Three Key Pieces for a Simple Bedroom Refresh!

I decided my bedroom needed a small refresh, and my goal was to do it with only a couple of new pieces! I needed a new mattress, bed and nightstands. I knew with those three items alone, they could make a huge change to my master bedroom! 

To start this refresh, I began with the essential part of any bedroom - the bed and mattress! I’ve have the same bed and mattress for almost nine years. My old mattress was causing my back to ache, so I knew I wanted a firmer mattress. BedInABox was the answer! I’ve been sleeping on my new BedInABox mattress for about a month now, and I can honestly say that my body feels more rested!

We have the Tranquillium in king size, and I love the 12", multilayer firm, foam construction. It makes such a difference in my sleep! And to save money - use code NISSALYNN20 for an additional $20 off! #ad

My prior bed was a well loved four poster bed that I bought at Goodwill. We brought it home and my husband replaced a couple of the slats and spray painted it in satin white. Then I distressed it with sand paper to make it look shabby chic. I loved it! (It’s so amazing what you can do with spray paint!) But over the last year, the bed has shown significant wear and tear, and the wood frame started to break - so it was time for a new one. 

The traditional four poster bed was so large, that it seemed take over our entire bedroom, plus the poles were the first thing you noticed when you walked into the room. I decided I wanted a French country bed with a large tufted headboard. The Realyn King Panel bed from Living Spaces was the answer! 

I need to tell you about Living Spaces, because it is a furniture store unlike any other! In my local Living Spaces store, in Frisco, Texas, they have four, 2000 sq ft homes built inside the store to showcase their beautiful furniture. This also helps give you decorating and furniture placement ideas. Such a great concept!

After changing up the bed and mattress, new nightstands were next. I wanted to mix styles and add more of a modern looking nightstand to go along with the French bed, so I ordered two night stands from the Presby collection at Living Spaces. The Presby nightstands are great because they have lots of storage and an USB outlet. Plus, I love the pull out piece to hold my lap top. I highly recommend them!

I kept the same bedding and accessories but moved the decorative bench from my office and placed it at the foot of my bed. I also moved my ginger jars from living room to the nightstands. 

Don’t be afraid to move accessories or accent furniture in your home. It can give a space new life and save you money! 

So remember, next time you want to redo a room, you don’t have to change everything, just change a couple pieces and then that room will take on a completely new look!

Featured in Voyage Dallas Magazine!

So excited to have been featured in Voyage Dallas Magazine as a Trailblazer!

You see the complete live article here:

http://voyagedallas.com/…/meet-trailblazer-nissa-lynn-pars…/

Below is text copy of the article.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nissa-Lynn Parson.

Nissa-Lynn, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve had a passion for interior decorating since I was a little girl. I discovered at an early age that your surroundings really affect your life in areas of productivity, disposition, and your confidence. I also knew from early on that I loved helping people create beautiful spaces. My Mother always had our home decorated so well – even on a tight budget. She taught me no matter what you can make any space look beautiful!

I have always been a super creative person. When I was four years old I would spend hours in the middle of the night drawing at my drawing table. When I was around seven, I would spend hours playing Barbie dolls. But it wasn’t the dolls that enthralled me, it was the furniture and tiny home accessories. I loved arranging all the furniture in my doll house and would set up little vignettes. I would then take my pink 35mm film camera and take photos of the scenes I had created. I loved creating visual displays!

In college, I majored in Marketing Communications and minored in Visual and Fine Art at Brigham Young University. I did my senior internship with the JCPenney merchandising and visual display department and really enjoyed it! When my husband and I moved to Dallas, I used my painting skills and started freelancing painting murals for homes and local businesses. I also started doing interior decorating as well. Painting murals takes long hours, and while I enjoyed it, it took away too much time from being with my children. So, I packed up my paint brushes to just focus on home decor. I started my own business, and with my name being different, I wanted to incorporate it. Thus, Nissa-Lynn Interiors was born! I worked hard to promote my business through social media, referrals, and local advertising. Little by little my business grew and I was blessed with more clients and opportunities! My Instagram account also took off and companies started reaching out to me to do sponsored collaborations – so now, I do brand influencing as well and I love it! I style, showcase and photograph products and feature them on my social media platforms. My photos have been featured on social media sites and websites such as Better Homes and Gardens and ZGallerie, just to name a few.

