If you listen to our podcast or follow us on Instagram, then you’ve probably already heard that Elsie and I are both creating THEMED short-term rentals located in the Orlando, Florida area. My house is inspired by the Harry Potter book series (a modern take). Today, I am super (like, CRAZY) excited to share the first room tour with you: the living room!
In this house, we worked with the Home Depot and used many of the products you can find on their website throughout the house. But what I really want to draw your attention to is the flooring in the house. Below you can see a before and after of the entryway. When we purchased the home, it had different flooring in so many places throughout, and some of it was beginning to look quite worn out. I wanted the entire first level (minus the bathrooms) to have a consistent flooring that I felt would not only look great, but hold up well in a short-term rental. I absolutely LOVE the flooring we chose. I wish I could travel back in time and put this flooring in my personal home because I love it so much!
And let me show you another before photo of the living room when we purchased the home, along with a photo my contractor took as the new flooring was being installed. I am also going to be sharing more photos and videos on Instagram today (and they’ll be saved in our “HP Bnb” highlight). I really want to try and show you what the flooring looks like in real life as much as possible through photos and videos. It’s my favorite engineered hardwood flooring I’ve ever seen and I know how much photos and videos can help when shopping for flooring online.
Like I mentioned, I shopped for this flooring online. I looked at a lot of different options, searching through all the photos available on the website which were super helpful. I also ordered samples of the two flooring options we were considering the most. Trey and I narrowed it down between the Malibu Wide Plank French Oak Santa Monica and Hickory Crescent. After looking at all the photos on the website and looking at the samples we ordered, we decided to go with the French Oak Santa Monica because we liked the somewhat weathered look. It felt light (sort of beachy) in a way, and we felt this look might also hold up well to scuffs and families using and enjoying the home (which means, you know, some scuffs and scrapes over the years, I’m sure).
The new flooring really lightened up the space and also made it flow so much more since all the floors on the first level (again, except tiled bathrooms) are the same now. I LOVE it! The second biggest change was painting almost all the walls one color (see below). And then once the contractor work was mostly complete I stayed in the home for two weeks furnishing and decorating. Here’s what the living room looks like:
My color palette for the majority of the house is blacks, whites, and grays with a few warm or textured elements here and there for contrast. Again, I was going for a modern take on my Harry Potter inspiration. 🙂 The space is also fairly simple, but everything has a functional or HP-inspired reason for being in the room (or both). The rug made me think of Dumbledore’s pensive in his office, or maybe even an Obscuru from the Fantastic Beasts movies. The three small wire shelves contain items that nod to some of the houses of Hogwarts (a raven, an owl, and a black velvet skull). The furry chairs and pillows made me think of Hagrid’s clothing and also some of the little creatures from Hogwarts that Harry encounters. And of course, I created an accent wall that is totally inspired by Platform 9 3/4. I’ll share a little more about that wall with you soon, just because I am so darn proud of it. Ha!
Above the entryway table, we have some winged keys and there is also a golden snitch bean bag for extra seating. In case you are curious of the wall color I chose for throughout the house, it’s Behr’s Weathered White which is a slightly cooler (think more blue than red) white paint.
The front door (leading into the living room) has a vintage owl door knocker and an HP-inspired doormat. There’s a little Easter egg in the Instagram story tour I’ll be sharing too, so don’t miss it. Hint: It may have to do with a favorite train snack … 🙂
Thank you to the Home Depot for sponsoring this post and thank you for letting me share! I will be sharing tours of all the rooms in the house and we hope to have the house listed to rent soon (finishing some of our tax papers for it now). Can’t wait to show you more spaces in this house as it’s been one of my favorite projects of all time! I am a huge Harry Potter fan, I read the books as they came out when I was growing up and Trey and I saw so many of the movies together too, so it’s really special to me. I hope the families and friend groups that stay in this home over the years can feel the love and magic I tried to put into it. xo. Emma
Room Details: flooring c/o the Home Depot, wall paint / Behr Weathered White, doormat, vintage owl knocker / Etsy, rug, couch, chairs, coffee table, floor lamp, ceiling fan, entry pendant light, media table, wire shelves, blinds, curtains, golden snitch bean bag, winged keys, entry cabinet and throw pillows / Home Goods. More details about the Platform 9 3/4 inspired accent wall to come.
Credits // Author: Emma Chapman. Photography: Amber Ulmer and Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop. Big thank you to Steve Dennis, my contractor who worked on the home until I could come down. He did such an amazing job, and since I don’t live in Florida I could not have done this project without him. If you live in the Davenport, Florida area and need a contractor email me as I’d love to give you his contact information.
0 yorum
Yorum Gönder