Creating Spaces: Onyx Tropics - Part 1

I love creating amazing spaces. Being a designer, I have a strong attachment and appreciation for beautifully designed things. So it’s an absolute dream for me to wake up everyday to the warmth and beauty of a well designed space. Over the next few blog posts I’ll be taking you through some of my favorite parts of the house and how those came to be!

DECORATING STYLE

I personally love the color black. It’s clean, modern, and when you have 5 minutes to get dressed in the morning, it matches everything!! 75% of my clothes, my kitchen cabinets, and my car are all black. I would probably make EVERYTHING black if I could. But too much darkness in the home can make it feel a black hole sucking you into the abyss. On the other side of the spectrum, having too much color is amazing in the short term, but can get old really fast. It’s also much harder to redecorate and in the end, you’ll have to spend more money. Here are some quick decorating tips to get the best bang for your buck!

MY HOME

Who doesn’t love going on vacation to a luxuriously warm tropical location? Wanting to extend that feeling everyday plus including my love of black, I turned my home in a “modern and luxurious” take on the tropics. Say hello to what I like to call ONYX TROPICS.

First up, is the most important-ish place in the house. THE COFFEE BAR. It’s not very well stocked and the Keurig is ALWAYS out of water. My only grievance about creating such a nice space for my coffee is that after about 2 days it looks like a flaming disaster. And when it is in everyday use, we have to hide all of the ceramic items since my two kids love anarchy and breaking things. But other than that, I LOVE THIS SPACE! Take a peak and let me know what you think!

Not gonna lie, the charcoal wall was a major pain in the ass to paint. I picked eggshell at first and it showed EVERY SINGLE DENT in the wall. I also had to paint it 3 times to cover all of the white underneath. And then when I got fed up 2 days lat… — Not gonna lie, the charcoal wall was a major pain in the ass to paint. I picked eggshell at first and it showed EVERY SINGLE DENT in the wall. I also had to paint it 3 times to cover all of the white underneath. And then when I got fed up 2 days later from seeing my crappy paint job, I went and repainted it 3 more times with matte hoping to hide the flaws. While it came out BETTER, I can still see a lot of the paint roller marks. But whatever. I painted that sh*t 6 times. I AIN’T PAINTING IT NO MORE.

I bought this 7 years ago when I was really into bright turquoise. It was SO GLOSSY and just fake and cheap looking. So I spray painted it a brushed gold to have a higher end look! I’m extremely impatient, so I killed my back in one day taking it ap… — I bought this 7 years ago when I was really into bright turquoise. It was SO GLOSSY and just fake and cheap looking. So I spray painted it a brushed gold to have a higher end look! I’m extremely impatient, so I killed my back in one day taking it apart, cleaning, sanding, masking, spray painting 2 coats + a protective gloss coating. Afterwards I DMed Keurig telling them they need to make me a gold coffee maker because I fear one day this will break and I’m gonna have to do it all over again.

2 days later and we have the kid’s puzzles, books, empty lego boxes and rubber ducks running amok in my previously tidy, well designed space. But honestly, thats okay if it’s not perfect all the time!!! We see these amazing spaces on Houzz or HGTV a… — 2 days later and we have the kid’s puzzles, books, empty lego boxes and rubber ducks running amok in my previously tidy, well designed space. But honestly, thats okay if it’s not perfect all the time!!! We see these amazing spaces on Houzz or HGTV and sheepishly compare them to our own homes. But at the end of the day, those places are barely lived in and there’s NO WAY it would ever look like that on a daily basis without a 24 hour maid! IT’S SO STERILE! So screw it, live in and love your space!