Ep. 480: Trials and Triumphs

0:01Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer. I'm Liz. I head up the creative team. We're your hosts. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world. Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode. We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at ballardesigns.net. Now, on with the show.

0:33You look so cute in your pink, guys. Matching today. Very rude not to text me. We didn't plan it. Yeah. Sorry. I have plenty of pink in my closet, and I could have used a call. Sorry. It's okay. It's okay. Okay, but we are here for Trials and Trials. Yes. Yay. I am so excited. I went back on our webpage to try to figure out what was the last things I said. It was a long time ago. It feels like 1 ,400 years ago. Yeah. Yes. Four score. So then you start. I will start. We have done some good work in May and June. I feel like we did a ton. So the last one we recorded, I talked about how we swapped all of our beds and then we made all of our beds.

1:17So we have been utilizing our primary downstairs now as a guest room. It's fully a guest room. It just sits pretty now for the most part, which is great. And I'm so impressed. By the way, okay. I'm so impressed by the bed that you painted. Oh. Like you did such a good job. It looks great. The color is pretty. Thank you. It ended up being a very pretty color. And I can, at this moment in time, cannot tell you what the color is, but I can look it up. Because it was a nice, it was a very muted green. But it didn't go gray. It didn't go like brown. It was just a very, like I kind of wish my kitchen was that color now.

1:52But, you know. How far off do you think it is from your... It's just a lot. It's a little deeper and dirtier. My kitchen, yeah, I just was in a brighter, I was in a brighter tone in my love for color. Now I went a little bit darker and muddier. I'll come back out around, circle back, I'm sure. So we painted the bed in there. I bought some pillows from Ballard to zhush it up. this beautiful floral print pillow um with these greens and whites and creams oh yeah the mariton beautiful i'm now like i kind of need the drapery but i kind of don't because i already have our linen panels but i'm kind of like do any of the drapery yeah yeah that would look so good yeah because i have our old larkin chair with um glider with the ottoman in there and it's got like a geometric print from back in the day we had this like linen base with this black print on it so So it's got the geometric.

2:47I got the floral. I have an old Casa Florentina rug on the floor that's kind of cream. So it's very neutral. It's not me in a good way, the room. It's just white. It's just staying white in there for a while. And we did a bunch of our black frames from our basement I brought up. We have all this stuff that got just years deposited into my basement when we moved. And now we're like... Give it a little life. Yeah. David keeps telling me, just keep shopping the basement. Whatever you want, you can have from the basement. So I'm just like back there like, oh, yeah, look at this. So that's how that went.

3:18I was like, oh, look at all these prints. Because we did a whole bunch of black and white in our renovations back in 2012, 13. I went a whole bunch of black and white. I was very into that very black and white. My nursery was that and chartreuse. So then we moved into a new home and I have not had a lot of black and white moments. So I had all these black frames that were just too harsh on my white walls and my new house and stuff that I was like, no, I don't think I'm doing black. And so slowly coming out of the basement. So it's great. And I moved around some black shades because I love a black shade.

3:53And we've talked about that many a times in our many years on here about how some designers hate black shades. And I was like, I kind of love a black shade. Makes your eye like stop. But that was all prior to shades being more popular and colors and patterns. And now we're in a whole new phase. So, anyway, I finished that room. And now it is a guest room. Got all the bedding. It's looking, you know, pretty settled. That was great. And we started on the basement. So the basement, we put up drywall. We all went over that, yes. But now it has been, of course, like, it was an itch. My husband needed a scratch even though none of us were down there.

4:31And we have plenty of space, like, footage upstairs. But he needed to get down there now that he had spent some money to finish it off. so it's just white no there's no moldings i think there actually was a uh baseboards we did base boards but that was it like kept it it's a basement um but now you can't see through the walls through the framing so it is really nice so we have a bedroom down there and so again i went shopping in the back room i'll allow my car i'm just gonna call it the basement i went shopping in the basement and found some rugs we pulled in we had a box spring down there how much stuff did You have in your basement.

5:05Girl, I have a huge basement. It's an issue. It is a huge basement. I have talked about how the mistake was when I moved, everyone knows what you do when you move. You clean out. You clean out. No, no. I was very pregnant, in a rush. It was just like box, box, box, throw it. And my husband was not, he wasn't like, hey, should we keep this or donate this and like bring it? No, it was very much like put it in a corner. We will deal with it later. so I'm dealing. Yeah. And so there is a, yeah, at some point I will get like a, I'll get a move on it. It'll be like some big project someday. I don't know when though.

