Elevathers
Hosted by entertainment pros Amanda Booz and Krystal Vega, each episode dives into the real stories behind modern womanhood, from the highs of entrepreneurship and personal wins to the lows of heartbreak and self-doubt.
They break down trending topics, relationship dynamics, career pivots, and everything in between, all with honesty, humor, and a dose of sisterhood. Whether you're chasing your next level or rebuilding from scratch, this is your space to feel seen, supported and inspired.
El·e·vat·hers: /ˈeləˌvāt/hers/ Women who continue to transcend through the peaks and valleys of life's journey while maintaining authenticity and grace.
Elevathers
S2 | EP 13: How To Elevate Your Space Without Wasting Money
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Ready to make your place feel like home, not a showroom? We dive into the mindset, methods, and money moves that turn any space into something elevated, personal, and deeply livable. We start where most people don’t: cleansing and blessing the home to set the tone. From there, we chart a clear path to a luxe-meets-comfort vibe, focusing on choices that reflect who we are rather than what’s trending in the feed.
We unpack why “buy slow” is the best design tip you’ll ever hear—especially for big-ticket items like sofas, mattresses, and nightstands that should survive years, not months. Expect real talk on Wayfair vs outlets, the power of Facebook Marketplace, and how to spot quality in a sea of lookalikes. We also share budget-friendly upgrades with outsized impact: layered low lighting, wall molding painted to match, high-and-wide curtains, and strategic pops of color from accent walls to DIY limewash. Sponsor Ozarke gets a shout for statement lamps and fixtures that add warmth and shape without a remodel.
Room by room, we call the hits and misses. Living rooms thrive on moody lamps and meaningful art; kitchens work best when stations match your routine; bathrooms come alive with shelves, greenery, and spa textures; bedrooms get calmer with fewer pillows and better drapery. We push back on overdone panels, art-as-TV, and endless luxury books, and we champion character—vintage finds, restored vanities, funky lamps, and the piece you drove an hour for because you loved it. If you want a home that looks premium, functions beautifully, and still feels unmistakably you, this one’s packed with practical, proven steps.
If this helped you rethink your space, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who’s decorating, and leave a quick review—tell us the first upgrade you’re tackling next!
Welcome Back & Holiday Energy
SPEAKER_01Take your time. Anybody who's listening who's about to decorate their home or like elevate their space, because that's what we're talking about on today's episode. Elevating your home. Because you're right now we're all about elevating, but taking it up, a notch, taking it up another level. So if you're doing that, take your time. I think that has been one of the biggest learning curves for me as a homeowner.
SPEAKER_02Hey guys, welcome back to another episode. We are here being consistent. Even though the world has been whipping, are behind.
SPEAKER_01We still here. Hello, hello, welcome back. I hope everybody is having a great week and plans to have another half of the great week. Welcome back. Thank you for tuning in. Make sure you guys like, comment, subscribe, share our episodes. If you have not tuned in, please tune in to our last two episodes. First, we talked to Tyreek, known as Tyreek Told You on social media. He's hilarious and always keeps it real. Followed by Tierra, who talked a little bit about um breast cancer and her journey and how important it is for women to have these conversations, to advocate for themselves and prioritize our health most importantly, because nothing exists without our health. And today, Amanda and I are just gonna kick it with y'all. It's been some time since we caught up.
SPEAKER_02It has. Have you guys missed us? Because we missed you. We missed you. We really did. And I've missed you, Crystal. I feel like I have not seen you physically. Girl, I know. And I feel like every time we talk, it's just podcast stuff. And I'm like, I need a break. And we just gotta get through this. We just had to get through these last couple of weeks, and then we'll figure it out. But girl always got hands. Key four big. Always. But you know what? I feel like it's gonna set us up for just an amazing 2026. Like, I feel like the energy that we're going into the new year with is like the energy that we have as we're closing out this year. And
Tree Talk: Trad, Aesthetic, And Timing
SPEAKER_02I am feeling like I'm in the spirit. I feel like I'm ready to go get my tree. I'm already Christmas shopping. I'm working in between all that at the same time. But like I feel, I feel like I'm it's time. Like Mariah Carey said, it's it's holiday time.
SPEAKER_01Girl, my tree is already up. My tree, my tree has been up since before Halloween. Cause wow. My mom was here and she's crazy. And my boyfriend is in the holiday spirit this year. Last year I didn't even put up my tree. This year he's like, we're putting up the tree. And I love that because I needed that push. Um, so before my mom left, she's insane. She's like, we're gonna put up the tree so that you don't have an excuse of why it didn't go up this year. It's going up. So my tree has been up. I need to add more ornaments to it, but I love the way it looks. I'm a colorful tree girl. Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_02You so you're so you're more of a okay, that's a good, actually, this is a good, this is a good question. And shout out to your mom for putting up your tree because I know you have been like super busy with planning the Fortune of Forks Gala, working and doing all the things. Yeah. I have a question for you and anyone that is listening. What kind of tree person are you? Are you a traditional, like home alone? I'm putting everything on the tree, ornaments from like 1990, or are you an aesthetic tree person where the tree has to be muted and all the same colors and like monochromatic? So, you what kind of tree person are you?
SPEAKER_01Crazy tree me every year.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_01I'm home alone. Ornaments are sentimental and you should get a new one every year, even though I was not in the spirit in the last two years. But however, crazy tree me. I love that. I just think it's so beautiful, has so much character, so much color. Like, I absolutely love different Christmas ornaments and different colors. This year I'm gonna have a Ralph Lauren Christmas.
