The midwest is full of inspiring people and places. "Heartland Home" is one of the topics I'll be exploring in order to highlight some of the amazing homes throughout our central region. The homes in this area are just as inspiring and beautiful as the people who call the heartland home.
All photos by Nicolette Wagner with Life Unbound Photography
Our very first home of the series is nestled in the capitol city of Lincoln, Nebraska. I'd like to thank Erin and Dusty Stanczyk for opening up their house and being featured as our very first "Heartland Home." You may recognize Erin and Dusty from their awesome social media presence titled "EAT MOVE REST." But did you also know that they have a knockout home?! YES! It's true! They put their very heart and soul into their house and have created a wonderful space. I couldn't think of a better way to start off this series than to show you this amazing home.
Their handsome dog Beau rests in his favorite spot in the house.
Loving this stylish drop zone right off the entry.
While their Instagram is plum full of vibrant colors, their home sets the stage as the perfect neutral space to eat, move and rest in. Dusty and Erin moved into their home during Thanksgiving weekend in 2015. They fell in love with the white kitchen cabinets right off the bat. The windows had beautiful white wood shutters that filtered the natural light perfectly. However, the kitchen was walled off from the rest of the space.
Before long, Dusty kept asking Erin if he could start demoing the house already. Erin said "yes" and came home after work to a pile of rubble. Their goal was to open up the space and let as much natural light in as possible. They achieved this by installing French doors and tearing out the walls that separated the kitchen from the rest of the space. Now, they are able to open up the French doors and enjoy the fresh air on a nice night.
The current sitting room used to be the dining room, and their current dining room used to be a carpeted living room. The first thing they did when they moved in was paint all of the walls white. They used Home Depot's Behr paint in the color Painter's White. This brightened up the space immediately.
They wanted white marble countertops, but were advised not to invest in them since the natural stone stains easily and can absorb red wine, beet juice and more. They replaced their original blue countertops with a white quartz and couldn't be happier. They purchased their dining room furniture and the kitchen island as a set, but they added a slab of white quartz on top of the island to give it a more permanent feel.
They removed the walls surrounding the kitchen to open it up to the other spaces.
They spend most of their time in the kitchen because they love to cook and entertain guests. The open floor plan makes their space the perfect location for a get-together. They can have a dinner party with some people in the formal dining room, some people in the sitting room with coffee, and more people standing with drinks at the kitchen island. There are multiple gathering areas within the one large space. This layout enables a group to be in close proximity without being separated by walls.
This lovely sitting area used to be the dining room. The space is now flooded with natural light from the gorgeous French doors they installed.
"Everything we have is a mix of old and new." -Erin Stanczyk
Not only can the Stanczyks tear out walls and install new doors, they are also talented artists! The cocktail table in the sitting room was found on Craigslist. They proceeded to sand and white wash the table until it turned out perfectly. The painting in their dining room was originally pink and blue, but Erin painted over it with neutral tones. The finished product adds texture and contrast to the large white wall.
As you can tell from the photos, they have some seriously amazing plants- and they are ALL REAL! The Fiddle leaf fig was an anniversary gift that Dusty gave Erin years ago. All of their plants started off tiny and have grown extremely tall over the years. They thrive on the natural light from the large windows.
The credenza in the dining room was originally dark brown, but they painted it a nice neutral grey color and swapped out the old knobs for some fun ones from Anthropologie. The dining room is filled with great plant variation. When they started renovating their space, their goal was to have a bright white space with lots of plants. They definitely accomplished that goal!
Erin explained that part of her wants to be super minimal, but her and Dusty both like interesting decor items. A perfect example of this is the head sculpture from Restoration Hardware in their entry. "It makes it interesting," Erin says. "Not everything has a story." They have the perfect balance of repurposed and new pieces to give their home that "homey" vibe.
They also painted all of the doors and trim in the space white because they used to be dark brown. This brightens the entire space and adds to their light and airy aesthetic. Speaking of "light"- they searched high and low to find the perfect light fixtures for their home. They typically start by finding a fixture they like on Pinterest and continue the search from there. Erin said, "Dusty goes to Home Depot almost every other day and they have really good priced fixtures as well." The light fixtures in their space draw the eyes up towards their lovely high ceilings.
Read the note above to find out what the Stanczyk's love most about the home they've created.
Their back patio is just as lovely and inviting as the interior of their home.
Don't forget their back porch! The "bright and white + plants" aesthetic continues into their backyard as well. The Stancyk's could not have created a more perfect spot for relaxing outside. Their home is absolutely gorgeous and is in the heart of Nebraska.
If you live in the Midwest and have a home that is uniquely "you" and beautiful because of it's own special qualities, please reach out to me via our "contact" page. I would love to feature your home in the Heartland Home series.
If you have a friend or family member that has a wonderfully special space that people find themselves drawn to, please reach out to me about them. Erin and Dusty were happy to have their home shared as the first Heartland Home and I look forward to sharing many more. It is up to each homeowner to choose if they would like their identity to be revealed in the post or not. The goal of this series is to celebrate the uniquely beautiful homes of throughout the heartland.
[ All photos in this blog post were taken by Nicolette Wagner with Life Unbound Photography ]