A couple of weeks ago I received this comment from a reader...
"We are closing on our house this Friday, it is 1523 sq ft. When I told friends and family, a lot of them think it is a little small. I would love to see a blog post on your thoughts on house size".
I think that is an excellent topic for a post, so lets dive right in.
The average size of a house in the U.S. nearly 2400 square feet (source), my house is 1650.
Adam and I purchased it back in 2010 (our first house!) and we planned …
Read More
The Most Embarrassing Post I’ve Ever Written
Three years ago today I started Domestic Imperfection. For the first two blogiversaries I put together giveaways as a thank you to my readers for all the support. This year I didn't plan anything though, mostly because it's a whole lot of work and only one or two people win things. So instead I'm going to do something better...I'm going to completely embarrass myself for your entertainment. If that doesn't show my gratitude then I don't know what does.
So here it goes.
Sometimes get …
Read More
How to Refinish Outdated Tile (yes, I painted my shower)
Who here has outdated tile in their bathroom but doesn't want to rip it out and replace it? Did you know that you can paint it? Painting shower tile is an involved process but not a hard one, and for about $100 you can give your shower a complete makeover.
I wavered about doing something with the tile in our master bathroom for a long time. It's not terrible and I don't hate it...but by the same token I don't love it either. I didn't want to rip it out and re-tile...in our forever house, yes, …
Read More
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 …
Read More
How to Raise Your Kitchen Cabinets to the Ceiling
Let's talk about that space above your cabinets for a second...that useless space that does nothing but collect dust and cause design dilemmas. Do you decorate it? Leave it? I have always left it, I love to decorate but I'm not a fan of having stuff just for the sake of having stuff. When Adam and started the kitchen remodel I had a lot of ideas and things I knew I wanted, but my number one thing was to make those cabinets touch the ceiling, somehow. Adam and I found a solution...the perfect …
Read More
Paper Bag Floors; A Step by Step Tutorial
Welcome to the first post of my (seven-part) paper bag floor series! Here you will find more information than you ever wanted to know about installing paper flooring in your home. Let's go ahead and jump right in, because I know you have questions.
What is a paper bag floor?
Paper bag flooring is a do-it-yourself flooring solution that is made out of paper, glue, stain (optional), and sealer.
Originally it was made from the brown paper bags you would get from the grocery store, but …
Read More
Farmhouse Kitchen on a Budget – The Reveal
(Update: I hadn't really intended for this to be my kitchen reveal post, I really just wanted to show y'all how I "decked out" my new floating shelves. Anyway, it has become fairly popular as a kitchen reveal post so I went ahead and added the prices for everything we have done so far in the kitchen to the end of the post.)
Well, my internet is working again and it's time to show you my shelves! They are decked out, colorful, and oh so functional. This post doesn't really have a story to go …
Read More
The “Dirty Cowboy” Treatment
Ahh, the Dirty Cowboy...a great way to give your furniture some personality. That's right... furniture. Is that not what you were expecting? What kind of blog do you think I'm running over here?
So I didn't entirely make this technique up, it is really just dry brushing... or antiquing, or distressing with stain, or a variety of other names. I've tried to dry brush furniture a few different ways and this is the way I found worked the best, was the easiest and gave me the best result.
First …
Read More
{Awesome} Paisley Stenciled Table
Let's talk stenciling.
Now, I've done my fair share of stenciling, but it's always been with a homemade stencil and it takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to do. Plus the final product always looks kinda wonky when you get up close and the design is very simple. Also it takes forever....that's worth mentioning twice. So when Cutting Edge Stencils sent me a stencil to review I was super excited. I just so happened to have a spare dining room table sitting on my front porch (what, you don't?) and it was begging …
Read More
Penny Countertop
Last September we finished our butcher block countertops, but we didn't do our bar area. I mentioned in that post that I was open to suggestions and got the great idea to cover it in pennies and epoxy. Well, EIGHT months later it is finally finished!
This is one of those projects that if I was to do it again it would be super easy. I now know exactly what not to do, which means I'll fly through all the other penny coutertops I have planned. Oh wait...no, this was the only one. …
Read More
How We Paid Off Our House In 3.5 Years
This February we paid off our house.
(excuse me for one second..OHMYGOODNESS, WE PAID OFF OUR HOUSE!!!!! WE'RE DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!)
And I'm back.
Now to be totally and completely honest, I wasn't even sure I should write this post. I don't want to come off as braggy or in your face about it. I know that there are a lot of people out there struggling just to make their mortgage payments and it's not my intent to make them feel crappy. If you are in that situation I want to encourage you. …
Read More
The Less Mess Project: Pantry Reveal!
Well, I've spent the last week painting, stenciling, and organizing my pantry and I have to admit...it's one of the best things I've ever done. Not because it was particularly fun to do, but because the results make life so much easier. Seriously, if I had known how much less stressed having an organized pantry would make me feel I would have done it years ago.
.
So, here it is...my organized masterpiece.
As a reminder as to how horribly disorganized I am, the before …
Read More
