design

Home Office Inspiration

When we first moved into our Indy home in August, we’d originally thought my home office and craft space would be in the front room as you walk into the house. We had anticipated me staying at home with Sophie and needing to have her near while I worked. I’d envisioned a space that was light and airy with all of my craft supplies hidden behind white storage. I dreamed of having a mini desk for Sophie with easy access to her craft supplies. I would craft, photograph and write in that room while she would happily do arts & crafts beside me. I was so young and naive.

We’ve since decided that Sophie needs more than just me to learn, socialize and thrive. She’s attending a Montessori school a block away giving both of us the time we need to thrive. I thought it selfish to take up that large room on the main floor and decided I’d enjoy a more confined space for my mess. Taking the extra upstairs bedroom was exactly what I needed to feel like I belonged. I had my own space with my own stuff that I could decorate however I wanted. Although I make the majority of the design choices in our home, I know that painting pink on the wall would be shut down by my husband in any other room of the house. Which brings me to where I’m at today.

I wish I would have shared the design, building and decorating stages of our previous house but realize it’s not too late for me to share our progress on this house. I’ve got an entire office + craft room Pinterest board dedicated to designing my work space. I noticed that I was torn between having a ton of bright, happy, busy colors or simply white. When looking at the board as a whole I realized I was most drawn to the crisp feel the well organized white rooms possessed.

Home Office InspirationHome Office Inspiration

Home Office Inspiration

Home Office Inspiration

Home Office Inspiration

Swoon, right?? Here was my space when we bought this home:

Office Before

Yes, I had the white walls but it was a dingy white that had teeth and claw marks everywhere indicating they kept their dogs locked in here while they were away. It smelled like dog and was incredibly dark, despite the white walls.

Here are a couple sneak peeks of what my home office space currently looks like:

Peg Board Workspace

White Office Inspiration

White walls, check. White desk and chair, check. Pegboard, check. My work space is slowly evolving into the images I see in my head when I imagine my perfect studio. I’ll be back with the reveal once I’ve finished (and likely another to show my organization of making one room work as an office and craft studio).

What’s your work space style? Do you have a space that’s completely dedicated to you? A corner of the room with a DIY desk, your own room or even your own off site studio? Do you like having tons of inspiration up on the walls and your supplies at easy reach or do you focus better with a clean slate? I’m a bit of both as you’ll see in my office reveal.

workspace inspiration sources: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4

Design Brings Joy

People ask me where my craftiness comes from all the time. It’s my second most asked question after the age of my daughter, Sophie. I am not only lucky to have creative parents but am surrounded by inspirational friends and family. It’s astounding how creative actually. I specifically wanted to introduce you to my cousins Ian and Edana today because they’ve started a design company called Mustardstrip LLC as they’re entering their 30s. Not only are they an inspiration for new entrepreneurs but their requirement for design bringing joy is sensational. I’ll let Edana share their passion.
Mustardstripe LLC
Mustardstripe was surprisingly not a planned venture and stemmed from me (Edana) seeking a creative outlet outside of my 9-to-5 Fashion Design job. I didn’t really know where to start, and to be honest, I got really lucky by finding some really great graphic design gigs online that served as a temporary outlet for me to explore and test my talents and design something other than clothes.
The extra cash flow was also nice because I had gotten engaged in the meantime and we all know weddings aren’t cheap.
Mustard Stripe Graphic Design
Mustard Stripe
From there, my gigs took a back seat and I used the wedding planning process as my creative source. I found myself creating and designing every detail of our big day and sharing sneak peeks on social media. Fast forward a few short weeks, I had multiple friends and family approaching me to create custom pieces for their personal events, organizations and businesses. Consequently, I knew I was onto something and decided to make Mustardstripe official with the help of my fiancee, now husband, Ian. He was the business and marketing brain child who not only encouraged me to seek my passions in a professional manor, but he also helped me figure out the financial and business aspects behind it. From there, Mustardstripe LLC was born and has quickly become more than just a business to me… it’s evolved into a passion.
Mustard Stripe
Mustard Stripe
Mustard Stripe
I love building and supporting brands and personal projects that encapsulate the human experience via
art and design. It is extremely fulfilling to create something that connects people through self-expression, visual identity and custom designs. Plus, my job is never the same from day-to-day or client-to-client, which is pretty sensational.
 Mustard Stripe
Mustard Stripe
Looking back, I think this business was always meant to transpire, whether it was planned or unplanned. When my dad passed away a few years ago, I couldn’t bear the thought of choosing between the painfully ugly memorial cards that the funeral home was offering. The designer in me wasn’t about to damper his memory and spirit with a tacky dove flying out of some clouds. Instead, I opted to design custom memorial cards and thank you’s that reflected him, his personality and our family. Not only did it do that, but it welcomed a lot of smiles and funny stories into the otherwise dreary room. To this day, I still have people reference those cards and tell me I should make a business out of them and I’d say I am on the right track. Making people and their businesses feel fulfilled and bright is the whole reason I am doing what I am doing.
Mustard Stripe
Mustard Stripe
 Now do you see why I’m creative? I have great inspiration all around me! If you want your branding, wedding or memorial cards to be something special to you and your family, send a message to Edana and Ian. They’re good people. You won’t regret it.

Running Through the Fields

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Hello and happy Memorial Day! I had an awesome weekend spending lots of time with family and getting a pretty rad track burn at the Indy 500. We also spent Saturday morning running through the fields at a park. Saturday was definitely a ‘I wish I could freeze time’ moment because of the cotton candy clouds, bright blue sky, butterflies fluttering in the wind and my daughter’s laughter as she chased them around the park.
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Today is another picture perfect day but I’m not playing outside with my family because I’m doing a re-design for this blog! Bear with me if things seem fishy. I hope to get this redesign done today so tomorrow I will be celebrating with some sprinkler fun!

PS. Still working on the site this week but I’d love to know what you think! I’ll be doing a full post on how I did the re-design but if you’re interested, I used an Angie Makes theme called Jasmine.

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