In the process of building our house, Adam and I messed up. We knew that we only wanted the builder to build the "shell" of the house and leave the rest for us to DIY, but what we didn't realize (no one along the way did... I'm guessing people don't finance half-built houses very often) is that in order to close on a construction loan, the house has to be 100% finished. This led to a giant, stressful, drawn-out mess when we tried to convert the construction loan to a mortgage. Our solution was …
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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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Installing Our Highback Drainboard Sink
The first draft of this post was titled "Installing our Highback, Double Drainboard, Faux Vintage Kitchen Sink", which is quite a big description for a simple sink. That title is like when they introduce Kahaleesi on Game of Thrones, and they're all "Daenerys of the House Targaryen, The First of Her Name, The Unburnt.... eight more super long descriptive tiles...and Mother of Dragons." It's the longest title ever, and I'm over here rolling my eyes at the TV and thinking "just call her the queen …
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Mudroom Reveal – Where Form Meets Function
IT'S MUDROOM REVEAL DAY!! Let's just skip the forced introductory paragraph and get right to the good stuff. Here she is!
I don't think I could love it more. It's so satisfying to have a blank space and a vision, and then watch that vision actually come to life!
From start to finish the mudroom remodel (makeover/finish out/whatever you want to call it) took us almost exactly six months. That definitely isn't a short amount of time, but I think it's realistic for a DIY family …
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All About Our Painted Lockers
Despite what you may have been thinking, we have not abandoned working on the mudroom. In fact, we now have lockers...painted lockers. Beautiful, functional painted lockers.
I love them, and the room is so close to being finished I can taste it. We pretty much just have to build them in and add decor, and it this room will look just like the plan!
So let's talk about these lockers.
The original plan called for six 78 x 15 single tier lockers, and I wanted to buy used ones to …
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My Leather Sectional from Article (aka, the keeper)
Disclaimer - I received 50% off my purchase from Article in exchange for writing a review. And I'm sure you get tired of hearing this, but all opinions are really, genuinely 100% my own.
CLICK HERE to read the first part of my Article furniture review.
Alright, so in the last post I left you hanging when I decided to return the Mello leather sectional from Article. The Mello was comfortable and well made, but the shape and style didn't feel right in my house. Even though I was dreading the …
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My New Article Leather Sectional (and why I returned it)
I've always owned ugly couches. My first couch as a married woman was a floral beauty handed down from my parents, then shortly after I went out and bought a sweet, tan, bulky microfiber set. Adam and I were on a tight budget, and there were only a few options in our little military town in Upstate New York. Shopping online wasn't an option....it was 2005 and we didn't even own a computer (can you imagine?!).
I feel like nearly everyone has owned a sofa set like this, it's like a rite of …
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Living Room Updates and Source List
Our living room isn't one of those rooms that is going to have a clear-cut start and end date. It's a room that will simply evolve over time, and one day we will look around and realize it is finished. That day definitely isn't today, but there have been quite a few living room updates happening recently! The last time I showed y'all the living room was about six months ago (Setember 2017), when it looked like this...
And here is now, a little more evolved and a little less ugly …
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Herringbone Brick Paver Floor
Y'all. The brick paver floor is finished and it turned out AMAZING.
It is exactly what I wanted, which is impressive considering my list demands was pretty specific. I've seen plenty of brick floors that aren't my favorite, so I was only interested in installing a brick paver floor if three things were involved....lots of earthy color variation, light colored grout, and a herringbone pattern. Oh, and not shiny. So four things. Knowing exactly what you want is a good thing, …
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Rustic Wooden Blanket Ladder (for free!)
There is this empty wall in our living room that has been begging me to put something on it, something large but with a slim profile. A framed picture would be too small, furniture would be too big, but a wooden blanket ladder....well that would be just right. So I decided to make one myself, and the best part is that is was an easy project that I did for free using branches scrounged up from the yard.
Materials needed:
branches - two large ones, 3-4 smaller ones
using …
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Everything I’ve Learned About Painting Shiplap
I logged onto my website this morning to publish this post and saw that it has been a month since my last one. I would have sworn it was only a week or two....time is flying. Flying. Anyway, progress is still happening around here despite my blog neglect, and the shiplap in the laundry and mudroom is painted and officially checked off the list. So here it is!
