hands
End Table: CB2
Stools: Wayfair (reupholstered)
Chandelier: Arteriors
Lamps: Regina Andrew
Pillows and fabric: Hapi Art

​Moving right along, our most recent room to complete was the dining room. "A place to host a sexy dinner party" was the direction we were given and when K came to Shauna's house for a meeting and fell in love with her Wendy Morrison rug, we jumped off from there. We ended up having a custom square rug made that fit the space perfectly.
We love the contrast of the somewhat masculine dining table with the floral rug, velvet console and sexy chandelier. K is a HUGE Kacey Musgraves fan so we bought this photo in the largest size possible and had it framed in a hot pink to coordinate with the wallpapered tray ceiling.

RESOURCES
Dining table: Arhaus
Dining chairs: Arhaus
Console: Anthropologie
Mirror: Anthropologie
Lamps: Crate & Barrel
Chandelier: Homeowners, similar here
Rug: Wendy Morrison
Photograph: Getty Images

What's next on our list? The main bedroom and guest room. Stay tuned! 

This post contains affiliate links and we may be compensated for purchases made through these links.

We peeped our head out from the hole we've been working in the last few months to discover it's spring! Hi there! It's been a whirlwind around here. So much so that we've hired a new team member to help us (Shauna) keep organized. More on that later. 
So, Mother's Day is soon upon us, and we all know she deserves way more than a Day  to be recognized. So, in addition to these great gift ideas we've rounded up; bubbles, brunch, a trip to the museum, or an afternoon at the pool are all perfect ways to celebrate Mom and everything she does for everyone else. 

For the mom who loves to entertain, the Famille Rose collection from Williams Sonoma gives us all the vintagy, flowery vibes of grandma's best china. In fact, we'd encourage mixing it up with your own vintage china and glassware to create a beautiful one-of-a-kind table. 

​Bright stemware is our jam. And we love that this set from Anthropologie comes already assorted in happy colors. They completely go with our mix and match table setting aesthetic.

Charcuterie for dinner is a regular occurrence in our house. However, most of the time it's grazing over open containers on the kitchen counter. This Lotus shaped board from Uncommon Goods gives us a great excuse to create something a bit more presentable.

Those ugly gardening gloves mom has from the hardware store are probably due for an upgrade. These super cute ones are from Uncommon Goods and have faux leather palms and extra long cuffs to protect from all the prickly things. Matching hat, because, of course and it's all machine washable!

Raise your hand if you use an old plastic pitcher to water the plants? These glass watering cans from Anthropologie are pretty enough to sit out on the ledge in the kitchen and while gently reminding you to water the plants.

For moms that are just starting out on their gardening adventure, a window sill herb starter kit is just the right thing for her to practice her skills. Complete with plant markers so you don't mistake the mint for cilantro.

To be honest, we ALL fit in to this category, right? So, remember that Mom loves you, but she also would enjoy 20 minutes of uninterrupted time in the bathtub for Pete's sake. 

A shiny brass bath caddy gives mom easy access to all of her bath essentials. Pretty sure we could live here, just leave some cheese and wine outside the door every day or so.

​Never underestimate the value of beautiful packaging. The yummy bubble bath here is one thing, but the gorgeous floral bottle gives an extra "ooohh" that we are totally here for. 

Every season, Capri Blue gives us our favorite candle scents in to die for glass jars and this season is no exception. We are partial to the Volcano flavor but at only $26 for the petite jar, you can give all the scents a try. 
Now, get shopping, and remember that we may earn some $$ from these links. Also, check out our Gift Guide for more great things for mom.

Oh, and back to our announcement earlier. We are super excited to introduce you to Hannah, our newest team member. Her title is Design Assistant, which means everything from "pick out a lamp to go here", to "go meet the tile guy" to "here, hang some art". She is amazing and we are so happy to have her on the team. 

​Happy Mother's Day! 

