Simply The Best

LIFESTYLE BLOGGER JULIE BLANNER SHARES HER MINIMALIST APPROACH TO CREATING A CALM, EFFICIENT HOME.

- Meryl Schoenbaum

IF A BUSY BLOGGER WITH THREE CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 8 can keep her home clean, neat and organized, then maybe there’s hope for the rest of us. Lifestyle blogger Julie Blanner pares down her possessions and takes a practical approach to her décor.

UTILITARIAN ROMANTIC

“I take a utilitarian approach,” Julie says. “Everything has to have a function or significance, or it just feels like ‘stuff .’ As we have renovated our home, we have considered how we use each space. Utilitarian design blends function and style.”

To achieve a sense of calm in her home, Julie left “plenty of blank space to allow myself to think and decompress,” she says. “It goes back to my motto that sometimes simple is simply the best.”

REWORKING THE SPACE

Julie lives in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, Chris, and their three daughters and their dog, Dusty, a Shih Tzu/terrier mix. The two-level Tudor, built in 1971, includes five bedrooms, a basement, a sunroom, an outdoor dining room and an upstairs laundry room.