Before
and after!
I love it, it's so fresh and clean and just a great starting point for the …
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Design Plans for our Farmhouse Laundry Room
I was almost finished writing my post about the painted shiplap in the laundry and mudroom when I realized I've never actually shared my plans for the laundry room. So let's back up and dive into that before forging ahead with the makeover.
As a reminder, here is the floorplan for the laundry room ...
About two years ago (when we were starting to design and build cabinets) Adam sketched out the plan for the laundry room. I can't find the paper anymore, but thankfully I posted it on …
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Modsy Review – How to see your finished room before you even start
Want to try Modsy for yourself? Use code DOMESTIC20 to get 20% off a design package, and keep reading for a full Modsy review!
Today I have a sponsored post for a product that I know y'all are going to LOVE. I personally think it's amazing and can't wait to tell you all about it. So what is it? Well, it's Modsy.
Modsy is a personalized home design solution that utilizes 3D visualization technology to let you try on furniture before you buy it. You can see the space, try out products from …
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Installing Shiplap Over Drywall + Brick Flooring Samples
Progress on the mudroom and laundry room is well underway! The shiplap and trim are finished and I'm loving the way the room is headed.
As far as installing shiplap goes, this isn't our first go around. Adam and I added the same wall treatment to the kitchen and dining room back at the previous house, way back when before all planking was dubbed "shiplap". For that room we did a very budget friendly faux version out of strips of cheap plywood.
We installed the plywood planks right …
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Plans for our DIY Mudroom
The first project of 2018 is going to be the mudroom, and I don't think I could be more excited about it. I'm ready. I'm ready for some storage and organization, ready for something new and pretty, and mostly just ready to have another finished room in the house. As a reminder, here is what our mudroom looks like at this exact moment.
At first the plan was to custom build something like the below photos - six wooden lockers, built to take up the entire wall. They would have individual …
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2018 House Goals
I've never been big on setting New Year's resolutions. I don't like making commitments if I am not 100% certain I can stick to them, and New Years resolutions have like a 99% failure rate. Plus I figure that if you need to make a change in your life you should just do it, no need to wait until the new year. But 2017 felt particularly crazy, mostly because I'm the opposite of type A, lack a routine, and have four kids. The combo of those things led to an uphill battle all year, always REacting to …
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DIY Epoxy Floor Coating – A Step by Step Tutorial
Rustoleum generously donated the products used in this post. All opinions (good and bad) are 100% my own.
I know everyone is in holiday mode right now, but I'm here today to give you some (much needed?) relief from everything Christmas. Not that Christmas isn't amazing and all...but so an epoxy floor coating, right? I know that when I showed the kids the finished garage floor they were like "That is so much better than Santa!" Ha...obviously that's not true, I think their exact reaction was …
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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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DIY Reclaimed Wood Ceiling (so cheap, so pretty)
I don't think I've been THIS excited about showing y'all a project in a long time. The reclaimed wood ceiling in our kitchen and dining room is finished and it is just SO GOOD.
It's cozy and warm and I just love it. The house feels so much less like an unfinished white box and more like the home I have always pictured in my head. Also, the whole thing only cost $322. That's a deal in my book.
A wood ceiling in the kitchen and dining room was on the "must have" list from the …
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Wood Slice Coffee Table
So this morning I woke up at 6 am, made breakfast, made lunches, got the kids ready for school, finished that last little bit of homework, found everyone's shoes, and made it out the door in time to meet the bus. The boys and I waited for about 20 minutes (while getting attacked by mosquitos) and the dang thing never showed. Since we are at a new stop (just added last week), I figured they forget us and went to get the car to drive them to school. Well guess what? Turns out it's Colombus Day and …
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Double Sliding Barn Doors for the Office
Remember that time Adam and I DIYed some double sliding barn doors and it was the biggest fail ever? Well I'm happy to report that we have learned from our mistake and these sliding doors are a complete success. I love DIY, but many times it is just not worth it. Considering this hardware was about the same price as the failed DIY hardware (that now sits in our garage taking up space) I'd say DIY barn door hardware is forever on the "just buy it" list.
Alright, so here is the story of the …
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