SPEAKER_02The girls have really been having the Ralph Lauren like themed like holidays, and I love, I love the Ralph aesthetic. So I think I'm also gonna sell my dog. What?
SPEAKER_01Not really sell my dog.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wait, for like holiday photos? Yes, I'm like perfect.
SPEAKER_01That's come here, Bronx and Rice, now I'm putting bows wait, I put bows on them. They don't have bowls like on them physically right now, but I already did like Christmas content with them. So go to my page and check that out if you haven't already. Um but yeah, my baby's got bows, and I'm like, where's the dog? Where's the dog brands? Cause they're ready to go. Seriously. Seriously.
SPEAKER_02And then they need to be booked and busy. They're super cute. I might need to have them over so I could do some dog content. Cause that's me. I'm like, I want to borrow the dog for the day, and I want to give it right back. I just want to borrow it for the day because you can borrow my dogs for the day. That's totally fine. Yeah, I think I'm an aesthetic tree slash traditional, and this is why. I feel like from my house, I probably will have like a like a cute little aesthetic tree. Cause I feel like I I know we're gonna talk about, by the way, we're gonna talk about home stuff today. And I feel like I spent so much money trying to get my my house together and my place in order. I'm like, I want the tree to match the feng shui of this place. But my mom is such a traditional tree person through and through. She has like my first ornament from like 1990. Like she has like things I drew on in kindergarten and daycare, and she puts it on the tree. So I look at her tree and I'm like looking for the like I look forward to looking for those ornaments. So yeah, I don't know. I'm like in between. I'm in between, but I love a traditional tree. I feel like, like you said, it has so much character. And I'm I'm I might even get a second tree. I think I might have multiple trees this year.
SPEAKER_01Like that. See, I wish I had space for a second tree because I would totally have multiple trees in my house.
SPEAKER_02Like a char like a what is it? Charlie Brown? Like you get a little Charlie Brown tree.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like a little skinny one in the corner. You know what I mean? Like put them in different places just to really get in the spirit. But you know what crushes my heart after spending months with all that spirit and like fun and like lighting in your house and all that dopamine and when you take down the tree. I'm like, no.
SPEAKER_02When are you taking your tree down? Because some people take theirs down right at the new year, and some people wait till February, some people wait till December 31st. Like, when is when do you feel like the tree should go down?
SPEAKER_01Ooh, baby. I think I'm like January 31st kind of person.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Go into the new year with the tree.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I like to soak it in. I like to soak it in.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I think Christmas isn't long enough. I feel like Christmas should be like they I think Christmas should be November and December. Because I feel like I live in Whoville. Yeah. What is Cindy Lou? Cindy Lou Huho? What is it? Cindy Lou Who? Is that her name? Cindy Lou? Yes. Yes. You want to be Cindy Lou? Yes. I want to be Cindy Lou who for real. But how are y'all feeling? Are you guys
Setting Intentions: Cleanse And Bless Your Home
SPEAKER_02in the Christmas spirit? Tap in the comments. Let us know. Are you in the holiday spirit this year? Is the tree up? When is the tree going up? When is the tree coming down? We would love to know those things. But girl, let's talk about home and furnishing and elevating your space. I know we've wanted to have this chat for so long. You and I both are into like, you know, just, you know, cute little things for the house and making the place a home. And I know you've been doing it for a minute. I'm just like kind of starting and getting into it too in my new space. Girl, my wallets is hurting.
SPEAKER_01First and my pockets is hurting. First and foremost, take your time. Anyone who's listening who's about to decorate their home or like elevate their space, because that's what we're talking about on today's episode. Elevating your home, taking it up a notch, taking it up another level. Um, so if you're doing that, take your time. I think that has been one of the biggest learning curves for me as a homeowner. It's like being able to take your time and really think about the pieces that you want in your home because you're keeping that stuff. Like I purchased a $5,000 couch. This couch is gonna be in my life for the next 10 years. Do you hear me? You get what I'm saying? A beautiful couch, by the way. Thank you. Thank you. But like when you are making those purchases, I think it's important to take your time with them because I I mean, we're gonna get into this, but I've got some hot takes on purchasing furniture and how much it should cost and so on and so forth. So we'll get into that. But yes, it's been a very big learning curve for me to be patient and to take my time adding elements to my house so that I'm not just filling my house with a bunch of clutter that doesn't mean anything.
SPEAKER_02I would love for us to start opening up this conversation and talk about like what elevating your home like really means for us. I know like a couple weeks ago I shared on my Instagram, if you guys haven't seen it, that I recently moved. Well, recently not as recent, but recently moved. And I think the first step for me when it came to elevating my space was not the furniture. And I think it's important to say that. So I am in a new space that's new to me. So when I first came into this space before the furniture, I felt like I needed to cleanse my home. And I feel like in order to elevate your house, you need to clean your home first. Some of us are renting, some of us are owning, some of us are in spaces where people once lived before us. You ever walked into like a space and you felt like it was like heavy, or you felt a space and it felt very like airy, or it felt very like, ooh, like it's clean, like you felt creative. I feel like all those things stem from how you initiate your your blessings for your place. So for me, like I had to pray over my home. Let me make sure I get my oil out. I pray over this space that it protects me and that I feel safe in it and that I feel creative in it, and so on and so forth. So I think it's important. Some people like to use sage, whatever it is that you like to do, light a candle, say a prayer, whatever it is that you feel like you need to do to cleanse your space. But I feel like first and foremost,
Luxury Meets Comfort: Defining Your Style
SPEAKER_02before buying all the nice stuff, like you have to elevate your space by cleansing it spiritually. I love that space. So I have to say that.
