Interior Styling The Scenery House

Oh Hi, Design Sponge!

June 12, 2017

Oh my goodness! Welcome Design Sponge friends! I am totally flattered to have a tour of our home on my most favorite design blog ever. It’s honestly a dream come true.


This tour pushed me out of my comfort zone – I 100% did not believe the house was ready for this sort of thing yet. But then I talked myself through some facts like that this house will never be completely perfect, that it’s going to evolve with time, and that I need to chill out.

Check out our home tour on Design Sponge now!

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15 Comments

  • Reply Holly June 12, 2017 at 2:48 pm

    I found you through DS and wanted to stop by and say that I’m so in love with your house! We live in an old house in Ohio with very similar vibes inside. Decorating has been a challenge for me because I’m not used to the oak trim, and it can be hard to balance keeping the beauty of an old home with having more of a modern style. You’ve done an amazing job. I agree that going with deep, cool-toned colors is the best way to complement the warm oak. Very inspired by your lovely home – thank you for sharing it! :)

    • Reply thesweetbeast June 12, 2017 at 2:59 pm

      Thank you so much! I’ve always loved homes with painted wood trim but am really starting to love the warmth of the wood. I just painted our guest room the deepest green and I am loving it – I never thought I’d embrace dark paint colors!

      • Reply Holly June 13, 2017 at 11:00 am

        same here! I always went with warm grays pretty much everywhere but we painted our living room a deep teal and it looks sooo nice with the oak. I bet deep green looks amazing. Can’t wait to see the pictures! :)

  • Reply Kiki June 13, 2017 at 5:43 am

    Me too, arriving via DS and loving your ‘honest’ house…. I now live in a house built of stones from a (then local) quarry (at the time, the house dates back to 1920) – when we bought it in 2008, we paid wahayyyy too much and we were very quickly finding many, many hidden disasters. But the BONES, the ORIGINAL features (beautiful mosaic floors, 2m high wall panelling, frescos on the living room walls, painted directlyon the walls, lion claws bathtub big enough to drown a family in one go, original Parisian bathroom features, fresco tiles in kitchen, etc…. Not to speak of the glorious plaster decorations & rosettes in some rooms! A rusty but oh so romantic ‘winter garden’ where we eat from April to October…. Although I wouldn’t buy this house anymore now (knowing how much it has cost us to re-do and undo some horrors – thinking of your bathroom, only ours were in a desolate state with hanging doors and faulty electric wires and lead fittings everywhere), I am more in love with it now than ever… You have to see through the ‘rubbish’ and invest not only hard money but love, love, love and devotion. Good luck with your projects – you obviously both have great talent and a very good eye.

    • Reply thesweetbeast June 13, 2017 at 10:30 am

      Your home sounds so gorgeous! So wonderful that you found so many original features – mosaic floors, frescos, rosettes! Be still my heart.

  • Reply Sue D June 13, 2017 at 10:48 am

    Found your house through DS as well and am just so happy to see another Pittsburgh house! It can be great to see inspirational homes and designers from all over, but there doesn’t seem to be many blogs, or inspiration from the Burgh, so i’m really happy you put your house out there! my Burgh house doesn’t have that trim and that paneling (swoon) but I can’t wait to read through your blog!

    • Reply thesweetbeast June 13, 2017 at 10:53 am

      Thanks so much and I’m so glad you’re here! Pittsburgh is my favorite place in the world and it has such amazing homes – I look at real estate listings every day just to snoop on them. I’m proud to help put the Burgh out there in the interior design space!

  • Reply Marti June 13, 2017 at 1:22 pm

    Ditto – found you via D*S and am very happy you have a blog so I can follow along! Your home is so lovely. I live in a 1913 bungalow in Chicago which, unfortunately, has had many of the historic details removed over the decades. I’m trying to restore some of that character while balancing my modern-leaning aesthetic preferences.

    I LOLed at “The Judgey Lady” – she’s throwing shade for sure.

  • Reply Emily June 13, 2017 at 7:10 pm

    Fellow Pittsburgher here! Saw your home tour on Design*Sponge and I’m so in love with your house!! The warm wood paired with the colors you chose is dreamy. I also love how you’ve kept vintage touches/original parts of the house and blended it so beautifully with modern furnishings. I’m getting married this fall and hopefully a move out of my rented apartment is on the horizon…your home is such a great burst of inspiration for my future home!! Gotta look for another Pittsburgh home with that wood trim/paneling… :)

  • Reply Lizzie | Emmerson & Fifteenth June 14, 2017 at 9:31 am

    Your home is thoroughly gorgeous! Another one popping over from D*S. Would you mind if I share, with a link back to both you and D*S, of course?
    And you have a Corgi! We have one too – he’s a very cuddly curmudgeon called Ted. Penelope is adorable!

  • Reply Adria June 20, 2017 at 5:20 pm

    Hey Emily!

    I just found your blog via Design Sponge and I’m so glad I did – your home is beautiful! Can’t wait to follow along your home renovation journey, especially since my husband and I are looking into buying a fixer upper. :)

  • Reply Candace April 13, 2021 at 9:15 am

    Beautiful! Could you tell me the off white paint used with the reddish brown wood trim? I can’t find the right color. Thank you!

    • Reply thesweetbeast April 13, 2021 at 9:20 am

      Hi and thank you! The dining room is Behr Cameo White. I don’t know the entryway color as it was painted by the previous owner but I recommend BM Simply White – I used it in our bedroom and love it!

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