We have been in our new home for a year and a half now and we are finally putting our backyard together and I couldn’t be happier! We want a low maintenance yard so we are doing lots of hardscape, flower beds, and no grass! So far we have installed a large concrete patio for 3 separate outdoor living spaces: a spa area, lounge space, and a spot for outdoor dining. Next comes the part I have been dreaming of for over a year, the landscaping!

There are so many option when it comes to flowers, plants, and trees that I was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning, but now have a more clear picture of what I want the space to look like. We have already starting planting around the back deck and the side of the house, and now we are planning out the large planter bed that will run along the side of the concrete patio. Here is what we have planted so far and a list of trees and plants we are considering for the back of the yard along the fence line.

Roses and Hydrangeas

These are 2 of my very favorite things to plant. They are easy to grow and so beautiful in full bloom! We are planting 2 types of roses in our backyard, Iceberg Roses and Hybrid Tea Roses.

Iceberg Roses

The Iceberg rose is a shrub type rose, relatively fast growing and disease resident. They produce beautiful smaller size white roses from late spring to first frost. These are great to use as boarders around decks and porches, as well as hedges and lining fences. They can get large but are shapable and can be cut back to desired size. We planted a few of these in our front yard flower beds last year and just recently planted more along the side of our house. They love sun so plant them where you get full sun! This is what my iceberg roses looked like at my last house after only a few years!

Hybride Tea Rose

The Hybrid Tea Rose is a beautiful show stopper rose. It grows tall stocks and is perfect for cutting to bring fresh roses into you home. The blooms are large and fragrant, they also love lots of sun and are easy to grow. We are planting these along the back side of our home where they have the ability to grow tall and wide and I can’t wait to see them flourish!

Snowball Hydrangea 

The Snowball Hydrangea is a beautiful round in shape hydrangeas bush. They like full sun to part shade. We are planting these around our back deck. This type of hydrangea gets large, wide and tall so they make for great borders around areas like decks. I have dreams of sitting out here being surrounding by flowers all day! This is also a great hydrangea for colder areas and they bloom on new wood so in the winter cut it pretty far down and new shoots pop up and bloom in the spring.

Limelite Hydrangeas

We planted 2 Limelite hydrangea trees in our front yard last year and I love them so much. They are a beautiful white colored large cone shaped bloom and they come as trees or shrubs. They do well in full sun to part shade and bloom on old wood. This means in the winter you only cut off the dead blooms and leave the old stocks. If you cut off the stocks you won’t have blooms the next year because all the new blooms are already growing inside the stocks waiting to pop out the next season. If you’re local check out Glover Nursery or Sun River Gardens – this is where I got mine from!

Trees

We are planning to add 4 or 5 trees to our yard along the back fence line inside a large garden bed are are building. We need something that doesn’t get too large but will still provide us with some shade and privacy. The options are seriously endless and picking trees is a large investment. You also have to think about how it will work in your yard once it’s at it’s full maturity, otherwise you will be ripping trees out and no one wants to do that! Some of the top contenders for us right now are:

Magnolia tree

Birch tree (it’s name alone is so fitting!)

Musashino Zelkova

Willow

Tree recommendations 

I asked you all what you favorite backyard trees are, something on the smaller size around 30′ max hight and here are your top recommendations! We will be adding a few of these to our yard from this list over the next month and I will share the process and what we picked out. 

Dakota Birch

Cherry Blossom Tree

Dogwood Tree

Firestick Tree

Japanese Maple Tree – (Recommended by many)

Autum Blaze Maple

Ruby Sunset Maple Tree

Pacific Sunset Maple Tree

Crimson Sunset Maple Tree

Crep Myrtle – (Recommended by many)

Redbud Tree – (Recommended by many)

Zelkova Tree

Rocket Juniper Tree

Kentucky Coffee Tree

Crabapple Tree

Bradford Pear Tree

Columnar Oak Tree

Dwarf Lilac Tree

Karl Fuchs Tree

Sanders Blue Atlas Tree

Chokecherry Tree

Stay tuned to see how this project unfolds and all the trees and flowers we pick for our backyard!

-Grey Birch Designs-

I am often asked about the paint colors in my home. I will be showing off each color, starting with the main level.

Pure White by Sherwin-Williams

One color that is consistent throughout my home is white. I have it everywhere and it’s the main base paint color. If your looking for a true bright white color that doesn’t have any undertones this is the one to pick! This color is prominent in my living room and kitchen. The cabinets came painted white from the manufacturer but perfectly match the Pure White on the walls. The walls and ceiling are an eggshell finish and the trim is semi-gloss.

Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore

In my bedroom I did a painted bead board treatment and used the color Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore in a satin finish. This is one of my favorite colors and I will be using it again in other areas of my home. It’s a beautiful navy blue color with a touch of warmth. The top part of the walls and ceiling are Pure White by Sherwin-Williams in an eggshell finish.

Black by Behr and Huck & Fin Wallpaper by WallBlush

In my office I created custom built-ins with two Ikea Billy Bookcases and a slat wall in between. I didn’t paint the bookcases but I did paint the slat wall with the color Black by Behr in a satin finish. It’s an identical match to the black Ikea bookcases and brought the whole unit together as one! On the other walls I hung this gorgeous mural called Huck and Fin by Wall Blush. It’s the perfect backdrop I was looking for and one of my very favorite wallpaper prints in my home. It comes in peel and stick or un-pasted. I went with the un-pasted as I think it’s easer to install.  My code GREYBIRCHDESIGNS gives you 30% off any purchase on their website!

Rock Bottom by Sherwin-Williams with Organic Dots by Ayara Home

In my half bathroom on the main floor I installed a board and batten wall treatment and painted it Rock Bottom by Sherwin-Williams in a satin finish. This is a very dark, moody green color. In areas where there isn’t a lot of light it can look almost black, but in natural light you can see the beautiful green color pulling through! On the top of the board and batten I hung the Organic Dots wallpaper by Ayara Home. This is a peel and stick wallpaper and the texture of the fabric is very high quality and well made! My code GREYBIRCHDESIGNS will save you 10% off any purchase on their website!

Riverway by Sherwin-Williams

In my morning kitchen I built mudroom lockers for our kids and painted them the color Riverway by Sherwin-Williams in a satin finish. It’s a gorgeous blue color with undertones of green and gray. The rest of the room is painted Pure White by Sherwin-Williams in an eggshell finish.

-Grey Birch Designs-

For my Christmas tree this year I went with a natural organic design and color pallet. I used green, gold, bronze, brown, black, and white. It turned out beautiful, classic, and neutral just how I hoped it would!

One of my favorite ways to add fullness and texture to a Christmas tree is with floral and greenery picks. I used a few different greenery stems and some berry sprays on my tree. My #1 tip when doing this is to make sure your stems are always facing down your tree.

Tip #2 is to use varying size, shape and texture ornaments. You can make a beautiful tree with only round ball ornaments simply by following this tip! This will help the stems flow with the natural direction of the tree which looks more realistic. Below I linked all the pieces I used on my tree this year!

9′ Pre-Lit Christmas Tree

Cedar Snow Berry Spray

Norfolk Pine Stem

Gold Glitter Leaf Spray

6″ Glittered 2 Tone Ball

Black Round Ornament

Large Pearl Ornament

Champagne Quilted Ornament

Marbled Matte Cream and Brown Ornament

Marbled Nude Finish Ornament

Gold and Clear Ornament

Gold Bell

Dried Sun Palm

Faux Eucalyptus

Most of the things I used on my tree were new this year. However, some are from years past and therefore not available, so I can’t link them.

-Grey Birch Designs-

When it comes to interior design styles, mine is a mix of transitional and modern farmhouse. Because of this there are a few retailers I tend to gravitate toward. One of these is All Modern. I used a few of their pieces in my last home and plan to do the same in my new one. While shopping online I spotted a few pieces I love that are part of All Modern’s coming up cyber sale!

These items are beautiful, will work with many different home styles, and are on a great sale. Check out my All Modern cyber sale round up below!

Shop This Post Here

-Grey Birch Designs-

One of the most important elements of interior design and many times overlooked is window treatments. They are not only necessary for privacy, but they can also make a major statement and bring your home’s design to the next level.

In my home I installed Polywood® Shutters from Sunburst Shutters on just about every window. I love the clean, modern lines that fit my style perfectly.This type of window treatment brings a classic elegance to each room that will never go out of style.

The Polywood® Shutters are the perfect choice because they are 100% custom made to fit each window. They are also made in the USA and specifically engineered with a durable recyclable solid wood substitute; so they won’t chip, crack, warp, or split.

The installation was easy and painless. Sunburst Shutters sent out someone to take all the measurements and place the order. Then when my custom shutters were ready they delivered and installed them. One feature that sets Polywood® Shutters apart from other plantation shutters is they are extruded with an exclusively patented weather stripping, which adds another layer of window insulation. We all know that windows are a primary source of heat gain/loss inside a home, but these shutters have weather-stripping along each side to provide optimal window insulation, blocking more temperature and light than any other shutter.

