Well hello there friends! Remember me? I can’t believe it’s been over a year since my last blog post. I really hope that I still have a few of you hanging around here because I am FINALLY getting back to regular blogging. I have so much content to share with you guys on the latest paint color trends, design ideas from my own projects and so much more. I have really missed our community here and have missed writing. Before I jump into personal updates (at the end of the post), I thought I would share my fall porch decor with you all that I just finished decorating.
I still can’t get over my exterior front porch transformation that I did a few years ago. Every time I drive up to my house, I think back to my dream for so many years to redesign the front of my home and I am still so blown away that it turned even better than I dreamed. It was always the plan from the beginning when we bought the house to completely change the exterior but I’m sure as you guys know, other projects were bigger priorities and there is only so much money.
Some of you may remember my exterior remodel project and what my home looked like BEFORE the remodel:
Compared to today
Isn’t that crazy?! It looks like a different house. The truth is that when I shared the reveal of my exterior remodel back then, my landscaping wasn’t done yet as you can see below.
Since we did the remodel, our landscaping has matured and we planted yellow lantana across the front.
I decided that I didn’t want traditional shrubs landscaped in front of my home but rather yellow lantana so when it bloomed in the fall it would look so natural and beautiful like it does today.
I live in East Texas where lantana is prolific. It’s like a weed here and it doubles in size every couple of weeks. I’m anxious to see how crazy and wild it looks at Halloween. I posted some videos of my porch/lantana on my Instagram page here and I had a lot of DM’s from people in different parts of the country who told me their lantana doesn’t grow this wild. That really surprises me.
As for the rest of my porch, I added beautiful pampas grass wreaths, yellow mums, pumpkins and some lanterns.
It feels so good to finally see the landscaping aspect of our exterior remodel mature and catch up to the point that I can say that we’re done. I am so happy with the transformation.
For those of you interested in what I have been up to in the last year since I went off the Blog grid, my design business is still going really strong and I have several new constructions projects about to break ground that I will be sharing updates along the way. I also still curate and work with Layered Home in Lufkin, Texas, which is a large beautiful home design center. I still do the home decor and furniture buying, curating and some styling for the store. I also still travel to parade homes around the country to see new home trends for the freelance writing side of my business. I’m still a contributing writer for Better Homes and Gardens Magazine and you can see my latest articles here.
It’s been really hard for me to balance all of this and unfortunately, my blog has really suffered. However, I am back to blogging regularly and I have so much inspiration to share with you from the last year. I have thousands of images that I have to share as well with gorgeous paint colors, creative design ideas and new trends. If anyone is still listening at this point, I would LOVE to know what you guys would like to see me tackle in the coming weeks/months?
I missed you guys! I’m so glad that (hopefully) you’re still here!
Cheers!
Cyndy
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Nancy says
Do good to have you back
Have missed you
Can’t wait to see your color blogs
Your house looks amazingly beautiful!!
Julia says
Oh you have been missed!
SO GOOD to have you back!
Looking forward to more inspirations.
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Julia for such kind words! I’m so happy you’re here and can’t wait to get back to blogging!
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Nancy! So very happy that you’re here.
Cindy says
Love the facelift you created for your home… Perfectly balanced & with loads of curb appeal❣️
Looking forward to your return to blogging,
Cindy B.
Rockwall, TX
Cyndy says
Thank you Cindy for your kind words! I’m so glad you stopped by and I am so excited to get back to sharing!
Lisa says
A nice surprise in my email box this morning!
Your entrance is so welcoming for Fall! If you don’t mind, would you please source the hanging lanterns for me? Ours died a couple weeks ago and have yet to find something that compliments both the steps and door and that one combining both the square and circle shapes may be just the ticket!
Happy Fall!
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Lisa for your kind words! I’m so glad you’re here! The hanging lanterns are from Hinkley Lighting they are the Nouvelle lanterns. But, I have to warn you that they are ridiculously priced. I was fortunate that I got them well below cost and while they are perfect, there are many better priced similar hanging lanterns on the market. However, they are REALLY nice if you want to splurge and can wait for a good sale. Thanks again Lisa!
Jenny says
Welcome back!!! Was so great to see your email pop up today! Your porch is gorgeous!
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Jenny for your kind words! So happy you’re here!
Karen says
Great to have you back!
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Karen!
Janice says
Welcome back Cyndy! So happy to know you’ll be sharing beautiful content with us again
!
Cyndy says
Thank you Janice! So happy to finally be able to get back to writing and sharing. I’m so glad that you stopped by!
Shelley Murphy says
I’ve so missed your blog posts. You have always been my inspiration for color choices for my own home. I look forward to seeing more on color trends. Your front porch is beautiful!
Welcome back!
Shelley
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Shelley! Your kind words have made my day. Thank you for your note today. 🙂
Jennifer Hudson says
So happy to see this in my inbox today! Looking forward to seeing more of your amazing designs! I drove through Lufkin a month or so ago and thought about you! 🙂 Continued success!!
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Jennifer! So glad you’re here. You do know about Layered Home in Lufkin right? I curate, style and do the buying for the store (furniture and home decor). It’s an amazing place and you should stop by next time you drive through Lufkin!
COLETTE B GRAYSON says
What a pleasant surprise to see your email today! I love your suggestions and color choices. I last reached out to you when we were building our home 4 years ago. I love it but and now starting to make changes after living in it. My new project is transforming a study into a TV room/study. I would love to see some pictures of small TV rooms that you may have do
Thank you and Welcome Back!
Colette
Beth says
I have revisited previous posts several times over the past year…your paint color advice has been incredibly helpful to me as we settled into our new home. Thank you! Love your taste and design style. Excited for your return and new content!!
Vicky Craig says
The porch and landscape are beautiful, and I am glad you can make time for blogging again!
Jennifer Hudson says
Hi Cyndy! We sure will – my son is at SFA in Nacogdoches and we are in The Woodlands, so we make the trip quite a bit. I had forgotten that was the one you had blogged about!
Cyndy says
For sure you’ll want to stop by after we get Christmas styled. It’s going to be SO over the top this year. We should be done by Nov 1st.
Barb says
Still here and looking forward to all your future blog posts!
Cyndy says
Thank you Barb. So glad you’re here.
Elizabeth says
Just in time for the holidays, lucky us! Welcome back. The before and after is remarkable. What a transformation.
Cyndy says
Thank you so much! Oh yes! So much holiday fun stuff coming up! Thanks for you’re sweet note.
Nancy says
Good to see you are back to blogging- you’ve been missed! Looking forward to reading more
Cyndy says
Thank you so much Nancy! So glad that you’re here!
Jane Warnock says
Woukd you please tell me the name/brand of the white and black paint you used? Thank you!
Cyndy says
Exterior body is Sherwin Williams Eider White and the black is 50/50 Sherwin Williams Tricorn and Peppercorn. I hope that helps!
Jo says
I Love the Emtek Entry Sets so much. I was wondering how yours were holding up since I have seen some negative reviews. Please let me know ASAP really want to order;) Looking at the Lausanne in Satin Brass. Thank you so much. Amazing update on your house!!!