Tag: Colorful Interiors

A Moody Boca Raton Home Full of Thrifted Treasures

I met Alacia at an event I attended for work. She complimented my necklace, I loved her dress, and the rest is thrift sister history.

We instantly bonded over our mutual love for secondhand treasures, and when I mentioned my home tour channel, she loved the idea and said I could come to her house.

I’ll admit that walking up to her home on filming day I didn’t expect to be as blown away as I was when she opened the door.

I hadn’t asked for any photos in advance (wild move, I know) so I truly didn’t know what to expect.

But Alacia was so stylish when I met her, and her overall aura was giving chic, so I just went with my gut.

I was confident she had great, if not fabulous, taste.

Luckily for both of us I was right — can you imagine the awkwardness of me trying to navigate the exit if not?! 😉

I walked into a home full of pure whimsy. Moody whimsy — can I coin that?

Alacia’s Boca Raton home is layered in dark woods, warm oranges, cozy patterns, and vintage collections.

When she initially remodeled her space, she thought she’d go with a modern, clean aesthetic and used light, bright paint and materials.

But as she started to collect decor she quickly realized that the place needed to be drenched in old things.

She jokes that a friend of hers comes to the house and truly doesn’t get it — it’s giving grandma.

Grandma or not, it’s her, from the layered tchotchkes to the woodland creatures depicted in paintings and perched on shelves.

When we first met, Alacia was nearing completion of her clinical social work program.

She pursued this career because she’s passionate about helping people, specifically those in recovery. She loves seeing the transformation and healing that happens in the recovery process.

Helping people thrive is her passion in life, far above her passion for thrifting and vintage collecting (she curates and sells clothing and accessories on the side, btw).

Her interest in the power of transformation, though, seems to show up in her home, too — a personal sanctuary that feels like an outward reflection of who she is.

She transformed everything about her home, from the flooring to the paint to the configuration of the rooms.

Watch Alacia’s home tour to take a journey into the moody whimsy I fell in love with.

This Palm Beach Gardens Home is a Collage of Life Well Lived

I’ve known Cheryl, a lifelong creative and brand designer, through our professional networks over many years in Palm Beach County.

We recently reconnected through a local women’s organization, and would see each other at events and on Zoom meetings here and there.

During Zooms, I always noticed the background in Cheryl’s little onscreen box.

Over her shoulder, I could see a gallery wall of artwork set against a deep blue wall and a bamboo window shade, and I wondered — what does Cheryl’s house look like?

This very type of curiosity, of course, was a large part of why I launched Styled in South Florida Home Tours.

When I meet stylish and creative people, I always wonder what their homes look like.

Lucky for me, when I launched the channel and then asked Cheryl if she’d be interested in sharing her space, she said yes.

So, I got to see that gallery wall large and in living color. Plus a lot of other stuff.

Unsurprisingly, I found Cheryl’s home to be just as stylish as she is. What struck me most was how varied her collection of treasures is.

Nothing matches in the traditional sense — there’s no one design aesthetic she adheres to or color palette, even.

Her home is the antithesis of the beige “blandemic” that modern home design is often accused of being.

Her design philosophy is simply to grab the item that calls to her and bring it home.

This, combined with family heirlooms and artwork collected over generations, has created a space that is uniquely hers and deeply meaningful.

In the laundry room, you’ll find artwork her husband made as a child hanging near the sink.

Her daughters’ childhood self portraits are proudly displayed on a wall near the kitchen, and her father-in-law’s beautifully drawn, realistic portraits of those same girls are displayed in the living room.

A funky drawing picked up during travel hangs next to dog portraits Cheryl and her husband created themselves near the piano.

Whimsical clay vases from France on the dining room table hold paper flowers Cheryl created at a local workshop.

Cheryl’s collection of trinkets and treasures — some feeling more serious, some silly, some full of whimsy — has created a space with no regard for trends or idealized aesthetics.

Instead, the home is a collage of love passed through generations, across continents of travel, and in the everyday moments she shares with her husband and in her South Florida community.

Watch Cheryl’s home tour to catch a glimpse of her design magic — you’ll be inspired.

