29. May 2026

Blending Lives, Building Style: An Evolving Aesthetic at Home

Before becoming a full-time mom, I spent seven years in commercial interior design. Whenever people learned what I did, they’d say, “Your home must be beautiful.” My honest reaction? A wave of self-doubt. Designing for clients came with clear parameters—their taste, budget, goals—which made decisions easier. At home, I had to be both client and designer, and I’d never sat on that side of the table.

For years I bounced between styles—modern, farmhouse, traditional, midcentury—while juggling real-life limits: tiny budgets, rental rules, and blending my taste with my (now) husband’s. Add in babies and that slippery feeling of losing yourself, and it was a lot.

Lately, though, I’m finding my way back by defining what truly feels like “us.” I’m close—so close. And I want to show you how we got here. I’m sharing photos of our homes over the years—the missteps and the little wins—so you can see the evolution in real life. I’ll go deeper on Instagram if you want to follow along.

This was our first home in Matthews, NC, just outside Charlotte. We bought it in 2017 the same week we got married after dating for seven years. The house was in rough shape—original ’80s kitchen and baths, and carpet in the bathroom (barf!). My husband is a landscape architect and an avid DIY’er, so a fixer-upper was always the dream. This one needed love inside and out, which made it the perfect project. When we were renting, we’d talk about wanting our home to be our hobby—we hated sitting around after our 9–5 with nothing to build that could eventually put money back in our pocket.

We called it The Treehouse. It became the first space I could truly design for myself (and our family). Getting to design, build, and then live in my own vision was a dream, and I learned so much in the four years we were there. Most of the furniture you’ll see in these photos was bought specifically for that house—so, yes, the oversized sofa doesn’t exactly suit our new colonial. I’ll share a separate post with where we are now and how the style is evolving. But first, here’s The Treehouse.