About

Hi, I'm Aileen! I started At Home in Love in October 2012 because I wanted a creative outlet to share my love for home decor, doable DIY projects, and design in general. I like to keep things approachable and budget-friendly around here...because as much as formal houses in a magazine can be beautiful and aspirational, they just don't feel like home to me. I want this blog to be a place where you feel right at home and fall in love with fresh ideas that you can actually implement in your own place, whether you're a college student, a newlywed, or have lived in your house for years--whether you're an apartment dweller or a homeowner!

Some random facts about me:

1. I met my husband Ben at a church retreat when I was 13, and had a major crush on him immediately. I actually wrote in my diary at the time that I was going to marry him someday (I will keep that diary forever)! Nothing happened then, but when I moved to Seattle for college we started dating within a couple months. I was 17 and he was 19. We dated all through college, and got married the July after I graduated (2010). I was 21! I think a lot of people doubt young marriage, but when you know, you know. It's actually gotten even better for us, and if anything we've grown together. If that 13-year-old could only see me now! ;)

2. I have two darling sons! My firstborn Ian was born in 2016. I had preeclampsia, so he was delivered early via c-section at 32 weeks. He was only  3 lb 5 oz, and spent about a month in the NICU before we could take him home. It was stressful and emotionally draining at the time, but he is totally healthy now and (thankfully) it feels like a long time ago! Emmett was born in 2018, and I was able to have a VBAC and deliver him naturally...a much different experience! They are my joy boys and I love being their mom. You can read their birth stories if you're interested in that kind of thing: Ian / Emmett

3. I am happy to be a stay-at-home mom right now (well, besides running this blog). When I worked full-time in the past, I was always trying to find jobs that had some element of creativity to them. I have worked as a photo stylist, an assistant buyer, a social media manager, and a marketing specialist. I also started a wedding blog (Love & Lavender) back in 2010, and ran that with my sister-in-law for a couple years before getting tired of weddings and starting At Home in Love. My current obsession is real estate...I'm trying to convince my husband to get an investment property with me that we can run as an Airbnb!

4. One of my biggest interests besides interior design is budgeting. I love listening to financial podcasts and I'm very interested in the intersection between good design and good money decisions. Luckily, home improvement is financially wise most of the time, although I'm always wary of spending too much or making choices that will negatively affect resale. I try to keep all of our remodeling projects budget-conscious and fairly classic, and I shop thrift stores and Craigslist whenever possible!

5. I was born and raised in Spokane, WA and moved to Seattle for college (Industrial Design major from UW). I lived in the Seattle area for 10 years. For half of that time, we lived in the little beach town of Edmonds, which I still looove. I miss how we could walk to the water and so many great restaurants from our old place. After having Ian, we moved to Spokane for the cheaper cost of living. Despite my low expectations, Spokane surprised me in a good way! My hometown is getting revitalized, and it's a great place to be raising a family. In 2019, I started an account to showcase local homes & design here. Check out @insidespokane on Instagram!

6. We bought our house in 2017. It's the first house we've owned! I totally thought I wanted an old charmer, but we ended up with a 90s style builder house instead, haha. It's in a great school district, only 5 minutes from my parents house, and near many of our friends. It was also the perfect size and layout for our family, a good price, and didn't have any structural/electrical/plumbing issues...so we could jump right into the fun cosmetic updates. And there was plenty of room for improvement in that department! Our house was very builder beige when we bought it (see the before pictures here). We've remodeled our guest bathroom, and we've painted and switched out lighting in every room. I can't wait to tackle the next two bathrooms and eventually remodel our kitchen.

7. I love to travel! In the past few years, we have been fortunate to go on some pretty great trips, including Iceland (twice!), Italy, France, Alaska, Hawaii, a big Southern road trip, and a national park road trip (we went from Washington to Texas, and back up). My mom is Chinese and grew up in Malaysia, so as a kid I also traveled to Singapore and Malaysia. There are still so many places in the world I want to see. We've recently gotten into travel hacking and the last few trips we've done with credit card points from sign-up bonuses. I'm trying to save enough points to get our whole family to New Zealand for free (see, I'm frugal to a fault!).

8. I love words. I've been an avid reader since very young (I used to get boxes of library books, and stay up way too late reading them...it's why I got glasses in third grade). I still love to read, although realistically these days audiobooks and podcasts are what I have time for. I also enjoy writing, and I loooove a good cheesy pun.

I posted a bunch more random things about me in this post. It's from a from a few years ago, but most of it is still true!

I hope that helps to get you started. I’d also love for you to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!