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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 17907882115453145 Greetings from shelter-in-place week 11. 👋 Oh look, it’s our album cover! . (Thank you to the lovely @tinaharle, Oak Park photographer extraordinaire for taking our porch portraits - from a distance, of course. She can do the same for you if you’re interested!)
Instagram post 17889189181550549 Is it weird to post my latest Animal Crossing room here? I mean, maybe a little. But with the addition of my new faux-Velázquez, the cherry blossom branches, mixture of cute and macabre, and overall feel and color palette, this feels very much like a room I’d be happy to spend some real time in. . OK, back to keeping the Animal Crossing stuff on my silly other account (@aclululovely). 🖤
Instagram post 18061146241222401 Nope, the kids are still not spending much time in their rooms. I’m sure there’s something to the psychology of opting to spend so much time making and hanging out in forts as a response to this pandemic, but really, I would do the same if I fit comfortably.
Instagram post 17900237014473269 Not only do we have a semi-permanent fort in the library (it has been taken down, blankets washed, and rebuilt), we also have party decorations and twinkly lights hanging around in the dining room from last week’s birthdays. I’m in no rush to get rid of any of it. ❤️ #thelovelyvictorian
Instagram post 18019533586274482 Foster cats! 🐈 Jeannie is the more bold of the two while black and white Samantha is more timid. Both are super sweet and affectionate. 💕 These sisters are a bonded pair that can be adopted together through the @animalcareleague here in Oak Park! (Of course my family is hoping they’ll just stay here for good).
Instagram post 17950301893329496 Surprise birthday celebrations from a safe distance made both Brandon and Eleanor’s birthdays feel less alone. ❤️
Instagram post 18085704487170707 She’s 11 today. Phone calls and video calls, a Zoom with friends, and even a surprise happy birthday serenade out front from family members in party hats in the rain. ❤️
Instagram post 18019826755300341 It’s official: kids won’t be going back to finish the school year in IL in person (we have been e-learning in our district). I think I’m just going to let mine keep living in their fort as long as they’d like.
Instagram post 17891143225495244 Greetings from the blanket fort city my children have taken to living in. 👋 I wasn’t feeling well for a while and haven’t left my home since March 13, but my Animal Crossing island looks amazing. How are you?
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Design Services

Our 1891 Victorian

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Sources & Paint Colors

Latest Posts

Jeannie, Our Foster Cat

Birthdays and Foster Cats

May 6, 2020
Quarantine Blanket Fort City

One Month In

April 15, 2020
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
Making it Lovely
Instagram post 17907882115453145 Greetings from shelter-in-place week 11. 👋 Oh look, it’s our album cover! . (Thank you to the lovely @tinaharle, Oak Park photographer extraordinaire for taking our porch portraits - from a distance, of course. She can do the same for you if you’re interested!)
Instagram post 17889189181550549 Is it weird to post my latest Animal Crossing room here? I mean, maybe a little. But with the addition of my new faux-Velázquez, the cherry blossom branches, mixture of cute and macabre, and overall feel and color palette, this feels very much like a room I’d be happy to spend some real time in. . OK, back to keeping the Animal Crossing stuff on my silly other account (@aclululovely). 🖤
Instagram post 18061146241222401 Nope, the kids are still not spending much time in their rooms. I’m sure there’s something to the psychology of opting to spend so much time making and hanging out in forts as a response to this pandemic, but really, I would do the same if I fit comfortably.
Instagram post 17900237014473269 Not only do we have a semi-permanent fort in the library (it has been taken down, blankets washed, and rebuilt), we also have party decorations and twinkly lights hanging around in the dining room from last week’s birthdays. I’m in no rush to get rid of any of it. ❤️ #thelovelyvictorian
Instagram post 18019533586274482 Foster cats! 🐈 Jeannie is the more bold of the two while black and white Samantha is more timid. Both are super sweet and affectionate. 💕 These sisters are a bonded pair that can be adopted together through the @animalcareleague here in Oak Park! (Of course my family is hoping they’ll just stay here for good).
Instagram post 17950301893329496 Surprise birthday celebrations from a safe distance made both Brandon and Eleanor’s birthdays feel less alone. ❤️
Instagram post 18085704487170707 She’s 11 today. Phone calls and video calls, a Zoom with friends, and even a surprise happy birthday serenade out front from family members in party hats in the rain. ❤️
Instagram post 18019826755300341 It’s official: kids won’t be going back to finish the school year in IL in person (we have been e-learning in our district). I think I’m just going to let mine keep living in their fort as long as they’d like.
Instagram post 17891143225495244 Greetings from the blanket fort city my children have taken to living in. 👋 I wasn’t feeling well for a while and haven’t left my home since March 13, but my Animal Crossing island looks amazing. How are you?
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