The halls are officially decked over here. It seems that the older I get and the more full our lives get, the less stuff I want out and around. But I still wanted it to feel Christmas-y … so this is my best effort to make our family room feel like Christmas without a total overhaul….
decorate
Making a craft store wreath look fancy
It all started when we moved some things around in the family room. When everything was in place, my husband and I looked at each other and realized there was no room for the Christmas tree. He came up with the idea to put the tree in the entry – which I liked – but…
My Favorite Pillow Hack
As you well know, I like pillows. Always have, always will. My personal decorating preference is to layer neutral foundation pieces (like a couch or chair) with color and texture (pillows) that can be changed with the season or replaced when trends change (for much less than the cost of replacing a dated couch). The…
Warming up the house with the prettiest cognac leather
There was a design show on years ago where the host decorated the room based on favorite items from the owner’s closet. I always loved this approach to decorating and the rooms always ended up feeling more personal to the owner than other design shows on at the time. When I look at my house…
An Ottoman Makeover
We are making a few changes to the family room to make it feel a little more put together. It is the room we spend the most time in and while we adore the sectional, that is about as far as we’ve come in the room. A new chair and matching ottoman are coming this weekend (can’t…
My new light + bright office
Welcome to my new office! I’m completely in love with this space. To catch you up on why I moved out of the pretty studio space and what I did to make this office much more pleasant to be in, read this post. Now that the room is done and I’ve been using the…
office switch-a-roo
So you know that pretty space above the garage that we finished out to use as my studio? Well, we decided to switch things around. This is the current state of my new office: A couple of weeks ago, the idea of switching offices came up and I was quick to agree with the change….
If you’re in the market for the comfiest couch of all time
Of all the rooms in the house, the family room is where we spend most of our time. Is it because it is so close to the kitchen? Perhaps. Or maybe because this is where the tv is? Likely. But I tend to think it’s the couch that draws us in. This massive sectional was…
Back Patio Makeover
For just over a year, our back patio has sat unused. When we moved in, there was a large pergola covering the patio that was charming, but not quite right. Besides being bulky and causing the patio to sink in the corners, it also blocked a lot of light into the house. Since we’re surrounded…
Summer Bucket List (plus two printables for you)
Happy first day of summer! We’re just two days into our summer break and so far, so good. To keep boredom at bay and make sure we make the most of the next eight-ish weeks of summer break, we decided to create a summer bucket list of all the fun things we want to do….
How I painted our kitchen cabinets
As promised, here is my blog post telling you all my not-so-secret tips for painting kitchen cabinets. This last painting project is the sixth time I’ve done cabinets. The first time was in our first house in the teensiest kitchen you’ve ever seen. I wish I had pictures of that one but it was way…
Reveal Day! The lighter re-painted kitchen cabinets
When we moved into the house, our plan was to leave the dated kitchen alone, waiting until we did a full remodel and basically start from scratch. But if there is anything you should know about me and Ryan it is that we aren’t afraid to stray from the plan. By day three of living…
Entry updates for spring
I’m on a total lighten + brighten kick lately and the entry was next to get a quick makeover. (Mason didn’t know I was snapping pictures when he walked downstairs and I actually love that I captured him in this one!) Since December, we’ve had our vintage theater seats and a favorite Lindsay Letters Doxology…
Call me crazy … but I am going to repaint the kitchen cabinets
I know. I just painted the cabinets a year and a half ago. And they look great! But I think I want to change them anyway. Let me explain why. (P.S. these are the exact reasons I’ve given Ryan who just rolls his eyes at me. And when a girlfriend came by the other day…
All about our kitchen shelves + brackets
The most asked questions about our mini kitchen makeover always center on the open shelves. This is the second kitchen we’ve gone with shelves instead of upper cabinets and I’m certain we’ll do it again when we do a full remodel. They function so well for us, we love the casual look and it gives me…