Hi Everyone,

I hope you're all as excited about our Free Framing and Shipping event as I am. I wanted to help inspire your choice by showing you some more examples of how you can style my photography. Remember our Lake Michigan Fixer-Upper? You may remember that two years ago year, Jeff and I (with the help of our Interior Designer Kate Lester) renovated a 100-year-old cottage into our family’s summer home. In case you missed it, I thought it would be fun to spend this week revisiting the project with all of you. Throughout the week on our Instagram and blog, I’m going to be highlighting some of my favorite spaces throughout the house. If you want to follow the journey from the beginning, I recommend starting off with this post where I share the entire background story on the home and our personal connection to Lake Michigan. Then, check out this post written from Kate Lester, where she gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration behind all of our design choices. Keep scrolling for the full tour of the house…

Entryway and Sunroom

This side of the house faces out towards the tennis courts across the way, so it was only fitting to hang The Tennis Team from my Bermuda series in the entryway. Welcome to our house!

Adjacent to the entryway is the big bright sunroom. The dark wood accents in the coffee tables and end table from All Modern center the room and the hanging shade from Circa Lighting really draws attention to the height of the room. Our off-white couches from Kate Lester Interiors help to keep the space cozy and comfortable without feeling overwhelmed.

Our choice of ultra-light sage green paint from Farrow & Ball was intentional to bring the beauty of the natural greenery from outdoors inside. Similarly, we included some faux foliage from All Modern in the corner to really connect the space to the surrounding nature. The sunroom is also the only addition we made outside of the original footprint of the house. This was a great decision because we love having this extra space to entertain and relax!

Kitchen

You wouldn’t believe it by looking at it now, but our new kitchen actually used to be a screened-in porch. You can see the original space and the new one in the photos below. I’m actually standing in the exact same spot in both photos. Quite the transformation, right? The old kitchen became our master bedroom and this move allowed us to join the new kitchen with our living room, dining room, and bar to create one large entertaining space.

I love how bright and airy the kitchen feels—both thanks to the crisp white paint and the natural light flooding in. To us, the kitchen is one of the main focal points of the house because people tend to congregate there when they come over, so we wanted it to feel very inviting. Painting the island navy was definitely a bold choice, but I love how it pops against the otherwise white kitchen and makes the navy detailing in our barstools really stand out. The light fixtures above the island from Circa Lighting help incorporate the dark tone into the rest of the space and the brass detailing ties in with the brass hardware from Emtek used throughout the room. Love is in the details, right?

Bar and Dining Room

To say I’m obsessed with the Starburst tile from Fireclay on our bar is an understatement. It’s just so fun and really catches the eye. If you notice, our bar doesn't have any bottles displayed on it. This was possible because of the extra deep drawers we designed to store the bottles standing up below the bar. It’s nice because it keeps everything looking clean and tidy. We also used the same hardware from Emtek on our bar as we used in our kitchen to create a feeling of consistency.

It was important for us to have lots of space for entertaining. Something unique about our dining room table is that it has two leaves so it can open up to seat 14 people. Perfect for when we want to host a summer bbq with our friends and family. And isn’t that chandelier from Circa Lighting a show stopper? I love how unique the shape is and although it’s pretty minimalistic in its design it still really makes an impact.

Since we didn't want guests to have to choose a space to hang out in, we connected the kitchen, bar, dining, and living rooms as one large space so everyone can always be together. By sticking to a similar color palette throughout the space we were able to make the flow feel very natural. So, although it technically has four different uses, it’s connected in one big space.

Living Room

The living room has turned out to be our most loved room in the house. During the design process, I anticipated our family and friends spending a lot of time in here, so it was important that it felt cozy and livable, but still sophisticated.

Our sofa and chairs from Lee Industries helped accomplish that by looking crisp without having to sacrifice comfort. The waterfall detailing on our fireplace and the shiplap walls are so special and really add great dimension to the room. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the shiplap carries over into the ceiling, which draws the eye up and puts an emphasis on the height of the room. Considering how low the ceilings were originally, this is especially exciting. I can’t thank Kate Lester enough for helping us come up with the design for this space.

Something you’ll notice throughout many of the rooms in our home is that we mixed and matched neutral tones with colors that complimented them well and weren’t overwhelming. The perfect example of this is our child-friendly coffee table ottomanin front of our couch, which we recovered in a beautiful blue fabric from Peter Dunham Textiles. The blue added a fun bit of color to the room that wasn’t distracting from the rest of the space.

This bright red backgammon table has been with us since our first home and is a happy splash of color in our living room.

Master Bedroom and Bathroom

As I mentioned before, our master bedroom was actually the kitchen of the original house.

When it came to our bedroom, we wanted to create a space that would feel peaceful and relaxing. The detail of the shiplap walls made the space feel very beachy and really helped us blend our California style with the laid-back personality of Lake Michigan. With all the natural light we get in our bedroom, finding the right window treatments was extremely important. We used fabric from Clay McLaurin to create stylish shades that easily go down to block out the light. I also particularly love the leather chair from Lee Industries that gives a nice masculine touch to this space.

Centered with a bench from Lee Industries, this little corner of the room is very special to me. I love getting to wake up and see this image from one of my favorite places, Hawaii. The beautiful colors are so soothing and instantly transports me.

