Wednesday Five - 3

The past week has been a lot of fun over here. There have been beach trips, lots of pool time, sprinkler parties, gardening (aka stepping on things that I planted) and so. many. hot dogs. We've continued to share some photos on Facebook and Instagram from a (nearly completed) family room project we recently installed, make sure you catch those. And we're secretly (not anymore) binging on the Jersey Shore Family Vacation. Okay, "we" is really just "me" and me is Leah. It's always Leah writing these blog posts by the way...just in case you were wondering.

Below is the built-in from the family room. We just love the way it turned out. Modern, clean. Lots of room for plants. 

1. If you follow along on Instagram, you may have noticed that we've been trying to step up our Instastory game. So, when I went strawberry picking with my minis last week, I shared my plan on what to do with all those teeny tiny strawberries. My plan, which is always my plan when it comes to baking, was finding a recipe from Joy The Baker. If you haven't yet discovered Joy, you're in for a treat. Literally and figuratively. She's witty and smart and a fantastic baker. I'm no pro baker, though I love to do it, and I find her recipes to be totally approachable, but a little extra special than the standards. Her books (this, this and this) are serious eye candy (and great kitchen decor!).

I went with the strawberry pie bars (Instastory pics below). Crazy delicious.

2. With summer officially starting, it's time to dive into your summer reading list. If you don't have a summer reading list, I'm here to help. I've been recommended two "beach reads" (aka low brow page turners): 1) When Life Gives You LuluLemons, the youthful cousin of The Devil Wears Prada, and 2) The Selection, a five part series which my friend described as "The Bachelor meets the Hunger Games". Pure gold. For slightly more high brow recommendations, I was sold on NPR's 2018 summer read list when hearing each book described over the radio. There are a couple detective thrillers and even a great book for the kiddos.

3. I made a quick trip to World Market this week, primarily for a client project, but of course I grabbed a few things for myself and I want to share my finds! First, I bought two packs of white buffet napkins (they come in sets of 6). Not an exciting purchase, but a versatile one. I recently got rid of all my white cloth napkins. They were super old and super stained and ready for napkin heaven. These fresh beauties will get great use for the holidays this year. But, also, white, linen napkins are fantastic dining room decor. Rolled up in a basket or tied up with some twine (like in image below), they're so pretty. 

Image source

4. My second purchase from World Market was an outdoor accent table (below). If, like me, you stalled on making some outdoor furniture purchases back in May, there's good news - what's left in stock (and there's not a ton) is on serious sale. 

5. Most of our Instagram feed is full of home design inspiration. No shock there. But we also sprinkle in some other fun accounts, one being Tada Style. Tara, the crazy talented makeup/hair styling guru behind Tada Style, presents some transformations of everyday peeps, gorgeous photo shoots, makeup and hair tips, and (our favorite) product recommendation. She recently recommended a makeup remover that I bought, I use and I'm obsessed with - S.W. Basics Makeup Remover. It removes everything, it moistures my skin, it has 3 real (aka non-chemical) ingredients. 

We're a week away from the 4th of July. Slow down summer! Please. 

Have a fantastic day!

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Wednesday Five - 2

Hi There. It's Wednesday again! That came quick, didn't it?

Around here, we're wrapping up the school year with lots of concerts, picnics and parties. It's been an action packed couple weeks on the home front. We've already consumed our annual limit of hot dogs. Limits are meant to be exceeded, no? AND, we decided to squeeze in an install for a family room we've been working on since January. Our client's kiddos are also finishing up the school year and we wanted to make sure their new space was ready for summer fun.

It's technically not 100% complete because we're missing a gallery wall and window treatments. So, we'll get you truly finished photos later in the summer. Here's a quick look before we dive into the Wednesday Five.

Make sure to follow us on Facebook or Instagram for lots more photos (until we get around to a blog post!). 