The guest room at our Hacienda project was one of the most popular Instagram posts in recent months. We went all out with layers of color, texture and pattern and it turned out to be one of our absolute favorite projects. The client (who we adore) told us that we could do anything we want as long is it was bold. Girl, you are speaking our language! 
The jumping off point was the wallpaper from Katie Kime and how amazing it looks layered with the agate print fabric from Kristi Kohut and Hapi Art. We used the same fabric for drapes and pillows and layered with zig zag embroidered pillows from Annie Selke. Simple white bedding on the cane bed provides the neutral backdrop to all the amazing color and texture. Pink and yellow accents are repeated in the rug, throw and lamps. Busy? Maybe. Bold? Absolutely? I'd pay to sleep here! 

Resources
Bed: West Elm
White Bedding: Target
Nightstands: Overstock
Rug: Annie Selke
Throw: Annie Selke
Wallpaper: Katie Kime
Chandelier: Overstock
Pillows: Hapi Art
Drapes: Hapi Art
Lamps: Stray Dog Designs
​Pillows: Annie Selke
Art: Gray Malin
This post contains affiliate links and we may be compensated for purchases made via these links.

The sweet mother of one of our clients reached out to us back in the spring of 2021 about helping her update 2 bathrooms and her kitchen. She had a contractor lined up, someone who had done projects for her in the past, but hired us to do the design work. Her love of wallpaper and color made us giddy with excitement and Shauna couldn't wait to get started on the designs. The client was thrilled and signed off on everything with few changes and told us that the contractor would be able to start in a month or so and to go ahead and get everything ordered. That was in May.
June: "Mrs. Smith? How's it going? Are they ready to start?"
           "No, he said he's still backed up. Maybe next month."
July: "Mrs. Smith, just checking in on your project!"
          "He said not yet. So frustrating!"
And on this went for several more months until finally Mrs. Smith said, "I'm tired of waiting, do you know people who can do the work?"
"Hallelujah! Of course we do! We'll rally the troops."
The project itself was not extensive other than the fact that it was 2 bathrooms and a kitchen. No footprint changes, just cosmetic refreshes; tearing out old vanities, updated lighting, new cabinet door fronts, paint and of course, wallpaper. 
We set up a makeshift kitchen for Mrs. Smith in her office with microwave, toaster oven, coffee machine, etc. since the kitchen was covered in plastic for painting. That didn't stop her, however from raiding the freezer every afternoon for her 5:00 martini. I think she must be related to the Queen.
Five weeks later, Mrs. Smith was enjoying her afternoon martini in the comfort of her brand new kitchen and showing off her beautiful new bathrooms. There's some finishing touches to do here and there, but we couldn't be more proud of our crew who rallied at the last minute and over the holidays to make this project happen. 
​Now for the fun part, before and after:

Bathroom 1, "the dog's bathroom" (see? the Queen)
We are still digging for pre-demo before images, but you can see that the can lights were installed up in the soffit above the sink. We tore that out and installed vanity lights over the mirror. The single vanity cabinet was replaced  by a freestanding one. More photos to come here.

Vanity: Wayfair
Wallpaper: York Wallcoverings
Lighting: Wayfair

Bathroom 2: Guest Bath
There was some plumbing work to be done in this bathroom as we added another sink. Why these houses had such long vanities with only one sink is beyond me! We also tore down the wall between vanity and toilet, and the soffit where lights were. Such an amazing open, bright transformation!

Vanity: Signature Hardware
Floor tile: Tile Shop
Shower tile: Tile Shop
Lighting: Wayfair
Wallpaper: James Dunlop Textiles
Mirrors: Serena & Lily
Faucets: Wayfair

Kitchen
Still a few finishing touches like hardware, etc needed but oh my! what a change. The cabinet frame was kept in tact and we just replaced the doors with a more modern shaker style. New quartz countertops and tile backsplash, tile floor (same as in bathrooms) and gorgeous, colorful wallpaper. Lastly, we replaced the ceiling fan with a chic flush mount light fixture. Martini, anyone?

Cabinet paint: Turkish Tile  and Snowbound by Sherwin Williams
Tile floor: Tile Shop
Backsplash: Tile Shop
Soffit wallpaper: Thibaut
Cabinet wall wallpaper: Thibaut
Flush Mount Light: Hudson Valley Lighting

Stay tuned for more updates and photos of this project. Including a dining room refresh! 
Love these or any of the other wallpapers you see on our posts? A lot of them are available to the trade only, so please reach out if we can help you buy the wallpaper of your dreams! 
​This post contains affiliate links and we may be compensated for purchases made via these links.

