Dovetail House
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Rustic chic homes designed from vintage, antiques + heirlooms
Family + travel + meaningful memories woven into every space
Collecting stories one treasure at a time. Leta Hays is the creator behind Dovetail House, a lifestyle brand dedicated to helping others create homes and lives filled with intention, beauty, and meaningful stories. With more than 26 years of experience as an interior designer and millions of podcast downloads, Leta has inspired audiences through honest storytelling, approachable design, vintage treasures, DIY projects, home renovations, travel, and the lessons learned through life's greatest joys and hardest seasons. Through her new podcast, Inside the Dovetail House, Leta welcomes listeners into the heart of the brand, sharing the stories behind the spaces, the people, the projects, and the journey. From decorating and renovating to grief, family, faith, and fresh starts, every episode is an invitation to create a life that feels as meaningful as the home you live in. Whether she's uncovering the perfect antique, transforming a room, or encouraging someone to embrace a new beginning, Leta's mission is simple: to inspire others to live intentionally, create boldly, and build homes that tell their stories.
The weighted vest is on, the training is almost done, and it’s getting REAL. 🥾
This week I’m heading to the Grand Canyon to take on Rim to Rim with Kidney Donor Athletes in 24 hours, on one kidney.
This climb means more to me than I can put into words. I’m doing it in honor of my dad, during the month that marks one year since we lost him, and to show just how full and adventurous life after living kidney donation can be.
I’m also raising money for Kidney Donor Athletes and would be so grateful for your support. Every donation helps us spread the message that living donation doesn’t mean living less.
10/05/2026
It’s almost time! The Grand Canyon is calling, and I’m so excited to take on Rim-to-Rim with Kidney Donor Athletes! This one is especially meaningful as I climb in honor of my dad and help show what life after living kidney donation can look like.
This adventure is also a fundraiser for KDA, an organization and mission I love deeply. If you’d like to support my climb and help us continue spreading the message of living donation, I would be so grateful. Fundraising link below!
One kidney. One canyon. One incredible mission. Let’s go!
https://secure.qgiv.com/event/2026rim-to-rimchallenge/account/2366047/?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1dennhb4bgstw&fbclid=IwY2xjawUqFItleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMXk2OHBuT1Q5eXFtZGxXUlZzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeNw6X6svEibxjZsa6RBNWMcNnE9sLl7WylQiuQ5gd8f1bKTKZ0F8Beas4-do_aem_w0WZKXSZ5NFG5nE606k-GQ
🏜️ MEET THE CLIMBERS: LETA HAYS 🥾
One kidney. A whole lot of adventure. And she’s not done yet!💚
Next up in our Rim to River to Rim climber introductions is living kidney donor Leta Hays!
In 2017, Leta donated a kidney to her dad—a decision that would change her life in ways she never could have imagined.
Since then, her passion for living donation and adventure has taken her around the world with Kidney Donor Athletes. She has climbed volcanoes in Guatemala, stood on the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and now she’s heading into the Grand Canyon to take on Rim to River to Rim!
But this adventure carries an even deeper meaning.
The climb falls during the same month as the one-year anniversary of losing her dad, making every step through the Grand Canyon a special way to honor the person who began her living donation journey. 💚
Through every climb and every adventure, Leta continues to support the mission of Kidney Donor Athletes and show others just how BIG life with one kidney can be.
From donating to her dad to summiting Kilimanjaro and now taking on the Grand Canyon, Leta’s journey is a powerful reminder that donation can be the beginning of an incredible adventure.
Next stop: Grand Canyon! 🏜️🥾
Help us cheer on Leta Hays as she takes on Rim to River to Rim! 💚
What’s the biggest design mistake people make?
Thinking their home has to be finished.
And listen, I get it. I’m a designer. I’m literally trained and paid to finish the project. Pick the furniture, hang the art, style the shelves, make it beautiful and call it done.
But maybe we only finish it halfway.
Get the bones right. Buy the pieces you really love. Then leave some room.
Room for the thing you find on a trip. The piece you bring home from an antique store because you can’t stop thinking about it. Something that belonged to your grandmother. Something weird and wonderful that makes absolutely no sense to anyone else but you.
Let your home fill up with your life.
It may take longer, but I promise it will mean so much more.