1. How often do you wash your dish towels? Or...let's back up. Do you say dish towels or kitchen towels? I guess I spoiled my answer. Well, turns out you should be washing your dish/kitchen towels EVERY. DAMN. DAY. Thanks Better Homes & Gardens for this article, which sent me into a momentary spiral of all the other things that I should be cleaning for more frequently than I do. 

2. I'm having a kimono moment. I keep seeing all these beautiful open front, cardigan style, floral kimonos and I want one. It's not at all my style. But it's calling me. I can't decide whether I get the one I want (this one) or the budget-friendly option (this one) because I'm probably never going to wear it either way. 

3. We're working on two new projects that both require some temporary art. Personal, meaningful art is the goal, but that's not always possible. You might own an 8x10 piece and the space requires a 20x24 piece. Or what you own isn't room appropriate - the old fruit-bowl-painting-over-the-toilet problem. In these situations we recommend going a budget-friendly, universally appealing route. For this, we've searched high and low and consistently come back to Etsy. We used some beautiful prints from South Pacific (an Etsy shop) for our Homestead living room project. Do you have any favorite Etsy shops where you print shop?

4. Plants are a huge part of our styling. And so, we're always keeping our eyes out for beautiful and interesting planters. We discovered this cutie (below) from World Market and it was love at first sight.

5. Domino had a great article this week on some basic Dos and Donts for decorating your home. For example, DO take scale into account. We think this is fundamental to creating a room that feels comfortable and polished. It also isn't always instinctive and takes some consideration. There are a bunch of gems like this. All with great visual examples, and lots of deep links to checklists and more detailed resources. 

Have a great rest of your week!

- Leah

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Wednesday Five - 1st Edition

Here we are with our first Wednesday Five! It's very exciting.

But first, a quick note, we will be revealing more from our Pearl Street Project (the dining room) and Pilgrim Project (the mudroom) on our Facebook and Instagram accounts over the next week or so. We will eventually get you a full bog post with details, but we don't want to keep those "after" photos hidden any longer!

Ok. Here we go...

1. Why is interior design so important? We instinctively know it is, but why? We started Gray Oak Studio based on personal passion for decorating our own homes and helping friends do the same. But, creating a beautiful space is actually only part of why we love our job SO much. We recently read an article from Tara Lenney Designs that captured the other part really, really well. It's a great read for anyone interested in making their own home beautiful, whether you're a DIYer or getting ready to hire interior designers.

2. I (Leah) went bathing suit shopping and shopping...and shopping over the past couple weeks in excitement and fearful anticipation of the approaching warm weather. After having my 3rd baby in January, I've officially graduated to one pieces (it's long overdue, but better late then never...). I found a small handful of winners and scored my favorite (below) for $25 with a promo code. It is super slimming (fully lined with cups) and classic, but not boring. I just need a big floppy hat to wear with it and I'm golden.

I also grabbed this one.

3. If you're not on the podcast train, it's time. There is so much amazing content out there. We're huge Young House Love Has A Podcast fans and look forward to Mondays thanks to their weekly episodes. Sherry and John Petersik are DIYers at their core, but they're also kids of the 80s, parents of 2 young kids, Real Housewife fans...

4. We love letter boards (like everyone). They're a dash of humor. They're personalizable (...not a word). They're budget friendly. We recently found an sweet, small biz that makes beautiful letter boards along with a bunch of other beautiful things - Letterfolk. I recently purchased some journals and I love them.

From our Pilgrim PRoject 

5. Swedish Death Cleaning. This is a thing. And, at the moment, a very popular thing. It seems to be an extension of the Minimalist movement, the Marie Condo method and Hygge. All of these similar ways to reduce the amount of stuff we bring into our lives. Anything that gives concrete methods for reducing the material thing clutter and focusing on the special people moments is exactly where we want to be. So, we plan to read up and get to the bottom of this slightly brutal new trend, we'll keep you posted.

Until next Wednesday (or sooner!)

- Leah, Sonia & Michele

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