Morgan Trinker

Nine months ago, almost to the day, Jamie and I moved into our first home in the Crestwood neighborhood of Birmingham. Since then, I’ve spent many, many, MANY hours stripping, painting, caulking, sanding, building, drilling, rearranging, IKEA-ing, antiquing, assembling, Pinterest-ing, problem-solving, and cleaning, and as of this past weekend, literally hours before our cousins Lindsay and Michael arrived to spend the weekend with us, I swept up the last of the dog hair, looked around, and finally felt like it was truly our home. By no means is it 100% finished (I don’t know that I’ll ever consider anywhere we live “finished”), and there are still projects to be done, but since I’ve got family members and friends who are anxious to get a glimpse of where we live, I thought it was time to share some photos of our humble abode now that we’ve settled in.

I’m not entirely sure how I would describe my style. I do love mid century lines and colors, but I also like a little bit of Southern coziness and a dash of kitschiness. Although I love seeing photographs of more minimalist spaces with white walls and sparse decorating, I just feel like for my own home, I need it to feel lived in. Like it won’t be the end of the world if something gets a little dirty or if mail piles up on the table (since both often happen). Trust me… this is the cleanest it will ever look. I don’t want to give anyone any false impressions of having a neat and tidy life, because it’s far from it. But in an ideal world, this is what my house would look like ALL the time. :)

Oh, and if you’re interested, you can see photos of the house as it was when the previous homeowners lived in it HERE. I completely forgot in my excitement on moving in to take true “before” photos, but you can kind of get an idea of what it was like before I did all THIS to it. You can also read about our first-time-homebuying-experience here and my adventures in learning how to use tools here. Enjoy!

One of my favorite photos from our wedding. :)

Living room info: Sofa- Macy’s; Chairs, Tables, Lamps, Matador, Metallic Tray- various vintage stores (my favorites are Urban Suburban and Soho Retro in Birmingham, and Not Your Average Antiques in Clinton, TN); Pillows- Made by my mom from fabric I bought at Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver; Entryway table, curtains, and striped blanket- IKEA; Paintings over the mantle- painted by me!; Rug- West Elm; Paint color- Taffeta Green by Benjamin Moore

Dining room info: Table and chairs- vintage from Craigslist; Bar cart, decanters, gold lamp shade, black vase, starburst clock- various vintage stores; Gray rug- Target; Bookshelves, chair fabric, and curtains- IKEA; “Scotch” sign- gift from Z Gallerie; other three art prints- by Jon Contino for Society6; Frames- Hobby Lobby

The kitchen was a definite selling point for this house. The previous homeowners did a great job with the layout and finishes they selected, and I love the cork floors they chose. We were also pretty stoked about the butler’s pantry. Though every wall and trim surface needed repair and multiple coats of fresh paint, I love how it turned out with the taupe-y gray and cream color combo. And that Orla Kiely wallpaper? Love of my life! I had been eyeing it for months and finally decided to take the plunge. How perfect is it?!

I was so sad to hear that Knoxville-based Yee-Haw Letterpress was closing this past spring, so I of course had to stock up on some of my favorite prints to display. They make me so happy every time I look at them!

This is one of Gretchen’s favorite spots in the house… right by the food bowl!

The guest room is one of my favorites in the house. It’s what I spent most of the first half of August working on, and I’m pretty excited by how it turned out. I really wanted a campy, cozy, nostalgic feel (I’d be lying if I said seeing Moonrise Kingdom didn’t inspire some of that!).

Guest room info: Iron bed and dresser- IKEA (but both painted to go with the look I wanted); American flag- eBay find; Tartan plaid blanket- Etsy; Accessories- various vintage stores; Chenille blanket and floor lamp- inherited from my grandmother; Ship painting- vintage; “The Pretend is Near” print- by Nick Nelson for Society6; “Kitten Bandit” print- The Black Apple on Etsy

Our bedroom is still a bit of a work in progress. The tile ceilings are kind of a mess (as is our wrinkly duvet, obviously), but I do love the deep turquoise wall color and the “Call Again” poster I first bought for Jamie’s college apartment 6 years ago. The IKEA curtains also seemed to be a good fit, so overall I’m pretty happy, but there’s always room for improvement. ;)

And here’s my home office again! For more photos, you can see the original post from back in January here.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of our home! I know Jamie, for one, is thrilled I’m (mostly) done with it, because he insists I get very grumpy when I’m on a ladder with a paint roller in hand. ;) If you have any questions about any of it, feel free to comment below or shoot me an email at [email protected]. I’d love to swap ideas!