Mi Casa & Su Casa (Redesign)

So...
last week I had the honor of having Karen of Su Casa Redesign over to my home. I was so excited...but so so nervous too!
I wasn't sure what she would think when she set foot in our house.

Was Karen used to working with larger homes?

Clients with unlimited budgets?

Clients with some sense of style?

Karen took a tour of our home ~ and then took off running and screaming down the street that there was no way she could help me and then graciously offered me up a few tips right there on the spot...before returning home where she compiled a generous list of tips that she later contacted me with...

She will be returning in a couple of weeks with a business partner of hers...
to try and recreate the space that we spend the most time in...
The space I hate the most...


I really loved this furniture when we bought it 11 years ago. It was a good fit for our rental we had ~ there also used to be a giant yellow chair and giant ottoman that coordinated with this giant red couch and giant blue loveseat. I also used to have an awesome kidney bean shaped coffee table that was a gift from the hubs to go with the furniture. First we had one baby, and then 14 months later another, and the coffee table was just in the way, something for little ones to crack their heads on, or scratch up with their toys...
That's the 3rd entertainment center we've used in this space in the 10 years we've been here...

Over the last few years, we've slowly been tossing, donating and selling things in our house we don't care for or use...little by little, piece by piece.

I think Karen was surprised at how little she has to work with over here - how much she can't move from one room to the next...no lamps to pull from this room, no end table that sits in one place that really would look better in another...no art to speak of.

I think that is both good and bad...I mean really, what's better than a blank slate??

I never expected we'd still have this furniture - but with an aging dog (who sheds EVERYWHERE & spends his days chillin on the sofa) and two pre-k kids...It hasn't made sense for us to buy new yet . Just when I think we are ready...someone throws up on the love seat, or pees on the couch in their sleep. (That will end soon right?)

Karen assures me with just a few small accessory pieces she can make our space into a place I want to hang out.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this about Karen. She came into our home, listened to me, and is very respectful of my budget. While I'd love to run out and buy all new things, the reality is, I can't.

I can't, and I don't want to.

I don't want to head out and go shopping willy nilly and buy things just to buy things. I've spent a lot of time de-cluttering. While I'm ready to fill my space back in - I want to do it with things that I love, or like very very much.

Karen's services do include shopping however, I wanted to be in charge of my own shopping~ having some say in the items we are placing in our home. It hasn't been easy though - even with having a shopping list of items that Karen suggests we have. I am not one to just walk into a traditional furniture store and grab a couch, a rug, some art.

I want my art to reflect ME. My life. My style. I want giant pictures of my kids on the walls. Or something awesome from an Etsy shop like this one. I want to buy a rug and drapes that will carry over when we finally have enough aluminum cans have finally saved enough to yank the carpet and put wood flooring throughout. A rug that will match my new furniture. Stuff that I won't want to dump on Craigslist a year after I buy it. I want unique, fun stuff - like I've been finding at places like THIS and THIS!

I'm hopeful I'll be able to cross a few things off the list before Karen and her design partner show up...but if I don't - I wonder if she'll settle for some cardboard cut outs as place holders until I find exactly what I want???

Regardless - I am so excited about the potential that Karen has unleashed in our home. We're not going anywhere - we may as well love it right?

Stay tuned...I am soo excited about the potential that our house now holds!

Mi Casa es Su Casa!