5:45So right now I'm just shopping it. So we were able to pull, I had some old side tables down there and nothing matches. It's just like a, it's going to be a modge podge room but I owned all this stuff. So we are putting that room together. Literally just bought a mattress for it though because we didn't have another mattress. So we'll have a queen bed down there for one more guest room and or our storm shelter. I mean, which is always nice, too. Like, if we do have one of those crazy nights with high wind, it's nice with all of our pine trees to have a place we can sleep. And we finished the bathroom down there.

6:14It got tiled. So there's a shower, a standing shower, a sink, and, yeah, toilet. So you can, yep, everything's running down there. And then we finished the gym. That was my other big one. And that was actually this past weekend. My husband was very much like, okay, what's it going to take to get you down to this room to, like, work out? because I've been just like carrying my weights around the house, picking that like window that looks outside, you know, to work out. And I was like, well, I'm going to need. And I like listed it and he went and got it. So it is going to not look like any like.

6:47What did you request? I requested mirrors and fans because there's no central air in there. And there's not, there's a window, but it doesn't open. So there's no air moving unless you put in fans. I was like, we're going to need a few box fans in here. Okay, box fans. I'm totally fine with box fans. Like, I don't even need anything fancy because I'll only be using it when working out and then turning it off. So we could put one in the ceiling eventually, but we didn't wire for that kind of thing. Too much. Remember, just too much. It was too much fatigue. Probably should have, but we're, again, just going and regretting.

7:23And a TV so that I could, yeah, because currently I'm just using an app that I can pull up on the television. And so I love that. So I can do all my weightlifting down there. We got a bench down there. So I can now see my form, at least when I'm like, oh, that's bad. So that's what, yeah, because it was just like white walls. And I was like, I really like to see my form just because I feel like when you're lifting weights, if you're doing it wrong, you could like really lift yourself. So it's nice to be like, oh, I look just like her on the TV. Okay. I got to be semi-ready. Maybe a little different, but not much.

7:58Same thing. So we just finished up that, which is great. and we have the foam flooring. It's nothing fancy to look at, but it has all the function. And so that's great. So I've been working out down there this past weekend and week so far, and it's great. Amazing. It's great. So another little corner utilized. So that has been super positive. Yeah. Are y 'all going to do like a big sectional, like boys' play area down there at some point? Mm-hmm. So there is, as you go deeper into the basement where there's no windows. So the bedroom and the gym are on the side that do have windows on our lot.

8:35So they have light. And then you go deeper where there's no light. And that is where David wants to put a big sofa down there. And the boys could, like, I'm sure they will eventually end up with a video game down there or something. But it's so dark. I have thought about just, like, sleeping down there on the old sofa that's down there from our original house that was already a hand-me-down sofa. but David will not give this sofa up. It's leather. It's gross. Oh, I remember that sofa. Oh, it's still living. It's still living. And by living, not really living. Remember, like, the old dog, like, yeah, was on.

9:11It's just that face, Caroline. No, I just am thinking about sleeping on a leather couch. And I just. Oh, I just did it for. You know what I mean, though? It's like nostalgic now. Yes. Did you wake up stuck to it? Absolutely. Yeah. And like your face is on the leather. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I know. Well, lucky for you. If you come over in the next few months, I might have that as a triumph or a trial. The point is, you're down there and you know where you're like, oh, no, this is pitch black and cold. Yeah. That is appealing. Right now in the summer. You lost me at another bed. Okay, sorry. You can lay on the laminate floor in the dark and complete silence.

9:51I was like, this would be like if you really wanted to take a long sleep, that would be where you'd go. because it'd be nothing to wake you up just like dark and also just use like an eye mask that's too practical caroline that is far too practical can you tell i really want some sleep that i was like down there and it was cold and i was like oh my gosh with summer just being hot and the sun out late i was like i kind of miss winter take me to the basement um so those are of some big things we did we hung a lot of art in june all again when we were like scavenging through the basement found so much and like put together a few different there's a gallery wall i wanted on our back stairwell we kind of got that up and i got a piece of art for my birthday gorgeous aka hardman and i had followed her from a gallery i'd seen her work first at a gallery a long time ago here in Atlanta and so I've been following her and I think I might have talked did I talk about this or just to y 'all or did you just see it when we were at your house but okay it's this like briny chartreusey green background like most people probably might be like why would someone pick that color and of course I'm like I need that color I am it looks so good I loved it okay good it is like it's it's like a gross green that's the best way to put it But in a really pretty way.

