Patio Renovation Materials Info

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-before-after-outside-patio-renovation-reveal-furniture-austin-texas-lifestyle-blogger-1

This day has been a long time coming and I am SO EXCITED to finally share my first video with you guys! Disclaimer: please go easy on me haha, I am not used to shooting video!! YouTube is another part of the blogosphere I have wanted to add to my content for a really long time, and I’m fortunate that my brother, Jacob, is a videographer and photographer – so he has been kind enough to bear with me as I dip my feet into this new space. Ps. I may or may not have had a few mimosas prior to shooting to calm my nerves…ha! (You’ll want to watch until the very end – it’s pretty funny!).

Lately, the blog post that’s been coming back up in conversation via emails, direct messages on Instagram and comments on my blog – is how we renovated our back patio. In a nutshell, the paint colors, materials, why we decided to renovate, etc. A ton of you are working on patio renovations of your own, so I am thrilled to be able to give you a full-on walkthrough of the reno from the inside out, sharing all the details throughout! Aaand with that said, let’s get to it…

read more


A Few Cozy Decor Updates

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-austin-texas-lifestyle-blog-urban-outfitters-home-decor-bohemian-cozy-throw-pillows-bedroom-ideas-6livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-austin-texas-lifestyle-blog-urban-outfitters-home-decor-bohemian-cozy-throw-pillows-bedroom-ideas-4I don’t know about you, but jumping into an ultra cozy bed sounds like the most amazing thing ever right about now. This week was a straight up d-o-o-z-y and I am very much looking forward to some quality lounge time…and you can find me riiiight there in that spot above, being slobbered on by Watson and with a giant cheesy grin on my face! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that Blake and I recently updated our bedroom a bit – we switched to a king size bed and swapped out our old lamps (…although beloved!) for some bronze wall sconces (swoon!). I feel like such a grownup with the sconces haha. It’s almost like I should be reading the newspaper instead of scouring gossip websites (god bless you JustJared…you’ve kept me entertained for yeaaaars)…but nahh, I’ll stick to my ‘ol reliables! 😉 In addition to the headboard, lighting and sheets, we topped off the space with THE most beautiful lumbar pillows. Our rug has hints of orange throughout, so I thought opting for a mix of orange and cream pillows would be really pretty and soft…without adding more pink to the room (…thinking of Blake with this one, ha!). We also added a couple of seat cushions to our living room area (more on that further into this post…). Excited to share it all with y’all!

read more

EMBROIDERED LUMBAR PILLOWS / P.F. SOY CANDLE / FLOOR CUSHIONS

A big thank you to Urban Outfitters for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.


Our Modern Bungalow Dining Room

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-austin-texas-lifestyle-blogger-modern-bohemian-bungalow-dining-room-kitchen-3livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-austin-texas-lifestyle-blogger-modern-bohemian-bungalow-dining-room-kitchen-8If there’s one feeling I have come to love (like really…LOVE), it’s the feeling of a completed room. (You know…that moment when you get to look at all your hard work and take a big, deep breath of relief as you grin from ear to ear…that’s the feeling I’m referring to…). Our dining room has been in the works for over a year, and after making a few major adjustments (I swapped out our old table and chairs for the beauties in this post…but more on that shortly!) we finally had a few travel photos framed, potted our plants, put up some shelving and topped it off with statement light fixtures and some linen curtains. The overall vibe of this space is “modern bungalow” (….which is what I kept in mind as I shopped for pieces – I always like to use a “mood descriptor” to refer back to when buying items), and I think we totally nailed it! Well…at least it certainly feels cozy and calm with the rug, plants and wood combination, but with a modern twist given the mid-century look of the table and chairs. Needless to say, Blake and I are very happy to sip our coffee here each morning and chat about the day ahead.

