It may be hard for some people to imagine living in the house they grew up in. When it’s working with an older house, or trying to overcome your parent’s design, the idea can be somewhat overwhelming. However, for Trina McNeilly, who authors the blog la la Lovely, it’s been a welcome challenge to create her childhood home outside of Chicago her own. “It may be quite wonderful, and fairly strange all at the exact same time,” she states.
With four kids in the house, McNeilly’s learned to create smart, easy, and creative adjustments which are cheap and kid-friendly. Above all else, she wants this house to reflect her own personal style, without losing all the excellent features that she grew up adoring. “I understand that if, or if, I ever move, I’ll dream of this house constantly,” she states.
“I’ve important decorating ADD,” McNeilly states. “Once I say I’m going to focus on a specific space, I inevitably find a million items for every other room in the house and become distracted.” A number of the goods in McNeilly’s house are hand-me-downs out of her parents who she is repurposed for an entirely new appearance.
All of these pieces help keep the decoration in a similar fashion that she grew up with, but with her own special touch. The rest of the pieces in her house came from internet shopping deals and occasional excursions to local shops and stores in Chicago. The end result is an eclectic and unique house that has been the perfect house for this family of 6.
The real showstopper from your family’s living area is an outside swing out of IKEA installed on a single side of the expansive space. “The swing provides hours of enjoyment during our long winters,” states McNeilly. “Now the kids want a slip to the basement!”
Swing: EKORRE, IKEA
McNeilly found the quirky yellow arm chairs on their way to the trash outside of a house in her area. She rescued them and has plans to recover them. For today they include a few interesting colour to the home’s living space.
Couch: Clayton Marcus
Wall map: Plan de Paris Wall Map
The knock-off Ghost Chairs in the dining area is another favorite find. “They were a stealthey seem fantastic, and they work great with all the kids,” McNeilly states. The contemporary plastic chairs comparison a rich wooden table and natural looking rug underneath.
Table: Z Gallerie
Carpet: World Market
Centerpiece: One of a kind pottery piece from Anthropologie
Pendant: Pottery Barn
Chairs: InteriorExpress.com
One of the great components of redecorating this house was that McNeilly was able to completely indulge in her love for chandeliers, even installing one in her master bathroom. The easy crystal adds only a small bit of luxe to this simply made area.
Chandelier: Schonbeck
The empire chandelier in the master bedroom is just one of McNeilly’s beloved bits. “I’ve something for chandeliers, however this one is extra special,” she states. “It’s old and it sparkles, what could be better than that?”
Chandelier: Antique out of Euro Trash
Headboard: Z Gallerie
Quilt: West Elm
Pillows: Anthropologie
The couple chose to keep their bedroom in an easy white palette to help the space feel relaxing and soothing. Instead of carpeting, they laid down pine planks and painted them white. “It’s the biggest risk I’ve taken up to now,” she states.
Bench: Antique from Euro Trash
McNeilly setup a small workspace for herself in 1 corner of the massive master bedroom. The chair and desk were both hand-me-downs from her daddy. She bothered and refinished the desk in a gray colour, and then had the seat recovered in a plush green velvet.
Table lamp: House Goods
Wall color: Moccasin, Benjamin Moore
In another corner of the master bedroom, McNeilly set up a snug little spot for her baby son, Rocco. An IKEA crib is accented with stump side tables along with a lambskin for an earthy, cozy appearance.
Wall artwork: Debbie Carlos
Crib: IKEA
One of the spare rooms has been changed into a playroom for the four McNeilly kids. The armoire about the far wall was McNeilly’s mum’s, and has been distressed and humiliated for a fresh new appearance.
Rug: STOCKHOLM RAND, IKEA
Kids table and chairs: Pottery Barn Kids
Kids play furniturePottery Barn Kids
Instead of using the typical LACK wall shelves from IKEA, McNeilly came up with a creative idea and used the brand’s BEVKAM spice racks for wall mounted shelves with an added railing for security. She just spray painted all of them white, and installed them directly on the wall.
Silver poufs: Target
In her oldest son Luke’s area, McNeilly put in a pair of bunk beds — perfect for those instantly play dates. A chalkboard wall promotes creativity, and eliminates the need for important wall artwork.
Bunkbeds: Pottery Barn Kids
Bedding: Batman and Spiderman sheets out of Pottery Barn Kids, Star Duvet and Shams from IKEA
Ella is the only daughter from the McNeilly home, so she went all-out with her bedroom decoration. Pink and white bedding, vivid pink accents, along with a super shiny flea market disco ball gave her a perfectly girly bedroom.
Bedframe: Macy’s
Bedding: Bed Bath & Beyond. Pink floral duvet and shams, gift
Blue polka dot pillow: Anthropologie
Pink seat: Euro Trash, reupholstered
Even though McNeilly loves her house, 1 room she would love to remodel is your kitchen. It was remodeled by her mum, and is a lovely blend of dark wood and granite, but is not really McNeilly’s style. She dreams of an all-white kitchen with marble countertops, however, the current setup does the trick for the time being. “I think that the white kitchen might need to wait for my one-day-someday-house,” she states.
Barstools: Pier 1 Imports
McNeilly’s design is sophisticated, but since this is a house with four kids, there is also a distinct sense of playfulness throughout. A magnetic chalkboard wall permits the youngsters to (temporarily) decorate their house too!
The covered back porch is where the family loves to spend summer nights. The collage on wall has been made by McNeilly’s husband as a present to her for their 14th wedding anniversary. The frame is filled with photographs from their last 14 years together.
Chairs: Lloyd Flanders Outside Wicker Place
More Houzz Tours:
Cozy and Creative Home for 5
Artistic and Peaceful in Ann Arbor
Scandinavian Design with a Twist