The best part about interior decorating is seeing the client’s happiness over the changes made to their space – because you need to love the space you’re in!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe anytime you’re trying something new, there are going to be bumps in the road. Starting my business from the ground up has not been a smooth journey, but definitely a wonderful learning experience. I am grateful for all the amazing growth and knowledge I’ve experienced along this journey. There have been times when I questioned “Why am I doing this?”, “Is it worth all the time it’s taking?” or “Will this work out in the end? The main advice I would offer others is to always keep going. Sure there will be days where you want to stop, but if you’re passionate about something, keep going! You can do it! Our family motto is, “You can do hard things!” I believe those words with my all of heart. If you need to scale back a bit, do it, but never quit entirely if you truly love what you are doing. For younger women, I say; be patient with yourselves, realize it takes baby steps and time to reach your goals. As you go along your personal journey, periodically look back on what you’ve accomplished and be proud of yourself. When you’re struggling, draw strength from acknowledging your past accomplishments. Dream big! Believe in yourself and your talent! Remember, YOU can do hard things!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Nissa-Lynn Interiors – what should we know?
I started my company based on the idea that everyone can have a beautiful home or business on any budget. Whether it’s a one-time consultation or an entire room makeover, my expertise lies in creating a new environment with the client’s tastes in mind and sticking to a budget. I have the knowledge of working with different decorating styles to customize each project by incorporating the colors and styles that the client is drawn to. I help people make changes they’ll be proud of.

I offer consultations for everything from choosing paint colors, to picking out furniture, placement of kitchen cabinets or selecting flooring. During the consultation, I direct clients where to shop for beautiful, original decor finds to get the best prices at discount stores. By having the client go out and purchase the products, it saves money by not having to pay more for my time and for product markup.

I have also expanded into doing E-Design. This is a great way for interior decorating advice for people who want to do update their surroundings without a face to face consultation. This makes it great for clients across the country. The client sends me photos of their home or business and I send them back a style board with images of the items and changes I am suggesting. I also send them a detailed write up with all the links to products I suggest purchasing, and how to arrange them in their home or office. My clients have been in some of the largest cities in the country. Including: Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and St. Louis.

Besides Interior Decorating, Brand Influencing and E-design, I also do home staging for realtors and people preparing to get their homes’ market ready. As a mother of five children, owning my own business has been a blessing because it allows me to work around my children’s schedules and do most of my work at home. I absolutely love what I do!

Which women have inspired you in your life?
There have been different women that have been a mentor or support to me in different seasons of my life. In fact, I have been blessed to know so many amazing women I wouldn’t be able to list them all! With that said, two stand out vividly in my mind. My mother and late maternal grandmother have been my greatest cheerleaders to pursuing my life’s goals. I especially admire my late grandma, how she raised four children, excelled in her career as an opera singer, and took a genuine interest in others and made them feel special. I hope I can emulate her example and make her proud!

Contact Info:

• Website: nissalynninteriors.com

• Email: hello@nissalynninteriors.com

• Instagram: nissalynninteriors

• Facebook: Nissa-Lynn Interiors

• Twitter: nissalynnparson

Let's Talk About Pillows!

Tired of the current color scheme in you home?  

Pillows are one of the easiest and least expensive ways to change the feel of 
an entire room!

Here we have two shots of the same living room. They both have the same
furniture, rug and window treatments, same white tray and white candle sticks. I just changed out the pillows and the florals! Now the room has an entirely different feel!

Mix and Match

Mix and matching fabrics and different textures is a fantastic way to create an interesting look. It also looks more professional and custom - like you had direction from a decorator or designer. Here I have a navy block design pillow from Chloe and Olive a linen fabric paired with pillow from Home Goods in a polyester fabric.

Remember pillows don’t always have to match perfectly. Below is a fuzzy leopard print from Home Goods paired with a chiffon rose patterned pillow from H&M. Totally different styles and fabrics (one heavy, the other light), and yet, they compliment each other perfectly!

Inserts

Most pillows are sold just as pillow covers. So you will need to purchase the inserts for the covers. I have found that inserts at Pottery Barn are a little more expensive then other places, but they do last much longer! You are paying for quality! I've also used cheaper inserts from Ikea. They're great on the budget at around $7.00 an insert. Below are some Ikea pillows and inserts. Pillows from discount stores, such as Home Goods, Ross, Walmart, and Target normally
come with the inserts included.

