A Beginner's Guide to a DIY Bathroom Update

You know how everyone on those TV house hunting shows is looking for an open concept home? You know, one that has flow and doesn't feel boxed in with small rooms breaking everything up? Well, those are great. But when it comes time to remodel or replace something, you often have to replace all the things since one thing flows to the other. That was the case when we recently remodeled our kitchen. 
We had a half bathroom downstairs that needed updating and it was shockingly easier {and less expensive!} to DIY than we thought. In fact, I took over the majority of the DIY on my own to save money. This isn't the first time I've updated a bathroom. In fact, they are pretty darn easy spaces if you are just getting your feet wet in DIY. I've got a full beginner's guide on how to update your space without breaking the bank. Even if you aren't touching the rest of the home, this will give you a quick refresh that will help you gauge the level of your abilities if you want to progress on in DIY projects. Are you ready?

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DIY Projects You Can Tackle Yourself

Whether you’ve just purchased a new home or your home of 10+ years could use some sprucing up, it can be overwhelming sometimes. If the list of house projects is starting to give you anxiety, this is your opportunity to tackle some DIY projects, even if you feel like the least handy person around the home. You don’t need someone to paint your walls or tile a backsplash! With patience and a little time, you can tackle all of these yourself! Making practical and stylish additions to your home can feel intimidating. But these DIY projects are simple enough that you can tackle them yourself!

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Thinking of Remodeling Your Kitchen? Start Here First!

A kitchen remodel can be an exciting venture, but it can also be overwhelming without the proper planning and understanding of the process. And even then you should expect the unexpected! We spent several years planning and researching and we still ended up having to fire our general contractor weeks into the project and we lived in a construction zone for months! These are just a few things that we learned when we took on a kitchen remodel. Hopefully you can learn from our mistakes and take away a few things that will help you along the way too!

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Do You Really Need to Hire an Interior Designer for a Kitchen Remodel?

When we bought our current home nearly 13 years ago, I never really liked the kitchen. It was a custom home, it just wasn't our custom home. The kitchen was spacious and had a lot of upgrades, but the cabinets were dark and when the weather is dreary nine months out of the year in the Seattle area, dark is the last thing I wanted! But the home was relatively new, and I had a really hard time coming to terms with ripping out perfectly good materials just to replace them with something different. I spent years trying to come up with alternatives to create a space I would like better {paint the cabinets?, add a cabinet box?, remove the tile?, add new accessories?}, but the discontent was still there. The years passed and I started to get more serious about doing a kitchen remodel. I had a few different eyes on the project and took advantage of free consultations from interior designers, to contractors to kitchen designers with a cabinet company, because I wanted to try to see what my options were. Here is how I ultimately decided to hire an interior designer for our project and I have zero regrets! You might choose a different option, and I'll lay out some thoughts on what might work best for any budget during a home remodel.

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Cooking at Home During a Kitchen Remodel

Renovating or remodeling can be stressful, and living in a construction zone can add another layer of stress to your life. Trying to figure out how to feed your family during a kitchen remodel can be, shall we say, interesting. Thinking ahead and setting up a temporary kitchen will help ease some of that burden because no one wants to eat out every night. Here are some tips for cooking at home during a kitchen remodel.

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Top Tips for Setting Up a Temporary Kitchen During a Home Remodel

"You're moving out right?" That's the question we got more than once when we talked about the scope of our home remodel. We are several weeks into a full kitchen remodel and not only are we still living in our home, but I'm also working at home in an active construction zone. In addition to a full kitchen remodel we are replacing all of the floors in our whole house as well as remodeling a half bath. Before the contractor even stepped foot in the door, we planned out how we were going to make a temporary kitchen work in our home for our family. We don't eat out a lot, and so far, we have yet to grab take-out, so I'd say these tips for setting up a temporary kitchen during a home remodel are working for us, and I think they'd work for you too!

