Is there a particular style of architecture or interior design that you adore, but that you know would never work for you and your family? Mine is mid-century modern. I love it, but with small kiddos who aren’t perfect at putting their toys away, we’d never be able to keep a minimalist space uncluttered. Maybe it’s based out of my aversion to clutter, maybe it’s a desire to streamline my life, maybe it’s my penchant for having things organized and in the right place, but the simplicity and open spaces and connection to nature of a mid-century modern home draws me in every time. Here is a fabulous example of mid-century perfection I found on houzz.com for you to enjoy.

The Kerchum Family’s Residence in the Dunbar section of Vancouver:

The landscaping and landscape lighting give this home fabulous curb appeal!

So I’d love for the furniture to be a little more raised off the ground, but the neutral palate and pops of color are fantastic. The lack of fussy lines is relaxing. And the huge expanse of counter space on that island in the kitchen? Oh my! And double ovens!!

There is so much light in the master bathroom! And plenty of storage to hide away the stuff so that the space remains clutter-free and minimalist.

The dining room is perfect. It has everything you need in a dining room. Nothing more, nothing less.

Love the use of so much glass in this house. It makes the space feel open and airy, and it allows plenty of light into the rooms.

I can only imagine the fabulous parties and late-night family hangouts that occur in this terrific rooftop deck. And since the home is in Vancouver, the outdoor fireplace would be a must!

As this home is a very green home, there are many eco-friendly features. The rooftop gardens not only give color and texture to the exterior, but provide lovely views from inside the home. And since they are located on the rooftops, they would provide additional insulation to the home.

I know it’s only February and it’s way too cold for sandals, but I found these really cute ones at Target this week. I pounced on them because they will be snatched up quickly. I thought you might want to check them out, too.

I have the Merona Emeline Braided Flat Sandals in orange. I bought them last summer and wore them practically every other day. While I love the orange (and I was so surprised at how much I could wear orange sandals with), I just might have to order this darling pewter pair! They also come in gold, turquoise, white, and black. Ok, so who am I kidding? I’ll probably order the turquoise, too.

I found these Xhiliration Tennie Jeweled Flat Sandals in pewter and black. I bought the pewter, which is really more of a silver. They are very versatile and I’m sure I’ll wear them a ton this spring and summer.

The Xhiliration Taryn Flat Sandal with Flower is my favorite pair that I bought. They come in navy, khaki green, and orange. I bought them in navy. The big flower is fun and summery.

I didn’t see these Merona Eireen Wedges in the store, but I thought they looked really cute online. I love the stripe. I might have to order a pair of these!

Y’all don’t drag your feet and miss out on these. Once they’re gone, they usually don’t get them back in.

Part of our recent remodeling job included new hardwood floors down the hallway that goes from our family room to the bedrooms. We also upgraded the terribly outdated lighting in the hall with new recessed lighting. I’ve never really viewed the hallway as a room to be decorated, but now that we have done some upgrading in that spot, I’m wondering if it could be a really cool space and not just a “connector”. Here are some inspiration photos from houzz.com that might or might nor work in my home, but I nonetheless thought they were fun.

Spanish colonial has always been my favorite architectural style, followed closely by my new-found love for mid-century modern. The ceiling is fabulous. I adore, adore the contrast of the white walls and the dark floors, the softness of the runner with the iron railing, and the clean crispness with the rustic fixtures. So perfect!

How incredibly functional is the chalkboard hallway? We’d never keep it clean and it would always look messy, so I could never pull it off. But I think it could be wonderful for busy families!

LOVE the arches, ceilings, books, and the window in this space. Incredible and so inviting!

Oh, wow! The bench. The lighting fixtures. The art. The floors. The ceiling. Pretty much everything about this space is breathtaking. I could live in this space the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.

The slate floors in this hallway are very nice. So neutral and yet it has so much personality.

This one is another favorite. Love the rug. Love the light. Love the windows on BOTH sides. Love the beams. Love the natural feel.

These lighting fixtures are functional and fun.

That was fun. Do you have elements in your hallway that make it uniquely your own? Have you ever given thought to adding pizazz to your hall? I wanna know!

Green has always been my favorite color. It doesn’t matter is it’s in apparel, jewelry, or interiors, my eye is always drawn to the green. Green makes things seem fresh. It is bright and cheerful, and I guess that’s why I go back to it over and over again. Here are a few green things I’ve found lately:

Oh, how I love the pop of GREEN on this front door. LOVE!!

A GREEN cottage wall? Yep!

I loved this GREEN stained chest the minute I saw it in Pinterest. I WILL have a GREEN stained piece in my house. Soon.

