House 214 Tour + A Bonus Recipe!

custom-mudroom-and-entrywayI met Melinda a couple months ago touring a quarry in Georgia. We were both on the hunt for gorgeous marble and immediately hit it off. I was happy to meet a fellow blogger who has deep roots in Ohio! She’s the brains behind the interior blog, House 214 Design. Long story short, we decided we should definitely feature one another on our blogs, knowing our readers would enjoy each other’s home. This is the perfect time of year to share Melinda’s gorgeous house and kitchen, along with one of her heirloom recipes…. just in time for Thanksgiving!

This post is really something special. Melinda has such a powerful voice and speaks about her home in such an earnest and emotional way. Take the time to read through this entire feature and you won’t be sorry! It’s really good and different. In the best way possible!

functional-mudroom-and-entrywaySince you’re catching a glimpse of Melinda’s entryway or mudroom (as I call it), we’ll go ahead and start there. It connects to her kitchen and is definitely my favorite space in her home! During our trip, I loved hearing about Melinda’s kids- she’s a mom of three and manages to juggle so much. With that, comes the need for functionality within her home. This space provides a ton of storage and can easily be accessed by her children. I’m guessing the bottom drawers are filled with their things, and the upper cabinets are filled with items that are to remain out of reach from the kids.

custom-cabinetry-in-mudroomI’m loving the gorgeous floors, soft gray palette, and the simplicity of custom shaker style cabinetry.

french-country-kitchenMelinda and her family spent lots of time renovating and it certainly paid off! Her classic white and black kitchen was well worth the effort. In fact, that exactly how I’d describe Melinda’s style… classic, timeless, and rustic- with elements of french country sprinkled throughout. Her home is incredibly layered and it certainly tells the story of her family.

“After seeing quite a few houses, our realtor drove into what was to become our driveway. I can remember falling in love with the charm of the front of the house, the original oak floors, and the large backyard. There were definitely many projects to be done, like ripping out wall to wall — it literally went up a wall — brown shag carpet from the sunroom, but it felt like home. It felt like a place we could start a family.”

One of her most prized possessions is a family heirloom china cabinet. It has the perfect patina and shows off her beautiful china collection.

vintage-china-cabinet

melinda-house-214-designAnother one of Melinda’s most coveted pieces of furniture is the bench at her dining table.

“I wanted to use a bench that my father and his siblings sat on for all their meals on the family farm in Holland. He had it shipped to the States years ago and I absolutely loved its story. Now that same bench sits on one side of the kitchen table where our three children sit and eat their meals.”

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white-french-cabinetryI also really enjoyed hearing Melinda’s story behind her favorite holiday recipe…

“I am the oldest of four children in our family. It was always a busy household, but one filled with lots of love. Every holiday season our mother would put on her apron and get to work filling the dining room table with coffee cakes for teachers, neighbors, and our father’s coworkers. We would all head to bed at night while our mother would continue to bake into the early morning hours. We would go to bed smelling the wonderful cinnamon spice scent, and wake up to it as well. I have many wonderful memories of those days, and have continued the coffee cake tradition by filling our kitchen table with these heartfelt gifts for teachers, neighbors, and coworkers. I wanted to share my recipe with you and maybe you will fill your kitchen table as well. An added bonus is that the recipe makes two cakes which I find helpful at this busy time of year!”

heirloom-coffee-cake-recipe

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To wrap up the home tour, there’s a gorgeous laundry room off of the kitchen. I also wanted to include one last excerpt from my interview with Melinda…

“House 214 Design is my platform where I teach the everyday home designer the feeling of home and that the feeling we create in our home is our story. What I understand now that I didn’t before, regarding my work, is that when you love what you do the drive you have is unstoppable and you will find a way to keep moving forward. I wake up before the rest of the house wakes up to learn, I listen to podcasts in the car and when I cook and clean to learn, and I read any spare moment I have to learn.

Do I get tired? Yes, but I am loving every moment of it. I think that after staying home almost 13 years now, it is good for the children to see me have a strong drive and work ethic for something. It is good for them to see me work hard, solve problems, and want to learn. Everything I learn I put back into our home. I want our children to remember a feeling, the feeling that I am so passionate about, when they think of their childhood and this home. Whether they are leaving the house and confronted with a difficult test that day, having a hard time with friends in high school, or leaving to be on their own for the first time, I want them to close their eyes and think of this home. I want the hurt, uncertainty, and worry to be replaced with love, joy, and a sense of calm. That is the feeling I work so hard to create for our family in our home every day.”

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traditional-fall-floralsMelinda is a true gem and I’m so happy to have met her! The story of her home and what it means to her is one that easily warms my heart.

front-entranceI’ll certainly be making Melinda’s coffee cake this holiday and will be pinning the recipe for future use! What do you guys think her lovely home? If you’re interested in learning more about how to create the “feeling of home” , Melinda just launched a new course she’s teaching. Based on my conversation with her, it’s going to be really amazing and special.

To see her feature on my Ohio home and to get my favorite holiday recipe, click here!

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4 Comments

  1. Lovely tour & Melinda I love how you describe the feeling you want your children to feel when they think about or enter your family home. That last paragraph really got me…wonderful, thanks for sharing.

    1. Totally agree! Such a sentimental perspective of home. I love that. xo

  2. Loving this home of your special friend. So excited for you! Love and prayers for you all! Stacy

    1. Thanks so much, Stacy!! Hope you are well :) xo