Dallas Artist Rustic Meets Modern Home Tour

So often I’m asked “What if I like more than one style? How do I mix multiple styles?” Morgan’s home is your answer my friends. Modern, Farmhouse, Bohoemian, Vintage and Rustic. Flooded with light and filled with a beautiful mix of one-of-a-kind art pieces and fun furniture finds, it’s the kind of dreamy space that will have you looking at all the details.

Morgan was a dream of a host and had a homemade coffee cake waiting for us when we came. I hope you feel her hospitality through each of these photos and her encouraging words. We’re so excited to share this home tour with you! You’re about to be SO INSPIRED!

1. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF!

Hi! My name is Morgan. I was born in Houston, raised in the Texas hill country, and moved to Dallas after graduating from Texas A&M 6 years ago to begin my career. I am recently engaged to the love of my life and we bought our first house together. Interior design and painting has always been a passion of mine after growing up watching my mother, who is an artist and an interior designer, and someone who I’ve learned a great deal from. Naturally it’s always been a dream of mine to renovate houses. After a crazy hectic 9 weeks, we just completed our first home renovation and I’m ready for a break! In my free time, I love curling up with a good book and cuddling with my two 80lb lap dogs, Cash and Burton or painting with friends while enjoying a glass of red wine.

SHOP THE LOOK

2. WHEN DID YOU PURCHASE/START RENOVATING IT AND HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED IN DALLAS?

I have lived in Dallas for 6 years now and have been renting a house for the last 3 years. It was time to finally buy. We closed on our house April 9th of this year (2018) and started demo April 10th! The whole renovation took 9 weeks.

3. AS AN ARTIST WE CAN SEE YOUR MODERN-FARMHOUSE FLARE. WHERE DID YOUR INSPIRATION STEM FROM?

Growing up in Houston, my family and I would spend our weekends in the Texas hill country. My family would run cattle on our family ranch, so at an early age, I developed an appreciation and love for the innocent and calming features of a cow. I add a black background to my cows to keep a modern-farmhouse look. Or if I have a rustic piece of furniture I like to paint an abstract to level it out. And abstracts are always fun to paint!

4. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT RENOVATIONS?

Don’t underestimate the job. Every space requires more work and stuff than you initially realize. Be realistic with your budget for each room and create a comprehensive list to make sure you have a cushion and don’t miss anything.

Get a contractor you can trust! A good contractor is worth their weight in gold–don’t be fooled by the low price, you might end up paying for it in the end.

You’d be amazing how much stuff you can do yourself! Yes, it’s hard work, but will save you loves of money and can be a rewarding experience along the way once complete.

Shop for your materials! You’d be amazing how much stuff you can buy on your own (working alongside your contractor to confirm QTY of course) and you will save a ton of money if you have the patience to shop around and find exactly what you’re looking for.

5. WITH FALL AND CHRISTMAS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, WE LIKE TO SHARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO STYLE. HOW DO YOU LIKE TO DECORATE FOR HOLIDAY?

For fall, pumpkins! I keep the decor pretty light for Fall by adding touches of pumpkins and warm colors around the house. I like to add white pumpkins to keep the clean modern look.

6. DURING RENOVATION, WHAT PROJECTS DID YOU DIY AND WHAT DID YOU HIRE PROFESSIONALS FOR? WE HAVE LEARNED THAT WE CAN’T DO IT ALL ON OUR OWN!

We wanted to do as much as we could ourselves to save money, but there are just some things that need to be done by a professional, starting with demoing the walls consisting of electrical, plumbing and support beams. We had someone lay the hardwood floor because of how much work goes into them (nailing down, sanding, hand-scraping, staining, and sealing). We also had custom built cabinets installed along with spraying enamel paint. I don’t trust myself with a sprayer and we needed all the cabinets, trim, built-ins, vanities, and doors painted. Last but not least, we had out contractor add a full size bathroom which involved drilling through the slad to add plumbing and extended the master shower and added a shower head.

Things that we were able to do ourselves: I removed popcorn ceilings from the whole house white saved up $6k (that’s 4 nights of my life I’ll never get back!) The bedroom walls had some horrible texture so we sanded them to make the texture less noticeable (saved us $1k for re-plastering). We saved the most money for painting all the walls and ceilings ourselves (saved $7k).

  • Some other projects we did to save money and update the house:
  • I updated the fireplace by painting the ugly marble black for a clean modern look.
  • Tiled the backsplash in the kitchen and laundry room (much easier than you would expect)!
  • Removed wallpaper from bedrooms and bathrooms and gave them fresh coast of paint.
  • Made rustic beams for the kitchen to add a rustic touch.
  • We installed our own cabinet hardware (saved $1400).
  • We have added onto our master closet by demoing a powder bath. That allowed us to custom build a his and her master closet.
  • Landscaping, custom bathroom vanity, installed all new window treatments.

7. WHEN YOU ARE DECIDING HOW TO DESIGN YOUR SPACE, HOW DO YOU BRING ALL OF YOUR IDEAS TOGETHER?

Design boards! I would have one for each room and it would help me see my ideas, color schemes and textures. I would have the flooring, paint color, fixtures, faucets and tile I liked to make sure it made sense together. They would help me see the room come to life. I have attached some pictures of my design boards. I also would draw a 3D picture of what we wanted to do with the space since we were completely changing the layout. I feel this is so important to make sure the new space will make sense.

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ITEM IN YOUR HOME?

I have three favorite items in my home.

Guest Bedroom Headboard – Mexican jail cell door that was made into a headboard for me. It’s one of a kind, has history, is rustic and is truly a unique piece and a great conversation starter.

Wood Art – My fiance and I made this one weekend and it was a very lengthy, tedious project. In the end, it is truly a beautiful piece of artwork, a center piece and a memory that we will always share.

Granda’s Louis Vuitton Trunk – This has been in my family since the 1930s. My grandma left this to me when she passed away and is a vintage piece with lots of family history. I look forward to restoring this one day to its original beauty until then, it sits in my entry hall with a modern piece of artwork above it.

If Morgan’s space doesn’t inspire you to get creative and make a space you love I don’t know what will. I love her eclectic style teamed with such simplicity. Morgan, your style is so refreshing and it was a joy to be hosted by you! I love when internet friends become real life friends 😉You can follow Morgan at @Rustic_Meets_Modern for more inspiration!

Want to collaborate with us on a home tour? We love to show off unique spaces that could inspire our community (and us of course 😋). If you’re local to the DFW and would love to collaborate with us email Support@FarmhouseLiving.com with the subject line HOME TOUR 💕

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