3-D Elements

Another fun to dress up your pillows is with 3-D elements. Beads, tassels, buttons, rhinestones, and sequence all add texture and visual interest to the pillow - and to the piece of furniture it's being displayed on. See how the broach in the photo below, adds elegance to the gray ribbon. Without it, the the pillow wouldn't look half as fancy!

You can add elements yourself to any existing pillow with by hand sewing the item on. or using a glue gun.

Zippers

When choosing a pillow color, you might want to take into consideration the zipper. Most pillows have a dress zipper (right photo below). It does the trick, but if you're constantly switching out pillow covers, or if the pillow is being laid on a lot, the zipper can fall apart pretty easy. However, pillows with a YKK zipper (right photo below,) such as these from 
Chloe and Olive, are much more durable! Some pillows don’t have a zipper at all but an “envelope” closure instead. Where the fabric folds over top of teach other.

Holiday Pillows

Pillows are the especially perfect for decorating for the holidays! In fact, it seems almost every home decor retailer has a line of holiday pillows now! Pier 1, Target, Pottery Barn, and Home Goods, are just a few of my favorite places to buy holiday pillow goodness! Boutiques and specialty home decor stores are other places to get one of a kind pillows that the masses don't have. Krumpet's Home Decor is one of my favorite online home decor stores for holiday goodies.

It's been fun sharing my thoughts and experience on pillows with you, now go out and have some fun some shopping!

Picking Out the Perfect Gray Paint

Everyone year towards the end of summer, I start getting an itch to redecorate, or fix up things in our home. So today my husband and I went to Lowes and picked up some paint for some touch ups around the house. We're touching up walls before we start some new small DIY house projects (Don't worry - I'll share those in the coming weeks as we work on them.)

A great place to start is gathering suggestions from family and friends who have already painted with gray colors. Pinterest and the internet are also other great ways to aid in your search. And, of course there is always the old fashion to pick a paint color - going down to the hardware store and looking at paint cards, then bringing them home and placing samples on the walls.

However, grays paint tends to be a lot trickier than other paint colors. This is because gray paint is not a true "color," but more a "tint." This means it starts with a black color base and is gradually mixed with white to lighten it up. It does not have true primary colors in it like other paint colors. Because it's more of a pigment, gray paint tends to easily look different in different lighting. I had a client who loved Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams. It looked fantastic in her living room, which had lots of windows, but looks mossy green in her hall way. I've seen gray paints show all sorts of undertones like green, purple, blue or even pink undertones! It all depends on the lighting and windows.

The best was to avoid undertones is to buy a sample can (They run any where from $2.98 to $6.50.) Then paint several LARGE areas in your home in several different places that have different lighting. A small painted area will not give you the true color. This is because a small swatch can be influenced by the existing paint color already on the wall.

(*Also note, never use the rest of the sample paint in the container for more than just the sample. Sample cans, because they're just samples, don't have a finishing protect agent in the paint, and therefore the paint will come off easy.)

Another way to test out gray paint, is to paint it on a medium size paper approximately 12'x18' inches, and hold it up to the wall. This helps to see what the gray will look like with out the existing paint color influencing it.

I hope this information helps on your quest for the perfect gray! I'll be sharing all paint color in my home in my next

A Party Fit for a Princess

Happy first Birthday to our little Miss Annalise! Since my oldest daughter is now fifteen, I hadn't thrown a little girl themed party in years! So I knew when Annalise turned one, I wanted to have a super elegant, storybook, dream birthday party fit for a princess!  

I started planning weeks in advance. I loved how everything turned out! It was just what I dreamed! The gorgeous custom made banner was the key to the whole table setting! It's from SweetGeorgiaSweet, and it was the perfect focal point! I love it so much!

Read more below.

I started planning for the tables cape by searching for ideas. I knew I defiantly wanted whimsical princes tulle skirt! So that was the first thing I started working on. The first thing I started making was the ribbon and tulle table skirt. I was lucky to go to Hobby Lobby on a day when all their ribbon and tulle was half off! 

What would I do without my handy, talented husband Justin? He photographed some of these photos and edited them all for me. He's an Art Director/Graphic Designer by trade - therefore I am one lucky girl! He also built the decorative box with the gold crown on it. In fact, the crown was originally hot pink from my oldest daughter's room - so we spray painted it gold. We used the pink trimmed sheer fabric to drape the table to create a "storybook" look. (I sewed on the pink trim) The box with the crown, and fabric drape are actually from above Annalise's crib in her nursery. We just took it off the wall and nailed it to the bead board backdrop (which Justin also built). Justin and I also designed the thank you tags and personalized circle crown printables that went on the glass apothecary jars.