It's crunch week for us as we wrap up some projects and get others to tidy stopping places so we can take some time off and enjoy the holidays. Of course that doesn't mean we don't have clients with half finished bathrooms and walls waiting to be wallpapered but they are cool with that. We think. 
It's always fun to do some deep scrolling and see where things were back at the beginning of the year. Shauna had just started her addition project, Riley was still pregnant, and Oh yeah, we had a freeze for the record books here in Texas. We are so grateful for all of our clients, followers and friends for the love and support. We are nothing without you! Join us as we look back at our top Instagram posts for 2021.

We know that the mad rush to buy gifts online is already well underway. BUT we also know how there are always procrastinators in our lives and they have just realized it's December and they better get busy. Knowing that shipping delays are for real, you'll want to share this post ASAP with those people who need some gift giving guidance. As per usual, we hit up Anthropologie because they speak our language and have some of the most luxurious, festive gifts around. 

1.Ombre Cashmere Throw--Because A. look at those colors and B. it's cashmere. I mean, who wouldn't want to snuggle up on the sofa with that?
2. Bianca Glass Set--We are suckers for vintage glassware and these are just begging for a cocktail hour G&T.
3. Sherpa Lined Robe--Designed by Alexandra Farmer the sherpa lining gives this floral robe an extra cozy layer.
5.Brass Animal Planters--Ezzie and Gia, as they are known are determined to help you become a plant person.
6. Cheese Plate Cookbook--Take your charcuterie to the next level with fun recipes for both entertaining and just for you! 
7. Capri Blue Petite Jar Candle--Featuring their holiday "All A Glow" container, our favorite Volcano scent is THE perfect gift for anyone on your list.
8. Alani Cashmere Mock Neck Sweater--Once again, you can never go wrong with cashmere as a gift and we love the floral print for a nice change from solid sweaters.
9. Beaded Monogram Pouch--Airpods, chargers, cords, face masks; these days we have plenty to carry around so why not do it in something as cute as this?
10. Upcycled Kantha Stitched Throw--Upcycling at it's most fashionable, these throws feature Anthro exclusive fabrics with kantha stitching. Hand-crafted so no two are alike. 
Right now, you can save 30% on select gifts for a limited time.
And while we are big Anthro fans, we also have a huge place in our heart for all of the small, independent businesses out there who make and create beautiful things. So, be sure to check out our Instagram page starting December 9th for 12 Days of Giveaways where we will be giving away gifts from some of our most favorite creative people. Also be sure to check out our Gift Guide for more great ideas! 
​
This post contains affiliate links and we may be compensated for purchases made via these links. 

As is per usual with weather in Texas, we went from highs in the 70s to highs in the 40s in a matter of days. So, all of us naturally started digging through our favorite soup recipes in order to prepare for the pending hibernation that cold, rainy weather brings. Some recipes, like our favorite Gumbo, are dang near perfect just the way they are. But butternut squash soup is a tricky one. Every recipe we've tried seems to lack something; it's too runny or too creamy or not spicy enough. Which left Shauna no choice but to play mad scientist and find the perfect blend of several recipes to create THE perfect butternut squash soup recipe.

So, cutting to the chase, because we know how frustrating it is to find a recipe online and have to scroll for days to the ACTUAL recipe. 

Shauna's Butternut Squash Soup
​2 TBSP olive oil
3 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 TBSP fresh sage, chopped
1/2 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped
3-4 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
1 TBSP curry powder
Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for garnish (optional)

Heat olive oil in Dutch oven
Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent
Add squash to the onions and cook for 7-8 minutes until soft
Add garlic, sage, rosemary, and broth. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add coconut milk and curry powder. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pour the soup in a blender in batches until smooth.
Serve hot and garnish with pepitas and fresh rosemary. 

That's it! Easy, peasy. What is your favorite soup recipe? Share with us here and we'll post all of your favorites on a future post. ​