Parade of Homes

Like most people in America (and Canada I suppose since most of their shows are based there), we love HGTV and gazing at photos of reno's, dream homes, green homes, and any other home they put together for some lucky duck. We hope to be one of those lucky ducks someday and occasionally browse by the "Be on HGTV" tab to see if they're ever in our area (yes we're renters but don't think that will last much longer).

Thanks to the Parade of Homes, we were able to peek in some of the most beautiful homes in the Salt Lake Valley. Some homes absolutely took our breath away, while others left us uninspired. We loved a home mostly because of the styling and decor, new construction these days seems to look the same.

This was a two day event for us and we still didn't get through all the homes, but I think we made it to the most popular. The parade of homes was Grandma Fuessel's idea. She told us she would watch Leila if we wanted to go...we couldn't turn her down and were so glad she offered. Eric and I were able to enjoy day one without Leila. It's so nice to have time to ourselves without worrying about schedules, naps, etc, and focus our attention a little more on each other.

The coolest home was the recreation of the "UP" house. Everything was exactly like the house in the movie (which was mostly the outside, staircase, and living room - the rest was left to their imagination).

Even the characters from the movie were there and added to the fun. Why can't all new construction have as much character as this home? They can obviously build it, but they choose to build big brown boxes with tiny decks and backyards instead. 

This was the only home that had a line, the rest we were able to walk right in. I took hundreds of photos for design inspiration, here are just a few of my favorite rooms (note: the pictures don't really do them justice):

Loved this deck, great idea to add these curtains. Adds dimension and shade to the backyard.

All the beds we saw looked so comfy and plush, it made me just want to jump on them. I can never get my bed look like this...I'm workin' on it.

Great idea to store craft stuff in this old shelving unit. If I had a laundry room that looked like this I'd do laundry every day...so bright and organized. 

This next home was to die for...the location was amazing, the views were amazing, the home was amazing, and the decor was amazing. It sold for 1.3 million (as pictured) and it wasn't missing one thing. Every part of the home was decorated perfectly, there wasn't one thing I didn't like. This home won a lot of the home awards for the parade, it had our vote. It was nestled in the avenues and every room had a perfect view of the city. I was kinda diggin' the monochromatic color palette too.

I want to make a chandelier that looks like this...it just had little love notes scattered everywhere. Good idea.

Want this cabinetry. 

My dream garage door (but maybe not as see through).

Think I'm gonna scratch the idea of getting my masters in school counseling...I want to go to design school! Eric and I have already talked about it and we're gonna start our own design company together...one day!