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How To Decorate Your Home for Free

If you have just moved into a new place or you are looking for ways to redecorate your home, you don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of new decor pieces and furniture. There are plenty of creative ways to use what you already have on hand or create something with materials to create a fresh and updated look for your space. Here is how to decorate your home for free.

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DIY Geometric Feature Wall on Textured Walls

When we moved into our current home ten years ago, there was one kid's room that was quite a bit bigger than the rest. Since our kids are far enough apart in grade and age that they just kind of trickle out, we decided to let each kid have a turn in that room, starting with the oldest. It's seen a little bit of rock n' roll for our musical oldest and then transitioned to a grey and glam bedroom for our daughter and for the past year, our youngest son has anticipated his sister moving out and has been formulating a plan for the day the room would be his! I mentioned one day that I think it would be cool to put in a geometric feature wall and he agreed! So I'm sharing how we changed a very girly glam room into a masculine teen boy room with some boards on the wall!

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Selecting the Perfect Dark Navy Paint Color for Your Walls

Without a doubt, I knew that I wanted to paint my dining room with dark navy paint. I'm not afraid of color but after talking to some people who had painted their rooms a bold color, the hardest part of finding the right color is making sure that the color you want actually looks like the color on the walls throughout the day. I wanted my walls to look navy blue. Not navy greenish or navy with purple undertones, I wanted it to be navy blue. Surprisingly, I had a harder time picking a neutral beige than I did a bold color. I'm pretty sure though, I found the perfect navy blue. So if you are thinking of going bold with a navy, I've got the perfect color for you!

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My Private Tour Recap of the 2018 HGTV Dream Home

Thanks to Delta Faucet for inviting me to have a private tour of the 2018 HGTV Dream Home. All opinions are 100% my own.
When I was on vacation in Hawaii celebrating my high school graduation with my family, I got to chatting in the pool with some other resort guests. We exchanged pleasantries and then the next question we exchanged was "where are you from." I remember at that moment in time being embarrassed to say that I was from Indiana. I didn't feel like it had anything special to offer. It was just blah. My friends from the Midwest may even remember a small amusement park that had the slogan "there's more than corn in Indiana...", however, none of us were too sure of what more there was. It wasn't until years later and decades after I moved away that I grew to appreciate the roots in my home state. That said, I'm not sure HGTV is building a dream home there anytime soon, but they did stake their claim to a beautiful home not far from where I am currently planting roots with my family in Gig Harbor, Washington. 
I recently had the opportunity to tour the 2018 HGTV Dream Home with one of the major sponsors, Delta Faucet. Delta is based in my hometown in Indiana. Fun fact, I worked at the headquarters during my summers in college answering the phones. So if this didn't all come full circle, I don't know what would. 
I'm excited to share with you a recap and a tour of some of my favorite spaces in the 2018 HGTV Dream Home and explain a little bit more about the trends I spotted inside the home while being a tad bit snarky about my lack of possession of any design knowledge.

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8 Winter Energy-Saving Tips to Save You Money

This post is brought to you by Sears Home Services. All opinions are 100% my own.
Winter is just around the corner and I'm sure by now that you have felt the chill in the air. I'm not quite sure when our furnace fired up for the first time, but I'm so glad that it did because there is nothing I like more than a warm cozy home. It's never a convenient time to have something like your HVAC on the fritz, so making sure it's in good working order is important, especially during the holiday season when all you really want to do is snuggle up inside with friends and family. Not only do you want your HVAC to be working, you also want it to be working well. Using these 8 energy-saving tips will make sure it does just that and as an added bonus, it can save you money!

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5 Things to Keep in Mind During a Bathroom Remodel

This post is written by me on behalf of Sears Home Services. All opinions are 100% my own.
A bathroom remodel can be expensive. In fact, it's the second most expensive remodel you can take on behind your kitchen. However, when a bathroom is remodeled well, it can easily pay for itself.  I have some easy and inexpensive updates that you can make during your bathroom remodel that will give you the luxury you are looking for and the timeless design that will give you the return on your investment you need.

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