A: Thank you so much for taking part. Tell us a little bit about you and your family Kris.
K: I’m Kristen (but go by Kris!), i’m originally from Sacramento, California but moved to Beverly Hills in 2013 for work. I ended up meeting my now husband on tinder after only living here for 3 weeks and we’ve been inseparable since! We have two daughters, Harper Lee and Billie Stone, and one more baby girl on the way. We live in a suburb outside of Los Angeles now because, well school districts and all that family stuff. I used to work at UCLA in Santa Monica but decided to quit my job and dive into blogging full-time after my maternity leave ended when my first daughter was born. Best decision ever!
A: Your Instagram feed is absolutely gorgeous! What’s your secret?
K: Thank you so much! I’m such a perfectionist so I think a lot of it has to do with that. I take all my images on a Canon rebel and edit them with a custom preset that was made by a photography friend of mine. I use a design app called UNUM and it helps me plan out my images so everything stays *fairly cohesive.
A: What inspires your home style?
K: Oh gosh. So many things. A lot comes from Instagram! I found my two favorite designers on the platform (amber interiors and McGee and co.) and so many of my choices in home decor have come from their photos!
A: What’s your go-to store when decorating your home?
K: This is a tricky one. I really couldn’t nail it down to one store haha! I do everything from target (more affordable pieces from McGee and co), home goods, Amazon, rug and weave (favorite Canadian brick and mortar home store), and the list goes on!
A: Your home looks absolutely amazing, what’s your favourite room in the house and why?
K: That’s such a hard one! But I love our living room. I think it’s the only room in the house that I am 100% content with. Of course I swap things out each season etc. but it’s the one room I can sit in for a long period of time and not pick it completely apart.
A: Do you have any tips for other Mamas dipping their toes into DIY?
K: Don’t be afraid to mess up! It was so hard for me in the beginning to constantly be comparing myself to these people on Instagram who rarely show themselves mess up. I still put holes in walls, split wood, and mis-measure my projects all the time! It’s all part of the process.
A: What’s your favourite DIY project?
K: Our nightstands in our bedroom, 100%! We had great (but cheap) metal night stands for years and I would search marketplace everyday trying to find something vintage to flip. I finally found a pair of nightstands that someone let go for only 40 bucks. I flipped them with a little bit of sanding and paint and they seriously look like they are straight from amberinteriors.com. SO vintage and I even kept the original pulls on the drawers so they are that much more unique to me.
A: What’s your favourite self care activity?
K: I honestly wish I had more time for some “true” self-care, but 30 minutes a day on my peleton has been a lifesaver! I stopped working out completely when the pandemic happened for obvious reasons. But after we were about 10 months into it, we decided that we needed to take the plunge on some sort of at home machine and I am officially obsessed with it. When I have extra time (and energy) I try to take on a DIY project!
A: What’s the best motherly advice you have ever received?
K: No season lasts forever. I had a hell of a time with my second daughter and there were some days I thought I wasn’t going to make it. It’s sounds so silly (and obvious), but I would just remind myself that season WILL end, even on the day it feels like it won’t.
A: How can people connect with you and find out more about you?
K: Instagram! I am super active there @homewithharper, and super engaged with my community. I love this space and my audience truly feels like family to me. You can always shoot me an email as well (attached to my profile)