Carmen’s Colorful Home is a Celebration of Belonging

Carmen is married to my husband’s cousin and, though we live only about an hour apart, that distance is far enough to keep us from seeing each other often.

You know — jobs, kids, life.

We visited Carmen and her husband Scott several years ago, when our boys were elementary aged, and even though it was my first time meeting them, I felt welcomed and loved on in a way that stuck with me.

I also felt very impressed by their gorgeous home, which is naturally why I reached out to Carmen all these years later to be featured on Styled in South Florida Home Tours.

In her usual warm way, she invited me back to her home and generously allowed me to showcase every inch of her stunning space.

I loved seeing the house again, but more than that, I loved learning about Carmen.

I learned that she and her family came to this country as Cuban refugees with only the suitcases they could carry and moved into a small apartment in Massachusetts.

Her home design is inspired by her father, who was so careful in the items he selected for their tiny home.

Though they had left everything they owned behind and come to an unknown — and cold! — place, they were able to reinvent themselves and create a new space of belonging.

The apartment wasn’t much, but Carmen remembers walking into it and feeling like it was everything.

She also remembers that her father built her a swing inside, since they didn’t have any outdoor space. Carmen has carried that feeling of whimsy and joy into her own home design through art and color.

She and Scott have lived in their house for 32 years, and it has evolved as their family has grown and changed.

When their son moved out, they had to decide whether to stay put or start somewhere new. They decided to stay, and began shaping the house to suit their new, empty-nester life.

This included converting a guest bedroom into a dream closet for Carmen.

Carmen’s style is “just about happy,” as she puts it. She surrounds herself with color, artwork and photographs that bring joy, and collections from travel — all a reflection of her and her family’s life.

Just like her parents did in that tiny Massachusetts apartment, Carmen and Scott worked together to build a space of belonging, for them and anyone who walks through their doors.

I certainly felt the love during my visit.

I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know Carmen as I have.

A Pink House to Match the Color of Her Nails

I met Renee, the owner of this week’s Styled in South Florida home, in a Goodwill aisle — how perfect is that?!

I believe we met in the shoe aisle to be exact, because I usually have my daughter with me when I’m thrifting and she always wants to try on the sparkly stilettos during our shopping trips.

We can unpack Elaine’s life as a showgirl in a future post.

I’m sure Renee paused to smile and laugh at my silly girl, and we struck up conversation, as thrift sisters often do in the wild.

There’s a camaraderie in thrifting — any fellow thrifter knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Renee had a lot of pink in her shopping cart, which prompted her to share that she was collecting more decor items for her pink-themed home, which she lists on Airbnb.

So, of course, I was intrigued.

How pink is this pink themed home, I wondered.

I soon learned that she painted the entire house to match her favorite nail polish color.

Obsessed with that. What a diva.

She invited me to come film her space for my new show (I had, of course, immediately pitched her) — a generous diva!

When I pulled up to her house to film, I was greeted by Renee in a pink Lilly Pulitzer outfit and her three dogs, all of whom accompanied us on the entire tour — one in her arms as she shared about her life as the owner of an interior design firm, shop owner in Northwood, world traveler, mother, and more.

My uncontrollable thrift habit has really dropped unexpected blessings into my life.

The kitchen pendants came with the house and aren’t Renee’s preference — she will eventually replace them with something more aligned with the tropical theme established throughout the house.
Renee found this gorgeous piece on the side of the road and rehabbed it.
The brown leather couch came with the house — it wasn’t Renee’s first choice for the space, but she has made it work by tying in the lighter colors she prefers and balancing it all with more dark, statement pieces.
Renee thrifts her pillow collections from Goodwill.
The bedroom upstairs has a French West Indies influence.
The back yard is the crown jewel of the property — a true tropical oasis.

What a treat it was to get to know Renee, to share about her home that she’s poured so much heart into and now shares with guests from around the world, and to meet her poodle Winston, the calmest and most distinguished boy I’ve ever seen in a lei.

One unexpected conversation in a Goodwill aisle turned into a fabulous home tour. I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know Renee — and her unforgettable pink paradise—as much as I did. Watch the full tour below or on YouTube.

>> Renee’s Interior Design Site: https://houseofzenpalmbeach.com/