So one of the things about renovating a whole house is that you eventually reach a plateau. You work your butt off for weeks and you finally get to a point where it’s livable and you start taking some much needed breaks. And then those breaks multiply until you’re maybe doing one productive thing a week instead of 20. It’s really easy when you get to that point to look around and Continue reading
Week 3 was about finishing touches and packing (which isn’t as fun to photograph). Adam got almost all the flooring done during week 3, with the exception of our master closet, a strip in the dining room, the entry way, and some tricky cuts around the fireplace.
This hallway took FOREVER because of all the tricky cuts around the doors.
Those of you who follow me on Facebook will realize that I’m a bit behind on posting week 2, but one day when I have more than one subscriber and someone wants to dig through the archives of our first renovation, they won’t even notice the time lapse. I’m posting this a month after week 2 actually started, so it’s kind of fun to go back and see how far we’ve come since then, especially when it feels like there’s still so much to do!
Day 8:
We last left off with a teaser about raising the sunken living room, and boy was it raised! Continue reading
I got a question today about how we were able to afford the renovations that we’re doing in the new house, and because I love sharing knowledge, I thought I’d write up a post on how to save for a major project like a whole house-reno. While Adam and I are sharing the monthly costs of the house, I paid for all of the down-payment, closing costs, and renovations (with a couple exceptions down below!) while earning less than $40,000/year.
Ok, so I know it’s been a while, and I said I’d post next with a tour of my apartment, but things have been a little busy around here and I think you’ll understand why! We bought a house last month! We did a lease-back with the previous owner, so we just got keys last Wednesday night and we’ve been working like busy beavers all week to get the renovation started.
Day 1
Unfortunately, our experience with the previous homeowner has been a bit of a
nightmare. Continue reading
Oh my word it’s been too long since my last post! See, I have a dirty secret, and that’s that the perfectionist in me doesn’t like doing things unless I can do them perfectly. And I’ve been hating having to take all my blog pictures on my phone in my dark apartment. That being said, my birthday was on Monday and I got a nice new (to me) digital camera from my dad! I’m thinking about getting a reflector as well, once I learn how to use the camera.
I’ve been waiting for the camera before I do my next big post, which will be an apartment tour! Not as fun as a house tour, but the house search has been infuriatingly competitive and we might not be able to get anything until the fall when the market cools down a little. I’ve put a lot of love and time into decorating our apartment over the last year and half, so why not document it!
Now I just have to deep clean the entire apartment so it’s photo-worthy and get some pictures taken! Wish me luck!
Today’s post is a collection of amazing DIY hanging lights and chandeliers from other DIY bloggers. Some of them are fairly simple, and others are pretty time-consuming/tricky, but all of them make a statement in any room!
I had a super productive 3 day weekend and finished 3 DIY projects. This is the first one I did, and you can make one yourself for about $4. I love these concentric circle spheres that seem to be taking over the world, but I’m saving up for a house and even the $20 ones I’ve found at Home Goods and TJ MAXX were more than I wanted to spend at the moment. Plus, when you’re really overhauling your decor, $20 here and $20 there really adds up, and before you know it you’re spending hundreds a month on “pretty things”. My frugal personality just doesn’t think that makes sense!
I’ve been seeing a ton of blue/teal velvet chairs lately and I really love the look. I picked up a little yellow velvet arm chair at a garage sale for $15 a couple years ago, and I loved it’s old fashioned charm. However, the yellow isn’t really my thing anymore, so I decided to try out upholstery painting.
Home staging is a little different than normal decorating, and with prime home selling season coming up, I wanted to share a few staging tips I’ve picked up from staging for my Realtor mother. Typically when you decorate your own home, you keep your own taste in mind, and might make more bold choices because they appeal to you. When it comes time to sell however, the name of the game is “neutral”. If you want to sell your house more quickly and for more money, keep reading!
MEGAN ELISE DIY 