Every once in a while I go through my blog analytics to see what posts are doing really well, and which ones were a big 'ol flop. Doing this is extremely eye-opening, because the posts/projects that do really well are never the ones I expect. The two most popular posts I wrote in 2018 were "How to Paint Shiplap" (this one surprised the heck out of me), my series and review of our leather furniture from Article.
The question I get asked most often these days is "How is your Timber leather sofa …
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Entry Refresh and a Wooden Doormat Update
Today I have the most well-tested follow-up post for you ever. Not a year, or two years like most of my follow-up posts, but SEVEN years. So what project are we talking about today? These babies...
I made these wooden doormats back in 2012, when my blog was just a year old and I only had two kids. It feels like yesterday, but it wasn't. It's crazy how quickly time goes.
In the original post I said that I had no idea how these mats were going to work out...if they would catch dirt and …
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Our DIY Epoxy Garage Floor – One Year Later
Alright, time for another follow-up post! Today we are talking about the DIY epoxy floor coating Adam and I did in the garage a little over a year ago. We used the RockSolid kit from RustOleum. and applying it was simple but fairly labor intensive.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL POST AND TUTORIAL
Before -
After -
Here is a quick video about the process of applying the epoxy floor coating -
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So our garage is really large, a four car. The front half is where we park …
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A Review of our Brick Flooring – One Year Later
Almost exactly a year ago we installed the brick flooring in the mudroom, laundry room, and half bathroom. When we installed it I knew I loved the look, but had no idea how it would actually function and hold up in real life. Would it be easy to clean? Catch all the dirt? Can you mop it? Will it hurt to walk on with bare feet? Will it stain easily? Adam and I didn't know the answers to any of these questions, but we decided to install it anyway and see how it …
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Our NBI Drainboard Sink – Two Years Later
It was exactly two years ago now that we started using our NBI Drainboard sink, which means its received enough use and abuse to give it a fair review. A lot of you will have no interest in this, but ever since my initial post about the sink I've received a slow but steady flow of emails asking how it is holding up, so I know there is some interest out there.
When we chose this sink I was skeptical about its durability and functionality. All I knew is that it fit with my vision for the …
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My Oil Rubbed Bronze Door Hardware – One Year Later
Sometimes what is popular on the blog and what is a flop surprises me. The most visited posts on my blog aren't even project posts, it's the followup posts I do a year or more later showing how a project or item has held up over time.
I get why these are popular, people (myself included) don't want to spend time and money on something if it's not going to hold up. So today I have a followup post about something you may have been wondering about...oil rubbed bronze …
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My Painted Kitchen Cabinets – Five Years Later
Since we have been on the subject of kitchen cabinets lately, I thought perhaps y’all would appreciate an update on the ones I painted five years ago. Truth be told they aren’t holding up that well, so if I can keep someone from making the same mistakes I did that would be great.
So five years ago Adam and I took this dated, boring, builder grade kitchen...
and turned it into this...
The total price on the kitchen renovation was about $3,800 ($2,200 on new appliances + …
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Ten home improvement projects I would do again
Well, I didn't really expect to be sitting around my house writing posts this week, but alas, here I am...41 weeks pregnant. According to the doctor there are no signs that I will go into labor in the next week, so he scheduled me for an induction on Wednesday if nothing happens before then. I'm praying it doesn't come to that though, because I really want to go into labor naturally. Pitocin is the devil.
Anyway, I'm just going to keep writing list posts that don't require me to any actual …
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Ten home improvement projects I won’t be repeating
So today is my official due date. This baby is fully cooked, I'm horribly uncomfortable, and the doctor said at my appointment on Tuesday that it doesn't look like this kid is planning to come anytime soon. Darn my comfortable uterus! I was really hoping to have this kid a few days before the due date (like my last pregnancy), but it looks like this pregnancy might be more like my first, when I went until 42 weeks. My oldest's fifth birthday is on Sunday though and I REALLY don't want them to …
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My Painted Shower – One Year Later
Last October I did something crazy....I painted my shower. The post I wrote about the process has become one of my most popular, probably because (much like my paper bag flooring) it's just an unusual concept. Anyway, since it's been over a year I figured its high time for an update. After all, whats the point of posting crazy tutorials if I'm not going to let you know if they are a total waste of time or not?
