My Winter White Living Rooom

I'm super excited to share with you what I call my winter white living roomI received so many wonderful compliments about my living room, as well as lots of positive questions about how I decorated this space.
I'm to happy to share all the details with y'all!



Design Tip:  It's important to get some classic decor pieces that you love and fit your personal style.  This will save you money because you could refinish or repurpose those pieces in the future for an  to updated look - instead of buying new. My coffee table of 12 years is a great example. It's solid wood with a classic design. I've painted it several times to update it - instead of buying new!

Christmas Tree Details

This year I had the privilege of receiving a 9 foot Flocked Christmas tree from King of Christmas. It gave me a whole new direction for decorating my living room! Since my flocked tree is such a natural beauty I chose to keep the decor simple and stately. I opted for larger round ornaments rather than many small ones. 

When decorating my tree the first thing I do is put on the ribbon. I cut about 5-6 foot strips, a little longer than the length of the tree. Then I start from the top and tuck about ever 3-6 inches it into the center of the tree - making it "bubble out." I repeat these streps until I reach the bottom of the tree. Then I cut 12 inch strips of another patterned ribbons and place those around the tree to fill in empty spaces.  I add sprigs of frosted sticks and silver was stems throughout. For a tree skirt I just added white fabric and an old white curtain I had in my decorator closet! Crazy huh? 








Garland and Wreath

I purchased the garland on my fireplace about five years ago from Hobby Lobby. (I also have the same garland on my stairs.) The garland was originally just green. I added flocked pieces or stems, to brighten it up and give it an updated snowy look. 

Decor



 The Santa Claus boxes under the tree were a new addition this year! They were sent to me by a darling home decor shop called Krumpets Home DecorThe white candle sticks on the hearth I've had forever! I bought them from Hobby Lobby 8 years ago when they were black. I painted them white to give them a fresh new look. 

The mecury glass vases and candles sticks, and cathedral mirror, are part of my everyday decor and are up on my mantle year round. Most times I like to mix holiday decor with my everyday decor. 




Here are the references to where my decor is from:

Silver trees - Home Goods.
Large Decorative Truck Figurine came from Target.   
Decorative white deer - ZGallerie. 
Believe Sign- Kirklands
Mercury Glass- At Home

Hosting a Winter Wonderland Dinner

Tonight was a special night! I had the wonderful opportunity to speak and host dinner at my home for forty women from my church. It made me so happy to see so many beautiful faces. 
Our theme for the night was "We are like Snowflakes, Different in our own Beautiful Way." 
It's good to remind ourselves how beautiful, special and unique we each are!
  
(Read all the details below.)










I've been planing this dinner with several ladies from church for a few months now. All the details were set and on Sunday night, my husband and older sons went to church and borrowed four tables and forty chairs. Monday they set them up in our living room, and then my friend Laura and I went to town setting tables. We borrowed forty chair covers and place settings (including real silverware, and glass etched goblets), from a lady in our church congregation. (She has 250 formal place settings that she bought years ago for her five daughters weddings! We also borrowed white table cloths from church. I had most of the centerpiece decor. 

We had snowflake luminaries on walk way leading up to my front door. We also had five talented young women from church sing christmas carols as the older ladies arrived for dinner. 
The girls sounded like angels!

We had dessert/candy bar where we had silver candies in glass containers - and glass trays filled of varieties of cheesecakes squares. (Unfortunently, I didn't get a lot of pics of the dessert bar.) 

I could not have done this with out the help from a few amazing ladies from church! These women were some of three most selfless, serving, women I have ever met! They took care of all the food (lasagna, garlic bread and Cesar salad), and drinks. Not to mention they washed every dish by hand! One lady even brought her own dish gloves and dish towels -prepared to help! They were outstanding! My home was spotless when everyone left! 

It was a wonderful, magical night for all! My heart was so happy to share my home! 

Woodland Elegance


I am so honored and excited to be on the 2017 Treetopia Design Council! 

I was given the wonderful opportunity to select several products of my choice from Treetopia.com. The products I chose were perfect for the "Woodland Elegance" theme I had in mind for my dining room. I wanted the room to be elegant, cozy, traditional, and stylish - as my dining room takes center stage on Christmas Eve.  My family's greatest Christmas Eve tradition is dressing in our Sunday best, having a delicious formal dinner, followed by attending a candlelight church service. It's a tradition my grandparents started long ago when my mother was young - and now has been passed down to my children. 


For starters, I wanted a traditional Christmas tree to be the focal point of the room and that would capture the woodland theme. The 7.5 Noble Fir Tree  did just that with its perfect color, texture, size and shape! 

