The best (and most life changing) post yet

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Friends. This is a post I’ve dreamt about writing for some time. I’ve wished, and hoped, and prayed this day would come. And it has. Today, I get to marry my personal passion (design, decor, interiors) with my professional skill set. I’ve taken the position of marketing director at Schoolhouse Electric. The position feels perfect, and so very ME.

For nearly 3 years, people have asked what I want Restored Style to become. Truth be told, I never really knew the answer to that question. I’ve always said I think it will organically grow into something. That thing? I’ve never really known what it was. Until now. It’s served as my online portfolio, proving to folks that I adore design and everything else in between. It’s also been an incubator and outlet for my passion, and I’ve become a better writer and photographer, and ultimately, entrepreneur, because of this blog.

Schoolhouse currently has my heart and creative brain for now, but I’ll still be stopping by the blog to update you on house projects and renovation plans, as we still have a lot of house to go. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot.

This is certainly not a goodbye, it’s merely a transparent note to let you know about this life transition and career change. I will still be blogging and sharing life’s details with you, it just might be hit-and-miss as I get adjusted. I want to sincerely thank you for reading, commenting, and following along. YOU are what make this blog, and the blog community is surely a special place to be.

Now, I best be getting busy on my first day of work outfit. First impressions are important:).

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Wallpaper Options

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It’s Friday, friends! Can I get a heck yes?

In true Kirsten form, I’m jumping from room to room on you. I know I haven’t yet revealed our master bathroom (it’s done – just need some photos!), but my mind is now on our second bathroom. It’s going to be a much easier renovation project than our master bathroom was, so I’m hopeful we’ll be up for tackling it in the next couple of months.

This week, I visited my sweet and lovely friend Mandy at VanillaWood and we chatted about wallpaper. Like tile and paint colors, the options are endless. Mandy helped me navigate the land of wallpaper and I took home a few samples I’m pretty pumped about. I have a feeling I’ll be back for more, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

These are the four samples I brought home. Any favorites?! I numbered the below photo so you can easily shout-out a selection in the comment section below – opinions, please! I should let you know I’m thinking board and batten on the lower half of the walls, and wallpaper on the upper half. That’s why I feel like I can go a bit more bold, as only half of the room will be wallpaper. Also, this bathroom needs to be both a guest bath and a kids bath (someday), so I have to be really careful and play to both sides. It’s rather tricky, but I know a versatile wallpaper is out there that’s meant for us.

I’m all over the place, like usual. Help!

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Black Windows

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Let it be known that I dislike painting. A lot. I didn’t used to despise painting as much as I do now. Maybe it’s because I’ve painted my fair share of trim, rooms, and lately windows, in our new home. The walls were a-okay, the trim wasn’t my favorite, but the windows…they might be the death of me.

Between the taping, the priming, and the actual painting, I am SO ready for this project to be over. Painting divided light windows is the worst. Ever. Especially if you want to do a good job, which I do. As you can see (which I’m sure you’ve spied in other recent photos I’ve posted), we went big and went with black windows in the kitchen area. I’ve always wanted black windows, so me + glossy black paint are getting well-acquainted.

Once I recover from the painting madness, I will have photos to share with you…which should be tomorrow. Hallelujah!

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{Updated} Our Cozy Kitchen Corner

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Morning!

With so, so, so many rooms and nooks to renovate in this home (which translates to blog content for years!), I’m trying to focus on little successes and finding projects that I can actually finish. I’ve always found that piecing together spaces takes muuuuuch longer to complete than anticipated, so when even a corner of a room feels put together, I’m a happy camper. This is certainly the case with the odd extra space we have in our kitchen area in front of our island and next to our entry way. It’s done and decorated, which means I can share this corner with you!

Let me back up by showing you what the space looked liked a few months ago…

I knew I wanted to create a comfortable sitting area with big, comfy chairs…the kind you can really curl up in. However, I didn’t have a color or style of chair in mind. I just knew I wanted them to be BIG. We looked high and low for chairs (both used and new) and we did come across some really amazing chairs. The problem was always price. Two chairs can easily be more expensive than a sofa, so we felt stuck. But then, a boutique PDX home store named Manor Fine Wares had a crazy sale, and somehow we scored two awesome chairs for the price of one. YES.

We brought the chairs home and they are crazy comfortable. I love the texture of the fabric and again, the scale of these chairs is just what we had in mind. With the chairs in place, I dusted off a rug, a few accessories, and a brass lamp we already had. We were in business.

We also placed a plaque above the chairs that Kyle’s Grandpa personally built many years ago and attached deer horns that also belonged to him on the piece. I truly adore items that have a story to tell, and I’m so glad we can have a piece of Kyle’s family in this room.