Modern Coach House in Lincoln Park

So I was house hunting on Lux Home Tours (and by house hunting I mainly mean drooling) and found this amazing new build “Coach House” smack dab in Lincoln Park Chicago.

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OMG. I need to run down to Chicago asap just so I can slowly walk by this mansion in the city and try to climb over that fence, just kidding. But if I brought home made chocolate chip cookies do you think I could get a guided tour??

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This room is very masculine, but I still can appreciate the beautiful mixing of materiarls and prints. And that heavy draped window is gorgeous!

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I love the added bit of print here in the dinning room – those wingback chairs are perfect for this masculine space!

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This sitting room with the fire is heaven. I mean it looks like it just fell out of some boutique hotel and landed in someone’s living room.

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my husband would love this.

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and I would love this – I mean look at that amazing wine cellar…..heaven.

Impromptu Picnic

On Friday it was finally a really nice summer night. We haven’t really been able to take advantage of eating outside and enjoying great weather so my husband and I got home from work and pulled together a last minute picnic and ran down to the beach.

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We first laid down a blanket and then for a fun bit of pattern added a scarf. I have been loving scarves as fun table toppers. This one I got on clearance at Uniqulo while visiting NYC. If you keep your eye open scarves are a fun way to add spice to your table without the price tag!

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Every picnic needs flowers. I thought these sunflowers were perfect – I love the bright contrast to the navy.

We made steaks and lobster tails at home, then packed them up and quickly ran to the beach. We didn’t feel like busting out the whole grill so this was a nice way to enjoy the outside without the fuss.

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This was the same beach we did our Lake Michigan Pop Up Party. See it here.

It was such a beautiful night for a last minute picnic. We need to get in more before the summer is out!

Design Crush: Kristen Kelli

I recently found the Dynamic Design Duo: Kristen Kelli (see their work and portfolio here). It was love at first sight. Grand and Gorgeous doesn’t even begin to describe the beautiful work they do.

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heaven

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I would love having such a space – just imagine the creative juices that would flow starting your day in this room.

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I just love all the layering they do – makes the whole space feel so put together.

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I love all their work with dramatic drapes

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gorgeous!

Tea Time

I love a good cup of tea. Those that know me, know that every day (weekend or not) I prefer my tea from a china tea cup (it just tastes better that way). My husband is a prince and delivers my tea each morning, rotating my cup (we wouldn’t want some of the children to feel left out). But, on the weekends I love to take it an extra step. What is more luxurious than having such a beautiful presentation on a Saturday morning. The best part of waking up!

tea time fit for a queen

william sonoma tea towel/world market tray/villeroy & boch tea cup/villeroy & boch tea saucer/mikasa cheveron black and white plates/my go to blueberry muffin recipe

Landscape Obsession: Boxwood & Hydrangeas

Now that we are home owners I have begun thinking about landscaping. We are blessed to be in a very developed neighborhood in terms of big trees and already nice landscaping. But the bushes in the front of our house, probably need to go. When I saw some landscaping like this a couple years ago I thought it was gorgeous. I love the way the boxwood provides a little fence for the beautiful hydrangeas.

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What do you think?

Furniture Rescue: Lacquer Dresser

So when I first moved into the new house I shared this dresser I picked up at a consignment shop for my bedroom. My goal was to try and lacquer it. I did a lot of research online because I knew it was very difficult.

TNPLH: Craigslist Dresser

In the past the furniture I have re-done I just hand painted. But now that I have a house I was pumped to try out a new spray gun I got.

critter spray gun

You can buy it on amazon here. Some spray guns can get very pricey. This one is only $40 on amazon and it works great. It uses mason jars for the paint which makes clean up a bit easier. The only thing you have to watch is keeping it really clean. But after some you tube searches I found a number of videos posted by the company on how to clean, which was super nice and handy!

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First I sanded it down and used a deglosser product which helps get the ornate details ready for paint.

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Then I used my new critter to add two coats of primer and two coats of my color.

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Don’t mind all my extra stuff in this pic!

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After I did all of that I used a spray can of lacquer. I looked high and low for a lacquer paint to just put in my critter spray gun, however I couldn’t find one so I bought several cans (like 6) of the clear coat lacquer product and sprayed and sprayed.

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I kept getting frustrated because of the over spray that happened. However I watched this video from the blogger Alchemy Fine Living over and over again. And just trusted that I was doing all the steps right. She recommends after you spray your lacquer coating that you use 0000 steel wool to sand it down and then you polish the furniture with a wax coating. After this step it cleared up the over spray issue and I got the high gloss look I had been going for.

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Then I just sprayed the knobs to get a fresh look to them and we were done.

I just love the way it turned out. The color is fun and fresh! Can’t wait to dress it up a bit with mirrors and some lamps and such!