We’ve been in our condo for just over a year now. When we first moved in I was so excited I bought most of the living room furniture before we had even moved in! Full disclosure: I don’t recommend doing that but if you’re like me and just can’t wait, well then hey – you do you!

So after living with the furniture for a year I realized that what we had was all wrong: the carpet was uneven and impossible to vacuum (a huge must if you own a dog!), the couch was too large for the space, the stools were nice to look at but uncomfortable to sit on for longer than 10 minutes, and I really missed having a proper dining room table.

So in a spur-of-the-moment decision, we sold everything on Craigslist and hired a designer to help us plan our space more effectively. Why a designer you may ask? Easy: we had already tried the Pinterest/Houzz route (and look how that turned out) plus I was interested in purchasing a mix of high and low items, in an attempt to make my place a little bit more “adult” and less dorm room-esque.

Enter Jamie Deck from Shift Interiors. I’ve followed her since I first discovered Houzz years ago and was immediately taken by her clean, minimalist design that incorporated both high and low end pieces and plenty of natural light. After an intensive in-person consultation, I now have design plans for my home, complete with sketches and an inspiration board on Pinterest, and can now accurately describe my design style as transitional – modern mixed with touches of traditional. Full of inspiration, I’m looking forward to going room-by-room upgrading my place to reflect the (pseudo) adult that I am. First up: the living room/dining room. Follow along on my Instagram to watch the progress; I’ll also post a follow up blog showcasing the final results – stay tuned!