Butter’s Dad, Howard Green, has always had a niche for interior designing. From mixing different colors and patterns to creating his own DIY home projects, there is no denying that Howard is fantastic at what he does. Being able to create a feng shui in any and every room in a home is a talent that not many people have. If you’ve ever been to our first apartment at Himount Gardens on Milwaukee’s north side, he was the visionary behind the decorating.
We moved in late October and while we were in Chicago for Halloween weekend he practically furnished our entire house! We literally only had a couch, a TV, our beds and dressers when we left, and when we came back we were pleasantly surprised to return to a fully decorated apartment. Everyone always commented on the welcoming vibe our home gave off and it was all due to his personal touch. We lived in our first apartment for almost 3 years and, of course, we needed a change of scenery. For our Christmas gift one year, he rearranged our furniture and added a few simple touches and we returned to what felt like a brand new home.
When he first bought his home it had no life in it. Butter was worried that he had invested in a dump, but it was clear that he had a vision beyond what anyone else could see. Over the years he has created a true sanctuary for himself and is able to do everything that he loves in any room that he chooses to spend time in. Mixing and matching different colors, patterns, themes and experimenting with different ideas, Howard is far from doing whatever the norm is. His inspiration can come from a single piece of furniture and he always been self-motivated to build and create. He turned Butter’s old room into his own personal “man cave”, used another bedroom to build his own walk-in closet, made a third bedroom into his office and used a den as his own movie room.
The “Man Cave”
The best part about this story is that, aside from large furniture, Howard prides himself on being able to design on a budget. His favorite is Overstock.com and he loves browsing vintage and thrift stores to snag unique pieces to add to his vast collection. Whatever he doesn’t buy, he makes himself; we were amazed at how he transformed some of the simplest materials into true art.
Wall of Art (Howard painted the red piece on the bottom himself)
We really love visiting his house, it’s almost like being at a museum with so many different colors, shapes and textures throughout. He has inspired us to be more creative and think outside-the-box but still be simple and economical when decorating a space.
Your home should be your sanctuary, so take some time out to truly make it your own. After all, it is the one place that you should be able to truly unwind and be yourself so why not make it everything it can be?
Check out more photos of his lovely home and be inspired!
(View more in the gallery.)
Coco & Butter 