KC Compton Living

Hi, I’m Kayla — and welcome to KC Compton Living.

Starting this site has been on my mind for a while because, when I look back, homes and design have somehow always been part of my life.

Long before I knew what an “interior design style” was, I was the kid constantly rearranging and redecorating my bedroom. I saved magazines, tore out pages I loved and made vision boards of what I wanted my room to look like.

Pinterest and Canva have thankfully made this process a lot easier. 😂

But the habit hasn’t changed much.

I still start almost every project with an idea, approximately 47 saved inspiration photos and a Canva vision board before I convince my husband that we should probably change something in the house.

And usually, the project takes longer than either of us expected.

From My First Condo to Renovations and New Construction

When I bought my first condo, I finally had a space that was actually mine to change.

And we changed pretty much all of it.

We completely remodeled the condo, and that was really my first opportunity to take all of those ideas I’d saved for years and turn them into an actual home.

From there, we bought our first new-construction house.

Later, we moved to the DFW area and did it all over again, buying our second new-construction home—which is the house you’ll see most often here.

I’ve realized I really love new construction for a slightly different reason than I love renovations and flips.

It’s a blank slate.

I love finding a floor plan that already works for us and then figuring out how to give a brand-new house character without tearing the whole thing apart.

I’ll save the demos for the flips.

At home, I’m much happier starting with a space that works and asking:

How can we make this feel more like us?

Making a New Construction House Feel Like Home

New construction is wonderful in a lot of ways.

Everything is new. The floor plan works for our family. There isn’t a list of major renovations waiting for us the day we get the keys.

But new construction can also feel…very new.

Blank walls. Builder finishes. Big empty spaces. Rooms that technically look finished but don’t necessarily feel finished.

That’s where I have the most fun.

Our current house has become one big ongoing project as we slowly add character through paint, trim, wall treatments, lighting, room makeovers, decorating and projects we tackle ourselves.

Our board and batten living room wall was one of the first.

Then came the kids’ bathroom.

The boys’ room.

The nursery.

The entryway.

The backyard.

And there is always another project somewhere on my list.

Usually several.

My Style Has Changed—a Lot

If you showed me some of the things I loved years ago, I’m not sure I’d let them into my house today.

My style has changed as I’ve gotten older, but becoming a mom probably changed it the most.

I still want our home to be beautiful. I just also need it to survive actual life.

Kids live here. Dogs live here. Toys live here.

Someone will touch the wall with dirty hands approximately five minutes after I paint it.

And that cute little accent table covered in perfectly styled objects?

My kids would have all of those objects on the floor before I finished taking the picture.

So these days, I’d describe my style as modern European meets busy mom.

I love warm neutrals, natural wood, black and gold accents, interesting paint colors, good lighting and spaces that feel collected rather than overly decorated.

And increasingly, I’m in my less-is-more era.

Give me a beautiful accent wall and one great piece of art over an accent table covered in things any day.

Part of that is style.

Part of it is knowing my kids can’t break an accent wall.

What You’ll Find on KC Compton Living

This isn’t going to be a website about having a perfectly finished house.

Ours definitely isn’t.

KC Compton Living is about making a house your own over time.

I’ll be sharing our current new-construction home as we continue transforming it room by room, including the projects we’re doing ourselves, what we’re buying, what things cost and the decisions we’re making along the way.

You’ll also see our past and future renovations and house flips, where we get to do the bigger transformations and save the demolition for houses we don’t have to live in while we’re doing it.

You’ll find things like:

• New-construction and builder-grade upgrades
• Room makeovers and before-and-afters
• DIY home projects we actually attempt ourselves
• Paint colors, trim and accent-wall ideas
• Renovations and house flips
• Project costs, sources and things we’d do differently
• Canva vision boards and the inspiration behind our rooms
• Home finds we actually use
• Seasonal decorating and projects
• Kids’ spaces designed for real kids

And I’m sure a little bit of real family life will find its way in here too.

But home is the heart of this site.

I’m Not an Interior Designer—and That’s Kind of the Point

I’m not trying to teach you how to create a professionally designed home.

I’m sharing how we’re figuring out our own home.

There will be projects that turn out exactly like the vision board.

There will probably be projects where I change my mind halfway through.

There will be things we spend more on, things we figure out how to do ourselves and things that take eight days when we were convinced they’d take a weekend.

I want to share all of that—not just the perfectly styled after photo.

Because I think that’s much more useful if you’re standing in your own builder-grade room thinking, Okay…what do I do with this?

So, Welcome

If you love looking at a blank room and imagining what it could be, you’re probably my kind of person.

Whether you’re starting with new construction, renovating an older home, planning a flip or just trying to make one room feel a little more like you, I hope you’ll find something here that inspires your next project.

I’ll share the vision boards.

I’ll share the before photos.

I’ll share what we actually used.

I’ll share the mistakes.

And, eventually, I’ll share the after—because around here it will probably take a little longer than originally planned.

Welcome to KC Compton Living.

We’re making home our own, one project at a time.