Ps. Watson was actually a total ham during this shoot – there were no treats involved, ha! He just willingly really wanted to lay on that freshly vacuumed rug haha!

read more

table – (courtesy of) ARTICLE / chairs – HOUZZ / light fixtures – ANTHROPOLOGIE / plant stand – TARGET / woven plant basket – AMAZON / shelf – WORLD MARKET / rug – MACYS (similar HERE) / bronze tray – SEZANE


Before & After: Our Patio Reveal!

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-before-after-outside-patio-renovation-reveal-furniture-austin-texas-lifestyle-blogger-6Hey friends! God bless your patient souls because I KNOW this post has been loooong awaited! I have this thing about showing “unfinished” renovations, when really, the unfinished stuff can also be pretty interesting, too (…it’s me in my own head, per usual)! Moving forward, I’ll be sure and show more progress-type photos/blog posts along the way. Constantly learning over here and I always appreciate your feedback so much!

Sooo if you’re new to LL, we decided to do some serious renovating to the back of our house in February (you can refer to this post where I shared our reno plans). In a nutshell, we removed four paneled windows along the back of our house and installed custom floor to ceiling sliding glass doors. We added new siding (went for horizontal instead of vertical) and a fresh paint job, then added a covered patio (but opted for a polygal roof instead of extending our current roof to save the natural light). Given that this renovation was a big one, I’ve decided to break up “the reveal” into two separate posts because there’s just so much to share! Thus, today we’ll focus on the outside patio and all the furniture details, then in a couple of weeks I’ll share some before/after snapshots from the inside of the house and (fingers crossed) share a video (!!) giving y’all a house tour from the inside out, while also sharing the materials we chose and why, who we used for contracting, etc. We learned a TON from this process and I am thrilled to share it all with you guys!

Aaand with that said, let’s get to the patio makeover! Take a look at these (drastic) before and afters…

**ALSO, for materials we used, see THIS POST.**

read more

CONVERSATION SET c/o | BASKET CHAIRS c/o | HANGING PLANTERS c/o | JUTE RUG c/o


Our Master Bathroom Renovation Plans

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-mid-century-vintage-cozy-master-bathroom-renovation-idea-plan-product-collage-ikea-diy-bohemianHooray for another home decor project! Never a dull moment over here… home ownership means a running list of updates, fixes, changes and renovations, and we are FINALLY making progress with our master bathroom plans! I’ve mentioned before how the previous owners of our 1980’s abode flipped the house and did a fabulous job – but of course, there are a number of things we’re excited to update to feel a little more “us.” The master bathroom has been at the top of my list for quite some time now and over the weekend we finally nailed down our plans and started purchasing products…it’s really happening, y’all! 😉

read more

1 SUBWAY TILE / 2 SINK FAUCET / 3 SINK / 4 WALL SCONCE / 5 BUTCHER BLOCK / 6 VANITY (“high gloss white”) / 7 MIRROR / 8 PEG LEGS / 9 SHOWER / 10 RUG / 11 PLANTS


Design Crush: Rattan Chairs

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-austin-texas-fashion-lifestyle-bohemian-blogger-rattan-wicker-chairs-interior-decor-ideas-styling-4livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-austin-texas-fashion-lifestyle-bohemian-blogger-rattan-wicker-chairs-interior-decor-ideas-styling-2If there’s one home decor trend I am swooning over this year, it’s rattan furniture (for indoors!). I’ve been seeing interior design photos pop up on my Pinterest feed (…their algorithm is spot on, right?) and I feel like every home decor store is offering some sort of rattan or wicker indoor chair option. Blake and I are rearranging our bedroom and I love the idea of a reading nook with a rattan chair, cozy seat cushion and a soft throw blanket. Rattan adds such an earthy, inviting vibe to a space and overall just feels so…cool. My parents had a rattan swivel chair when I was a kiddo and we played on that thing ALL the time…it’s actually still around today and miraculously survived five children. Apparently it’s a very good investment, ha!

