I starting following Myquillyn Smith (aka The Nester) on social media several years ago after reading her first book The Nesting Place. What I love about Myquillyn is that it’s not about having the perfect space or the perfect items or spending a ton of money, it’s really about making the best design decisions you can with what you have or what you can get your hands on. I wouldn’t go out of my way to say that I super enjoy or am even a little bit good at interior design (hello decision fatigue), but I do know what I prefer design-wise and I do like to feel proud of our home when we have people over. Which is why I’m here and I’m talking about it.

We live in a smaller ranch-style house that will not be our forever home, if I have anything to say about it. But it is perfect for our little family right now. If I’m being honest, I’ve been putting a project like this off in hopes that someone else can make it their own and we can move into something different that will require a little less… love. I think that is a little while off still at this point and I’ve realized that I don’t want to end up doing a ton of work right before we move for us to not get to enjoy it. What I’m hoping to tackle (with the help of a few friends and Myquillyn’s Cozy Minimalist Community on Facebook) is our living room/kitchen/dining space. The steps below are a series of steps that The Nester recommends you go through to help make sure there is a level of cohesiveness and that you’re making decisions in a way that put some of the bigger picture and ticket items first. I don’t think it’s the only way to do it, but I do think it will be fun to follow along and have seen a lot of other non-interior designer folks figure it out using the same method.

Step 1. Intention

The first step is to decide on a purpose of the room and create a dedicated pinboard. My goal is for the room to feel cozy, minimal, simple. This is a big portion of our living space and the only place we really have guests, so it needs to feel inviting and warm. You can see my Pinterest Board here but I also went ahead and pulled out my top favorites to put in a little college. I’m not married to these colors specifically, but it’s the vibe and the softness that I’m a fan of. Our living room/dining room/kitchen all very much flow together and I think part of what has prevented me from updating or changing this space is the daunting amount of work that I know it’s going to entail. In addition to the two cans of paint the walls will take, I also really want (and need!) to paint the trim which leads to me painting the kitchen cabinets since right now they are all the same shade of off-white. I’m a very clean lines and bright colors person so it very much screams dirty to me. Which is probably also is, but I digress.

Below is a more curated vision board of the furnishings I plan to use. I’ve been eyeballing that rug and *may* have already purchased the curtains before I fully had a grasp on The Nester’s recommended order of doing things. Oops!

Step 2. Quiet / Arrange

Next, we are to quiet the room by removing as much as possible (wall hangings, decor, rugs, etc). Then it’s time to arrange seating, surfaces, and storage pieces. Myquillyn normally recommends that each seat have a place to put a drink. I hope folks have long arms because I don’t see that happening in this space in this season of life. Having a toddler makes me want to hold off on the coffee table goodness for the time being and we plan to keep all the furniture we are currently using (with the exception of exchanging out the table the TV is currently on). It’s taken us a few years but I feel really good about how it’s all situated.

Step 3. Focus on the Trinity

The trinity is comprised of rugs, drapes, and lighting and this step is all about making sure we have the right number of these items as well as size, length, and temperature/visibility respectively. I haven’t quite gotten to this point in thinking about how this will turn out, but it would be a dream to change out one or two of our light fixtures – of the five in this space we have black, brown/bronze, nickel and then a more true silver. And there’s a ceiling fan in our kitchen.

As I mentioned above, I do already have our drapes. Since we’re already to this step, I’m working on a long (ideally 12 foot) curtain rod to replace the one we have. I’m hoping for black and something a little more sleek. They will be hung as high and as wide as possible. The curtains are a bit more sheer than I’d like, so i’m also trying to figure out the best way to back them before they are hung.

Step 4. Walls

The fourth step is to incorporate wall treatments, wall art, and wall sabbaths. This is also the point in which paint color should be considered. Even though I’m not quite to this step, I have a few options already in mind. I’ll make the final decision once drapes and rug are in place.

I mentioned above that I’m going to paint the trim and cabinets as well, so we’re about to have a really fun time. Here are the colors I’m considering from left to right: Snowbound (trim and upper cabinets), Basalt Powder (wall paint), Green Pasture (lower cabinets), and Urbane Bronze (accent wall).

Step 5. Accessories

The final step is to style vignettes, surfaces and shelves using Myquillyn’s vignette formulas. Then it’s time for pillows, throws, and plants. I don’t anticipate having a whole lot of accessories (toddler + two dogs) but I will hang something on the wall behind the couch for sure.

There you have it! I’m super excited to keep this project moving and can’t wait to come back with an update in a few months.