Today I’m introducing you to my friend, Melissa Michaels, creator of the award winning blog The Inspired Room.  I was so lucky to meet Melissa in September at the Better Homes & Garden’s Stylemaker Event in NYC!  She has always been a genuine inspiration to me with her special way of encouraging her readers to “love the home you have.” For those of you who are new to my blog and hopping over from one of the fabulous Inspired Room Tours, WELCOME!  I shared my blog story and how my path crossed Melissa’s in this recent post you can read here.

Melissa’s second book has just launched on Nov 1 and is perfectly titled, The Inspired Room. This hardback book is full of beautiful photos of Melissa’s home.  Her kitchen (see above) was what had me at “hello.”  The creativity she poured out into her home will be sure to spark new ideas for your home.  The theme throughout the book is to have an authentic home that is your personal sense of style. I can relate to Melissa in that she has practical advice for curating your home to the style that speaks to you while doing it affordably.

“The journey of creating a home is your unique and inspiring adventure”

I was so honored and thrilled when Melissa asked me to share a room in my home that has evolved over time and into a room that I love.  The first room that came to my mind was my home office.  We have lived in our home for a little over five years and saved a section of our basement to finish ourselves when we originally built the home.  In January we started the renovation process that would soon be a home gym, a powder bathroom, a storage room, and a new office for me…yay!  

There’s my office in that sun filled room!  Isn’t she pretty?? I wish I had some photos of this space even before renovations began.  It looked a little like hoarder’s paradise overflowing with enough home decor items to start up a store!  Let’s just say that I’ve spent the past 8 months purging, organizing, and clearing the mess to have a decluttered life.  My office is still evolving into my inspired space, but so far I am really happy with how it has turned out! I finally have my own room where I can blog and work on projects.  Most of the time my desk is a hot mess.  I cleaned it up for you because let’s face it, first impressions can leave lasting impressions.

We’ve come a LONG way, haven’t we?  My husband just installed the barn doors two weeks ago and I finally feel like the bones of this space is complete.

I’ve had some fun designing this room!  In Melissa’s book, she talks about “mixing up an unexpected great style.” I decided to go BOLD with this cheetah print wall. I first saw this print in a wallpaper, however, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money in covering one wall of my office.  I always try to find the more affordable version of a high end look.  I came across this cheetah stencil from Royal Design Studio Stencils.  Yes, pouncing every single cheetah spot with a stencil brush took a long time but I saved so much money and am kind of proud of my hard work!  The spots are perfectly imperfect but I love them anyway!

I’m a true lover of many styles and love mixing classic and modern elements.  I found this gold gilded frame at a vintage market with no intentions of where to put it in my home.  I loved that it was huge, ornate, and whimsical. After I stenciled this wall I didn’t want to cover up all of my hard work with more decorations so I hung the frame  as a temporary filler until I found the perfect piece for this wall. Turns out that this gilded glory of antique gold is the perfect piece!

The emerald drapes were another bold move!  I debated over these IKEA drapes, hesitating for fear that the color would not match my home. Green is not a common color theme throughout my home but I wanted to add a pop of color to my office that was something a little out of the box for me.  Sometimes, you just need to go for it! The emerald green is quite stunning in this room and I’m happy I took the chance!

She’s still a work in progress. Those black fur covered stools are a DIY fail!  Look closely and you can see that the fur is loosely covering some adorable hot pink cushions.  I loved these cute little hot pink stools when I found them at Target, but once I brought them home and tried to incorporate pink into this room, I just wasn’t feeling it.  Probably because pink has never ruled in my home with a house full of boys.

I see pink in other beautifully designed homes and think it’ll be just as stunning in mine. Just because a style or color looks fabulous in a magazine or in a favorite room you’ve pinned on Pinterest, doesn’t mean that the look will feel the same in your home. Clearly my home has too much testosterone for pink! Ha!  The mix of pink and emerald green made my room feel like a crayola box.  So I decided to keep the emerald since that was my first love and ditch the pink {for now.} I fully intend to get those stools finished soon!

Adding the “jewelry” to a room should evolve over time.  Fill your home with things that you love or that have meaning to them.  I’ve been so guilty of rushing through a design just to get a finished room. The feelings of discontent that follow have taught me that it’s better to let your home evolve over time and fill it with pieces that you truly love!

My Homegoods tulips have made the rounds in my home and have served so well for that perfect element or “filler” piece needed for a good photo!  Who wants to see the back side of a big unsightly Mac computer??

