A Famous Friend: Auburn Local Vanessa Kleypas Makes Her DIY Debut In BHG

A good friend of mine, Vanessa Kleypas, is featured in the current issue of Better Homes & Gardens! She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her experience and her blog. You can visit her blog "This and That" to find out more about her projects.

Congratulations Vanessa! You are currently the "I Did It!" feature in the May issue of Better Homes & Gardens, where your dining room table design is in the spotlight. Tell us a little about yourself and how you landed in the hands of BHG.

I graduated with a degree in Interior Design in 2005 from Auburn University. I love problem solving, managing, budgets and pretty things so Interior Design is a perfect fit for me. Before graduation I worked in commercial design and I have been working residential design/sales for 6 years.

Having had a subscription to Southern Living since I was a teen, I've always dreamed of being in a magazine. I am pretty excited to accomplish that goal and hope I have the opportunity to be featured in a magazine again.

I love blogs as much as I love magazines. One of my favorite blogs, Design Intelligence had a post on getting published. I followed Sherry's directions on who to contact and how, a few months later BHG was at my house! Sherry is also featured in the same issue of BHG as me!

What was your inspiration in designing the table?

I like for my house to have a casual collected feel. I love antiques and old "things" with character. I had considered several different antique tables for my dining room but with the small space it really needed to be custom made. Going with the casual feel I decided I wanted a X style table. It would also be easy and cheap for my dad to build. I love that my table is casual enough people will put their elbows on it, but still cool enough for painted cane back chairs.

How would you classify your design style?

I like clean spaces. Not too many accessories but just enough to make the space feel warm and people to feel comfortable. Collected - a mix of new items for function but antiques to give a warm feel to the space. And if we can add one more, I am really digging the "new" traditional style.

I follow your blog, "This and That", but tell us how you first got started blogging and what your blog currently focuses on?

I started my blog in 2009 when my husband and I bought our second fixer upper. I wanted to have a way to document our renovations as well as share with friends and family what we were up to. One great thing about the blog is it has been a great resource when I have a question on how or why I did something, I can just go look it up.

Since our house is pretty much finished my blog is a bit more random. Now I use it to showcase recipes, pretty pictures, and crafts. Things I think are cool and think my readers would like. Add a few small projects in and you have This & That.

Have you always been a "do-it-yourself" kind of girl?

Yep. My parents are both very creative and very much DIYers so I get it honest. As a teenager I was repainting and repurposing furniture and telling my friends what bedspread they needed to buy. I even helped my dad build a coffee table out of an old window.

What projects are you working on right now?
Well right now we are focused on the backyard. It is pretty much my hubby's domain but somebody has to be the project manager, right? I am also wanting to do some type of wall treatment in my bathroom and I'm thinking horizontal wood planks. I'm the brains of the operation and my husband is the brawn so I'll have to see what I can talk him into ;) Vanessa~