STYLING YOUR HOME
like making your bed

INTERIORS + DECOR

Welcome, my friend. The Idea Book is a blog about wellness within the home - a place where I can share my homebody stories and the ways I find comfort in my days. I’m so glad you’re here.


“All I really want to do is talk about how to make the house a home, the living room the epitome of comfort, and the kitchen cozy and practical. …and maybe some life lessons as a mother to three homebodies.”

MY FAVORITE THINGS

Looking for a deeper connection? Follow along for a more casual and behind the scenes glimpse into my home, products I love to buy and share, and lots of design tips.


Rug Rules for the Home
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Rug Rules for the Home

Rugs are a powerful tool in interior design, offering you both a visual appeal and functional benefits. Whether you're aiming to ground a space with neutral tones or make a bold statement, rugs can, no doubt, effortlessly transform a room. A neutral rug, with its subtle texture, can add warmth and cohesion, creating a serene and inviting atmosphere. On the other hand, a vibrant, patterned rug can bring personality and energy to a space, serving as a focal point in the room.

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Styling Your Home - it’s like making your bed
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Styling Your Home - it’s like making your bed

Styling a home is a lot like making a bed. It might sound simple, but there’s an art to it that involves carefully layering elements to create a space that feels both cohesive and inviting. Much like how you make your bed each morning, the process of styling your home involves building from the ground up, using layers to add depth and personality. Here’s how you can apply the concept of layering—just like you do with a bed—to your home decor.

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Heirloom Quality Brands I’ve Been Collecting From
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Heirloom Quality Brands I’ve Been Collecting From

I have always been big on quality over the quick-win take homes, and I’m a fan of functional pieces over

just for looks

. This goes for marketplace/ antique or the newly purchased finds.



I grew up in a family that curated antiques from yard sales and sold them from the town’s little antique shop. This might mean my kitchen island was a former flat file drawer or the step stool for my kiddos to reach the sink was a metal utility stool. As my home’s style has evolved through age and life’s seasons, I’ve realized that I enjoy mixing modern-day pieces with my vintage discoveries. There’s a balance, an ebb and flow even when you combine the two that brings me great joy and adds a certain level of charm to our spaces.

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Unexpected Red | it’s not new
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Unexpected Red | it’s not new

The unexpected red theory has been flooding social media this season in the home decor world, but this isn’t a new concept. The attention-grabbing theory has been used from Claude Monet’s Poppy Fields, Marilyn Monroe’s red lipstick, to Jackie Kennedy’s iconic red jacket. More literally, it’s used for stop signs, traffic lights, and LED-lit exit signs in commercial spaces. Pops of red grab your attention and ignite you to react, whether it’s keeping you from driving into traffic or a double-take of something visually interesting or attractive.

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BTS | where I call home

BTS | where I call home

Many of you know that I recently moved! It’s been an adventurous year so far. I have a deep love for old homes and a family in the industry of home construction and design. My plan was to marry those two concepts together and build a home to look old. That plan was disrupted when the epitome of a 1940s cottage found its way onto the market and in front of my eyes.

Within 7 minutes (literally) of seeing this listing go live, I was in my car flagging a random real estate agent down in the street - in the rain. An offer was made on the spot, along with several competing offers. The stars aligned in the way they tend to do when something just feels right, and within six short crazy weeks, I sold my old house, closed on the new house, and moved in.

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Savvy Thrifting Tips & Things to Search For
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Savvy Thrifting Tips & Things to Search For

I grew up in a 1911-era home with a family who, still, loves antiques. My grandparents collected locally and traveled up and down the East Coast to fill their antique shop. So, the love for the curated is infused in me. However, there’s a big misconception between antique collecting and thrifting. They both surely have a place.

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March | taking risks with your space
INTERIORS + DECOR, MONTHLY MUSINGS Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR, MONTHLY MUSINGS Hope Johnson

March | taking risks with your space

I tried pretty diligently to make a joke about March Madness and tie that into this month’s theme. It didn’t feel quite right. Those who know me well know there are just a few sports I keep up with. Anyway, the nod to “madness” is an attempt to break the rules, use the wild card, and take risks with your space! I’m sharing some of my favorite spaces below that do this well. We’re talking quirky, in the most beautiful way - POPS of color, unconventional use of space, and fun things in between!