SPEAKER_01I love that. Yeah, because honestly, once I thought about elevating, I kind of skipped over that part. Not that I don't do it, but I forgot like how important that first step is, just really setting the energy right in the space that you are gonna be in every single day. For me, elevating my home really means making it feel luxurious yet comfy. Like I like my rooms and like my space to feel like the four seasons in Orlando. You know, like me, right? Right. I like my space to feel like vibey, but luxurious, premium, elevated. So that's that's what an elevated space looks like to me. It's about the aesthetic, but also how it makes me feel as well as like my guests feel. Because as y'all know, I love hosting people, I love having company, I love cooking for people, I love like having friends over, just chilling. And I guess that was why I felt like it was such a learning curve for me because I wanted things to be perfect already within the first day. And like when you're furnishing from the ground up, it's like you gotta give yourself like realistic time to do that, not even just financially, but like to pick the right stuff. It took me what a year to pick a couch, Amanda? A year and a half? I didn't have a couch for like a year and a half, and it was more so about finding a couch that we really like. Like everybody was buying the cloud couch. Everybody was buying the cloud couch.
SPEAKER_02The cloud couch. I hate it.
SPEAKER_01And I'm like, I don't want that. Like, that's not it, just I knew it wasn't a fit for my style, but also longevity. I'm like, those things cost $3,000. And after uh two months of having it, it looks like somebody been sitting in it for six years straight. You know?
SPEAKER_02So yeah. I'm not into it. I think it looks not cute. Even the RH, even the most expensive one. I just like you said, it just looks like somebody's their body, like I can see the butt prints on the ground. Right.
SPEAKER_01You see the imprint from it's ridiculous.
SPEAKER_02I'm not into it. I think I like my space to feel similar to yours, like luxurious, definitely like aesthetically pleasing. I'm a little combination of like lived in, but like who lives here, like nobody lives here. Like I'm very like OCD sometimes when it comes to that stuff, but I want my place to feel airy and functional at the same time. I I'm sure you guys have also experienced this growing up where your mom had like that one space in your house. Oh, just case it works. I said clutter. No. That too. No, that too. But like that one couch that you couldn't sit on, like the plastic was on it, or you was a white couch or with a white room that you know that if you step foot in it, you'd get yelled at. I don't want to, I like feel so traumatized by that. I'll take it a step further. I'm using my dishwasher, okay? I feel like when I was growing up, we were not supposed to use certain appliances in our home for whatever reason. Like, no, like gone are those days. So, like in my space, I want to feel like I can use everything. I can sit on everything. Like, it just feels functional, but yet like luxe in my own way.
SPEAKER_01So a thousand percent. A thousand percent. You want everything away. I feel like we come from a generation of clutter where there's a bunch of things on the wall and like all this stuff, and it's very much like lived in. Now we're very like minimalist. And I think that it has even to take it a step further, it has translated into like the colors we use in our house. So how it's for me, it's like so important. That's why I say like I'm taking my time because even though I want it to feel luxurious and and premium, I still want it to feel like my house. Like there's certain rooms that I want to add character to, like my bathrooms. I am dying to add character to my bathroom. And it might be like a spa character, but at least it's character. You know, it's not black and white, it's not just the simple modern touch that we see these days. And I think it's so important that your space is a reflection of you. You're gonna be in it every day. You, it should be a reflection of you and not your Instagram timeline, in my opinion. Ooh, what you mean by that? What you mean by that? It's just like a lot of times we see things on social media and and we have these Pinterest boards and all these other things where you can totally get inspiration from, but it's like it doesn't really, it's not always really a reflection of your character. You know what I mean? Like for me, I see things on social media and I'm like, oh my god, this is beautiful, but I have a little more character than it than this. Like, yeah, sometimes I'll like want like a really funky piece. Like, I've learned that I even though I like premium, I like artsy
Buy Slow: Quality, Budgets, And Big Purchases
SPEAKER_01in my home. It's like a it's a combination of like edgy but like luxurious. So I would get a funky piece to hang up on my wall, you know, versus like just getting things on social media where I'm like hot take, but panels. I am over these panels. I know. And when you said you were getting panels, I was like, Amanda, do you really want those panels? I am over adding panels to my house. I have to really do not get me wrong. Do not get me wrong. Yes. I only have panels on my like like uh I don't even know what to call it, like my walkway or whatever. Um, and that's it. That's the only panels you're gonna get in my house because I'm over the panels, you know. Like to me, the panels were very much a reflection of like trends on social media that I thought were that I think is cute, but now I'm like done. And I need to add just more character to my house. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And see, I think for me, I like I like the panels, but I wasn't gonna do the whole thing. Like I was like, I like more of like the molding, like the crown moldings, and um, like I just wanted this little specific hub. Like, this is like a little part of my place where I record the podcast and I wanted it to have like something like brownsy going on to it. But um I'm with you on that. I do think that people should identify their own sense of style when it comes to home. I think it's okay to get ideas and such on Pinterest, but I think also home should just feel how you want it to feel and how you want it to look. Because at the end of the day, just as we've talked about, you know, taking other people's ideas and stealing other people's styles, like you want to be in something that feels like you and you want to walk in every day and it's like, oh, this is my home. Or you don't want to walk into a space and it's like, it's cute. I just did it because I seen it on the internet and it doesn't feel like me, and I'm not as comfortable in it. Because I feel like overall, like in the long run, it's gonna affect your mood and you're gonna realize I don't really like this after all, versus like I fell in love with this piece and had to get it. For an example, I had a coffee table that I got for my space. You guys may judge me. I drove two hours to go get this coffee table. It'd be like that. And we were passionate about it. Hour and about half. Yes, an hour and a half. I was passionate about it. And before I like get into that, shout out to Brianna. I won't I'll probably mention her a little bit more on this show. She helped me, she's one of my friends, she helped me like design my space and like source different um furniture pieces. And she also opened me up to Facebook Marketplace, which I've always known about, but I wasn't really like in tune with. I've never really purchased anything from Facebook Marketplace, but we see this coffee table and I'm like, it has some character to it. It doesn't look like the quintessential um glass or just like oddly shaped coffee table that I know a lot of people are into. It just had a little bit of character to it and it was like vintage, and it was a vintage piece. I drove an hour and 30 minutes back and forth, so I guess a combination of three hours to go get this coffee table.
