In the wake of  PHM turning 2 last month, I am very excited to announce this blog re-launch! We made some pretty changes around here as well as a big move (Blogger to WordPress). Two years ago, I hopped on the blogger trail and I’ve never looked back.

For those who want the story, read below. And if you just want to get on with the inspiration already, then just keep scrolling…

In 2009 the economy sucked, I was a new Interior Designer with my first job out of FIDM and I was finding myself… unemployed. For about a year I tried to get my old job back, or at least one like it, with no luck. I needed design in my life, but I was too new to have any client base of my own. One of my friends had a design blog so I thought I would give blogging a try (thank you Jessica). Jessica gave me a list of her favorite blogs so I could see what it was all about.

I was hooked.

I stood in front of my writer-husband and brainstormed different titles for my blog, screaming when I finally blurted out pretty haute mess! It described me perfectly I thought, both my design aesthetic and my life (then, more than ever). Nothing in my life is perfect and I never want or expect it to be.

Character is in the flaws.

PHM was on it’s way, starting out as a DIY blog because I love thrift store shopping and turning something messy into something pretty. My dad is the handy type and since I was living nearby at the time (in San Diego), it seemed perfect. I had fun designing the look of my blog, but now giggle a little when I think back to the first couple backgrounds and banners I put together. Soon after I started, I began posting every day of the week about DIY’s, interior design, photography and everything design related.

As I continued discovering new blogs, I noticed that I was more and more inspired by the design of the blogs and the presentation of posts, even more than the actual content. I slowly started to realize that my design interests were placing me more and more behind the computer, rather than in a furniture showroom. I was growing to love digital media and graphic design. I never understood what all those graphic designers did at FIDM, in their techy studio rooms, but I always wondered.

I was beginning to understand.

So, while I was still unemployed, I enrolled in a Graphic Design program in San Diego. Little did I know, I would find a job soon after. Last May, as I was settling into a job doing blogging and social media full time in Los Angeles, I completed the certificate program in Graphic Design. Now, as my husband and I continue to settle back in Los Angeles, I have a renewed sense of design purpose. I feel more focused than I did before and I want my blog to reflect that… hence, the re-design.

More than just a new look, this re-launch signifies a new effort and attention that will be paid to PHM, along with my portfolio and the direction of my design career. I began this blog as an unemployed designer just looking for a creative outlet. But what I found, was a large network of creatives and a new world of inspiration. I also found my own personal design aesthetic (which I didn’t even realize I was missing). I find blogging a great way to develop my design skills, expres myself, communicate with others, but also a way to combine my love for interior design and digital media.

I will continue to blog about photography, art, architecture, fashion, color and all things related to design + inspiration.

This blog and the blogosphere has helped me grow so much as a designer, I can’t wait to step it up a notch! So, if you’re new to PHM, I hope you like what you see and keep coming back. If you have followed me along the way, not only do I thank you, but I hope you will enjoy this new adventure with me.

xoxo Cori

Kristin Butler did an awesome job helping me customize the look of my blog and she was so fun to work with! I found not only a go-to coder, but a new friend. Thank you Kristin!

Photograph by Maia Fiore