This tree represents the magic of Christmas to me with its sparkling glitter, gold ornaments, and whimsical reindeer, coupled with natural pinecones. It is reminiscent of my childhood when we as a family would cut down our tree in the snowy Minnesota forest. We would bring it home and decorate to resemble a tree like in a department store window. I wanted to recreate that feeling for my own children so that they too can have the wonder and awe that accompanies the majesty of the holiday season.



The Gemmed Up Pearl Ornaments I picked out are a dream! They add such sparkle and elegance, and remind me of the vintage handmade ornaments my grandmother used to make by hand for us years ago. In fact, I can still visualize her pushing straight pins delicately as to place each piece of sequence and pearl by hand. 

Keeping with the neutral color scheme, I also added different gold textured balls, because a variety of textures helps create visual interest as well as a customized look. 



 I also chose the Harvest Pine 10' Garland and Harvest Pine 24" Wreath to compliment my buffet table. The intricate details of the pine and fur foliage mixed with the green and white berries, make this wreath and garland truly magical! I love how there are lights on both the garland and wreath - adding more magic! I did add a few layers of ribbon and placed a few gold ball ornaments around, but I didn't want to take away from the wreath and garland's natural beauty and unique texture! 




This room, now dressed in the Woodland Elegance theme, is ready to usher in a magical Christmas Eve to be enjoyed by friends and family! 

Make sure to stop by the Treetopia Blog and see all the amazing trees from the rest of the 
2017 Treetopia Design Council!



Christmas Decor Sneak Peak!

I can't wait to show you all the pics from my living room!
Here's a sneak peek!

My new gorgeous flocked tree from King of Christmas is up and decorated - and I'm thrilled about decorating with my new Christmas decor from Devanie at Home. I'm so in love with the red and gray wooden boxes they sent me! In fact, these boxes will now become a treasured keepsake in my home as I'm going to have my kids write letters to Santa and put them inside. 
(Hopefully we can do this for years to come!)
Tis just puts me in the Christmas spirit! πŸŽ„


Stay tuned for photos of my Treetopia dining room!




Fun Family Room Ideas!

So here in Texas we don't have basements, 
instead homes are built with upstairs game/ family rooms. 

So for rour upstairs game/family room, we wanted a cozy space for our family of seven. I decided early on that this was mostly going to be a kid/teen room, so I really didn't want to spend much money on decor - or even add much decor. But I wanted a place where we can all hang out watching movies together, or a comfortable space that my kids could hangout with their friends. 

So my husband Justin and I got to work and started planing! First, I drew up what kind of board and batten I wanted, then he started doing the measurements and bought the supplies. He also added a shelf lip to board and batten wall so that any picture frames wouldn't fall off. Then he built custom photo frames from scratch,  using chair rail molding at Lowes, and took the pics of everyone in our family. Taking the photos was the fun part as we smashed our faces onto the glass! 
(We wanted silly photos to show off our kid's personalities!) 


Now for the room layout, furniture and decor. The Ikea sectional faces a large wall with a tv on it and console table that is directly under the TV and the table holds the Xbox - because of that this room is the hot spot with the kids! The pillows also came from Ikea, with the exception of the bicycle pillow which came from Target. The table decor is wire apothecary jars that I already had.  And I bought a basket at At Home to place the decor in. The throw blankets I already has as well. 

This photo was taken a few days later when I went to Costco and bought these beautiful fresh flowers. The clock from Stein Mart
(In case you didn't know, Stein Mart has a great home decor section!)


Now I'm going to share my inspiration photo from taken from Ikea.
I found it on Pinterest a few years ago. 

My room space is much smaller than this Ikea photo, and I needed to keep walk way open to get to the bedrooms, so my family room has way less furniture and decor.

Hope that gives you a little inspiration on your next family room!

I like the gray, but we also have gray curtains. Maybe some bright throw pillows would be good here.





Design Tips for an Easy Tablescape!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, lots of folks are already thinking about decorating their Thanksgiving table. Putting together a tablescape is one of my favorite things! But first, what is a "tablescape" and how is it different than just setting the table? The term tablescaping has developed in recent years with people decorating their tables, particularly for holidays, more and more elaborately to create an experience for their guests. 

"Tablescaping is the act of creatively arranging a tabletop so that it conveys a specific theme, mood, or experience. It's a thought process of being creative and planning to design a table top with a specific theme or mood." 


So it's different than just setting the table with forks, knives, plates etc. Most tablscapes have been methodically thought out and planned, shopped for and set to be perfect for one's guests. One drawback is the clean-up afterwards, especially with all the extra dishes!  