We put so many fun details in our master bathroom that made the space amazing. For starters, the Fireclay Tile on the floor and shower walls added a fun mix of patterns. We also consistently used brass hardware everywhere in the space from the handles on our shower door and cabinets to the mirrors and light fixtures. The mirrors are from All Modern and look so good next to the beautiful wall lights from Circa Lighting. Our brass drawer pulls and knobs are from Emtek and have the most beautiful satin finish that makes them both subtle and sophisticated.

Nursery and Kids’ Bathroom

If you haven’t noticed by now, peace and serenity are major themes for this home and our nursery design is no exception. This is most obvious in the color palette, which blends cool pastel tones that make the room feel like an oasis. The wallpaper from Farrow and Ball is just so sweet and made the perfect backdrop for the rest of the space. I also love how the light green curtains tie in the green from the leaves outside the window. Our choice to use images from my Poolside series in the kids’ room was a nice nod to all the swimming we’ll be doing during our summers here. The sisal area rug from All Modern really made the room feel extra cozy.

I love this little nook in the kid’s room and can’t wait to sit here and read books to the twins. This pillow from my collaboration with Cloth & Co. adds a playful touch to the room and ties in with some of the other animal accessories, like this giraffe lamp from All Modern on the dresser.

Designing a bathroom for the kids was particularly fun. We really tried to focus on creating a space that would grow with them over the years, which meant nothing too childish. We used a bold custom color tile pattern from Fireclay Tile for the floors to really make an impression right when you step inside. I also love the light fixtures from Kate Lester Interiors. The jumbo bulbs are unique and much more fun than boring old LED lights.

Guest Bedroom 1

This room is honestly one of my favorites in the house. I just love how it turned out and there was a lot of thought and intention behind the details. For starters, The original space had one beam across the ceiling that was weight-bearing. Take a look at the before photo below to see what we were starting with.

Crazy, right? For symmetry’s sake, we added a second beam to highlight the division of the room. The feather wallpaper was such a fun touch and I love how the warm tones of the beachy beds stand out against the cool blue. Thebenches from All Modern at the end of each bed tied nicely to the headboards while also being functional. This way each guest has a place to lay some of their belongings, sit down while putting on their shoes or getting ready.

Guest Bathroom

Our guest bathroom was uniquely designed to be just as beautiful as it is functional. Since there is only one bathroom downstairs, I wanted the space to be able to be used by multiple people at one time. The toilet area is closed off by a door and the shower has a changing area that is closed off by a curtain. That way multiple guests could be using the bathroom, brushing their teeth, and taking a shower all at the same time. Another beautiful detail is the tiling from Bedrosians on the floor which spreads all the way across and into the shower. As you can see, we played around with a lot of different fun tile options in so many rooms in the house. We went with black hardware from Emtek in this bathroom so as not to conflict with the black and white pattern in the tile. The matte black border on ourAll Modern mirrors look great with the steel pendant lights and the rest of the hardware.

Guest Bedroom 2

For the second guest bedroom, we chose a bold green paint that really makes a statement. We used a technique where the color only goes up the wall three-quarters of the way and then transitions to a white paint that matches the ceiling. This is supposed to make the room feel taller than it actually is. The beds in this room were left behind when we bought the house and we chose to keep them to help us honor the history of the home and the community. The light fixture from Schoolhouse has a retro vibe that complements the antique beds so perfectly. We tied in the black from the light with a beautiful black nightstand from All Modern.

I chose images from my Art of Living series to decorate this room because of its geometric style, striking colors, and nod to small spaces that feel larger than life. The series also has a somewhat geometric feel to it that worked well with the bedding and pillows we chose. I love the way this room turned out to be so different from the other guest room. Which one would you like to stay in?

Mudroom and Laundry Room

When designing our Mudroom and Laundry Room areas, we really had to get creative to make the most of the narrow space. One trick we used was concealing the laundry room behind barn doors. These sliding doors were perfect because we were able to close off the space without worrying about anything blocking off the hallway. We also added in a concealed refrigerator behind the cabinets in the wall.

I always get excited for an opportunity to decorate with my wallpaper collection and this laundry room was no exception. From far away it looks like an intricate pattern, but when you look up close you realize it’s one of my beach prints! Fun, right?

Patio

Originally, the deck was on the back of the house, but we decided that having it at the front would help us better connect to the community. The space is pretty small so it was important that we maximized every inch as much as possible. Thanks to Frontgate’s collection of furniture for small spaces and extensive selection of outdoor decor accessories, we were able to fit a lot of seating into a tiny area and design a space that’s beautiful. It’s going to be perfect on warm summer days to enjoy fresh lemonade with the kids when they get older and cocktails with our friends.

Last summer, Jeff and I spent the entire summer at the house with our twins and it was one of the most memorable summers I’ve ever had. After nearly a year of working on this home, being able to spend time in it with the people who mean the most to me was so special. If you’re feeling inspired, you can shop all the art featured on this dedicated page on my website.

Thank you so much to our designer Kate Lester for helping us bring our vision to life. I hope you all love how it turned out as much as we do. I can’t wait to take the kids there this summer and entertain our friends and family in the years to come. I know this is going to be such a special home for my family and I to spend time together and make amazing memories.

Don't forget to enjoy free framing and shipping before it ends!

Cheers,

xx

Gray

Brand Partners:Circa Lighting, Fireclay Tile, Lee Industries, All Modern, Kate Lester Interiors, Bedrosians, Emtek, Zephyr, Peter Dunham Textiles, Farrow & Ball, and Frontgate