Nesting With Grace

by Brooke Christen

Ask a Designer Series- How to make a home Cozy, Small Entry Ideas and More!

First post of the New Year helping my Email Subscribers with their one FREE Design Question for my “Ask a Designer Series”! I offer this service to my email subscribers as a thank you for following my blog and supporting me. It sure is fun to see what my readers are needing advice on! I am answering 7 of your Design Questions today! Starting with a small entry solution, how to make your home cozier and so much more! I also replied to about 10 others via email- some design questions are harder to find inspiration pics for or the design question doesn’t require it. Let’s get peeping into your homes!

You can find how to ask a question at the end of this post. 

 

#1- Design Question-

“I need help with our little entry way! Our home is 1400 sq ft and we have 3 littles like you. When you walk in it pretty much opens into our main living area…the kitchen and dining/living room. I attached a few pictures because I’m so visual so I thought it might help. Any ideas for what to do in the entry? I just have random things hanging that are leftover from the old decor. Maybe a mirror…hooks..???”

THANK YOU for helping those of us out who…well, need help! Danielle

Ask a Designer - Ideas for my Small Entry?

Nesting with Grace Suggestion-

Love the peep of that stencil wall (not wallpaper!) I can see! What about doing a built-in bench with baskets below and shelf above like the Entry Idea Inspiration pic ? You could plank the one wall too or add some wood work. Also LOVE the idea of painting the back of your door a gray, to pull in that fun stencil! Might be a great storage solution for a smaller scale house with a little ones. (PS- she has an Instagram account if you want more info on the stencil I am sure she would share HERE).

Below is one more small entry solution that I have NEVER seen before, but am so in love with! (Inspiration Source) 

Small Entry Solutiuons- Ask a Designer Series

 

#2- Design Question-

“What do you recommend for decor in my powder room?… something above the toilet, maybe a rug too? The wall color is Sherwin WIlliams March WInd.”
Sincerely, Stephanie Weingartner
Ask a Designer- What do I put above our Bathroom toliet?

 

Nesting with Grace Suggestion-

My friend Rachel from Shade of Blue added white shelves above her toilet- you can find the post HERE. I love the white, they are timeless and would look great in your bathroom. Rachel made her shelves. I found similar white floating shelves HERE. I love keeping the accessories simple and useful. 

 

#3- Design Question-

“I would really like to make my dining room more casual and light.  It does connect to my entry and living room, so it would help if all those rooms were somewhat cohesive. When you enter my home, the entry is straight ahead and the dining room is on the left and living in the right.”  Thank you so much again, Stacey
 
Ask a Designer Series- How to Lighten up a Dining Room

 

Nesting with Grace Suggestion-

You have a great start! I can see where it feels too formal with all the matching traditional wood. Your rug is casual. What about adding lighter chairs to the table you have? You could also paint the credenza in the room in a white to brighten up the space. Another fun option would be to paint the mirror in chalkboard paint! A mirror is not the best in a dining space, not many people like to see themselves eat:). Also adding some real plants to the table and credenza  keep is causal too. 

THESE Wood Chairs
Mirror turned chalkboard HERE
THESE white dining chairs
 
Hopefully that gives you a good start! 
 
 
 
 

#4- Design Question-

“I have a “new build” home that lacks much character. Very cookie cutter. Everything is also very open which means I lack a lot of walls. Lol. I just want a way to spice up my house and have it look warm and inviting without looking cluttered. I am at an absolute loss for tying all three of these “rooms” (entry, living, kitchen) together without breaking the bank.” Thank you in advance for your help! Anitra 
Ask a Designer how to make our home cozy?

