Greenman really wanted wallpaper in the entryway, but it didn't fit her budget. Instead, she painted circles on the wall, inspired by Jamie Meares at Furbish Studio. The blue door color is custom, and the bird painting is her own work.

Valerie McCaskill Dickman: When you found your house, was it love at first sight?
Sarah Greenman: Yes, it was the first house we looked at. We looked at 10 or 12 more but kept saying, "Yeah, but it's not as great as the first place." It's a regular ranch house, just like thousands of others in the Dallas area, but it has great flow and a really good energy.

Although her husband was hesitant at first, Greenman didn't think twice about going dark in the dining room. Using Cracked Pepper by Behr on all the walls was a risk, but they're both fans of the end result. "It reads as dark midnight blue during the day and charcoal black at night," says Greenman. "I love it!"

VMD: When did it really feel like your house was your own?
SG: When we covered every last terrible wall color with our own palette.

VMD: How did you choose your palette?
SG: It was a pretty intuitive process. I wanted cool colors to offset the Dallas heat. In Seattle our walls were all golden yellow, terra-cotta and sienna. But in Dallas, where the summer starts in April and ends in November, we needed something cooling. So we've mainly stayed in the gray, sable, ocean blue, sage, midnight, mushroom side of the color wheel.

Wall paint: Cracked Pepper, Behr; artwork: family creations

To liven up the informal kitchen nook, Greenman found these vibrant vintage chairs at a local consignment shop. She had no desire to change their bold and brilliant hue.

VMD: Where are your favorite places to shop for your home?
SG: There are some wonderful consignment and used-furniture places in Dallas, Lula B’s and Again & Again being two of my favorites. But when I’m short of cash and have some time to dig, Craigslist is my go-to place for home goods.

VMD: If you could invite four people over for dinner ...
SG: I'd invite Judy Dench, Bill Cosby, Tom Stoppard, Bill Moyers.

Wall paint: custom; kitchen table: Ikea; chairs: vintage, Again & Again; window coverings: Etsy

The living area features a mix of secondhand furniture, bold textiles and framed prints by Leo Posillico.

VMD: Do you have a favorite designer?
SG: I love Steven Gambrel for his soothing, heavily textured, monochromatic interiors. His work is really bold and yet still very livable. I also love Isabel Lopez Quesada. Her interiors always have a lived-in look and yet manage to feel elegant and rustic at the same time. I also love her choice of artwork for her spaces. It’s always very playful and energetic — sometimes in stark contrast to the space.

A self-portrait of Greenman painting while holding her younger son, Charlie, rests on the living room mantel. She considers it a visual reminder to stay positive and to always keep making art.

VMD: What was or is your biggest design dilemma?
SG: We have a very limited budget. Our 1-year-old son, Charlie, has cerebral palsy due to a stroke he suffered while still in utero. He also has a condition called craniosynostosis — this is when the skull plates prematurely fuse, causing restricted brain growth. As you can imagine, our hospital bills are really high, and there is usually no money left over for our home. So our biggest dilemma — no budget — becomes our greatest source of creativity.

Framed pieces of wallpaper samples add color and texture to a gallery wall in the guest bedroom. Greenman mixed the lovely sage green wall color on her own. She saves money by buying leftover or "mistake" paints at the store and then mixes various hues at home to create her own custom colors.

VMD: What or who inspires your personal style?
SG: Travel, global style and casual bohemian interiors.

Bed: Ikea; bedspread: Urban Outfitters

Four-year-old Walker's room features a vintage map and globe, an airplane mobile and an oversize chair that pulls out into a bed for sleepovers.

Rug: Pottery Barn; green textiles: Ikea and Target

A vintage globe light fixture that's original to the home hangs in the nursery. A butterfly mobile created by Greenman's mother dangles over the crib, and Greenman also painted artwork for the room. "This isn't a traditional nursery color combo, but I love the saturated rich color and feel of the space," she says.

Wall paint: Morocco Red, Behr; curtains: Cost Plus World Market

"I love having a home library area," Greenman says. "A favorite place of mine is in my son's nursery, sitting on the rocker under the mobile of white paper seagulls."

Installing a vintage chandelier in the master bedroom is one of Greenman's proudest homeowner moments. "I love my master bedroom," she says. "It's inviting, quiet and soft."

Wall paint: Ashwood, Behr

This wooden decoupaged screen in the master bedroom once belonged to Greenman's grandmother, a gifted artist and costume designer who hand-painted each design on the panels. For each production, she would paint them over and start again. The piece is one of Greenman's most prized possessions. Next to the panel is Greenman's harp, an upholstered bench and framed placemats from Mexico.

Greenman values sustainability. Her latest splurge was a raised backyard garden, where she grows an assortment of fruits and vegetables.

Renaissance woman Sarah Greenman in a makeshift office space just off the kitchen, where she cranks out copy for her three blogs: La Maison Boheme, Smaller Sarah and, most important, Help Charlie Heal.

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