Guys we are pumped and doing a happy dance about the feature we have to share with you guys today. We have Brooke, one of the beautiful ladies behind one of my favorite fashion blog and IG feeds Somewhere, Lately. Brooke, and her blog partner Meggan, have the most unbelievable sense of personal style and that style translates beautifully into Brooke’s gorgeous New York City area home. You guys are in luck because we have an interview with Brooke and a tour of her fabulous home.
You live in and around a major metropolitan area. What are some of the pros and cons about living in a big city?
Pros – tons of great shopping, restaurants, and inspiration. There’s always something to do, and I love the diversity in New York. Cons -cost of living (and pretty much cost of everything), tons of people everywhere you go, traffic, and the grind of daily life in New York can get tough at times.
Give us a little overview of your home: how long you have lived there, what made you choose it, what are your favorite things about the house, what are things you want to change? Is this your forever home?
We’ve lived in our home for a little over a year (this is the longest I’ve lived in one place since I was 18!). It’s difficult to find a newer home with an open floorpan in New York, and when we first saw our house, we knew it was the one we wanted to get because of the open layout and high ceilings. We are getting ready to renovate the kitchen and all of the bathrooms (we will be starting these projects in February), so we still have a ways to go, but it’s so fun to see the progress! This is probably not our forever home – I would be shocked, considering how much we’ve moved in the past!
If you could build or find your dream home what all would it include and where would it be located?
My dream home is hands down a Spanish style exterior with wide plank white oak floors (LOL..can you tell I’ve thought about this?), a contemporary, eclectic, and comfortable vibe overlooking the ocean in Southern California. We moved to New York from California, and I constantly miss it (although lately, NY is really growing on me)!
What are your favorite sources for home interiors? Where do you get inspiration from?
I have so many places I love to shop for interiors – Restoration Hardware, CB2, Serena & Lily, Pottery Barn, West Elm, Rugs USA (always running amazing sales on rugs), and Land of Nod (for kids) are my favorite “big box” retailers. I love smaller retailers/designers for home accessories -I recently discovered @kayakilims on Instagram, and bought an amazing kilim rug for our entry from her, Kerry Cassil for bedding, One Kings Lane has so many great pieces, and Amber Interiors for pillows & accessories. I love to browse Pinterest and my favorite designers’ instagrams for inspiration.
What are some of your favorite home interiors blogs?
Amber Interiors, Becki Owens, Elements of Style (I love her blog even though her interior style is not exactly the same as mine, her projects are always stunning), Little Green Notebook (talk about amazing DIYs), and recently E. Interiors – funny enough, I had just discovered your Instagram right before we virtually met!
One of the questions we get asked most frequently is how to achieve a stylish home with young children. You have two young children, how are you able to balance style vs functionality and durability for your family?
Function is obviously very important when you have a home with kids, but it’s important for me to still love my space. Choosing kid-friendly fabrics for furniture, and pieces that aren’t too delicate (aka breakable) is key. There are certain areas where we have chosen pieces that aren’t quite so kid-friendly, but we spend most of our time in the spaces where we can all hang! We had marble in our last kitchen, and I said I will never do it again…it’s not very kid (or adult!) friendly, so this time around we found a quartz that looks just like marble (I thought I would be able to tell instantly, and I really thought it was marble), but is much more durable.
What is your favorite room(s) in your house and why?
My favorite room in our home is the living room – the ceilings are really high, we have a ton of great natural light, and there is a loft (which we turned into a playroom) overlooking the entire room. We recently redid our fireplace, and it was one of my favorite projects yet – we’ve been using it almost every night, and it just feels so cozy.
How would you describe your style?
I would say it’s contemporary, eclectic and a bit traditional (in other words, I’m not quite sure haha!). I like a comfortable, but stylish space…and I want anyone who comes to my home to feel comfy in any room!
As fashion bloggers, you are obviously very in tune with your personal style, how does your fashion style influence your home design and vice versa?
I think my personal style and my design style are similar – I like simple pieces, nothing too overdone, and comfort is key!
What are your favorite trends in home design right now and have you incorporated any of them into your own home? If you haven’t, do you plan to?
Brass – I know this one isn’t exactly the newest trend, but I love it and will be incorporating it into our kitchen design (oversized brass cone pendants above the island + brass hardware), and mixed metals. I know mixing metals scares a lot of people, but I promise, it’s great!
Your fashion sense is all about a combination of splurges and steals. What do you splurge on for your home and what do you try and save money on?
Yes, I love combining high & low items in my wardrobe as well as my home. I splurge on big pieces like furniture (sofas, beds, etc) and special pieces (vintage rugs), but save on accessories and smaller furniture items like side tables, and dining chairs (I purchased my dining chairs 3 years ago from Overstock and they are still in great shape).
What is your favorite detail in your home?
The wallpaper we just put in our master bedroom has to be my favorite detail at the moment. Our home is full of exposed beams, and the wallpaper adds such a softer feel to our bedroom.
GET BROOKE’S LOOK IN YOUR OWN HOME
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Gorgeous tour, thanks for sharing! And now I have another must-read blog to add to my list.