It’s All About Creativity!

I love Erlina’s home. It’s trendy, stylish, comfortable, and is made up of my current favorite colors in the world – grays, blues and whites. Clearly, the Kim family and I are on the same wavelength… But what I really love is the way that Erlina and her husband have used creative and inexpensive ideas to infuse oodles of character into their home. I can’t wait to show you what they’ve done!

But before I get into it, you need to hear how it all started, especially since their home has helped me realize how much of an impact a little creativity can make in a design plan.

Erlina wanted to use gray and white as her starting off point, with red as an accent color. Most of her blue pieces came with her from the States when they moved to the Middle East a few years ago.

The main idea behind designing the space was based off wanting an open space, and to make the available space work well for the family.

We love an open feel. We wanted to be able to sit in one part of the house and still be able to see the other rooms in our home

Like most people with two little kids, the Kim’s are also trying to stay far away from buying expensive items for their home. Erlina prefers house shopping at IKEA and Nice.

Sounds simple enough, right? Well here’s what a little creativity and pops of color, on top of the usual home to-do’s, can do to dramatically change up a space…

Photo Courtesy of Erlina Kim

Top left photo courtesy of Erlina Kim

Erlina picked up the beautiful antique door (top left) from a store in Bahrain, and the ottoman (bottom left) from a lady selling it for SR 100 on Facebook! The material is actually an old Bedouin bag! The bottom right picture is of Erlina’s daughter’s play space in the living room. It looks just as trendy as the rest of the room 😉

And did you notice that beautiful flooring? Can you believe it’s not actually wood? It’s linoleum that looks like gray wood! It’s soft to walk on, and easy to install. Erlina had them glue just the sides of the flooring so that she didn’t have to spend too much time ripping it out later. While that means you can’t really vacuum it (it’ll get sucked up), it is a great option! Scroll down to the Q&A session for more information…

Photo Courtesy of Erlina Kim

The Kim’s made an entire wall into a chalkboard! Isn’t that amazing?! They got the idea from Pinterest, and surprisingly, the wall is not actually for the kids… it’s for Erlina’s husband! The beautiful murals are created by her husband on a seasonal basis. So gorgeous and festive! Check out the tips below for information on her board…

Erlina with her fabulous picture wall! (Photo courtesy of Erlina Kim)

I absolutely love this wall of pictures. It was another brilliant idea that Erlina found on Pinterest, and wanted to try since she loves taking pictures of her family.

Before, we would change out our pictures yearly, but this is a great way to change up your pictures whenever you want to.

Birdhouses from “Nice”

The piano/kids play room!

Even her outdoor space feels modern, and incredibly comfortable. Erlina and her husband spent a lot of time and thought designing the space, especially the outdoor couch. Careful measurements were taken, while paying attention to the depth and the angles of pillows, so that it came out perfectly for their family. They even added elegant white curtains to the mix when they realized that the morning sun was too strong. Doesn’t it look so dreamy??

Bottom left photo courtesy of Erlina Kim

Erlina’s Home & Her Fabulous Tips:

How would you describe your style?

Contemporary and cozy.

What is your favorite feature or piece in your home?

Our Balinese painting of a lady in the family room. We bought it in Bali, and were surprised to find out that it was painted by a native Michigan artist named Symon.

Any advice for people living here?

Since you’re away from family and friends, it’s nice to have a space that you feel comfortable in and where you feel at home. Even a simple painting makes a big difference. I also love feng shui. While I don’t follow all the suggestions for practical reasons, some of the principles really make sense. For example, having a clean, clear, and inviting entry way, furniture being placed in a command position, getting rid of things that don’t work or are broken, fixing squeaky doors, etc.

Erlina’s bright and beautiful entry way

Our biggest design challenge was creating an open space. My favorite is command position, where you can see the door diagonally across the room and your back to the wall. It really makes a difference in how it makes you feel because the room feels more airy and open.

Where can I find your antique door?

In Bahrain. The easiest way to get there is from the Gulf Hotel. Pass the Gulf Hotel, and turn left at Osama Bin Zaid, 3rd St. You will immediately see the antique stores to your left along with leather stores. On the right, in a small street is where you’ll find Meat & Co.

The map below shows you the general area…

Any info about your flooring?

Unfortunately, I don’t have contact information since the guys don’t really speak English, but you can find the store along 20th Street between King Fahd and Prince Turkey Street. You will see about 10 flooring stores there, and I found my flooring at only one of those stores. It came out to about SR 90 for 1×4 meters.

Where did you get your material from?

I actually order most of my material off of fabric.com

The question people are probably dying to ask… where did you get the chalkboard paint from?!

Facebook shopping! It was 2 years ago when a lady didn’t need her small can of chalk paint. I didn’t know where to get it at that time, but it seems like it’s available at a few places now – IKEA, Manazel, and Zamil. Since I only had a small can, we put 2 coats of regular black paint first, then painted the chalk paint on as the last coat.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of Erlina’s stylish space!