Work in Progress: Creating Our Bohemian Abode on A Budget
Hi wanderful friends!
As most of you know Ben and I moved into our new house in Nashville at the end of 2016. The story of finding this little home was kind of wild. Ben was out on tour, I was in New Orleans finishing writing my book that's coming this fall and between all of that we each had a limited window of time to actually be in Nashville to find our new home.
Our realtor was a dream. Juliana, referred to us by a musician friend of Bens, totally understood our lives. She went above and beyond, doing house tours with us over FaceTime, riding on the back of her husband's motorcycle while filming the whole neighborhood to show us the area, and making sure we'd find a place with enough space for Ben to have a music studio, me to have a quiet writing space, plus a yard for a garden and a porch for dining al fresco.
We wanted a place that was a bit remote, so we could feel that we were checking out a bit when we're home. Not an easy feat, however, she pulled it off.
So many of you have sent sweet emails as well as notes through instagram (I've shared quite a bit of our space on my stories) - and quite a few of you have asked for a little tour of our home. Honestly, I'm not intending to share that until later this summer - we're having the house photographed then, and we have SO much to do to truly feel like it's finished (is it ever really though?!).
HOWEVER! I decided this week that I'd go ahead and share what we've done so far! This is a serious work in progress.
Full disclosure (that means no judging me!): all of these photos were snapped on my iPhone, and like I said, we still have so much to do!
I'm sharing 3 rooms here. Our bathroom is about to undergo a serious renovation and the music room is Ben's man cave (i.e. it's literally covered in music gear and you don't want to see it yet I promise)!
I've got notes about ways to create each space on a budget, what we've done so far and what's remaining. I've also included links to items that will help you create a similar vibe for each room if you're interested (and for the most part I've sourced things that are truly budget friendly)!
Room 1: The Gathering Room
In a normal setting this would be the dining room. The reality for us is that there's just two of us and when we have friends over for meals it's more about throwing cushions on the floor, gathering around the farm table, with lots of music playing from either the record player or the upright piano and guitars.
What we've done: Ben had so many music posters from his tours, and I've got trinkets from travels so this room felt like the perfect place to combine our passions. On the left side of the room is an area for hanging out, including Ben's upright piano with memorabilia from shows and travels.
On the right side is our dining area. We found a farm table at a local antique mall and loaded up the shelf on the right with the cameras we both collect.
What we need to do: We still need to complete this space with window treatments and we're committed to updating further with a comfy and chic sofa that friends can truly all pile in on. We're adding plants to every room on the regular too, it's a cheap way to warm a space up and is good for you too!
Of course, we had to include little touches of New Orleans throughout our home. In the hallway leading into the kitchen I've framed a few of my photos and included this map of New Orleans. The print is on museum-quality matte paper, and the company has so many location options!
I personally have a serious map obsession, I've got vintage maps that will be going in our living room and old atlases piled there too.
The designers at Modern Map Art clearly have that same obsession.
Budget tip: I still need to have this print framed (I have soooooo much framing to do) however, in the meantime I've used these little skeleton binder clips to hang mine. I've done that in several rooms where I've got art that hasn't yet been framed.
Shop this room:
Room 2: The Meditation Room (i.e. our Bedroom!)
Ben and I agreed that we wanted our bedroom to feel serene and dreamy. (Well maybe I used those words however, he agreed with the idea!). We also wanted it to feel worldly and needed a bit of extra space for my wardrobe. We're lucky to have lots of real estate in this room. We LOVE the fireplaces we have throughout this house and often I turn this room into my own little meditation sanctuary too.
What we've done: The walls are filled with hats we've each collected, an old clothing rolling rack from my wardrobe styling days works as extra closet space and I decided to invest about $500 for pillows for this room and the living room and am so glad that I did!
What we need to do: This is another room where the windows need some love, and I truly hung this gallery wall in about 5 minutes. We've got photographs we've taken on our travels that need to be framed and hung with a bit more intention than my first go at it! To further the sanctuary vibes theres some touches that need to be expanded on too.
Budget tip: If you don't have a headboard (which we didn't have when I snapped these photos): pile on the pillows. We've got 8 pillows that live on this bed (and you can get them for much less than what I spent), with the largest in the back acting as a pseudo-headboard.
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Room 3: The Living Room
This room is truly my favorite! Most of the furniture was sourced at local antique shops, and much of the art came from my home in New Orleans.
What we've done: Loads of antique-ing! I love the idea of super modern art paired with antique-y finds. The green velvet couch was less than $1000 at a local antique mall. The Bill Murray (which we get asked about all the time!) is from Baton Rouge artist TJ Black.
What we need to do: We still need to hang drapes in this room too, there's actually a large window facing our porch that's not pictured that needs some love, and we're on the hunt for a larger coffee table and better end tables. In the meantime however, it's truly a space that makes me smile everyday.
Budget tip: The bar cart is actually a Costa Rican flower cart, and we found it for just at $100, it's something you could DIY to get a similar look!
Shop the room:
I hope you guys have enjoyed this little tour! I promise to share the "real" photos once we finish everything. I love having a space that combines my interests and Ben's. I also wanted our home to feel livable and inviting. I feel like we're well on the way to accomplishing that!
Have a beautiful weekend!
Wanderfully yours,
Andi
