The Blog

It’s been awhile since I’ve had the chance to sit down and write a post. If you’re reading this, you have my absolute sincere gratitude.

I’m about a year and half into running Circle G Designs in its current incarnation in the greater Richmond area of Virginia. I have some really exciting things on the horizon, including a website revamp this fall, but am trying to make a concerted effort to share my work in formats that are not slaves to the Instagram or TikTok algorithms.

So, please enjoy a quick overview of my personal master bedroom makeover.

My husband, twins, and I moved to the Richmond area from Pittsburgh in 2018. We upgraded our bed from a queen to a king in anticipation of two toddlers climbing into bed with us in the middle of the night, which absolutely still happens several times a week. The walls and built-ins are all painted in Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray.

In lieu of table lamps, I opted for brass plug-in sconces to flank our new king-sized beige upholstered headboard. A gallery wall above the bed (one of my go-to moves for creating a larger scale art piece) helps tie together the colors in the space and supports my signature “vintage meets modern” vibe. Favorite pieces include a collaboration by one of my favorite artists, Gingiber, with Home Goods, and a custom portrait of my sisters and I by North Carolina-based artist, Jordan Grace Owens. We also have a little shadow box commemorating my favorite cat (RIP Freckles) and an antique print depicting the University Virginia (mine and my husband’s alma mater), inherited from my great uncle who attended the school in the 1930s.

The bedding on the bed is from my all time favorite store, Target. The block print lumbar pillow is a souvenir from one of my current favorite design firm’s (Studio McGee) first collaboration with Target.

One of my first major house projects was installing these Ikea Sektion cabinets with Semihandmade doors. The previous owners drastically altered our second floor plan before we moved in, trading a bedroom for two awkward and poorly planned bathrooms + a walk-in closet. We ended up renovating the second floor to reclaim the lost bedroom, so this built-in closet was needed to replace the walk-in that we lost. My favorite feature is a pull-out hamper there on the bottom right.

Both my husband and I have one cabinet of hanging storage and then generous shelf space & slide-outs where we keep our sweaters and jeans.

This corner of the bedroom is technically my home office (thought, to be honest, I mostly sit on the bed with my laptop). Features include a custom art piece by my uncle, artist Ted Lind, and a vintage curio cabinet with watercolor cards from my grandparents.

This two tone dresser is a vintage, midcentury solid wood piece that I refinished myself. I attempted to mix stain colors and botched it. The solution? Paint the drawer fronts white so the mistakes are less obvious! I also love this vintage wood ladder which I have used for storing jewelry since I was first married.

A family vintage steamer trunk, handpainted vintage tray done by my grandmother, mementos from our wedding and twins’ births, complete the room. Overall, it’s a calming space that incorporates practical storage and workspace, along with so many meaningful pieces.