But If you don't have time to do all that - here's some quick tips for your Thanksgiving dinner;


1. First place a simple, neutral table runner down the middle of your table. You can also opt for buying placemats if you want. They don't have to match the table runner. These can be found at your Home Goods or Target stores. 

 2. Add pillar candles  at several different height for your centerpiecesYou don't have to use candle holders - but it would look great to add height to your centerpiece. You can also place a few vases of fresh flowers as well. 




3. Adding chargers can also be a nice touch. A charger is a large plate that sit under the dinner plate. If you want to skip that charger, go ahead! Also, If you want the look of formal china without the cleanup - buy these amazing plates at you local grocery store. They're plastic, sturdier than paper, and  have a silver accent to look like china.

4. Sprinkle real or artificial leaves down the center of the table runner.


5. Add your silverware and glassware and if you have cloth or paper napkins place them in the glasses for a fun festive look. And that's it!



Living Room Update!

So after five years it was time to replace our living room sofa, two chairs, and rug. The chairs were stained and ripped - (I have five kiddos after all), and the sofa had water stains from constant cleaning from a one year old that loves to draw all-over EVERYTHING! πŸ˜‰ I still love the stylish look of my old living room. The elegant linen nailhead sofa and two linen tufted wingback chairs were stunning. However, it just wasn't working for our family of seven. 

Sometimes as a designer, you have to be practical. In fact, that's the number one rule when working with clients. You have to make the space you're designing functional. Any space has to be able to meet the needs for what it's meant for. A gorgeous perfectly designed room will not work if the client can't use it properly. 



These new stone colored sofas totally fit  into my budget and gave me seating for almost my entire family. Plus, the fabric is more durable with small children. And did I mention how much more space we have by taking out the left chair? 

The coffee table is the same- we just turned it 90 degrees. We are going to paint it white and distressed in a couple weeks. And the rug, I love the rug, it pulls the room together. The pattern and gray color pallet gives the room a fresh updated look!

Small and simple changes can make a huge difference! But the biggest difference is how I feel. The new room feels more inviting for my family and friends. 
And that's when you know you make the right decorating choices! :)

New Fall Colors This Season!

So when people think fall colors, they tend to think of: orange, brown, reds and golds. I know that's what I think of-the colors of changing tree leaves. Well this fall the stores, decorators, and Instagram  homes are filled with a new, different set of fall colors! Creams, whites, mints, sage greens are being displayed everywhere- thus creating a new refreshing look and a take off off the modern farmhouse home decor trends. 

My the color scheme in my home is already set in those colors- so I couldn't wait to try out this new fall color pallet! And you know what? I LOVE IT!!
So here's a look of my new fall coffee table decor.
(I can't wait to decorate the rest of my home in theses colors!)



How To Get the Look:
I used faux lamb's ear and natural looking mint green foliage, and intermingled it with a large sage green pumpkin, cream plastic pumpkin, and small off white and mint porcelain pumpkins. The small pumpkins I found at the dollar spot at Target!! It was a great find!

Then a incorporated sprigs of faux white wild flowers for a little more interest and depth.

I'm mixed this new fall decor with my everyday ZGallerie alligator coffee table tray and silver Home Hoods candle sticks.  

I'm still decorating other spaces in my home- here's another photo.









Fall Fun!


It's officially fall fall here in Dallas! But, that doesn't mean much- we still hit 90 degree weather most days! So I had to share this darling video of what life is like in the South! 


But that doesn't stop me from decorating for fall!πŸ˜‰ Photos coming soon!

Giveaway Time!

NOTE: The Giveaway is now closed.

It's Giveaway time! I've teamed up with the amazing New York Candle Company Thompson Ferrier to give one lucky follower one of their spectacular Buddha candles! 
The giveaway is going on now and will run until 9:00pm central time Sunday night, September 10th. 

To enter:

 *Be following me on Instagram @nissalynninteriors AND 

*Go to thompsonferrier.com to sign up for their newsletter. 
(Sign up form will automatically pop up.) 

Then I will DM the winner! 
And right now Thompson Ferrier is giving a special 20% discount off any candle with this promotional code: nissalynninteriors20 
Good Luck! 😘




A Trip to Magnolia Market and Silos!

 I took my youngest 4 kiddos to Magnolia Market and Silos in Waco, TX last week! The gardens were my favorite! And everything is so beautiful, clean and organized. it was neat to see all the unique food trucks that are right next to the darling black and white picnic tables. They even offer umbrellas to use while your there! The decor of course was amazing! Every square inch of the store was decorated to perfection- I especially loved their product displays.

It was a wonderful place to visit! 
(However, I would recommend not to come in the summer- it was so hot!)