When we bought our house three years ago, we inherently agreed to a pretty hefty renovation process in order to bring it to a livable state. We never set out for a fixer upper (though we were clocking many hours with renovation home shows). We actually found the house by driving by it, and when we first stepped foot inside with our real estate agent, it was an exercise in emotional mulitiplicity. The arches in the dining room, the crumbling floors, the craftsman fireplace, the beautiful windows, the non-functioning kitchen, the crumbling wallpaper, the insane window views. All of it at once!

We had an offer in by the end of the day.

When we set to renovating, I wanted to preserve as much character as possible while bringing the house to the modern era with its comforts. Though the original floors were not savable, we installed hardwood that I love. We kept all of the cool windows and arches, and my absolute favorite spot is the living room with the fireplace that tons of time, effort, and money went into.

My design aesthetic is very vintage meets modern. In my mind, I’m always keeping a balance between clean, new pieces that hold up to my family’s use and one-of-a-kind vintage pieces that bring warmth and texture. (And, always, lots of plants.)

To bring in a finishing touch to this living space, I knew we needed a special rug. We had a placeholder there while I searched for the perfect vintage Moroccan rug. Enter the specialists, Revival. Revival has offices in Istanbul, Casablanca, Mumbai and Oakland, CA and sources vintage rugs that fit their high standards of quality and ethics, and at fair prices. In addition to their vintage operation, they also produce beautiful new rugs.

Browsing their collection of Moroccan rugs, I stumbled across this beauty. It had the warm pinks and beiges accented with pops of blue that I had been looking for. Truly, it stopped me in my scroll and I just knew it was the one.

Now that I have it in the space, our living room finally feels complete. I absolutely love the way it feels so soft underfoot, and the texture elevates the room and adds such character. I really couldn’t be any more thrilled with my whole experience with Revival!

My first tip when buying vintage is to trust your gut. I’m a believer that if we surround ourselves with things that make us feel good it will all come together. I’d also highly recommend measuring your space first, ensuring that the rug is large enough for all of your furniture to have at least two feet touching. Since you can browse by size you won’t fall in love with the wrong rug!

Let me know, what do you think of the new look? If you’re in the market for a new rug, Revival is offering a discount code through March 6th: 10OFF-EMILYKEENEY.

When it comes to kitchens, Jennifer Gardner designs some of the freshest. This traditional Seattle craftsman got a big and bright update when she planned an open design that would let light through and reflect off of the stunning marble tile backsplash into the light cabinets and white countertops.

Staging and styling this space was an effort in restraint — the space itself is already so beautiful and full of detail. We paid attention to balancing the polish with some rugged elements, like the bowl and vase in the corner. Wooden cutting boards also bring a good dose of something organic which every space needs.

As usual, I photographed this kitchen using natural light only (with a few tricks up my sleeve of course). I turn the lights off whenever possible (unless the light source is architectural or aids in the design). As an artist, I feel like it’s important to observe the way light naturally enters the space. It’s an equal player to the design elements, and impacts every single thing in the space. When you’re looking at the difference between traditional real estate photography and editorial interior photography that’s one of the biggest changes. For me, good photography means telling the truth in an organic and elevated way. Sometimes it’s the simplest of production setups that have created my favorite work.

Design: Jennifer Gardner

Contractor: Western Red Homes

Backsplash: Tilebar

Range: Bertazzoni

Faucet: Brizo

Hardware: Rejuvenation