09/24/2026
THE GRAND CANYON! 🏜️
In two weeks, I’m heading to the Grand Canyon with Kidney Donor Athletes for a Rim-to-Rim adventure and I already know this one is going to mean more to me than I can put into words.
In 2017, I donated a kidney to my dad. Since then, so many of my biggest adventures and climbs have been in honor of him. But this one is different.
The one year anniversary of losing my dad falls during the same month as this climb. I’ll be walking into that canyon carrying a lot with me. His memory, our story, the kidney we shared, and a mission that has become incredibly important to me.
Kidney Donor Athletes exists to change the perception of what life after living donation can look like. We climb mountains, run races, take on huge physical challenges and live BIG lives with one kidney. We do this to show others that living donation can be fulfilling and rewarding. You’re not only saving a life, you may just enhance your own. ❤️
I’m climbing for my Dad. I miss him terribly. 😢 I’m also climbing for every person who has ever wondered whether becoming a living donor means giving up part of their own life. It doesn’t. For me, it has been one of my greatest blessings.
I’m raising money for Kidney Donor Athletes as part of this climb, and I would love for you to be part of it with me. Fundraising link is in my stories.
Grand Canyon, here I come! 🥾
04/01/2026
You know how much this means to me!
April is Donate Life Month 💙
And April 1 is Donate Life Living Donor Day.
To celebrate, we’re launching something new:
The First Event Back Scholarship
A new initiative designed to support living donors as they return to movement, competition, and community after donation.
Our goal is simple:
✔️ Raise $500
✔️ Fund 5 donors
✔️ 25 people giving $20
Because that first event back is more than just a race or hike. It’s a powerful milestone.
Over the next few days, we’ll be recognizing First Event Back stories from our community and the impact these moments have.
Be part of making those moments possible.
Donate here: https://kidneydonorathlete.org/donate/ 💙
04/01/2026
We came across the base of this antique postal cabinet tucked inside a warehouse called Chuck’s Garage. I fell in love with it immediately. It wasn’t practical and it definitely wasn’t part of a plan, but I knew we weren’t leaving without it. We told Mr. Chuck we’d be back with a U Haul.
That weekend we went picking in Anderson, South Carolina, and on the way home we decided to take a different route. No reason. Just one of those small, unplanned turns.
We stopped at Memory Lane Antiques in Commerce… and I still can’t fully explain what happened next.
Sitting there was the top.
The exact match to the base we had just bought. Same cabinet. Same piece. Found 45 miles away, on a completely different day.
We rented the U Haul, went back, and brought both pieces home where they finally belong together again.
Now it sits in our home filled with old postcards. My grandmother used to write to me when I was little, and now her words live inside something that was built to carry messages. Even some of the original names from the town are still on the cabinet.
When we purchased the top, there was a printed photo of the Old Mayfield store & post office where this cabinet once lived. It’s framed and sits on the cabinet today.
I don’t think this was luck.
I think some pieces are meant to find you.
And that’s what a collected home is all about.
If you love pieces with history and meaning, stay awhile 🤍
We’re a little behind over here… but cozy homes don’t run on deadlines.
With hubby on crutches, travel sports, work, and life moving a mile a minute, Christmas finally came down around here not too long ago. This morning I hosted a few friends which gave me the motivation to start putting the house back together and getting things ready for the spring season.
One thing about my home… nothing is perfectly styled or copied from a catalog. Every piece is collected. Vintage finds, little treasures from travels, things that caught my eye along the way.
I love creating spaces that feel layered, cozy, and lived in. After the holidays I never put things back in the same place. Every year the house evolves depending on what inspires me.
Some of my friends take pictures so they remember exactly where everything goes. Honestly, that’s a great idea. I’m just not that structured with it. I like letting the house change and feel new again.
Follow along as I bring the house back to life for spring.
Do you put everything back in the exact same place every year… or move things around like I do?
02/03/2026
Design with meaning, not momentum.
Design isn’t about keeping up.
It’s about slowing down long enough to choose what actually belongs.
Before you buy something new, pause and ask yourself
Does this add a story or just fill a space?
The homes that feel the most lived in and loved are never rushed. They’re collected over time, layered with memory, texture, and meaning. When you curate over time your home starts to feel like YOU, not a showroom.
from Dovetail
Collected beats clutter. Always.
Save this for your next design decision 💗
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Athens, GA
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