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New Colors: bricks, blues, and brass
MONTHLY MUSINGS, INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson MONTHLY MUSINGS, INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

New Colors: bricks, blues, and brass

The thrill is real about the new color options for the top five favorites. What I love most about all things design is the balance and blend of opposing subjects. Maybe it’s the mix of modern and vintage or the mix of clean lines paired with touches of maximalism. The wallpaper and textile line was designed with that blend in mind. It’s no secret that there’s a common thread of florals across the options of repeating motifs. To balance the dainty femininity of those florals, you’ll find a warm and moody color palette to compensate.

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January | recap and a new year’s welcome
INTERIORS + DECOR, MONTHLY MUSINGS Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR, MONTHLY MUSINGS Hope Johnson

January | recap and a new year’s welcome

It brings me great joy to welcome 2024 to the calendar. My hope for this year is that we continue to connect here, through my monthly musings, or on the grid on instagram. Those are the places you’ll find me most. I went on a personal deep dive last month and hinted around about all what’s to come for this year. I cannot wait to watch the months unfold to what will hopefully be a beautiful trip around the sun.

byHopeatHome will focus on designer spotlights, art for art’s sake, product launches, and of course wallpaper and textiles. Cheers to 2024, my friend! Let’s recap last year and welcome the new one!

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Five Types of Lighting: and why you need them all
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Five Types of Lighting: and why you need them all

The love for the home has me writing about lighting today, which seems relevant as we will soon say goodbye to those long summer days of late evening sunshine (for those who still practice daylight savings time).

Lighting is most often an overlooked detail. For those who have the opportunity to build from scratch, a common mistake with lighting is that it is often dealt with after the fact or not viewed in sync with the entire room. Industry speaks to certain varieties of light that are typically needed in a space. Lighting should be viewed as “layers” in a space and should be found at different heights of the room, from the ceiling to sitting or below sitting level.

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Holiday Gift Guide - 2023
INTERIORS + DECOR, LIFESTYLE Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR, LIFESTYLE Hope Johnson

Holiday Gift Guide - 2023

‘Tis the season - the season of gifting. …or it’s coming up on us pretty quickly. Fairly regularly, I go through these (what some may consider manic) clean-out sessions. You know, the ones where you walk in your laundry room to put something back in its place, then realize the laundry room needs an overhaul? Yea, that happens a lot. But, I’ve noticed through the years the amount of time it takes to tackle those clean-outs are less and less.

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Plaid Prosperity
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Plaid Prosperity

If you know me, you know the wallpaper and textile line is floral friendly. Because florals never get old and no one will convince me otherwise. Pattern Play & Mixing Prints is a great article read if you’re looking to layer up patterns with florals. Today, I want to talk specifically about plaid. Last year, I had on my Christmas list “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Tartan.” Yes. My family questioned me, but yes.

Plaids, stripes, and geometric prints are especially important to balancing out heavier visual patterns. From the byHope line of wallpapers, the Painterly Gingham is one of the top sellers, AAANND if you’ve made it to this second paragraph, you’ll be the first to read that new color options are coming for this print.

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Debut Textile Collection // a labor of love
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Debut Textile Collection // a labor of love

When wallpaper was launched a few years ago, I knew textiles would eventually follow suit. Up until now, I’ve licensed my fabric, more novelty collections, with both Cotton + Steel and Hawthorne Fabrics. This work is geared more towards the quilter’s world of quilting cotton. As the wallpaper lead me more and more into the world of the home, I knew upholstery textiles were going to find a place in my heart and line of work. It seemed like the natural next step, and I’m so thankful to have a community of homebodies following along and supporting this journey.

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Upholstery 101
INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson INTERIORS + DECOR Hope Johnson

Upholstery 101

So you’ve got a project on your hands. Maybe you picked up an epic marketplace find of a chair that needs recovering. Perhaps you’re thinking those windows of yours need some custom drapes. Your next question might be “how much fabric will I need for this?

While we highly recommend consulting a professional, particularly the one that might be threading the needle for this project, we’ve got some go-to guidelines below to give you an idea of the amount of fabric yardage to estimate based on the project.

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