bloggers Archives - Emily A. Clark

Where We Work & Play (& Eat & Sleep)

Apr182016

A big welcome to new readers visiting from The White Buffalo Styling Co.! And, for my regulars, I’m participating in the Blogger Stylin’ Home Tours “Work & Play” edition today, hosted by Lindsay.

When we walked through this house for the first time, the screened porch called my name. My parents have had one for years and practically live on theirs in Kentucky for most of the year, and I’ve dreamed of doing the same. In our first house, we added a screened porch and moved three months later. So, this is the first one we’ve actually gotten to enjoy. It’s especially come in handy during the kitchen renovation chaos.

When it’s warm enough, it’s where I work, where we eat our meals, and it often becomes a neighborhood hangout in the afternoons. I (sometimes) get to read on the couch outside, and it’s my favorite place to take a nap (on the rare occasion I get to take one).

And, speaking of the couch, I get a lot of inquiries about our outdoor furniture and how it’s holding up. We bought pieces from Target’s Belvedere collection nearly four years ago, and it still looks great. That’s after three years of sitting out on an uncovered patio. We did replace the cushions with navy ones from Lowe’s when we moved last year.

The other thing I love about having a covered space is being able to use some of my indoor accessories—like the wood mirror that used to be in our living room and the industrial tables I had in our last den. I bought the IKEA tulip table off of Craigslist, and I think it’s a good mix with the other furniture so that everything doesn’t look so “outdoorsy”. The sisal rug is on its last leg so we threw it on the porch until it goes out the door for good. . .

industrial_end_table

I’m planning to eventually replace the brass sconce by the door and change out the ceiling fan. The exterior is also getting a facelift over the next few weeks. All of the wood is being painted white, including the stair railings that were recently rebuilt.

Next stop on the “work & play” tour? Julia’s beautiful home at Cuckoo for Design.

And, see more on Instagram with #bloggerstylinhometours.

You All Are The Best! (BHG Blogger Awards Update)

Mar142016

balloons

Last week, I was sitting at the dining room table, checking email when I suddenly started whooping! (You can hear it now, right?) My husband ran in because he thought something was wrong. Turns out, I just received an email letting me know I had won the Reader’s Choice award for the 2016 Better Homes & Gardens Blogger Awards. (They’ll be making the official announcement next week, but I couldn’t wait to tell you.)I am so happy about this—and wanted to thank each of you who took the time to vote (multiple times). There was one reader who commented that she’s a teacher and ran in to vote at the school computers during her kids’ recess. That’s commitment. I love it. :) Honestly, I feel like I’ve had a better grasp on the direction of my blog over the last year and have tried to be more intentional about providing some kind of value to my readers every time they (you) visit. Hopefully you’ve noticed. It’s made a big difference in how much I enjoy writing this blog.

This also seems like a good time to mention my little behind-the-scenes helper. I’ve talked about her before, but my friend Katie is the greatest. She’s technically my “assistant”, but introducing her that way always makes us giggle because we’ve been great friends for way longer. She’s been helping me for several years and handles all of the sponsorship inquiries, giveaways, invoicing, general email questions, etc. She’s also great at reigning me in when I get carried away with bigger ideas and ambitions than I actually have time to tackle. (She has seen me near meltdown mode when I’ve had too much on my plate and does her best to guard me from getting back to that.) Plus, we just have a really good time working/laughing together.

Ridiculous photos of us together are plentiful. The amount of good ones is few. . .

And, finally, if you’re looking for some new blogs to read, my fellow nominees in the diy/decorating category are a really talented group:

balloon image: Style Me Pretty

A Hotel Redesign In Uptown Charlotte

Jan152016

Last month, the team at the Marriott Center City in uptown Charlotte invited me to take a tour of their newly redesigned rooms. I snapped some pictures while I was there, in case you’re headed this way anytime soon—or if you’re a local mom who just needs to escape for a night or two. (I’ll meet you there.)

image source

The new design is super sleek and modern (no crazy distracting decor that I feel the urge to “fix” while I’m there). And, most importantly, it’s really functional. They actually chose the furniture based on guest feedback and the way that most people use a hotel room these days. I mean, do any of us set up shop on those clunky desks anymore?

They took into account that most guests are now are on a laptop or tablet lounging in bed, watching TV and answering emails all at the same time. A lot of the smaller pieces that are in the room (i.e., a pedestal table/desk, a coffee table/ottoman) have dual functionality and are made to be easy to move around the space—more like we live at home. With less unnecessary furniture, the rooms feel more spacious, and the big windows provide great, natural light.

To celebrate their redesign, the Marriott team has also started a #DesignCharlotte hashtag so that people can share what they love best about our city and the hotel. I’ll be posting several pictures on my Instagram over the next couple of weeks.