A tiny craftsman revival bungalow is about to get a full makeover to bring her into the 21st century, while preserving her mid century modern flare. This boxy little nondescript house would never have caught my eye, but once we set foot inside the front door, we immediately saw its potential. It’s a 2 bedroom, 1 bath charmer that’s been dressed down over the years to function as a rental for university students. Most of the innate character has been stripped out or covered up, but it just needs a few thoughtful tweaks to make it shine again. From Clunky Rental to Craftsman Cutie Taking a home that’s devolved over… Keep Reading
Complete Master Bathroom Bliss with Patterned Tile
The reveal of my modern master bathroom makeover, in all its patterned tile and brass fixture glory. Remodeling projects never go as planned and this bathroom remodel was no exception. But it’s finally finished and I’m sharing the reveal today, along with before and after pics! Recently, I gave my master bedroom an update, which I’ve been loving. But, as with most remodeling projects, once I was happy with the bedroom, I realized how unhappy I was with the adjoining bathroom. Master Bath Before My 1979 original bathroom started out as dated, dark, and dingy, but with good bones. When we bought the house, I knew it would be a… Keep Reading
10 Gorgeous Alternatives To Get The Look of Concrete Tile
Want the look of concrete tiles on your floor or backsplash without the installation and maintenance headaches? These porcelain and ceramic patterned tiles will give you the concrete tile alternatives you’re looking for, typically for a fraction of the cost! Ah, the sweet sounds of tiles smashing and shattering in my bathroom. It’s music to my ears. I always love Demo Day, but today is special because I’m not doing the hard work of demolition. Since we’re “weekend warriors” our larger DIY projects like this one generally take weeks to complete. But with friends coming in a couple of weeks to visit, we need all our bathrooms in working order…. Keep Reading
A New Year and a New Bathroom Remodel
Happy New Year! January is the perfect time for new beginnings, and this year I’m starting a new bathroom remodel that I’ve been wanting to tackle for years. When we moved into our house four years ago, we loved the layout and how the space worked for our family. We didn’t so much love the 1981 style that infused every room of the house. Bathroom as Time Capsule Nowhere was this late-seventies/early-eighties style more troublesome than in our master bathroom. Back in its day, this thing was decked out. The green cultured marble countertops, and beigey-brown matching toilet and jetted bathtub just screamed custom 70’s master retreat. This place was… Keep Reading
Affordable Farmhouse Kitchen Lighting Options
Recently one of my favorite readers (and best friends) asked if I could share some ideas for affordable kitchen lighting. Happy to oblige, I’ve put together a little roundup of my favorite modern industrial farmhouse lighting options. Picking the right lighting for a room can be one of those design challenges that you don’t think about until you find yourself overwhelmed with thousands of choices, wondering how you could have paid so little attention all your life to the lights you use every day in your home. Affordable kitchen lighting has been on my mind lately, because when we recently replaced the floor in our kitchen and breakfast nook, we… Keep Reading
Back to School Grownup Bedroom Refresh
Now that my kids are back in school, I get to take time to work on my own projects again! I thought I’d start by giving my master bedroom a little makeover This grownup bedroom refresh is all about the details, clean lines, and soft colors. We recently sold our latest flip house, that did double duty for a while as an AirBNB property, and had a few items left over from staging it. I enjoyed them so much in the flip house that I wanted to bring them home and find a place for them in my house. And I didn’t have to look far. A few months ago,… Keep Reading
Bring the Indoors Out with an Outdoor Rug
Designing a comfortable patio starts with function, but it doesn’t have to end there. To truly create an outdoor living space, you need to add a few touches of comfort, like an outdoor rug. And I’ve got just the place to find one! This month marks the beginning of outdoor living in our part of the world, and I’m jumping on that bandwagon by making over my back patio, just in time for summer. Last week we painted our concrete block wall, which made the whole space feel more inviting and lived in, and now we’re moving on to decorating the space under our gazebo. I want my outdoor dining… Keep Reading
Vacation Rental Hosting: How to Set Up a Home for AirBNB
Welcome to a new mini-series here on the blog, all about hosting your own vacation rental property! While I’m normally all about DIY Projects, Crafts, and Flipping Houses, today I’m kicking off a new series that goes along with my latest project outside the blog. But first, a little background information. Let me tell you a little story about how I accidentally became a landlord. How our Vacation Rental Home Started Out As you may know, my design partner Jana and I flip houses as a little side business. I say “little” because we’re not a big operation like the HGTV gurus who do dozens of homes a year. We… Keep Reading
Flip House Hattie’s Big Reveal
It’s here… Reveal Day! I love a good makeover, don’t you? Our current flip house, named Hattie, seemed like she didn’t need much, but in reality all the little changes added up to a full remodel. This was the kind of house that just needed a few of the right touches to bring it up to date. And while that’s not as exciting a makeover as some of the falling-down houses I’ve seen, the overall effect turned out to be really satisfying. But enough of my musing, let’s get to the pictures, shall we? Hattie Before her Makeover Here are a few “Before” shots of our beloved Hattie, to remind… Keep Reading
Small Changes Add up to Big Change at the Flip House
I love a good “before” and “after,” don’t you? Well, my apologies because today is all about the “during.” When we started the makeover on our new flip house, “Hattie,” I was a little disappointed because she just wasn’t very ugly to begin with. I mean, I really love to get into a horrible rundown mess of a house and bring it back from the brink of city condemnation. Let’s rip out some walls. Let’s carry out the grossness with shovels. Let’s back up a dump truck into the driveway and fill it with terrible old cabinets and tiles and (gasp!) sludgy toilets! (I know, I’m a little bit of… Keep Reading