11:15Yeah. Yeah. It's briny and acidic is the best way to put it. It's wonderful. And it's got all these different florals. She always does kind of like a floral and definitely a mixed media. So you kind of don't know what. And it's very messy and beautiful. And it's just, I love it. And it has the hot pinks in it, which I have a lot of those little, you know, I've had hot pink is just like this color that follows me. Oh, it's a neutral. That's how I live. It's totally fine. Says the one wearing pink today. Yes. So I have, I, yeah, I still, you know me, I can't care. I tried to get rid of my juju, my hot pink juju hat and put the painting there.

11:57And I took down the hot pink juju hat again. Have juju hats been in how long? Can anyone think of it? No, exactly. I still love it so much. and I was like well I know but I kind of was like maybe you just need a break and I took it down and I was like no this wall is not the same something about that coming you know how you get used to things coming out at you or like again the space you walk around and when it's not there you're like what's something's missing so I hung it above shape on the wall which I think is really nice usually yes I love I love that you hung it above the art yeah because that art really draws you in and then that draws your eye up a little bit higher.

12:34It's just it works in that space so well. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. And my friends here got to see it already. So you guys know what I'm talking about. And I hung wallpaper in my breakfast room. Obsessed. It looks so good. That was a Caroline. That is amazing. So all I do is like Caroline will like drop like she just drops like a little seed or a little. She's like, hey, I'm thinking about doing this. And then it's like something that I've been like following, you know, and like kind of seeing. But I've been like, no, no, no, no. And then all she did was like drop a little seed of Sanderson wallpaper.

13:03She's like, I ordered samples. I'm like, wait, wait. And so then. But you pulled the trigger before I could. I'm easily influenced is what I'm saying. So I was like, I have wanted this other paper. And you were like, this one looks like you. And I was like, I know. And I showed the. And I have a tear. It's not that wallpaper specifically, but I have a tear and I can't think of who made the original wallpaper from i think it's tom sheer it might be but they tears from like 2010 it's so super classic with those botanical botanical prints just all within contained within that breakfast nook yeah the wallpaper is a paper that looks like pages from a botanical yeah over and over so it's sort of a grid and it's sort of a botanical yeah yes and we did a lot of math to make it work correctly in that space it's a little space but with lots of windows so it's got big openings and windows so i knew it wasn't a lot of paper but you have to buy it by the whole sheet so then we were wasting a lot of paper and so then we were trying to do the math on taking out the big pieces and like we literally were like modge podging not really but like the poor guy who hung the wallpaper oh he's great though he i mean fantastic but i i don't know if we will be friends after that experience.

14:24But it looks fantastic. I think we drove them crazy. But the green botanical, the way you then enter my green kitchen, I just feel like it just has made it. Like the view from my kitchen into there and the way it lights up because it's all windows. It's like so nice in the evening. And then from outside when it's dark out, it also is really cute because you can't see in a lot of our home. Like there's windows. But that room is so many windows that it's like the one room you see and so all you can see is the wallpaper and our big boaty drum shade and so it's just like very my old table it's so cute yeah it's great it makes it feel like a greenhouse kind of it does which it already kind of had that vibe it did because i had so many it had that's my room with so many plants yeah i mean where you're not sitting there's plants that's all that's in there you're either sitting or there's plants so it's a great it just worked out so well so those are my bigger ones that I was super excited about.

15:19And my last thing is a trial. I'll end there because it's a TBD. But I've talked about making these cushions for my dining room chairs. You got another one? I brought you something. Don't let me forget to give it to you. Amazing. Okay, Frenchie, I got it. So just, okay. So I have wanted to sew these covers because my chairs are these good wheelchairs that I absolutely love. They're wooden. They got a nice patina, but they are uncomfortable as I'll get out. So I bought cushions at the outlet, inserts, just the insert cushions of something we had. And I was like, I'm going to make a cushion. And then I was like, no, I'm going to have someone do it.

15:58I'm going to like, I should just get it priced out. And then I was like, no, I'm going to do this myself, Taryn. Because I had gotten my sewing, my machine up and running and I can, you know, do a straight line so I can do anything, right? So I bought the fabric. Talked to a girl at work who used to work, who works here at Ballard or whatever, but she used to work for Vera Wing. So she knows a lot about sewing and she's always sewing her own stuff. And so I was like, hey, you think I could do this? And she was like, yeah, yeah, you can. And then I was like, hey, can I make piping? She's like, no, no, you can't.

