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Making it Lovely

House Tours

• Tour our current home, an 1891 Victorian in Oak Park, IL.
House Tour: Making it Lovely's Oak Park Victorian Home
 

 
• Tour our first home, a 1910 bungalow in Oak Park, IL.
House Tour: Making it Lovely's Oak Park Bungalow

Hello! I’m Nicole Balch.

Hello! I’m Nicole Balch.

Designer with a handyman background, renovating our Victorian home in historic Oak Park, IL (just outside of Chicago). Mom of three, fan of pink, keeping busy all around.

More about Nicole…

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Instagram post 18044999803229998 This curved wall along the front of our house? I spent some time directly below it today adding as many storage shelves as I could fit before the curve limited the layout. Brandon has been organizing the basement and I’m pretty excited about having a dedicated tool storage area all set up! 🔨 #thelovelyvictorian
Instagram post 17852628028884659 I feel like doing everything and nothing today. Like, I could repaint the dining room and declutter the house! Or just sit on the couch and look through the stack of magazines and catalogs that are piling up? 🙃
Instagram post 17853650881865632 I’ll be at @theinspiredhome_com Influencer Conference here in Chicago (March 13). Will I see you there? The conference also includes access to @theinspiredhomeshow and I’m going to walk the show for aaalll the espresso machines (while I imagine my limited counter space can comfortably fit a big fancy one). #TIHS20 ☕️ The link for tickets is in my bio and you can save 10% with code cpticket10. I know a few friends will be flying in - let me know if you’re coming too!
Instagram post 17888492347485967 Another day of meeting new clients, and another tiled vestibule to admire. It’s not a requirement for working together that one lives in a building with lovely old original details like this, but it is a frequent occurrence and one that I enjoy. 🖤
Instagram post 17843988997992221 What might have been, had E not switched from blue to purple. 💙💜 I like it. A lot. Do you have a preference? . I wrote a post today about this in a bit more detail, including the design element I was most worried about as we pivoted: the color of those @blueprint_lighting sconces! We loved the Rubbed Sage green when they arrived, thankfully, but I was nervous having ordered a custom color before switching the palette on a tight timeline. Eep! #thelovelyvictorian #oneroomchallenge
Instagram post 17912962489390061 Today in pleated lampshade news: I’ve added a new one! This spot in the center of the house has always needed a little more pattern. Recovering the chairs would do it, but they don’t need it yet (not really), and a lampshade is so much quicker and easier. . The lamp is at least a decade old. It used to be one of a pair, but the other was broken in a toddler fit of rage shortly after we moved here (our one major kid-related decor loss). So now I just have the one, but I think it looks better than ever with its new hat. . #thelovelyvictorian
Instagram post 17869634665596474 Three years ago, you weren’t feelin’ these lamps I was excited about. Pleated tapered shades? (Popular responses: 😒🧐) I loved them then, I love them now, and now it seems like everyone else is getting on board with the style! But if you still think they’re ugly, that’s fine too. 😘
Instagram post 17852467981828731 I’m drawing up plans for a new clients’ bathroom and it only includes a shower. And I get it - I’m more of a shower person too. But I could be persuaded to switch! Our antique cast iron tub is nowhere near this deep and clearly I couldn’t resist getting in to try it on for size. 🛁
Instagram post 17848152505845321 Yes, the kids wrecked my favorite linens, but how lovely it is to watch them having fun, being silly, being kids. Worth the rare house-related mishap.
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Our 1891 Victorian

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Latest Posts

A Rainy Day Welcome (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is Lovely

March 25, 2020
DIY Roman Shades, Edie Stroheim Fabric from Fabricut | Making it Lovely | One Room Challenge

DIY Roman Shades

March 23, 2020
Fidget Cubes for Anxiety Stress Relief

Fidgets for Anxiety

March 20, 2020

Honor Roll

March 6, 2020
Eleanor's Room: Blue | Making it Lovely | One Room Challenge

An Alternative Version of My Daughter’s Room Makeover

February 28, 2020
Making it Lovely
Instagram post 18044999803229998 This curved wall along the front of our house? I spent some time directly below it today adding as many storage shelves as I could fit before the curve limited the layout. Brandon has been organizing the basement and I’m pretty excited about having a dedicated tool storage area all set up! 🔨 #thelovelyvictorian
Instagram post 17852628028884659 I feel like doing everything and nothing today. Like, I could repaint the dining room and declutter the house! Or just sit on the couch and look through the stack of magazines and catalogs that are piling up? 🙃
Instagram post 17853650881865632 I’ll be at @theinspiredhome_com Influencer Conference here in Chicago (March 13). Will I see you there? The conference also includes access to @theinspiredhomeshow and I’m going to walk the show for aaalll the espresso machines (while I imagine my limited counter space can comfortably fit a big fancy one). #TIHS20 ☕️ The link for tickets is in my bio and you can save 10% with code cpticket10. I know a few friends will be flying in - let me know if you’re coming too!
Instagram post 17888492347485967 Another day of meeting new clients, and another tiled vestibule to admire. It’s not a requirement for working together that one lives in a building with lovely old original details like this, but it is a frequent occurrence and one that I enjoy. 🖤
Instagram post 17843988997992221 What might have been, had E not switched from blue to purple. 💙💜 I like it. A lot. Do you have a preference? . I wrote a post today about this in a bit more detail, including the design element I was most worried about as we pivoted: the color of those @blueprint_lighting sconces! We loved the Rubbed Sage green when they arrived, thankfully, but I was nervous having ordered a custom color before switching the palette on a tight timeline. Eep! #thelovelyvictorian #oneroomchallenge
Instagram post 17912962489390061 Today in pleated lampshade news: I’ve added a new one! This spot in the center of the house has always needed a little more pattern. Recovering the chairs would do it, but they don’t need it yet (not really), and a lampshade is so much quicker and easier. . The lamp is at least a decade old. It used to be one of a pair, but the other was broken in a toddler fit of rage shortly after we moved here (our one major kid-related decor loss). So now I just have the one, but I think it looks better than ever with its new hat. . #thelovelyvictorian
Instagram post 17869634665596474 Three years ago, you weren’t feelin’ these lamps I was excited about. Pleated tapered shades? (Popular responses: 😒🧐) I loved them then, I love them now, and now it seems like everyone else is getting on board with the style! But if you still think they’re ugly, that’s fine too. 😘
Instagram post 17852467981828731 I’m drawing up plans for a new clients’ bathroom and it only includes a shower. And I get it - I’m more of a shower person too. But I could be persuaded to switch! Our antique cast iron tub is nowhere near this deep and clearly I couldn’t resist getting in to try it on for size. 🛁
Instagram post 17848152505845321 Yes, the kids wrecked my favorite linens, but how lovely it is to watch them having fun, being silly, being kids. Worth the rare house-related mishap.
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