My most treasured element in my office is this photo of Melissa and I taken at the Better Homes & Garden’s Stylemaker Event in NYC this year!  Here I am with the person who truly inspired me to begin blogging.  I never thought I’d meet her, but could only say I “knew” her through the story of her life she invites us into through her blog and books. I’m so blessed to call her my friend now. I should probably find a pretty frame for this photo, but in the meantime sticky tape is doing a fantastic job! {Sorry Melissa! you deserve a beautiful frame!}

This little magnifying glass also has special meaning to me.  If you follow me on Instagram, then you may know that I ran a 6 week hashtag series called #ISpyDesignSeries with five amazingly talented Bloggers/Instagrammers (Brittany – Addison’s Wonderland, Erin – The Sunny Side Up Blog, Haneen – Haneen’s Haven, Bree – Interiorsbyzdesign, and Deborah – Blount Designs).  Through this series I formed special friendships with each one of these beautiful ladies.  At the end of our little series, I sent them each this magnifying glass as a little “thank you” for sharing our fun journey together.  I saw those cheetah spots all over it and could not resist! Perfect for my office!

I still need to find a rug, but haven’t come across the right one yet.  I was tempted to go buy one for this photo to share with you, but then I reminded myself that a “whim buy” will lead to that unsatisfied feel.  I’ll wait for the perfect rug to come along, until then I’m just enjoying my new hardwood floors.

Melissa’s first book, “Love the Home You Have” came out earlier this year.  Wow! Two books in one year!! She’s busy!  I giggled my way through this fun book where she shares the stories of every home she’s lived in and the quirks and lessons learned of each one. She is so funny and engaging!  I love the part where she mentions slowly driving up and down streets staring at houses and needing a bumper sticker that says, “I brake for pretty homes.”  So true!  Aren’t we all sidewalk stalkers of pretty homes??

Of course I have to display my Eddie Ross Modern Mix book(s).  Yes, I have two!  I bought one before I went to meet him in NYC this year, and then he gifted a copy to all the bloggers at the Better Homes & Garden’s Event.  I took the beautiful cover off of one book to mix up the display a little.  I love how Eddie “curates personal style with chic and accessible finds.”

My big splurge that I allowed myself was this gorgeous sideboard from Restoration Hardware.  I spent months hunting the internet and local craigslist looking for the perfect storage piece.  I knew exactly what I wanted and kept coming back to this beauty.  I love Restoration Hardware but I don’t love their prices.  I like bargains!  At least I scored 20% off so the dent in the budget was buffered somewhat.

My Ballard’s Designs chandelier is the crown jewel of my office.  She ties in well with my gilded gold frame, gold stools, and gold hardware on my window treatments. A girl’s got to have some gold in her life!  Every room can have some BLING!

To have a room in my home that is all mine is a true blessing!  No homework is scattered on my desk (SOURCE-HERE) because the boys have their own office to clutter.  Okay, well mine is usually cluttered too but when all cleaned up I stand back with a smile on my face with a feeling of satisfaction.

There is still work to be done, perhaps a fun ceiling treatment and creating a collage of family photos on one wall.   Over time I’ll get it more and more to the visions in my mind. And through the journey I’ll enjoy the direction I’ve gone.

I highly encourage you to grab yourself a copy of Melissa’s book. You can also visit the many other inspired rooms in these homes:

Beth Hunter / Home Stories A-Z

Kristin Cadwallader / Bliss at Home

Lucy Akins / Craftberry Bush

Janine Waite / Happy Happy Nester

Darlene Weir / Fieldstone Hill Design

Julie Konya / Cuckoo 4 Design

Sandy Coughlin / Reluctant Entertainer

Diane Henkler / In My Own Style

Megan Ardoin / Honey We’re Home

Jennifer Bridgman / The Chronicles of Home

Laura Putnam / Finding Home

Emily Dinwiddle / Eleven Gables

Jen Obrien / City Farmhouse

Ashley Urke / Domestic Fashionista

Michaela Warner / Michaela Noelle Designs

Kristy Wicks / Wicks Nest

Heather & Vanessa / At The Picket Fence

Rhoda Vickers / Southern Hospitality

Shannon Fox / Fox Hollow Cottage

Rachel Dowd / Sweet and Simple Home (Youtube)

Jen Schmidt / Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Laura Trevey / Bright Bold and Beautiful

Melaine Thompson / My Sweet Savannah

Layla Palmer / The Lettered Cottage

Emily Clark / Emily A. Clark

Traci Hutcherson / Beneath My Heart

Kennesha Buycks / Restoration House

Aileen Allen / At Home in Love

Julie Blanner / Julie Blanner

Jennifer Rizzo / Jennifer Rizzo

Marian Parsons / Miss Mustard Seed

Jennifer Flores / Rambling Renovators

Stacy Risenmay / Not Just A Housewife

Sarah Dorsey / Sarah M Dorsey Designs