When you think you’ve planned enough dinner parties, hosted many guests and your house is pretty well designed , you think it shouldn’t be too hard to pull it together again for another round of guests. Think again!. Well…I encourage you to think again.
I have gone through this so many times and still struggle with giving myself enough time to master the details and most importantly, enjoy the process. It’s typical for me to get bogged down in cleaning, buying food and other necessary details; then I feel really rushed, not well put together and frustrated with myself for not taking the time for the little things that make me happy.
In this case, Smid was asked by The Design Network (OMGEEEEEE!) to come and feature the house on a new series they are piloting, The Design Smackdown. We are really excited about this feature. And truth be told, when I first learned about it, I thought everything in the house was nearly feature ready and just needed a quick clean and a few toys put away. Then I caught myself as I did a walk through of the house with Chris, my design assistant. I was WAY too relaxed!! The walls were all filthy, the kids book cart all tousled, the shower head looked like it died 5 years ago and my closet….A MESS. No self respecting designer would leave their closet looking this way. My powder room had things I had been thinking about changing for well over a year, but just had not prioritized the redesign because I have been prioritizing clients. I had empty fruit bowls everywhere and the front door entry plants were half dead.
We had our work cut out for us and had to start right away.
Now I am not sharing all the changes we made because you’d be here all day reading through the list. I just thought it would be nice to share one of the rooms that we spruced up with very important details, the ones that make me happy. But, here is what was different this time, I styled it, ‘jushed’ it all the day before. And it was fun. Really fun! It’s the first time that I’ve been able to enjoy the process for my own home in a really long time. When your planning your next get together, dinner party, or whenever you want to put your house’s ‘best foot’ forward, I highly recommend starting earlier-start a lot earlier than you think you need.
Xo Smid
*Photos by @superchris77
I restocked my old garden tool box with glassware, flatware, and linens that matched the vibe I was going for. I also realized the other items in there had been getting really dusty. So not at all photo ready or ready for wine! We added a splash of color with the cutest twinning cactus and a camellia flower from the garden. The marble slab is a cutting board and the birds are just my favs.
I set the table so TDN could get a feel for what this looks like when we sit to eat in this area. That’s my chicken nugget cactus and a succulent on the plate for another splash of color. I don’t like matching too much which is why I have a bowl on one plate and not on the other. I loved that I got to think the tiniest of details through.
We styled the fridge with bright colored fruits and had things on hand for the crew to eat. It made us look like we were quite the hostesses.
Fresh oranges from the garden to put in a few places and create warmth.
So yummy! And I actually mean the way it looks.
My SMEG. Gah! I still can’t get over the black SMEG. I love the reflection of my bucket shelving cart and my creepy lady head in the fridge.
The bucket shelves were restocked with clean dishes, succulents out, fruit in bowls and we were ready to host. BOOM.