Image credits: 1 via Tara Moon (fellow Austinite with impeccable home decor!) | 2 via SF Girl By The Bay

read more

Shop rattan chairs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6


Elements of A Cozy Home

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-elements-cozy-house-home-decor-bohemian-kimberlee-watson-art**Illustration by Kimberlee Watson

Blake and I moved into our first house back in April 2017 (more about that from this post) and I have learned SO much about home decor within that first year. For one, I learned the aesthetics I like and don’t like (I love a good, cozy vibe, I don’t looove super minimalist, modern pieces). I learned what Blake likes and doesn’t like (…I pick out what I think would work best for our style, then he approves. I’ve come to learn he’s less of a “french cottage” style kinda guy (…then again, have you ever met one that is? Hey, a girl can dream over here haha!) and more of a “I can tolerate some bohemian elements here and there” kinda guy haha). I appreciate that he wants to participate in the outfitting of each room, but I’d be lying if I told you a lot of our arguments didn’t stem from my love for a more feminine style versus his resistance to let our house become a girly-haven-Anthropologie-catalog-type of home. Either way, we’ve made lots of progress over the past year, learned a LOT about the aesthetic we can both happily agree on and have had so much fun turning our first house into a beautiful, cozy space we can finally (proudly!) call our home.

As I dive deeper into updating rooms in the house, there are a few elements that seem to be consistent in creating that cozy, bungalow vibe we love so much. Home decor has been such an exciting new world for me this past year – we lived in apartments for three years prior to living here and I never cared too much about furniture, rugs, all the fun stuff until we moved into our house. Truth be told, entering the world of home decor and interiors has been such a welcomed escape for me from the fashion industry! Literally, when I walk into Home Goods it’s like all my worries wash away, ha! Anyhoo – I’m excited to share the components both Blake and I love with y’all…and likely you’ve got a few of these things lying around the house already, it’s simply how you pair them that makes the difference! Hope you enjoy…

read more

SHOP OUR HOME PICKS

 


You Know You’re An Adult When…

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-austin-texas-lifestyle-blogger-dyson-v6-vacuum-ebay-7You know you’ve become a true adult when the day comes that you’re excited…no wait…ecstatic for a vacuum upgrade. When the box for our new Dyson arrived on our doorstep, you’d think I was a wild animal opening up that package…but no, just a regular ‘ol girl who reaaaaally loves her cleaning gadgets! And the absolute best part? This fella was just over $200 (reg. $499)!! I have never seen so many beautiful (…dare I describe a vacuum as such?) Dyson vacuums that are also SO affordable. And where oh where would you find such a deal? Look no further than eBay!

read more

A big thank you to eBay for sponsoring this post! As always, all opinions are my own.


Our Patio Renovation Plans

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-home-decor-update-polygal-patio-ideas-sliding-patio-doors-floor-ceiling-glass-panelsNew year, new projects for our little abode and we are especially excited about this one! Living in Austin means spending lots of time outdoors…so creating an inviting patio space is number one on our renovation list in 2018 – just in time for spring. Though the weather is freezing this week, Blake and I are daydreaming about warm, sunny days where we can leave the back doors wide open and Watson can run to and from the house…while we sip a cold beer and read a good book…can you tell we are SO ready for this?!

We have a wonderful contractor team making our dream patio renovation come to life (I’ll share more about who we are working with in the before/after reveal post) and it’s been so fun to scour Pinterest (and Google Images) to help visually explain the look we’re going for (…as seen above!). Our reno plans are moving along and it should all be completed in about a month…can’t wait to share more as we make some progress!

read more


Cold-Brew Holiday Drink

livvyland-blog-olivia-watson-chameleon-cold-brew-hot-latte-eggnog-holiday-drink-recipe-5 ‘Tis the season to stay in, cozy up on the couch and add a little holiday cheer to your everyday coffee drink! Living in Austin means our winters can go from 30 to 80 degrees within days…which is why it’s nice to have a pack of Chameleon Cold-Brew Pods on hand. Brew your own cold-brew organic coffee (which is delicious and SO easy to do!), or heat the cold-brew and add in a little steamed milk (…and some eggnog, mmm) then sprinkle a dash of cinnamon sugar over it and voila, you’ve just hit home barista status! 😉

read more