I ordered the cake and cupcake toppers and wrappers from Amazon. I just picked up the cake and  cupcakes from a local grocery store bakery - and added added the gold pearls and sprinkles. 

(It's much cheaper then going to a specialized bakery.) 

My favorite part of the table display was the roses cascading down the cake. There's something about fresh flowers that makes everything so beautiful! 

Hosting a Christmas Dinner Party

Tonight was a special night! I had the wonderful opportunity to speak and host dinner at my home for forty women from my church. It made me so happy to see so many beautiful faces. Our theme for the night was "We are like Snowflakes, Different in our own Beautiful Way." It's good to remind ourselves how beautiful, special and unique we each are

Living Room Update!

So after five years it was time to replace our living room sofa, two chairs, and rug. The chairs were stained and ripped - (I have five kiddos after all), and the sofa had water stains from constant cleaning from a one year old that loves to draw all-over EVERYTHING! 😉 I still love the stylish look of my old living room. The elegant linen nailhead sofa and two linen tufted wingback chairs were stunning. However, it just wasn't working for our family of seven. 

Sometimes as a designer, you have to be practical. In fact, that's the number one rule when working with clients. You have to make the space you're designing functional. Any space has to be able to meet the needs for what it's meant for. A gorgeous perfectly designed room will not work if the client can't use it properly. 

These new stone colored sofas totally fit  into my budget and gave me seating for almost my entire family. Plus, the fabric is more durable with small children. And did I mention how much more space we have by taking out the left chair? 

The coffee table is the same- we just turned it 90 degrees. We are going to paint it white and distressed in a couple weeks. And the rug, I love the rug, it pulls the room together. The pattern and gray color pallet gives the room a fresh updated look!

Small and simple changes can make a huge difference! But the biggest difference is how I feel. The new room feels more inviting for my family and friends. 

And that's when you know you make the right decorating choices! :)

A Trip to Magnolia

I took my youngest 4 kiddos to Magnolia Market and Silos in Waco, TX last week! The gardens were my favorite! And everything is so beautiful, clean and organized. it was neat to see all the unique food trucks that are right next to the darling black and white picnic tables. They even offer umbrellas to use while your there! The decor of course was amazing! Every square inch of the store was decorated to perfection- I especially loved their product displays. It was a wonderful place to visit! (However, I would recommend not to come in the summer- it was so hot!)

A Peek into My Home...

Hello Friends!
I've had so many emails from people asking what my home looks like when you walk in. SoI'm sharing a peek inside my home!

I love light neutral colors and white trim work. You can find it through the house.
I must admit it's kind hard keeping the linen chairs and sofa clean with five children, but they're pretty good about following the house rules about mommy's furniture.

My husband built the hall tree/mud room area. I love how it looks, but better yet, I love how we use it all time!

This is just a a peek into the Parson's home. I'll share more photos later of the kitchen, dining room and others soon!

A Texas Style Teen Bedroom

My daughter is a true Texas teen- she loves cowboy boots, country music, saying y'all, and rustic decor! So it was only natural that she wanted her bedroom to have a some southern flair!

The biggest challenge was keeping to a strict budget! I only had a few hundred dollars to transfer this gal's room! So, believe it or not we took a stab at Goodwill for a dresser- and we found the perfect black one complete with mirror - and for only $75.00! It needed a little TLC -so we touched it up with some paint. Then we went to Hobby Lobby for all the rustic decor. They had everything we needed - the wall signs, the letter K, the tray and boxes. We also got the puffs from there and used fishing line to hang them from he ceiling. The black Parson chair and gray throw I already had, and we bought the ya'll pillow at Hobby Lobby as well. 

I wanted bedding to fit the style of the room, yet easy on the budget. We found all the pieces at At Home. In my opinion it's not worth spending at ton of money on a teenagers bedding-espically a girl. Because what I have found over time is the bedding easily gets stained with make up, writing utensils or food. I did add layers of types of bedding (comforter, and two quilts) to make the bed look fuller. 

My daughter's favorite part of the room is the silk sunflowers we got at Michaels. She says she wants sunflowers at her wedding someday. 

She loves the room and I love it too! And the best part we stayed in budget!