What is your design style, and how do you incorporate those decorating decisions within your home?

My design style is traditional with French influences. I love mixing laid back French Country furniture with romantic Parisian architectural elements. Many of the rooms throughout our home utilize classic Parisian details like chevron floors and wall moldings to add character. I tend to favor neutral colors, so I like a mix of textures and layers to add interest.

Where do you get your design inspiration from?

A lot of the elements in our home are inspired by Parisian apartments and Brooklyn Brownstones. I find a lot of inspiration on Instagram and Pinterest, mainly.

When starting a design project, how do you organize and plan for it?

Everything starts with a vision board or inspiration picture. From there, I begin to imagine what the project will look like by designing mockups and measuring the space. Once I settle on the proposed design, that’s where the planning and organizing come into play. Every project is tracked in an Excel document where I manage the budget and timeline. We’ve lived in our home during renovations, so I’m always careful to plan projects depending on the time of year.

Did you remodel your entire home? If so, were there specific rooms that were more challenging than others? Why?

We have remodeled our entire home over the last several years. There were undoubtedly challenging projects and others that were more invasive for us while we’ve been living in our home. The most invasive project was probably our kitchen remodel. We obviously weren’t able to use that space, and the kitchen is the heart of the home, which connects to nearly every room on our main level. It was a challenge to live in during that remodel!

From a design perspective, the most challenging room to remodel was our master bathroom. We had a lot of design choices to make and worked with many different vendors to make our inspiration come to life. We ended up running into some issues with plumbing and electricity, which ultimately delayed the project timeline. In the end, though, we were able to get our dream bathroom.

How long did this project take to complete?

For this project, we replaced every door throughout our home, which was actually a lot bigger of a project than initially expected. The project took about a month, even with a crew. The biggest challenges and delays were actually regarding the existing moldings, trim, and flooring – which ran into the door frames. We ended up having to replace a lot of that when we replaced doors since we changed some of the doors’ sizes.

How did you choose the hardware featured in this project? What attracted you to Grandeur Hardware?

For this project, we went with Parisian-inspired doors with a circle inlay, so we wanted hardware that complimented the design. We wanted to make sure that the hardware wasn’t too antique-feeling since our home incorporates more contemporary elements. When I was looking at hardware, I was instantly attracted to the elegance of Grandeur Hardware. The designs all feel very luxe yet contemporary. I love the finishes and the ability to mix and match plates, levers, and knobs within each collection.

Will you use this hardware again in other projects/areas of your home? If so, why?

We now have Grandeur Hardware throughout our entire home and are so pleased with the design and beauty of it. Using the Carre Short Plate and Georgetown Lever in two different finishes helped set the rooms apart. However, incorporating matching hinges on the doors really tied it all together.

Did you learn any tips and tricks about door hardware that you think would be beneficial for others?

We learned the importance of selecting a hardware brand that stands by their product and provides easy access to customer service representatives for questions. We ran into a few questions when we were initially ordering our hardware. The customer service that Grandeur Hardware offers is unparalleled. We also now appreciate how much door hardware can change the feel of a home. Having beautiful hardware instantly elevates your home.

A lot of people are wanting to get involved in large remodeling projects. How do you go about choosing a house to buy and renovate?

First and foremost, we chose our home based on the location. We knew we wanted to buy in a community with good schools and a desirable place to live overall. We chose our exact home based on the layout (we really wanted two-story ceilings in the foyer and living room). We looked past a lot of the design aesthetic – which we knew we could more easily change. Our house definitely needed some TLC, so we took care of what needed to be addressed right when we bought it. We lived in it for about a year to really get a sense of what renovations were required to accommodate how we lived in the space.

What are some recommendations for readers who want to do an extensive remodel project in their home? What are some tips for readers who wish to make a transformation to their entryway?

I always start by browsing Instagram and Pinterest. Pinterest is great because you can easily search based on what type of project you’re looking to do. Once you have a source of inspiration, the most important thing is to develop a budget (which you can almost always plan to exceed). Finding contractors is the next challenge. If you can work as the general contractor yourself, you can definitely save some money. However, it will cost you a lot of time, so it’s not always the most economical decision. We now prefer to work with a contractor and then source materials ourselves. That way, we can still have a hand in the design process (which I enjoy) while leaving the technical stuff to the professionals.

For anyone looking to remodel their entryway, I highly recommend it! It’s the first space guests will see, and it really sets the tone for your whole home. That was the first project we ever did in our house, and it was so worth it. I started that project by finding inspiration on Pinterest and found some great spaces that were very similar in layout to ours.

Give us some more details on your blog, Mia Mia Mine. How did you develop it, and what sets it apart from the rest?

Mia Mia Mine is a fashion and lifestyle blog offering daily inspiration. It serves as a shopping source for women who love to combine luxury with more affordable, everyday finds. I focus heavily on quality investments that stand the test of time for both fashion and the home. I also love a great deal and will share my favorite affordable finds to complement those investment pieces. I spent most of my professional career working on Wall Street, so my style and aesthetic favor more tailored and sophisticated pieces.

What is next for you?

We have renovated the entire interior of our home, so all that’s left is the exterior. We plan to add an addition and redo our exterior, which will be our largest project to date. I came up with the design, and we hired an architect to put our vision on paper. We’ll be starting that project later this year, and we’re so excited!