Hi Everyone,

Today’s post is one that I'm particularly excited to share with you all. For those of you who have been following along for a while, you may remember when we featured my friend Amy’s home on the blog a few years back. Well, four years, two kids, and a new home later, I’m so excited to have Amy back on the blog to share her new daughter’s beautiful nursery. I love nursery design because of how personal it can be and this nursery is no exception. I love how Amy styled prints from my series Gray Malin at The Beverly Hills Hotel as a nod to some of her most special memories. In case you’ve missed it and want to bring home a print from one of your favorite destinations, we’re currently offering free framing and shipping on all photography on graymalin.com. This is the perfect time to fill your home with art that transports and inspires you. Without further ado, let’s get to the tour.

Hi Amy, we're so excited to have you back on the lifestyle blog! For those who are new, do you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?

Thank you all for having me, I am SO excited to be back! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Amy Havins and I am the Dallas, Texas based digital influencer behind Dallas Wardrobe. Dallas Wardrobe is a Dallas, Texas based lifestyle blog where I share everything from fashion tips/tricks to my little family (My husband and I have a 3 year old little boy named Ralph and a 7 week old little girl, named Vivienne).

Could you tell us a little bit more about what you do? How did you get started in blogging?

These days I wear a lot of different hats (wife, mom & digital influencer). I actually started Dallas Wardrobe 9 ½ years ago as a styling business and my original web-site I had a tab that said “blog”. I would update it every so often and blogging was so new at the time (2011), that I started getting a lot of web traffic from the blog posts! Fast forward (almost) 10 years later and I am still running Dallas Wardrobe. While the focus has shifted a bit (I incorporate more home and family now), I still love that I have an avenue to share things that I love with the sweetest audience.

Will you tell us a little bit about your home and overall design style?

First, my husband and I love nothing more than a home project. This is our 4^th home project and I would be lying if I said we were not always looking for the next one. We have been in our current home since the beginning of 2018 and have loved making it our own with the help of our talented designer, Cindy Sontag. I had to ask Cindy how she would describe our home style and in her words we are “transitional”. We love a traditional home with a little edge. Oh and if you cannot tell from the snippets of our home I do share, we are big fans of blue and white.

Vivienne's closet seems like a dream, can you give us a little insight into the inspiration behind the project?

This is the part where I struggled the most because Vivienne’s closet is not a normal shape or size. While yes it works, it is tricky if you are not a professional organizer. Thankfully one of my best friends, Candice Romo, just started her organizing company, Candy Coated Clutter, so she helped me turn this closet into the most beautiful and functional space. I asked Candice what the inspiration was and here is her response: “Amy Havins is a dream client because with our 20+ year friendship it was easy to decipher her likes and dislikes to get the project going. I knew I would be on the hunt for blue product to go with Amy’s home aesthetic and to tie in Vivienne’s tranquil blue nursery... let’s just say I became an expert on how many shades of blue there are. Having three boys, I was giddy at the opportunity to help organize and dream up a little girl’s closet so I couldn’t help myself to incorporate two of my favorite things: pink and Gray Malin.”

Now that we know you worked with your friend Candice on this, Candice can you share any special tips for organization and anything you learned through this project? What was most important to you when designing the space?

Any project I do I want it to not just be about organization, but rather a combination of functionality and design. Specifically on this project, the closet I had to come up with a way to bring in storage in a smaller space. Anyone with kids knows that they grow out of clothes quickly and I wanted to create a system that Amy could easily store outgrown and future sizes to maximize the hanging rod space. I immediately fell in love with these classic blue storage boxes that I labeled with Vivienne’s sizing.

One of the biggest challenges I faced was wanting the shelves to be functional, but also easy for a busy mom to keep it looking neat because they are the first thing you see when you walk in the closet. My solution were these white baskets that utilize the space and also hide the endless baby gear. One of my favorite details in the closet are the embroidered linen inserts to add a touch of frill.

It is probably because I have three boys, but I think every girl needs to display her shoes… no matter how little you are! My favorite go-to product is the clear riser from Container Store to make picking out shoes more fun.

Candice, what made you choose images from Gray Malin at the Beverly Hills Hotel for Vivienne's closet?

When I went to shop for the perfect Gray Malin prints, we were immediately inspired by The Beverly Hills series because it brought back nostalgia of a memorable mother and daughter trip Amy and I took back in high school. They were the perfect way to subtly incorporate pink and a touch of glam for the newest girly addition to the Havins family.

Amy what's your favorite part about the Gray Malin brand? What do you connect with the most?

This is a tough question because I love everything about the Gray Malin brand but if I have to pick a favorite thing it would be how colorful and playful the brand is. Gray’s pieces are some of my favorite conversation pieces. We actually purchased our first Gray Malin piece from his Prada Marfa series back in 2011 and currently we have 7 Gray Malin pieces hanging in our home! I would say the thing I connect the most with Gray Malin pieces is every piece we have in our home has a special story behind it. From the piece from his St. Tropez series that hangs in Ralph’s room (we honeymooned in St. Tropez), to the Prada Marfa that reminds me of our first married Christmas to the Beverly Hills pieces that hang in our daughter’s room that bring back the best memories of special trips with friends – everything Gray creates just reminds me of magical memories throughout the years.

Isn’t that space just to die for? Amy and Candice did such a great job at creating a space that is just as functional as it is beautiful. Amy, thank you so much for welcoming us into your home and letting my art be such a special part of your space. Don’t forget there’s still time to take advantage of our Free Framing and shipping promotion. You can shop now on graymalin.com. If you need help making up your mind, see some of my favorite prints of 2020 here.

Be sure to follow along with Amy and Candice on their Instagram accounts if you don’t already!

Cheers!

Xx

Gray

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@AmyHavins // DallasWardrobe.com

@CandiceRomo // Candy Coated Clutter