Home Tour: Jordan's Cicada Cottage

Jordan kindly agreed to open her doors to Bloom and give us a room by room tour of her lovely Cicada Cottage.

Photos by sara b photography

Hope you love it:

Grounds collage

Front Entry

Where do you find inspiration for your home? Specific catalogs? Blogs? :) The outdoors? Other periods/eras?

I do flip through magazines, but am not organized enough to remember them and plan a room around what I see. I get ideas from several sources, but when it comes down to it, I just know what I like and purchase/create around that. Somehow it all meshes together nicely. I noticed that I had some living thing from the outdoors in every room of the house (especially with all the spring blossoms right now). Bringing the outdoors in seems to make a home feel fresh and welcoming no matter the decor.

Kitchen

Everything in your home is so nicely placed and simply arranged. Do you have any tips for arrangements? (wall art, floral, mantle/tabletop)

If there were any decorating/design mantra that I tend to follow, even subconsciously, it is that "Less is More". Less is always more. I like to mix textures, too. A smooth bowl next to a piece of coral or a stack of books next to a vase of blooming branches. I hang art at eye level and not too many pieces in a room. I rearrange often, keeping it fresh invigorates me and combats boredom (or is it ADHD?)

Dining

Laundry

Family/Living

Tell us about your wall of pictures. Did you take them? How are they framed/hung? Are they always changing?

We are just "starting out" so don't have a huge collection of art. I needed something above the big blank space above the couch in the family room. So, one day, I began sifting through photographs I had taken over the past year that were unified by color or tone. Some of kids, some of objects or landscapes. I printed them on regular photo paper on our printer then trimmed one side to even out the borders. Then I taped! them to the wall. I haven't changed them yet, but I'm sure I will once the fancy strikes.

Tell us about the process of making a house a home - for you. Have you been collecting little treasures for years or did you fill the CC quickly?

We have been married 9 years. So, I suppose I've been collecting since then (and even a bit before that (: ). I guess a house is a home if it is comfortable, clean and inviting. The decor can help with this. I've tried to be patient and wait to acquire things I truly love that also have lasting quality. This is hard.

Guest Bedroom

Guest Bath

Seth's Room

Master

Tell us some of your favorite places to look for art, linens, pillows, etc.

For art, I have done some of my own and we purchased the one large painting in the dining room, but most of the artwork in our home have been gifts from my parents (both artists) or siblings. Some sources for linens and pillows are Urban Outfitters (they have great, affordable quilts, and the owl pillow is from UO), and Dwell Studio for Target for pillows. My sister Ashley sewed and embroidered the Cicada pillow on our bed.

Is this how you found the cicada cottage (minus your furnishings and adornments) or have you done a lot of work? (surfaces, fixtures, paint, floors, etc)

Yes! Not only did this house have good bones, it had good skin! We looked long and hard for such a place to put our family. Over a year. This was to be our first home and I knew we couldn't afford many renovations if any at all. In fact, we painted the guest room, the dining room, and Seth's room--that's it. The vintage light fixtures were a collection made by the previous owner's wife. She was an artist and had already chosen wonderful colors throughout the house. The biggest selling points for me were: the yard/garden, the entryway, and the laundry room with its expansive countertop.

What do you hope your home communicates about you and your family?

Really, I just want it to be a place that people want to come visit. We LOVE having people in our home. I am grateful now that we have space enough for a true blue guest room! Come stay chez nous!!

Jordan, I think you've succeeded in making the CC a welcoming and inviting place. I certainly want to come for a visit! Thanks so much for opening your home to Bloom.