I love the white subway tile in my kitchen, but if I’d gone with glass, I might have gone with GREEN.

I’ll take this GREEN one right on the beach, please!

Oh, the GREEN trim on these windows!

Love the GREEN ceiling – just like in my Pitter Patter’s room! (I also adore that tobacco basket, even though it’s not green!)

Who wouldn’t want to do laundry in a GREEN space like this?

How about GREEN stripes? Beautiful. And the view isn’t too shabby either.

Wouldn’t you love to settle into one of those sofas with a book? The GREEN accent toally makes this room!

A GREEN chevron stripe, a GREEN bird, and a GREEN Greek key pattern all in one picture. That’s almost perfection!

A gorgeous and homey study in GREEN:

It would never occur to me to paint my mantel GREEN, but this is so right!

What do you think? Do you do GREEN?

Y’all know I love a good deal, and when I find one I always want to pass it on to you all, my faithful bloggy friends. One Kings Lane has a fabulous deal today that I think is so darn cute!

You’ve probably seen these melamine plates and platters before, but the deal offered at One Kings Lane makes them a steal. The platters are $29 and the matching plates come in sets of four for $69. My personal favorite is the Navy, closely followed by the Bamboo. But you can’t lose with any of them!

The Preppy Plates Arbor Platter in Navy and the matching set of plates:

Their Bamboo platter and the plate set:

And their Mod platter and the plates:

The deal only lasts until 11/17. so don’t dilly-dally.

See, I told you you’d love them.

You’re welcome.

Bye.

We’ve been working on a little fall project around the Hill Hangout. While I’m not quite ready for a big reveal just yet, I will give you a little teaser.

I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. I love cooking, and as a homeschooling mom, the kitchen is the action center of our home. However, our kitchen has not been quite the updated happy place that I would like it to be. We bought this house with the intention of ripping all that out and updating right away. However, a decision to homeschool, add another busy child to our family mix, and a host of other more pressing ways to spend our money, and here we are five years later just getting around to it. While it’s a lovely kitchen functionally, the aesthetics are quite lacking. We have been stuck in 1981 for too long.

However, that’s about to change! Give me a few days to put some finishing touches on this baby and I’ll be ready to show her off!

Over a year and a half ago I came to you all with a really HUGE problem. Do you remember my tale of angst and woe when Williams-Sonoma discontinued my beloved Olive Oil Hand Soap? I know that you’ve all been staying awake at night wondering how to help a sister out in her time of trouble. Well, I just wanted you to know that not only is my problem solved, but it is indeed made BETTER!

The other day Jonathan and the girls and I were strolling through Target when I spotted something that required a second look.

Who knew that Caldrea makes an Olive Oil Hand Soap? But y’all, it cannot be just any Olive Oil Hand Soap. I have become an Olive Oil Hand Soap snob, and I can tell the difference between the knock-off and the real deal. I unscrewed the top in great anticipation.

Y’all.

It’s the same soap!!

No kidding, the same company must make it and package it for both Caldrea and Williams-Sonoma. And the best part? At W-S, whom I adore, I paid $17.00 for it. Target sells the Caldrea brand for $7.99. Whoop!

I knew you’d all be so happy for me. And now that you don’t have to worry about my little problem anymore, just think of how much time you can devote to solving the rest of the world’s troubles!!

Y’all know how I feel about clutter. I detest it. And yet, it seems to be everywhere.

All around.

On every surface in this house.

Closing in on me.

Okay, so maybe it’s not QUITE that bad, but there are days I feel like we bring into the house more than we throw out. And the simple math will tell you that when you bring in more than you get rid of, clutter happens. And when you get rid of more than you bring in… you have the US government!!

I kid. I kid.

Sort of.

Ahem. Anyway, I know that with the end of summer/beginning of the school year upon us, our schedule is going to be crammed. And when the schedule is crammed, the deep cleaning doesn’t happen as often as I’d like. And the clutter monster grows. And I need help.

A friend told me about Flylady. I’d been to her website before, but I’d never spent the time to figure it all out. I had tried to approach her methods as something that will tell me how to get it all done. But her message is that we need to change our habits. She takes one new habit at a time so that it isn’t overwhelming. When you have the first habit down, you move onto the next habit. After several months, you are in the habit of doing small things each day that keeps clutter and cleaning under control. Seems simple enough, right?

Since chaos in my home makes me agitated and very grouchy, I’m going to give Flylady a whirl. Step one: keep your kitchen sink clean. So here you go, Flylady…

I really hope you’re going to be my new best friend!