16:29You should buy that. So I bought this piping that is almost maroon. It's definitely more of a maroon tone against the purple lilac gingham. But it kind of goes the trim of my room. That's a darker purpley aubergine. So I bought some piping like that, just pre-made piping. And then I was like, I got this, guys. I made box pleats on a skirt, a skirt, and then I made the little actual box of the cushion and I made the top. It looks absolutely awful. it looks like a kindergartner brought you home a picture of what a dog looks like and you're like is that a dog i don't know i put it on and i was like and it does kind of remind me of like maybe like going to catholic school because the skirt on the chair is like i was like I looked at the picture and I was like, no, seven inches is not perfect.

17:31It's a beautiful skirt for my chairs. So my chairs are very modest right now. They really look like, it's not like cute. Oh, like a little skirt. You're like, and then instead of having like corners on the skirt, I just kept sewing. I can't second time. It's so bad. so i showed the girl at work and i was like what do you think and she was like oh no

18:05you think i can make five more i'm so glad it's so bad i'll bring it to show you guys so come to i might need to take some sewing so i thought I thought I could do it all. And I can't. I'm just actually crying by the wall. I am because that's so funny. If you can see it, when you see it, you also be like, oh, that's bad. And you can kind of be like, oh, I kind of see what you were going for, but that's bad. It's so bad. So then you guys came over and I hid that in the closet and I was like, don't even pretend to keep it out. Just hide her away. don't embarrass yourself so i did it honestly though taryn it's far better than i could have ever so you know what good job i am impressed that you tried even if it looks terrible the worst part is i still feel like i can do better like instead of just it's a question of yeah how many more times do you want to try i don't have that much material and i think i spent eight hours on it like i think i like spent a whole sunday i was like david do not bother me i don't care if the kids are trapped under the pool cover.

19:19I am sewing this. And he was like, okay. So he kept being like, hey, are you okay up there? And I was like, I'm fine. I was so proud of my box plate. I was so proud of my box plate. Anyway, wow. I have a really good example to take to the people who make these things and say, don't, don't do this. Not like this, but better. And maybe they'll laugh and maybe they'll give me a discount for trying. So that's my last, that's my one. So, Okay. I'm done. Thank you guys for entertaining my cheeks right now. I know. I had a long list. We worked hard during May and June. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was just so great having both of you over at my house.

20:01Because this was the first time you've been at my house. Yeah. So that was really exciting. Our listeners don't know about our secret project. Our secret project? Yeah. Yeah. When's this coming out? Is this after? Listen. Is this cats out of the bag? Like, would we need to let them know? Like, we're talking about it all, right? Yeah. All the things we did, right? Yeah. Okay, well, I don't know. Should we tell them? We're learning to sew cushion covers. Sure, okay. Tara's now in charge of sewing covers. Yeah, I'm actually doing all. Covers that we saw at Ballard. Yeah, if you buy one or a pillow, it's me.

20:32I'm just kidding. Absolutely not. Sure, okay. We can tell. Okay, because this was, like, momentous for me, at least. Yeah, for sure. We're having everybody over at my house. And our listeners can now come to my house, too, and all of our houses. Amazing. Because we did home tours. Yes, but they won't be out by the time this episode comes out. So it is. This is a great, like, cat out of the bag. Okay. Okay, yeah. So we, well, we have been talked into sharing our houses in our house tour series, which, you know, we've been asked to do by many of our lovely listeners. But we always have so many projects that we're never quite ready.

21:11But we just decided, you know what, we're going to do it for our 10th anniversary, which is in October. And so we'll drop those into our YouTube channel and we'll talk about it here. But in preparation. In preparation. We all three have been very busy trying to accomplish projects. Yeah. For the cameras. A lot of projects. Yes, trying to get it. A lot of projects. I mean, we have a lot to live up to with all the designers we follow. Yeah. You look at one of their websites and you're like, well, guess I'll burn it down, start over. So it was, it felt very much like how can we make it a home that we continuously talk about.

21:44Yeah. So I think it's going to be fantastic. Like you said, everyone gets to go and see your beautiful home now, which is wonderful. It's exciting. It's exciting. But like, yeah. So for me, I totally forgot that we were filming. And then Caroline was like, you good for next week? I'm like, yeah, we're still doing that? Great. So I immediately started a notes app, you know, shared notes app with my family and was like, here's what we need to do. Move out. You all are being evicted until further notice. It was the most ridiculous list of all time. And we got it done. It was great. You know, everybody's got different styles of working on projects at our house.