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL TUTORIAL
I have good news...it wasn't a total …
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Guest Room Paper Flooring (and why I’m disappointed with it)
This summer I started redoing my guest room, and the first step was new flooring. I wanted to do paper bag floors, mostly because they're cheap and beautiful, but also because I wanted the flooring to match in my boy's room and the guest room (they're right next to each other).
CLICK HERE TO READ MY ORIGINAL POST ABOUT INSTALLING PAPER BAG FLOORS
(If you aren't familiar with paper bag flooring process then please read the original tutorial first. Links to the follow-up posts can be found …
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40 Bags in 40 Days – The Results
The 40 bags in 40 days challenge ended a couple of weeks ago...how did everyone do? I did pretty well. My house still isn't an organized haven, and I wasn't the ruthless, hard-hearted, clutter destroying machine that I had hoped to be...but I still got my 40 bags. More than 40 actually. When I first read about this challenge 40 bags sounded like a lot, but I only tried medium hard and easily got that many. I could definitely do this every year with no problem. Obviously I have too much …
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Paper Bag Flooring, Part IV – Your Questions, Answered
If you are considering a DIY paper bag floor for your home, you have come to the right place! This series will answer all your questions, including questions you didn't even know you had. This is the final part of this series, you can find the other parts below -
Paper Bag Flooring - A Tutorial
My Paper Bag Floor - One Year Later
Experimenting with Paper
Experimenting with Stain
Experimenting with Sealer
Part IV -Your paper bag flooring questions, …
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Paper Bag Flooring, Part III – Sealer Options
Welcome back to the paper bag flooring series, where I provide more information than you ever needed to know about installing a paper bag floor in your home. If you only have a minute, here are the big takeaways from this post -
Which sealer should I use for my paper bag floor?
Your best option for sealer over a paper bag floor, by a mile, is Bona Traffic HD. It is expensive, but nothing else compares.
If you need to use a less expansive sealer, Minwax Water Based Oil-Modified …
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Paper Bag Flooring, Part II – Stain Options
Welcome back to the paper bag flooring series, where I provide more information than you ever needed to know about installing a paper bag floor in your home. If you only have a minute, here are the big takeaways from this post -
If you want a dark brown floor (for a leather look) use builders paper and an oil based stain (I like provincial by Minwax)
If you want a light brown floor or a colored floor use Kraft paper and no stain, just sealer
If you want a gray floor use art paper and …
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The Paper Flooring Experiment, Part I – Paper Options
Well, today I'm kicking off my first series! I wasn't originally planning on making it a series - I was going to post the whole experiment in one big post, but quickly realized it would be the most ridiculous, long-winded, information-packed post ever. So big that it would be hard to actually find the information you are looking for. So I'm going to divide it up into five parts.... papers, stains, sealers, surfaces and removal, and conclusion. Like a science fair project on steroids. I'll just …
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My Paper Bag Floor – One Year Later
Well here it is, the post everyone has been waiting for me to write. I installed a floor made of brown paper and polyurethane in my boy's room last year, and since then I have gotten a ton of questions about it. My original tutorial currently has 800 comments, most of them questions that I have done my best to answer and keep up with. I've gotten nearly the same amount of emails as well. So basically, y'all want to know more about my paper bag floors. Well, your wish is my command.
Just as a …
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My Butcher Block Countertops, Two Years Later
A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from a reader asking me to write a post about how our butcher block countertops are holding up. I have to admit, I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think of this myself....of course I should write a follow-up post. My main concern when we choose them was how they would hold up over time and I'm sure many of you are wondering the same thing. So here it is, a completely honest update on our wood counters.
Two years ago, in September 2011, I wrote a post about …
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Sometimes I Give Terrible Advice – A Plate Wall Update
I mess up a lot of DIY projects. In fact, I mess up nearly every single one, though usually I am able to fix my mistakes before I blog about it and give y'all terrible advice. That was not the case with my plate wall though (original post HERE).
After hanging the plate wall I waited a couple of weeks to blog about it to make sure all was well. Then about a month after that, things went south. Quite literally. (That is if you are assuming the sky is north and the ground is south, which I know …
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