 

Nesting with Grace Suggestion-

You know what, I get that question A LOT! “How do I make my home cozy?” I found the Inspiration Picture to show a couple of things. #1- you could use a larger rug- you want the front of your sofa to be on the rug and fill up more of the space. That would make it cozier. And rugs help to break up BIG rooms and create little areas in your home. Also your rug is the same color as your floor- what about finding a rug that is lighter or has a different pop of color? #2- Your cocktail table should be centered with the fireplace, have that be the focal point. Pulling your sofa forward more and putting a narrow sofa table behind it could help. Or a bigger cocktail table. I hope that helps! The main take away could be- FILL UP THE SPACE! Think bigger! Luckily you have a good problem:)

 

 

#5- Design Question-

“My husband and I are wanting to update our kitchen with knobs and pulls as well as our kitchen faucet. I would love to go with brass for both but I’m unsure about it since our sink is stainless steel. Our window frame is also stainless steel but they will be replaced this spring!”Thanks a ton, Katelyn
Ask a Designer- Can I mix Copper and Stainless?

 

Nesting with Grace Suggestion-

How exciting to be making some updates! YES! You can mix metals. I love the inspiration pic because it shows brass and stainless steal mixed so well. The trick is to balance out all the materials. So if you do brass knobs and a stainless steal sink then repeat a hanging pendant light above your sink in brass! That would look so great!

 

 

#6- Design Question-

“I need help with my living room. It’s my main room with tv and couch. I’ve been searching for a rug to warm this room up and really don’t know color or style would look good. I also want curtains or blinds for the windows but not sure how to style them with the window so close to the bookshelf.  Any help would be appreciated. I loved to keep the rug under $400.” Thank you, Brittany in Rhode Island
Ask a Designer- Bookcase Styling Tips and Rug Suggestions

Nesting with Grace Suggestion-

Love your bookcase wall! The nice thing is you have pretty much a blank slate in your home for a rug. It is just deciding what you are drawn to. I like the top Pink Rug because it has a little bit of your wall and sofa color in it. The other rugs are pretty neutral and would look great too and all are around $400! As far as your bookcases go….do you need window treatments for privacy? I personally would leave them open and no treatments. But if you really need it for privacy I would do some woven wood blinds like THESE. Also I wouldn’t put anything on top of the bookcases, just do accessories like the Bookcase Inspiration Pic . 
 
Hopefully those rugs give you a good start! Also notice the bookcase and windows below….?!
 

#7- Design Question-

“Our old dining room table had an expresso stain that really didn’t go in our this house.  I’m basically wondering what color table would go with these natural hickory floors. We already have the table, but my husband has completely stripped and sanded it. Now what?” Thank you, Kelly
Ask a Designer- Table Suggestions for Eclectic Chairs?

 

Nesting with Grace Suggestion-

What a great home! I would do a white-washed table or black! Something to contrast the wood floors and the brown leather chairs. I do love your rug. I attached some table images so you could see it with your chairs for an idea! 
 
Good luck to your husband in painting/. staining your table! A labor of love!
 
 

If you are already subscribed to my blog and want to ask more questions or want your Design Question answered quicker and by the Nesting with Grace Community you can join our Facebook Group HERE! (we limit this group to only email subscribers).

If you would like to submit a design  question you can subscribe to my blog HERE and you will be sent an email with how to submit your question. (Keep in mind I am about two weeks out).

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Comments

  1. Mary Smith says

    Im so excited to see the idea for the small bathroom. My kids bathroom is a similar set up. I have been trying to think of a way to make it look nice, add a little bit of storage and make it feel comfortable for my 4 kids. I have a really large home, but the bathroom for the kids is disproportionately small, so I need a way to make it feel spacious. I love the plank wall and the floating shelves and baskets. That’s exactly what that room needs!!! I’m so excited! This is going to be my next project room. Now I’m off to learn how to build a plank wall! Thank you, Brooke.

  2. Michele says

    Of all the blogs I follow, your Ask a Designer posts are my favorite! Was so glad to see it in my inbox today!🙂

  4. Courtney says

    I did shelves above my toilet in my last house and loved it. You can never have enough storage in a bathroom. They are so easy to do and so fun to style!

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