I can’t believe Pat and I ( & Ruby) have been in our home for almost a year already! There is so much I have to share with you guys! There is just something so special about owning your home and creating a space you and your husband enjoy and love.
First thing first, furniture is quite an expense and it takes a good while to get in! We wanted to make sure that if we were going to be spending the money on buying new pieces, then it was going to be items that we absolutely love. Most of our things in our apartment were from college or acquired through apartment living. Those items have been loved and worn and it was time for some of them to move onto their next home!
Anyways, while our home is a new build (read more about that here), I really wanted to make sure that we added character to it. Pat is a fan of everything being super modern while I more so love a European feel. Parisian style is my absolute favorite- super cool modern pieces mixed in with an old world feel. I love gold / bronze brass accents with lots of velvet and feminine touches. Let’s get to it- sharing our living space modern with character.
Pat and I instantly agreed that our favorite part of the home is how open the main floor is. I love that you can see from the front to the back. It made for designing it and furnishing a little harder since there aren’t walls to really divide a space. It was crucial that we kept with the same color scheme and same materials throughout this space. You’ll see that the couch is the same fabric as the counter stools. There are pops of copper, brass and gold, connecting one space to the next.
I instantly fell in love with this concrete table. I love that it’s a different material than wood, a natural element added to the space! You do have to be careful (similar to wood) about sliding things across it so that it doesn’t scratch, but we haven’t had any scary moments or anything, just something to think about!
The velvet dining chairs are in the shade “dove gray” with the oil rubbed bronze legs! We love these chairs, super easy to clean. I sweep them with a small handheld vacuum! They are wonderful!
I love this “Venice at Night” painting we got from Minted. The painting is the 24″ x 18″ size with the matte copper frame. Other items from Minted are the “Scrub Jay” painting in the 5″ x 7″ print in the matte brass frame and the Brass Card Keepsake Box. Blue Jays are special to me, when I used to call my Grandma every other day walking to class, I would always see a few flying low in the trees and she loved birds! I wore a blue jay pin on my wedding dress in honor of her- it’s photographed below in a glass case! The brass card keepsake box holds all of our wedding cards. I love having this box on display and I do open it up from time to time looking through it!
Concrete Dining Table // Velvet Mid Century Dining Chair // Lux Gold Bookshelf // Similar Chandelier // White 2 Door Accent Cabinet // Small Brass Card Keepsake Box // “Venice at Night” Painting // Scrub Jay Art Print // Warm Gold Curtain Rod // Inverted Pleated Curtains in Silver // Gold Decorative Cloche // Gray White Stripe Table Runner // Monogram 5 Piece Decanter Set
Velvet Counter Stool // Marble & Copper Cheese Board // Marble & Copper Cheese Knives // NutriBullet Pro Blender // De’Longhi Pump Espresso Maker //
We love our gray and white kitchen! The counters are quartz- super easy to clean and to maintain. My sister in law has quartz and their counter guys told them they can use whatever to clean them, however, our people told us to use dish soap and water to clean. I use a Meyer’s spray every now to make myself feel they are extra clean!
The counter stools are the “distressed velvet” color, same as our couch. The dining room chairs are in color “dove gray”. Everything is a velvet fabrication, the couch and stools are a distressed velvet, the dining room chairs are a performance velvet (smoother).
Harmony Chaise Sectional // Bronze Side Table // Brass Drum Side Table // Bookcase Fireplace // Astoria Grand Chandelier // Warm Gold Curtain Rod // Inverted Pleated Curtains in Silver // Solid Plush Shag Rug // Florence Sketchbook Art Print // Similar Gold Lantern // Similar Storage Ottoman // Glass Shade Bronze Floor Lamp // Gray Malin Italy Coffee Book // Tuscany Coffee Table Book // A Home in Paris Coffee Table Book // Dream Design Live Coffee Table Book // In the Company of Women Coffee Table Book // The Little Book of Chanel // Louis Vuitton: The Birth of Modern Luxury Coffee Table // Oscar de la Renta: His Legendary World of Style Coffee Table Book // Mary Kate Ashley Olsen: Influence Coffee Table Book // Paris in Color Coffee Table Book // Fiddle Leaf Plant (it’s real lol!) // Console Table // Large Circular Mirror
The “show stopper” of this space is certainly the bookcase fireplace with all of our trinkets and little things that mean quite a lot to us. You’ll see here the little bronze box with the belt I wore on my wedding dress + the blue jay pin that symoolizes my Gram. There is the photo of our entire bridal party on the pier we got married at in the Dominican (one of my favorite photos!) & the sketchbook art print of Florence, Italy where I had studied abroad.
The old encyclopedias are a treasured find from Pat’s Nani’s house who was so happy to give them to us. We wanted to add some character to the space and I love that we think of her everyday as we look towards the fireplace to the tv! The other books come from one of the best dates Pat and I have had in Winston. We were walking around downtown getting lunch and came upon this one store that we decided to go into. We immediately noticed the store had tons of antique books being used for other items and objects to sit on. Long story short, Pat went under the store into the basement with the owner and looked through piles and piles of books finding ones that were cool looking and related to us in some way while I stayed upstairs watching the store and assisting customers as they came in! Totally random, but just a really cool and fun date we will always remember!
Our couch is the Harmony Chaise Sectional with a left chaise. It is in the distressed velvet mineral gray color and it took about 10 weeks to get it in. Pat is 6’2” and expressed he really wanted the deep cushions. Considering, I am your average 5’5” and my feet wouldn’t touch the ground either way, I was happy they offered this size for him! This couch is super comfortable and we really love it! It is on the expensive side, it goes on sale through the holiday season for up to 30% off!
Outdoor Dining Set // Praiano Chaise Lounge // Weatherproof String Lights // White Garden Stool // Similar cushions
My parents came for the Fourth of July and in the scalding hot heat, we built that white privacy wall. I love that it makes our outdoor space private and cozy. Pat and I hung the lights ourselves, it was a process to figure out how to make it work off of the siding but we love how it turned out! Now that it’s cooler we have been able to enjoy being out there!
Whew, this post was super long. Let me know if you guys have any other questions about anything in the above! Send me an email (brittanyanncourtney@gmail.com) or message me on instagram! I would love to hear your thoughts on how we designed the space and decorated it!
xx, Brittany Ann
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