2025
Color of the Year
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.
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.
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!
Color of the Year …but different
If you gave anyone who knows me a blank piece of paper and prompted that person to write 100 words about me, trendy will not be one of them. I’ve never been one to dress or style based on what’s trendy. I go for comfort - in both my apparel and home. Nonetheless, I coincidentally find trends that I do love …regardless of its popularity or maybe loved it before the internet loved it. Warm color palettes are always going to be where my eyes gravitate. Although, Peach Fuzz, the 2024 color of the year might land in the pastels, it’s really in the orange category and part of the warm palette family (IMO).
February | affection for the home in between seasons
Maybe it’s that weird time between the holidays and spring or, you’re between a house move. We’re diving in to how we can show affection and love our homes in between seasons. That limbo stage can feel uneasy but these five tips below are what have gotten be out of a homebody creative funk.
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.
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!
December | endings & beginnings
As I wrap up this year, a year that felt like it had 72 months in it, I’m reflecting on so much I want to open up about with you. You’ve got your friends that knock on your front door for a visit, right? Then you’ve got your friends who park as far into your driveway as possible. That friend (dressed in joggers and not even the cute kind) comes to the back door, walks right in and proceeds to make their own coffee with a cup they keep at your place just for these visits.
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.
November | taking stock (with the word ‘and’)
October, November, and December are like the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the year. I read that somewhere recently and boy is that true. If you celebrate Thanksgiving this month, I hope part of your year’s “weekend” was or is going to be nothing short of joyful.
This time of year, I like to take tangible notes of things I’m thankful for. But ya know what, sometimes, that task is a frustrating one, because I have a list of things I didn’t accomplish this year too. There are circumstances I wish I could change that I can’t, and there’s a timeline for my goals I’ve set that isn’t really getting along with the timeline that is in fact reality.
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.
October | the art of blend
When it come to the home, the art of
old meets new
is where my heart seems to rest easy. It’s the combination of thrifted finds sprinkled on a sleek modern bookcase. It’s the vintage rug under a MCM table. It’s the modern lighting over the kitchen island with the antique hardware on the cabinets. And it’s even the mesh between peaceful mornings before the rest of the world wakes and the chaos of getting three kiddos out the door and to school on time.
I’m sharing three favorite accounts of those who are nailing the art of old meets new.
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.
September | coffee table books + convos
I not-so-gracefully whine about these Louisiana temps often, I know. But regardless of where they are, I’m itching for autumn now that it’s September. Have I worn sandals to Christmas dinner before? Yes. But I’m still here wanting to warm up my home with cozy blankets and color palettes.
August | a head start
This month’s theme is focused on prepping for what’s left of the year. It’s August, and before we know it, we’ll be ringing in 2024. The last 1.66 quarter of the year planning, if you will. A weird title for something - the last 1.66 quarter of the year. But by the time we get to the actual last quarter of the year, we’re in holiday mode and at least for my family, it’s mass chaos of school functions, holidays and everything in between until you get to the new year!
June | Summer Feelings
This month’s theme is around our approach to the summer - Summer Feelings.
Working from home requires a lot of the same thought processes of simply being at home. To avoid the stir-crazy that often exists working from the home studio most days, I ask myself “how do I want to feel today?” Is it productive? Is it excited? …rested, fueled, energized, playful, organized, adventurous?
May | April Showers + May Flowers
This month’s theme is around the idea and expression of April Flowers bringing May Flowers. To give you another one, patience is a virtue, right? …one I do not have intuitively. Waiting for those warmer spring temperatures so I can release the chill of the winter months, waiting for that big release date, waiting for that callback, the positive test result, or that negative test result …waiting for the flowers to bloom. It requires a set of skills that my heart trusts and my brain debates.
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.
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.
Pattern Pairing // textiles and wallpaper
I’ve heard it plenty: “I wallpapered one small room, now I’m hooked on pattern.” If you know, you know. Once you venture into the world of pattern-pairing, the concept is far less intimidating and feels more like a fun exploration of play and style.
As the wallpaper collection was developed, and then later the textile collection, there was a tremendous focus on a common thread of color throughout all the pieces. This intentional decision allowed multiple patterns to compliment each other without competing - color being the factor that tied them all together.