SPEAKER_01How much did they charge you for the coffee table, even though it was from Facebook market? A hundred dollars. That's not bad.
SPEAKER_02But can I tell you what's crazy? The same coffee table are on sale, so pay attention to when you're buying things from like vintage shops and things that are, you know, um, like unique pieces. You need to shop around for them because this same coffee table people are selling for 300, 500 plus. Wow. Like, so when I went and got it from the girl, she literally said to me, She's like moving. She just was newly pregnant and she's moving and she's like, I know I'm selling it to you for underprice. She's like, but you know, I was wanting to get this table and they were overpricing it, but I wanted to make sure I gave it to somebody at the price I wanted to receive it at. And I was like, you know what? If I sell this piece, I'm gonna sell it for the same amount because I felt like she looked out. You know, I drove all that way and she definitely didn't have to sell it to me for that price, but she did. So I'm a strong believer of Facebook marketplace and also finding like unique pieces that don't feel like every things you sell.
SPEAKER_01Everything else. No, a thousand percent. And listen, I asked how much you pay for that because it's a good quality table. And that's one thing that I will say right now with Wayfair and like all these different brands. I love like getting things from Wayf things from Wayfair. Do not get me wrong. I you have to source because it's kind of like Amazon, they have a bunch of different vendors on there, so it really like depends what vendor you're getting your stuff from. If you pay attention to like the links and the and the brands and stuff, but like you get you find you a good brand on Wayfair, like you could get some good quality stuff, but you find you a bad brand on any platform,
Vintage Wins: Facebook Marketplace Finds
SPEAKER_01your furniture is gonna be a reflection of that. Typically, you get what you pay for. So if certain things you cannot skimp out on, like your bed, your mattress. I had to learn that the hard way. I bought two mattresses on Amazon, I'll never do it again. Now I have to go in store and buy like a thousand, two thousand dollar mattress. Um nightstands you cannot skimp out on. If you store anything in your nightstands, like I do, like I store a bunch of stuff in my nightstand and it will break on you. It will break. Um pouch you skip, you cannot skimp out on. Like sometimes with furniture, you get what you pay for. So you have to be very careful with how much or how little you're paying for things because then you've got like a restoration hardware where you can walk into the regular store and drop four or five thousand dollars, which by the way, I heard they're struggling financially. Of course. But you go, you go to the outlet and you can get it for more than half off.
SPEAKER_02You know, we love that RH outlet. I love just walking in there. I do think certain pieces, you should spend a little more than enough so that it works. But I think be mindful. Like, I'm renting right now. I'm not gonna buy like my furniture like as if this was my home home. Like, so like even with my couch, I was like, oh, do I want to spend this on the couch? Because this isn't like my home home. I'm renting. So like I do have pieces from like Amazon. I do have pieces from Home Depot, sales furniture, I have pieces from Home Depot, I have stuff from Wafair, I have stuff from Rooms2Go, I have stuff from Ashley's furniture. Like, I have things from everywhere like that you could think of um Facebook Marketplace because I'm just like, I want to shop around for the best deal. I've been shopping for my stuff on like the Labor Day weekend, the holiday sales, like making sure that you get things when the Amazon day sales. Um, but do be mindful that I think you shouldn't break the bank when you're renting. That's just my thought process. I think if you got it, cool.
SPEAKER_01But if it isn't your home home, that's fair. That's why I said this couch is gonna be with me forever. You know what else? Going back to like just artsy and and like picking pieces that's important. That's why I got this lamp here from Ozark. I thought it was so cute, and I needed this, like, I just needed to add something to my little like content corner. Yeah, and this was like it's so cute, isn't it? Like I love it for those of you who are not watching and are listening. I got this new gold lamp. The gold looks really premium on it. The the the light bulbs, it's got like 10 to 12 light bulbs on it. I'm kind of like trying to describe it for y'all. And it's just like this really like cute, functional, but like artsy piece that I think adds to my corner. So I'm absolutely obsessed with it. And then I also got some lanterns from them for my outdoor um backyard area, which I'm working on it little by little. Next summer, God willing, I will have a setup backyard.
SPEAKER_02Yay! No, I'm I'm excited for you to have that. And I also too shout out to Ozark for partnering up with us on our our podcast for this episode. They also, you know, gifted me with a couple of things for the house. I have this lamp. I'm sure you guys probably can't see it. I'll try to, we'll try to like put on the screen for those who watch like the different things. I also wanted to show you, uh share with us a video that they sent us. So I'm gonna send it to you in a second.