This was a big selling point for me because my daughter’s and twin son’s rooms at the front of our home are greatly affected by the heat of the summer sun and the cold of the winter

We have now gone through our first winter with these new shutters in our home. I can say from first hand experience that there was a noticeable temperature difference in my kids’ bedrooms. They are a world of difference from the basic blinds we used to have!

There are a ton of window treatment options out there and I’m super happy with my decision.

These new shutter are the perfect fit for my home and my design style. Plus they are a true classic that never goes out of style!! Now I’m on to the next design project!

-Grey Birch Designs-

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hunter Fan Company. All opinions are 100% mine.

I recently gave my living room a little update. I have been really loving the more eclectic, lived-in look than the matchy matchy look. I wanted my living room to have a warm, inviting feel with a mix of old vintage and new modern designs.

I started with my sectional pillows. Instead of picking 2 or 3 of the same throw pillows and repeating them throughout the sofa, I picked 7 different pillows that all complemented each other but were still different. This really makes the room feel like things have been collected over time and not staged. Next I changed my rug to a larger size. Our living room is pretty big and our previous 8×10 rug didn’t adequately fill out the space. I went with this new rug because of all its amazing texture. I’m a sucker for good high texture pieces!

The biggest change was upgrading our ceiling fan to this matte black Solaria from Hunter Fan Company It’s the best fan we have ever had. We had previously had a 52″ fan in here and it really didn’t move the air around very well so it was time for it to go!

Aside from this fan being a larger size, 60″ in fact it has the brands exclusive SureSpeed technology, which means it’s a high-velocity fan with airflow optimized for high-speed cooling … and let me tell you that’s exactly what it does! The fan has specially designed blades and the motor is smaller, which makes it push air more efficiently — 20% more airflow than other fans! It also has an LED light, which is nice because we have been switching all our lights to LED – they are long lasting and energy efficient. But my favorite thing about this fan is thepre-paired and ready to use wall control! It eliminates the need for a remote and that’s a total game changer. There is nothing more frustrating than losing your fan remote and not be able to control it … believe me I know from first hand experience.

I have only seen this wall control feature on Hunter fans and I think it’s the smartest design I have ever seen! All you do it install in on your switch plate and it’s ready to use. You can turn it on and off through the wall control, as well as change the direction the fan spins and the speed, all from one place! Yay for never misplacing your ceiling fan remote again!!

The last thing I did to round out this room update was add in some vintage and faux vintage looking pottery, warm wood tones, house plants, and some candles! It wasn’t a big change but boy does this space feel more homie and functional, with an eclectic vibe that I’m completely in love with!!

-Grey Birch Designs-

 Over the past few months I have felt my style evolving, not necessarily changing but just becoming more refined. It’s funny to look back on how my style has changed over the years and grown up right along with me! One thing I have always loved is a vintage twist in my decor. I love to mix styles, specifically modern with a twist of vintage vibe, and that’s exactly what I did in my sunroom!

The real star of this room is my new handmade vintage inspired Rune rug from Revival Rugs. I have been a long time fan of their beautiful rugs and I’m so excited to add one into my home! I love the natural colors,  the beautiful design, and of course I’m a sucker for any rug with fringe!! This rug is inspired by nomadic tribes. They were limited by the size loom they would make their rugs on, so they would commonly join long narrow panels together to make a larger, wider rug. How cool is that! I love knowing the story and history behind vintage pieces, as well as the design inspiration of vintage reproductions. It truly gives more life to a piece of decor for me.

  

This room is the perfect space for my new rug because this is where I have so many of my vintage inspired faux found pottery I have made. Have you tried this project yet?! I’m seriously obsessed with making these! They are the perfect compliment to each other and bring the whole look and feel of the space together, with a little bit of a story! This room has such a warm welcoming feel to it now and it’s a place we love to gather together as a family and enjoy a meal!

Revival rugs not only has vintage inspired handmade rugs, but also a collection of true one of a kind vintage rugs that you can’t find anywhere else! Check them out here and use my code: GREYBIRCH10 to save yourself 10% off a truly beautiful and unique rug for your home that will last the test of time!

-Grey Birch Designs-

I ended up picking out these nightstands The big selling point for me was the power strip in the top drawer so I can charge my phone and keep the top of the nightstand clear of clutter – total game changer! I also fell in love with the matching highboy dresser I love the color and texture of the wood in these pieces. To soften the look I wanted to bring in an ulpostered bed and this grey tufted bed couldn’t be more perfect!! The soft color, nail head trim detail, and clean lines are exactly what I was looking for!