#TheKolaHome Indiana
Hello and welcome to my labor of love, the Kola Home Indiana! In 2021, I started a postdoc at Notre Dame, so we bought a house in South Bend, Indiana, and began the process of turning it into a home!
Over the past few years, I’ve discovered and developed a love for interior design, and though I’ve been able to do various decorating projects before, this is the first time I’ve been able to do what I wanted since the space was completely ours. I slowly but surely transformed all the rooms of this house into distinct design moments, and I’m excited to share all of them with you!
Check out what the house looked like when we got it here, and click left or right to scroll through and see what I’ve done with the space as well as many of the furniture & decor pieces I used to style it. Happy scrolling!
Living Room
When we first bought this house, this living room was such a great blank canvas to work with. I mean, half vaulted ceilings, can you complain?! I’m still not 100% sure what to do with the weird alcoves, but I was really proud of my DIY media console that looks almost custom built.
Kitchen
This kitchen had such great bones. I already loved the natural wood on the kitchen cabinets, I just needed to elevate the room just a little bit. A few handles and a paint job later, the job was complete! One of our kitchen cabinets actually fell a few months after the kitchen makeover was done, but I replaced it with some open shelving that I am literally so obsessed with.
Dining Room
I love natural wood and natural textures such as rattan. And if you haven’t already caught up on the theme, you’ll notice a touch of the black accent color throughout the whole house. The dining table bench adds some more sitting space which is great when you’re hosting. I am so glad I had this room ready before hosting my family for Thanksgiving just a few months after we moved in!
Office
My office is hands down my favorite room in the house. We swapped out the carpets to something really plush (which comes in handy during the winter) which provided the base for a chic and minimal office space/sanctuary — a place where I could not only get work done but also grab a book, have a glass of wine, and unwind. My favorite feature is the library wall mural!
Main Bedroom
Due to furniture shipment delays, we actually slept on an air mattress for a few weeks before we could get the furniture we wanted. When we finally got the bed, I was able to pick out the rest of the furniture to complete the room. I love the idea of blinds so I added those to our bedroom window for additional privacy. You can’t tell in this picture, but the opposite side of the bed has the most color in the house with a sage green accent chair and gorgeous wall art.
Half Bathroom
This was the last room in the house to be completed. It is a pretty small half bathroom that is in the main bedroom, so I wanted to do something spa-like and luxurious with it, and ended up remaking nearly every bit — the walls, the sink, the floors, everything! It took a few weeks because I had no other projects lined up but it was by far the most dramatic before and after. I’m so proud of this space!
Main Bathroom
This was the second room I worked on after we moved in, and I did it all for under $500! I love how the peel and stick tiles in this bathroom stand out while complementing the space. And in case you haven’t noticed already, I love matte black hardware so of course, I had to incorporate them here, from the curved shower curtain rod to the faucet and the vanity knobs.
Laundry Room
The laundry room was the first room we finished when we moved into the house! As the smallest room (besides the bathrooms), it felt really manageable to tackle. We were also starting with a completely blank slate since the appliances were stolen shortly before we moved into the house… it all worked out in the end though and I’m so glad I was able to bring beauty to this room to really kick off the design of the home! I’ll probably switch out the boob light at some point, but it’s remained more or less the same since I designed it a year ago. And yes, the peel and stick tiles have held up perfectly!
Guest Bedroom
I really enjoyed working on this guest bedroom. It was a really quick weekend project (motivated by my best friend coming to visit and not having anywhere for her to sleep) that came together after 3 trips to Homegoods & Target, but I wanted this room to feel cozy and warm, and I think I achieved it. Let me let you in on a secret — the “headboard” is actually just paint!
Basement Media Room
I had already determined at the beginning that I wanted the basement area to be a wind-down area for the family. To achieve that, I got an oversized, deep, and comfy couch in my favorite color to accommodate my extended family when they visit. Movie nights have never been better especially now with a projector screen we installed in this room.