Trends With Taste: Panels, Molding, And Character
SPEAKER_02They have really unique pieces, like modern home pieces to furnish your home. I've gotten some light fixtures from them that I'm gonna show you guys. And if you follow both Crystal and I on Instagram, um, we will definitely post some of that. Our home upgrades that we're doing with Ozark. Girl, yes, I'm gonna share with you this lamp. Okay, let's react to this video really quick.
SPEAKER_01I think Naomi has this lamp. Really? Or she had it in her old house. Not me thinking every corner needs a lamp. No, literally every corner needs a lamp. Low lighting is in right now. I love this lamp. This is this lamp is cute. It's not only trendy, but it's definitely like it has character to it, too. Character to your space, it's so cute. Um, like this is definitely something I would put in my house in a corner somewhere just to add. Low lighting is in right now, and I am into it. Same. When the content creators said don't turn on the big light, I laughed, but now I did it.
SPEAKER_00Do not turn on the big light.
SPEAKER_01We have moody light lighting. Yes, moody lighting. And that's why I love this lamp from Ozark. It matches perfect with these other um scones that I have on my wall. I'm just like obsessed with it. It it just it's just so perfect. I'm all about the low lighting right now. I need to add more in my house, but I think that's one social media trend that, yeah, I could, I could live with. I could live with it.
SPEAKER_02So loving the upgrades that we have been doing with our home, especially um the Ozark features. So, shout out to you guys for helping us elevate our space. So, let's talk about some. You know, we love to give affordable practical practical tips on just different ways that we can um elevate our home without making like super major renovations. Something that I recently did in my house, I would love for um me to be able to like maybe put up a picture or show you guys, is wall molding. I think wall molding elevates a space and it's not that expensive. It's super affordable, especially if you get it from like Amazon and you paint it the same color as your walls, it literally just elevates any space. And even Crystal mentioned like her scone lighting, something like that. They have battery-powered ones, so you don't have to do like the heavy lifting of trying to figure out electrical wires, like little things like that. I feel like lights, wall molding.
SPEAKER_01You know, wall moldings, yes, wall moldings remind me of um New York City so much. Yes, my my the apartment I was actually raised in is so New York in terms of like the architecture. Like we had wall, we have more and the the apartment is still in my family, but like we have wall moldings already embedded into the wall, like from when we first moved in. Well, the apartment I was raised in was the apartment my grandfather's mom owned, so we've been there for generations, and we have wall moldings on the wall, but we also have like corner moldings and ceiling moldings, which is like really antique and like beautiful for New York City. It's kind of like you ever seen like the content creators on the Upper East Side where they have like all this antique stuff? That's what it looks like, and it just kind of reminds me like it's so crazy, like living there. When I was younger, I'm like, oh, like whatever, you don't really appreciate it. And now that I'm older, I'm like, it's funny how styles, trends always recycle. You know what I mean? And it's funny how like now people like really appreciate and romanticize that that style. Meanwhile, here I'm running and I'm like, give me modern, give me this because I'm from that. Like humans are never satisfied.
SPEAKER_02That's so true.
Lighting Matters: Low Light, Lamps, And Ambience
SPEAKER_02And you know what? I was thinking about as you said this. My mom is such like an antique home kind of girl. Crystal, you know, you've been to like, you've been to, you've been to our house. Like, she loves unique things. And I used to be like, girl, like, you know, like get some like modern pieces and stuff like that. But now I'm appreciating, I like literally took take have have taken stuff from my mom's house to put in my house because I'm like, well, this is cute, this is unique, this is quirky, like it adds a little um element to it. So what I was gonna say is don't sleep on the thrift stores, like the Goodwills, the Salvation Armies, the restoration. I mean, not restoration armor. There, um, there's a place here in South Florida called um, oh my god, what is it called? Habitat for Humanity. They also have warehouses where you can buy things um as a homeowner. They sell even like tubs, they sell like all types of things, like fixtures and all types of crazy things. But yeah, don't sleep on like the Facebook marketplaces and the thrift stores because that's where like you could probably find a good piece of quality furniture. Like I remember having IKEA furniture. I would never be able to have my IKEA furniture that I had in college and like when I lived in New York travel with me here now. Like it would have never lasted the test of time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the what I have for my IKEA that has lasted slightly for me is like the closet, but I also overstuffed my closet. It's really bad. Like all my drawers and stuff, I always overdo it. I always overdo my drawers. But if I didn't, maybe they would last longer. So like the pack's closet for me has really lasted. Another way, too. They said that's good though. Yeah, but another way you can easily just like elevate your space and and just change things up is with color $20 bucket of paint, y'all. Do not underestimate an accent wall. Yes, do not, it adds so much character, an accent wall or curtains. I know like curtains, we used to make that's so out. Everybody wanted shades all of a sudden. And let me tell you something. The most compliment I get on my space is about my curtains. Okay, yeah, ceiling curtains will elevate your space like this. It makes sense. And the nice accent will be it's giving premium.
