Lane’s Portland Condo »

Now you can see why I was begging Lane for photos of his handsome home in Oregon. His eye for color and pattern, resourcefulness, and artistry make his home so beautiful, that you can’t visit without your jaw dropping.

Here are some things to learn from Lane:

COLOR: There are so many colors in these rooms, and they all tie in together. Have you pushed color to the limits like this?

BUDGET: Lane is budget conscious. Much of his furniture was purchased second hand, and reupholstered by Lane after having taken an upholstery class. This is not only cheaper, but adds to the personality in the room through the unique fabrics. He creates his own art. Also, when things are out of the budget, he makes it fit. His coral drawer pulls on the kitchen cabinetry were purchased two at a time until the collection was complete.

PATTERN: Lane throws out the rules, and puts all different patterns together. From the beautiful hand-painted wall mural (yes, he and his friend painted that), to the mis-matching tapestries on the bed, he displays them with confidence and they look amazing.

PRIVACY AND STYLE: Lane created a curtain wall in his bedroom, behind his headboard. This wall has raw silk curtains spanning the wall to keep the light and noise out, and to keep the warmth in.

There are so many other great things to learn from Lane’s style. See if there isn’t something you can pull from these photos that can work in your home.

When to go Neutral »

I love a chaos of colors and patterns in a room, but it’s important to know what should be flashy and what should be subtle. Shannon has a gorgeous new house that she is trying to make her own. The living room is ceramic tile, so she wanted a big rug to make it more comfortable.

She has fun style and loves warm colors and modern patterns. She was drawn to yellow and red patterned rugs, but for the price (some $1,000 and above), we decided she should stay neutral.

Chances are good that in a couple of years, she might get tired of the yellow pattern and want to move on. At $1,000 per rug, that won’t be cost-effective to replace.

Below is the image of the Pottery Rug she decided to purchase. With this tone-on-tone pattern, she can add colors in so many other ways in the room. And she doesn’t have to stick to those colors. She can switch out her accessories (pillows, candles, frames, vases) according to the season or her mood pretty inexpensively.

I put together an inspiration board for Shannon for ways to add color to her room, as well as interchangeable features that could help keep her room flexible.

Wall color - slightly musard yellow, flows well with the tan/yellow in the rest of her house, and looks great with many other colors: green, red, purple, brown…

Hanging wall vases - can be switched out for real flowers, faux flowers according to the seasons - spider mums for spring and poinsettias for Christmas {arhaus}

Side table - red looks great with everything, and brings life to her beige couch. Will be a great transition from the small pieces of red and fun greens in the kitchen {eboniste}

Hanging lamp - neutral and natural. This echoes the organic lines of the woodgrain rug, and gives some curvature to a boxy room. {target}

Floral pillows - also organic in pattern, ties the hanging lamp in with the rest of the room. {etsy}

Fireplace log bucket - Fireplaces are so cozy when you use them. If you aren’t using it all the time, making it look like it has been used can have a similar effect. {pottery barn}

Block candlesticks - Introduces a new shape, and is a great compliment to raw wood. {west elm}