22:43And we just had to kind of roll with that, too. Were these things, was the list made up of things that you have been wanting to do for a while and it gave you like a kick in the pants? It was totally a kick in the pants. Like things like, you know, the vanity light in the bathroom was probably that and the lights in the laundry room were the only lights that we kept that were original to when we first moved in. And they were awful. They were awful. So we got rid of the boob lights and we got rid of the bad vanity that was, you know, a little bit too rusty. But, you know, who cares? It's just the bathroom.

23:22You know, like those kind of things. But got rid of those things, brought some new things in. You know, we have a security door on our house because, you know, the neighborhood has transitioned over the years. And Steve scrubbed every speck of rust off of that thing and repainted the whole thing so that the entrance looked nice and welcoming. and, you know, we added some wallpaper in the bathroom and we did... Oh, I didn't know you added wallpaper in the bathroom. Yeah, I just did one wall. I know accent walls are not great, but it kind of needed that to frame some artwork that I have there. And then I always like, like, when you look in the mirror in the bathroom, that wall is all white that you're looking at, but you have a good backdrop.

24:18I love that. So that's kind of how that shook out. Yeah. And then things like our bedroom, like really kind of finalizing and putting all of the details together and bringing in all of the pillows. Yeah, I also went a little crazy and bought a lot of pillows from our store and had our team at the store help me coordinate and pick out pillows, which was so great. They looked amazing. Yeah. And for our listeners who don't know, like all of that service is free. Like they'll design your whole room for free, let alone like pick pillows that actually coordinate. I don't know why. I can do it for our photo shoots, no problem.

25:01But if it's my own home, I'm at a loss. I'm at a loss. But that feels really good. Yeah. So it was just a lot of pulling things together and kind of tightening things up. And it just, yeah. It felt good. It felt good. And to see the kitchen, I think, like, knowing you're redoing the kitchen was actually really fun to see this, like, super high-functioning kitchen area that you've made, like, work with, like, again, a lot of pieced. Again, just because people are all doing built-ins now. So you just don't get a kitchen like that where it's like this one piece is affixed and the rest is just, like, you know.

25:42The rest of it's there. It can go at any time. Yeah. It's a freestanding kitchen. That's what they call it. And I loved the little, like, eating table right in the middle, how petite it was. We were hanging out there for a while. Oh, my God, I loved it. It's been a really great place just to chill. Yeah. Yeah. And your sideboard with all your cute little cups with all your cute little things. And I just, I loved it. I loved your home and its character. Oh, thank you. Yeah. I just felt so good in there. You've done such a good job. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks. It was really wonderful having you over. And I can't wait for everybody to see it when it comes out.

26:17Yeah. Because my house does not look like that right now because it's been turned upside down as we get ready to go to college next week. Yeah. Yeah. It's wild. Yeah. Boxes and bins everywhere. Yeah. Everything is boxes and bins. So when does Finn's room get its makeover? Because you were talking about that a couple weeks ago. Yeah. I think the last time we talked, I mentioned that that's what we're going to do. You know, we'll see. how it all shakes out. Take a little breather. Yeah. I think I need a breather after, you know, let me get him settled. Yeah. There are the things that like my mom always did to make sure that like we were safe and settled in our new homes and dorms and apartments and things.

27:05So I need to make sure his bed's made and drapery is hung. Those are the things my mom always did. And those are the things I'm like, okay, now I can leave. So we'll make sure that those are done and then I'll figure out. But I want to definitely involve him in the process. Yeah. Because it is going to turn into an office and a guest room and his room for when he returns. Yeah. And it's hard, I think, because I think college is such a big transition. I just remember there were five of us in four rooms. So, like, as soon as Courtney left, I immediately got my own room finally. But I do remember she came home.

27:42She's like, and I was like, mm-mm. I got your room. Bye. And she was very upset about it. Yeah. You know, at the time I didn't understand. I was like, I've never had my own room. Yeah. You know? And if I'm not in it, it's going to sit here empty while I have to share. Right. Yeah. So it all makes sense. But I do think there's an, it's your space. So it is at like where you, yeah, you just being like, look, it's your new space. What I did. Yeah. No. Yeah. And we've kind of talked about color schemes and we've talked about, you know, maybe doing some wallpaper in there. So. He's in. He's game. But when we do the renovations, so my architect also has a kid going to college, too.