When Hollie Milne and her husband Gordon first moved to their Westlake Village home six years ago, the three-bedroom, one-story house featured desert-inspired decor. But the mother of five and grandmother of 16 wanted her home to represent her life.
"Our lives are meant to be seen -- how we live, what we have and what we enjoy," says Milne. "I want [people] to see a story, understand my life and feel apart of my life. My first thought was making people feel comfortable in my home."
To make it their own, the Milnes painted the house white and the shutters with Sherwin Williams Drizzle blue, added light fixtures and included landscaping that features beautiful white roses that bloom from March to November. The result? Serene central. Inside, you'll find the same color palette as the exterior -- a similar white backdrop accented with blue hues and a few pops of nature-inspired greens and browns. All of her dishes are some shade of blue. The beautiful tufted dining room chairs and floral master room bedding also follow suit. According to the I Lived On Wisteria Lane blogger, blue is a timeless color.
"I like the calm. And living in California and having the ocean and blue skies, my house kind of flows outside and they're like they're an extension of each other."
But the 57-year-old didn't choose to decorate with blue just because her house is blue, she says. Every item must tell a story, including the 75 or so Russian impressionist portraits scattered through the house. "The paintings just really speak to me," Milne explains. "I believe that art holds its own." In fact, the portraits in the living room alone tell the story of the progression in a woman's lifespan. If you start at one portrait and move around the room to view the next, you'll see a young lady grow into a woman. The portraits are framed in museum-quality gold frames, and although ornate and quite different from the general bright and breezy aesthetic of the house, they are unexpected gems in this home.
Flip through the slideshow to see more photos of Milne's home. And, to learn more about Milne and to learn more about the blogger, visit I Lived On Wisteria Lane. What do you think of her family-friendly house? Let us know in the comments below.