SPEAKER_02Yep, absolutely, absolutely. But also, I said plants and art. Artwork, you can get artwork anywhere, y'all. Target sells art, home goods. If you get a nice little piece of art from home goods at any of those vintage shops or thrift stores I mentioned before, artwork also can elevate a space. What do you think is a decorating or design mistake that people make when they're like newly moving into a space? Or what was something that you noticed you did?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think decorating, look at, I think I'm an interior designer. Okay, let's start there. Um, but I think decorating against your lifestyle routines and habits. If you're a person who makes people take their shoes off at the door, that's something you might want to consider when you're decorating. What are you decorating to hide those shoes or
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SPEAKER_01not hide those shoes? Like you have to decorate in the flow of your lifestyle and kind of like think about your lifestyle, your colors, and it's a lot of it's a lot to consider. That's why I say take your time because there's a lot of things you should consider when you're decorating. You're not just buying furniture, throwing stuff in your house, and like buying this because this is it, this is an okay color or whatever the case may be. Like really take your time and take and take your take your your thought process with you when you're making these purchases on like how it's gonna affect your everyday life and like what purpose you want it to serve so that you're not wasting money.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I agree. I think a big mistake people do make as well is um trying to feel like they need to do because I'm that person. Like I'm getting in a space, I need everything the day before. Like I need everything the same day. I need everything like in that moment. Um and I had to learn that the hard way because I feel like I bought things that were overpriced where it went on sale like a few weeks later. So I think Like feeling like you need to do everything at once. And I know Crystal, you mentioned that. Like, you don't have to do everything in one day. Rome was not built in a day. Like, I know that's a saying we hear all the time. You can take your time to do things to make sure you really love a piece. And I think a rule of thumb is like I do this when I go to home goods. If I like something and it may be a little bit expensive and I know I really want it, I will say to myself, I'm gonna leave this piece. And this is what I do with anything, honestly. It could be clothes and Zara, it could be anywhere. If I really like it and I go back and they have it, then I'll get it. Because I feel like you have to be able to sleep on it. And if it's something that you think about, then you're like, okay, I really think I want it. Let me go back and see it. And nine times out of ten, sometimes I'll still find it. That means it was meant for you to have in that sense. But like, don't like rush and make impulse purchases on something because you may regret it in the long run. That the wallet may hurt. So you may moderation.
SPEAKER_01A thousand percent. My cousin, who is an absolute shopaholic, she's really my mom's cousin, but um, I always thought I was grown growing up. But if my cousin, um, she would always tell me, like, when we would go shopping, do you like it or do you love it? And if I liked it, we left it. If I loved it, we took it. And I treat everything the same. Like, do I like this or do I love this? Where I'm like, I need to have this right now, then I'm taking it. So I'm with you. If it's if it's not something that you absolutely love, you should probably leave it, even if it's you know, furniture or something for your home. But also another thing that I've learned, like, is again going back to the power of color. Like me and me and Will, me and my boyfriend go back and forth about this all the time
Affordable Elevation: Paint, Curtains, And Art
SPEAKER_01because he's like, throw it out, let's get a new one, throw it out, get let's get a new one. And I'm like, you do not have to throw everything out, you can paint stuff. So I have a vanity in restoring it. Yeah, yes. I have a vanity in my guest bathroom, and it was like this old like wooden brown color, and he was like, Yeah, we're gonna throw it out and get a new one. I'm like, no, we're not. I took some black paint we have in my house and I just painted it. And I'm like, you see, brand new, and it's perfect now. I'm like, why would we have bought a whole new vanity that was gonna do nothing for us? You get what I'm saying? Like, it doesn't make sense. All we had to do was paint it black, and that's what I did, and now it's perfect. Ain't nothing wrong with the vanity, okay?
SPEAKER_02You'll appreciate more because you know, also you put your hard work into it. You like, I painted it. Like my bathroom, I wanted lime wash so bad. I was like, Who am I gonna find somebody to do it? And then I figured out lime wash is expensive and lime wash is not cheap. So I found a hack on how to do it and I lime washed my bathroom, myself and Brianna. Um, and my arms were hurting, but I appreciate it so much more because I'm like, I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this. Like we painted this together. So I am loving it, and it also, like you said, a little color goes a long way. It's not even like a super dark color, like it's light, but a little, it makes a big difference, even though it's something so small.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, a thousand percent. A thousand percent. I and yeah, I also think it gives us an opportunity to be creative and unplug for a second. That's like restoring something gives you an opportunity to be a kid again. It's arts and crafts all over again. And you should think about it like that and and have fun with it. But also remember it's gonna be in your house. So you want it to be again a reflection of you. You might not want now, you might not want to do 20 different colors like you did when you were a kid, but like it really just allows us to be like creative as adults. So I love restoring stuff that that if it ain't broke, I'm I'm I'm gonna just keep it, you know, and fix it. Yeah, you like a Martha, you like Martha Stewart in your own way. Like period. Okay. Every time. Every time. We'll go figure out. No, and so can you guys listening?
SPEAKER_02Okay, so be inspired. Figure it out yourself. Yes, and I'm I think that we should definitely we've talked about wanting to do this on the show anyways. Crystal and I will put in our notes. So if you are watching, I know if you're listening, definitely head over to the YouTube. We will add our Amazon storefront links and our LTK links of just different things that we have utilized in our spaces just to make it feel a little bit more like home and just also so you can see some pieces that we've added to our personal space that you may want to look into getting as well. Because it's fun decorating a new space, it feels like a new canvas and it's just it's it's your own sick sacred sanctuary. So why not make it like you in your own very special way? And I just love talking about like being in these spaces and stuff like that because not only do we sleep here, some of us live in our home, some of us create in our home. Um, it's literally like a space that has multiple functions. And especially if you're like you're in like a smaller space like me, like you want to figure out how to make different spaces, different places. Like I have like my workstation, I have like where it's my island, I have like my smaller table where it's like my dining table. Like everything feels like its own little thing so that you don't feel like you get tired of it, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_01And if we can help you guys find affordable pieces that are of quality, let it let us do that. And and I love being able, I know I said earlier, I'm like, don't let your timeline be your house or whatever, but I'm saying like there's still pieces that I find from social media that are good quality. So please do not mistake what I'm saying, what I said earlier. Like you want it to be a reflection of you, but you can still get inspiration from online. But just make sure it's what you actually want and not just because you see it online.
