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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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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You Can Sell Your Used Kitchen Cabinets and Granite: Everything You Need to Know!

In late 2010, we purchased a new home. It was a custom home that was just a few years old. Here's the thing. I never really liked the kitchen. It's just not really my style and it was dark and Seattle is dark enough for nine months out of the year, that I dreamed of something lighter and brighter. The real dilemma for me was that we had a really nice kitchen. Top-of-the-line materials were used and I have always been of the mindset that you use what you have. Plus, I didn't want to see perfectly good materials ending up in a landfill. I'm not sure when the bug was put in my ear that I could sell our used kitchen, but I have sold just about everything else so why couldn't I sell our kitchen? I'm sharing all my tips and tricks so you can sell your old cabinets and granite, put a little money back in your pocket for your upcoming remodel, AND keep perfectly good materials out of the landfill! It's a real win all around!

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DIY on a Budget

Nothing quite beats the fantastic feeling you get when you redecorate a space or make something with your hands. If you are looking to create a fresh look for your home while taking it easy on your wallet, there are plenty of clever ways that you can DIY anything on a budget! You don’t need a lot of money to do things yourself, and this post will help show you how!

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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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Kitchen Remodel Makeover Reveal

There aren't many shared spaces in a home that have more time spent in them than the kitchen. As a family that eats together nearly every night and shares most meals I know how much time I personally spend in the kitchen. It's so important to have a functional space to use. When you take on a kitchen remodel you have the opportunity to create a space that fits your families needs and reflects your lifestyle. Dea and Christian Rust have spent the past few years rehabbing a historic mansion in small town Indiana {scroll to the end of the post to see more of the rooms they have transformed} and they have just completed their kitchen remodel, one of the largest projects they have tackled to date. Read on to see why they get to do it all over again, after living with it completed for only two weeks.

But before that, come check out the beautiful transformation they have made in their home. I know that yesterday, I shared a little sneak peek into the remodel and shared some of the demo.

Let's take a glimpse again and see what the kitchen looked like before. Remember this home was built before electricity had even been invented! Kitchens were functional and utilitarian spaces not created to be entertaining hubs of the home the way they have evolved.

The light and bright space is exactly what this couple was hoping for.

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