Welcome back for another part of my Cozy White Cottage book series on how and why we decided to write a book. After announcing Cozy White Cottage, so many other very talented friends have expressed their interest in writing a book, but don’t know where to start… this is for those that have had a dream of publishing book and how fun and challenging it can be. This is part 2 & you can see part 1 [HERE]. If you didn’t know, I WROTE A BOOK! It’s called Cozy White Cottage & it officially launches September 24, 2019 & I’m so excited for you all to get your hands on a copy! This series is all about the book & telling you more about behind the scenes of how the book came to be here on my coffee table today…

In my series directing the journey to writing my book, I have collected group of commonly asked questions, in hopes of not only answering them, but elaborating on why feel this was the best way to make this wonderful book for anyone to find cozy in their home. This part (of many), I wanted to cover those creatives that helped me shape the book to what it is and why they were so important to me during this process.

Why did you involve other peoples homes?

This inspiring community of fellow DIYers, entrepreneurs, and overall creatives do more than give my creative brain life, but provide some undeserving support all around. I could not be more happy to share these platforms with some so many people that I look up to. I mean I was getting ready to embark on a journey of writing a design book, while living in a fixer upper. If you know me you know that I don’t like things to be all about me.. I like sharing with others & I especially like taking others along on my adventures so that’s what I did with the book!

As we started to layout the flow of the book, I knew what spaces I would need help with for the book. I will say, I had a few people in mind right away, and others jumped out to me as I started scrolling through all the pretty feeds…

When the book journey first began, we had no idea that Cope was waiting for us only a few months down the road. So we didn’t have a playroom ready for the book. Along with that, we still haven’t remodeled any of the bathrooms… Outside of undone spaces, I didn’t feel right writing a design book without hitting on a few different styles to try to show everyone that cozy can be found in so many different ways.

While I wish I could have added all my friends, because there are so many talented people out there… the creatives that provided their spaces for my book were Erin Kern, Lauren McBride, Lynzy Coughlin, Susan Vanderveen, and Kristi Bissell. There were so many others that weren’t directly in the book, but have inspired me in so many ways throughout my design journey.

Erin Kern, a.k.a Cotton Stem – Guys, she’s just a gem. I feel like I could say so much about Erin, but you guys all probably know her already & know what a gem she is. I love how her home just oozes coziness with the joy that her decor and family bring to her spaces that I knew I wanted to ask her to join me in the book as well… thankfully she said yes so you will be able to see glimpses of her gorgeous cozy home in the book. Huge honor to have her and all these ladies join me!

Kristi Bissell, a.k.a The Pickled Rose – You guys probably have seen her beautiful home floating around the internet… I mean, it’s gorgeous! I love following her home for soft cozy romantic spaces with their pops of color & I know you guys will love her as well if you are one of the few that don’t follow her… go and show her some love!!

Lynzy Coughlin, a.k.a. Lynzy and Co. – I have followed Lynzy for SO LONG & I have always admired how real & raw she is… she truly says what she thinks and it’s so inspiring and refreshing down to her home decor how she knows what she loves and she does just that. Her home is so cozy because it’s truly her. I can’t wait for you to see her home featured in the book… her feature is just gorgeous!!

Sue Vanderveen, a.k.a. Fabric Scout Studio – Sue is a very very good friend of mine in real life & is also a vendor at our shop, The Found Cottage. Sue isnpires me daily with her unique design & amazing talent… & her home is a direct reflection of those two things. I knew I wanted to ask her to join me in my cozy book because her home offers a different & unique perspective on cozy… I can’t wait for you to see her home all over the book in September!

Lauren McBride Aka Lauren McBride – You guys probably know her as the beautiful little sassy fashionista with the adorable family on Instagram who stories her favorite finds daily, but I also call her friend & I love her cozy cottage home as well so I was so honored that she said yes to joining me on this book journey of mine.

Why did you use a photographer?

Jose and I love photography… we love the art and we love taking photos of our home. Our thoughts on this was that, with all the looming deadlines of the book like designing the spaces, and writing out the 100 different ways, on top of the daily responsibilities of blogging, and running The Found Cottage, we thought it was one of a few different areas that we could outsource, just to offload that stress. We used our dear friend, Anna Vanderberg, a local West Michigan photographer, and couldn’t be more thankful and happy about that decision. She not only took the stress off, provided feedback and suggestions to different photo opportunities and looks for the book. I am so happy with this decision because Anna did a perfect job at photographing the spaces I styled and it was such a joy working alongside her on this project. No regrets!!

Ok… there was a little glimpse at the amazing creatives that joined me on this book. I’m not worthy in the least of their talents, but SO THANKFUL they said YES to being in my first book with me… Can you do me a favor? Can you go spread some love to them today & say THANK YOU for me?! Head to their links & go tell them thank you for me. If you haven’t pre-ordered the book yet you can get the book [HERE] & also fill the form out on the bottom of the page to get my presets for free with your book purchase. THANK YOU for supporting my little book & the blog… it means the world to me! Love you guys & thank you SO MUCH for stopping by the blog today & every single day to see what we are up to!! xx