SPEAKER_02I think it'd be cool
Design For Your Life, Not The Algorithm
SPEAKER_02for us to go down in different rooms, like we do kitchen, bathroom, living room, home, and our like bedroom. And let's talk about a trend we love and a trend we hate, or like a must-have. So like I'll start it out. So oh wait, can we talk?
SPEAKER_01Can we talk about our favorite piece in that too?
SPEAKER_02Yes, let's do that. We can do that. Okay. So let's start with let's start with living room. Let's start with, I guess, a trend we, a trend we love, a trend we hate, and a piece that we must have. So a trend that we have that we love already. Yes, a piece of thing.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02So for living room for me, I think I absolutely love my coffee table, which I mentioned to you guys as well. Because it's functional, but then I'm able to like decorate it. A trend I love that I know people are like on the fence spout that they like feel like it ruffles the feathers and that y'all gotta like relax. Is I feel like people overdo books. I think there's a good and a bad way to do like designer books and like books. Like, you know how people like decorate their coffee table with books or they decorate like TV stands with books.
SPEAKER_01You like baby.
SPEAKER_02You don't have to do that. Like they have so many other books outside of designer books, like they have architectural digest, like they have kin folk, they have like other books outside of Hermes, Tom Forrest, Chanel, and so forth. So I don't, I'm not against coffee table books. I'm against like the excessive luxury coffee table books. I think there's levels to like different ones. Um, and go into an actual bookstore, like they have like plenty that you can get um to decorate your space. So I would say I love my coffee table. The trend I love slash hate is the books.
SPEAKER_01A trend I love is like low lighting in your living room. Uh, a trend I hate is the excessiveness of the panels now. Everybody's rebandled. And a piece that I love about my living room is also I already said my couch, which I will tag for you guys.
SPEAKER_02So now let's move on to let's do the kitchen. Let's go to the kitchen. The kitchen, a trend. Well, a piece that I love in my kitchen, probably because I just well, I'll say it's an area. I love my coffee station. Like I kind of like decorated like a coffee space, and I'll like tag some stuff that I've done with that. Because I think for me, re the reason why I do like it is I have some really cute like coffee mugs, and I feel like sometimes it's tucked away and we don't see them. So I'm like, put them on display. Like you have things that you want to utilize, like let your space. This is a part of letting your space be functional, functional. Being that my coffee cups are like on the counter and it's readily available. I'm more inclined to make the coffee and I like that I can see the coffee mugs. A trend that so that's that's my space that I love is that coffee station, including that Nespresso. We'll link that too. Um, a trend I don't necessarily love. I don't like this. Is old school. I don't know if this is a trend. I don't know if people still do this. I don't like the display of the alcohol in the kitchen. Are people still doing that? Like if the bottle is empty and you have like a
Room By Room: Living Room Loves And Hates
SPEAKER_02swig of Louis XIII in a bottle, let it go. Put it in the cabinet. I don't want to see it. I don't like the display of like on countertops. Are people still doing that?
SPEAKER_01No. I don't know. I somebody out there in the world doing it for sure.
SPEAKER_02I don't like seeing um exposed like dish liquids. I like it being tucked away. I know that might be like, girl, who you think you are? I know I'm with you. I'm with you. Yeah, I don't want to see the scrubber. I don't want to see I like tuck it away, put it in the sink. I just don't want to see a scrub daddy. None of that.
SPEAKER_01So that's um, I would say one piece I absolutely love in my kitchen is my wine cooler. It's so premium. I love my wine cooler. I feel like it's super, it's a very easy way to like make your space look feel very luxe and premium. It's like a built-in, like custom one. And then um a trend I love is hmm. A trend I love in the kitchen is like being able to have a you ever seen those like hideaway um hideaway doors that hide all your appliances? I love that. It's super trendy right now. Where when people are building like custom homes, they're building um like yes, doors to hide all their like it's like a joy when you put like your appliances. Yeah. Yes, that but you keep you get to keep your appliances on your countertop if you have like enough depth and then use that door. I love that. Um one thing I hate about like trend, a trend that I hate about kitchen, not all appliances need to be hidden. Like there's a trend where right now where everybody's like a custom appliance. It's kind of like your your kitchen is just like your your dishwasher, your oven, like all that has like one look to it. I I'm not, I don't love it. I don't love it. I like being able to say that's the oven, that's this, that's that, you know, like versus you're looking at a kitchen where everything is just like one. You get what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_02I agree.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, the ones that you end up everything being like tucked away? Yeah, tucked away.
