I love finding any way that I can to encourage outdoor play! One of the things in our backyard that gets daily use is our trampoline. We've had it several years and the kids never seem to tire of it. Listening to them be active and having fun together will never get old for me either! It was a must for us to keep it when we started our backyard remodel and we decided to make our yard not feel crowded by putting our trampoline in-ground. When we made a swimming pool part of our renovation plans, it meant re-imagining our entire backyard space. Since the back hoe was here anyway, it was the ... Read More
Single Mom- Home Makeover
There were so many people involved in this project I felt it had to be shared on my blog. We recently did a makeover for a single mom and her new 3 month old baby. My friend Nikki saw a post about this single mom needing help. Nikki, being the loving person she is jumped in and brought her food. When Nikki went to her home she noticed that she was sleeping on an air mattress and clothes were in bags on the floor. I had accidentally shipped some bedding to Nikki's home for another makeover we are doing this coming week for a nurse. Nikki took it as a sign to ask me if I had any ... Read More
House Details- Molding, Shiplap, Paint, Doors, Woven Shades and More
Creating a cozy home--especially with new construction or with a renovation-- is really in the finishing details. I wanted these details to come together in a way that felt like they'd been here all along and also be unique and modern. These small particulars can be overlooked by so many, but I get asked about them all the time--which makes me so happy! So I thought I would just do a blog post dedicated to all the "house details"! From the exact shiplap, doors, door hardware, paint and more! Let me know if I missed something! (Curtain rod HERE and Curtain Panels are older, ... Read More
Master Bathroom Reveal with Claw Foot Tub
If I am totally honest, when we bought this home, one thing that I felt like I "gave up" was a private master bathroom. We'd been spoiled with this luxury in all of our previous homes. I was worried how I'd feel having the room that I bathed in also be the room guests used when they stop by. Still, we loved the bones of this home and we chose location and schools over size of home, and made it work. We made some improvements when we moved in to this main floor bathroom and I found myself quickly adjusting to using the hallway to get to my room. No biggie! When given the ... Read More
Inside our Kitchen Cabinets- Organizing Ideas
We added about 125 square feet to our kitchen. It is now full of glorious storage for plates and dishes and food! However, sometimes when we get more space (whether from moving or de-cluttering or renovating), it can be tempting to start filling that space right back up with things. Anyone else? I have learned so much from living in our small home about staying on top of the "stuff" that we have and keeping things organized and tidy, that I was determined to put our kitchen back together in an organized and efficient way. We didn't add more- just can now put things in cupboards that was spread ... Read More
Our new TimberTech Deck with Contemporary Rail and String Lights
Our back deck is really an extension of our living space. When you live in a smaller home, every room is a living room and this outdoor great room has always been that for us! We love to make smore's and unwind as a family on our back deck. As soon as the weather permits, we eat dinner out here nightly. When we open up the Christen bed and breakfast to visiting friends and family, we are out here even more. Oh, the memories we have made here. When we added on to our home, we had to remove the old wood deck to make space for our kitchen and master bathroom. Honestly, it was a little ... Read More
Our Semihandmade doors on IKEA cabinets- ALL the details!
Putting in a brand new kitchen is always a big deal!!! If you have or are planning to take on a kitchen remodel in your home, you know the pressure! Don't get me wrong, it's fun and exciting and makes such a huge impact on your home and your home's value, but everyone wants to get it "right"--- and that can feel overwhelming! The fun of a new kitchen space can quickly be sucked up by the fear of doing it wrong or regretting your choices. Long before we were done installing, I had so many requests for details on our Semihandmade with IKEA Cabinets. I thought I would share our entire process ... Read More
Our Kitchen Reveal- What 9 feet does to a Kitchen!
So basically it's Christmas in May because that is how excited I am to reveal our most-loved, most-used, and most- anticipated renovated room! You've already seen bits and pieces, but I am excited to show you all of the ins and outs and invite you in for the grand tour! I sourced everything out for you at the end of this post. I will also be back with a full, budget breakdown for this remodel! But today, let's just look at our new pretty kitchen! Our new kitchen!!! We ended up doing Semihandmade Door with an IKEA Kitchen. It was a fun an affordable project, check THIS ... Read More
Open Shelves in our Kitchen
I was SO excited about the idea of floating shelves in our kitchen that I couldn't wait to implement it. But it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be! Is that the case with most DIY projects? Ha! We didn't want to do open shelves instead of cabinets, while I love the look it just really wasn't practical, since our home is still only 1300 square feet (with our addition) we could use any cupboard and drawer we could get our hands on! So we left a small area in our kitchen for open shelves. The dilemma was what to make the shelves out of?! We were trying to decide between wood shelves to match ... Read More
Mothers Day Gift Guide
Mothers Day is really the best day of the year. We get to celebrate our beautiful mothers, our girlfriends, those around us who help mother our children (if we have children), and even ourselves if we are currently or planning to be moms!! Never has there been a better year to celebrate motherhood then this one. I see so many friends, neighbors, teachers and readers wearing themselves out in service during this time of hunkering down and being home. "Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.” – Tina Fey “My favorite thing about being a mom is just what a better person it ... Read More