The girls from Kelly & Olive were at it again last week, making major improvements to our home in preparation for the South Oak Park house walk June 20. I wish we’d taken “before” shots, but suffice it to say our spaces did not look anything like this. Design lesson #1: group like objects for maximum effect. We had three sad little pieces of art hung randomly around the doorframe on our enclosed front porch; Lauren and Courtney gathered more (all from our home) and arranged it in a cute cottagey way. The final touch? An old hat they found in a closet. Three antique wood crates that were spread around the porch willy-nilly were stacked together to make a place for shoes and boots. In our front office, the decorators moved our desk against the window, closed the shutters, and placed art against them. (Lesson #2: think like a designer!) The room seems so much bigger now (we have room for a bookcase), and it’s a space I actually want to work in. House walk, we’re (almost) ready for you!

—JAN PARR