SPEAKER_02I think the things you don't normally use on a daily basis, cool, but I feel like if you're normally using your toaster, like you don't like who wants to put that up and down every day? Like, that's a lot. Like just find a cute way to like display it, maybe if you don't want it exposed. But I think certain things, like for me, like I'm not using my air fryer every day, so I have that tucked away sometimes. But like my blender, I'm using that every day. Like I'm using my coffee every day. Like I'm using certain things that I want exposed. Um I do, I agree. Okay, wait. So what's another space? Okay, um, let's do bathroom. Um, so for bathroom, like trend like, trend love, peace we love in there. I would say for my bathroom, I it's not necessarily a piece. I really enjoy the walls, the lime wash. Um, and I think I remember the colors. I'll share it with you guys. I think I got two different colors from Home Depot. It was like a light one and a dark one, like a slightly darker one. Um, so I do like the feel of that because it just feels spa-like. And I think I decorated it in the sense for it to feel like that. Um, I love the trend of shelving in the bathroom. Like I think that that's really cool. Like you can add like your everyday things that you use, but then you can display them on shelves. So it kind of feels like a department store or like a spa. So like your ear swabs or your cotton balls, you could literally just put it in shelving, your toilet tissues, like things that you practically use. You could just have like a place for it. Um the thing I hate is the display of what do I, what do I not, what do I hate? I don't know. Well, you know what I the trend I don't love? I don't love the trend of having your soaps in one mute, muted color dispenser. Because I use so many different soaps. I like dub, I like natrium, I like all, I'm not, I'm not getting all black, six different, I have six different body washes. Like, I'm not doing that. That's not practical to me. Yeah, it's cute when I'm at a hotel, but in my house, I'm not doing it. That's a trend I'm not really for.
SPEAKER_01Okay, thousand percent. Um, one trend I'm not into right now for my bathroom or for bathrooms in general, it's just like modern boring bathrooms. Um, a trend I am
Kitchen Choices: Stations, Storage, And Appliances
SPEAKER_01into is greenery in the bathrooms. Like I think if you do it right, it really gives you a spa-like, calming feel in your bathroom if you put like a plant somewhere. Um and I'm not talking a little plant, like I'm talking like an actual plant. If you got the space and the size for it. Um, and then I can't tell you what I like about my bathroom because I absolutely hate it and I want to switch it out. So yeah, we're gonna skip that.
SPEAKER_02Well, you're gonna well, now's a good time to like, you know, get a feel of the things that you want. And I'll come over, girl. I'll come help you. Like, I'm in I feel like I'm in my um decorating Feng Shui era. Right, right. So we could definitely do that. I think it's so fun, like redesigning and redo like redoing a space and okay, so b bedroom.
SPEAKER_01What do you what's a trend you like about the bedroom and a piece of your bedroom that you absolutely love and a trend you hate?
SPEAKER_02I'm gonna start with a trend I hate, and I also don't have this, and you guys can judge me if you want, but I don't like TVs in the bedroom, and I hate the portrait TV. I know everybody is loving the portrait frame TV. I do not like it. I'm not into it. Like, if you want to put a piece of art up, put it art up. Why does it gotta be the TV? Like, I don't like it. I don't, and it's expensive. I'm with you on that.
SPEAKER_01I'm with you on that. I have to I have to piggyback off that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but I'm also still redoing, like, I'm still kind of like I've done my living space, but I'm like kind of still adding things to my bedroom. Um, something that I do like in my bedroom is my vanity. So I have like a really cute like vanity. I'll link it for you guys. I think I got it from like Bed, Bath and Beyond. By the way, they lied to us. They told us Bed Bath and Beyond. Girls have been closed. They are online. So I got a really cute gold vanity there, which I'm really loving. Um, so that's a piece I love. And I said a trend I hate, a piece I love, and the trend that wait, what is it? A piece I like a trend you like. Right. A trend I like. Okay. A trend I like is the display of the perfumes. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do to display my perfume because I just learned this and I'm not sure if you guys know this, but it's not good to have your perfume in your bathroom or spaces where it's really hot because it changes the chemistry of the fragrance. So I want to put mine on a display. Like, I know you guys probably follow Jackie Iina if you do. She has like that big tower. I might not be doing that because I don't have that much perfume, but I do want to display it like on a wall with some shelving. I do like that trend. So that's that's mine.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I in my bedroom, I absolutely love everything. I love my curtains, I love my lamps, I love the vibe of my bedroom. It's just giving life. Um, it's just giving come stay here for 12 hours. Um, one thing I don't like is excess pillows, I would say. On the bed? Yeah. It's like cool, but it's not practical. It's cool for an Instagram video, but it's not practical. Them pillows is gonna be on the floor with my dogs. At night. At the morning. By the morning. By the morning. By 7 a.m. Um, so yeah, that's a trend that I don't like. Uh a trend that I like also in the bath bedroom is um not footboards, but those, what are they called? Not ottomans, but like an armchair? At the end, yeah. No, not armchairs.
SPEAKER_02Is it the wood, that wood piece that people put on the bottom at the end of their bed?
SPEAKER_01Yes, but it doesn't necessarily have to be wood. I forget what it's called, but it's something that goes at the end of your bed. And I think it's just like very luxurious. I think it's it's a great piece to add if you have the space. Um like a bench. A bench, yes. Uh it's a bench. It's a bench. I do like the benches. There's some really cute ones. I love a good bench. I used to have a green ottoman like bench, and it was like emerald, green, and gold. And I'm telling you, I just have such a funky style. Sometimes I gotta reel it in. Um, but that was that.
SPEAKER_02I like that color. Green emerald and gold is fire.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I hope y'all got some tips and tricks from this episode. Um, Amanda and I are gonna link everything for y'all to make it very easy to see what we're talking about. Um, I hope this episode was helpful
Bathroom Vibes: Limewash, Shelves, And Greenery
SPEAKER_01to you. And if it was, share it with somebody who you think you know needs to hear this right now. Maybe they're decorating um into their new space or redecorating their current space, trying to give it a little more life. Um, but we appreciate you all tuning in every week. Make sure you like, comment, subscribe. Leave us a speak pipe review. We want to hear from you. Literally, we want to hear your voice. So talk about it.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Absolutely. Hope you guys enjoyed. Until next time. Bye guys.