Home Decor diY

Oh my goodness, we got so much crossed off the to do list last week -- at least as far as outdoor projects are concerned. :) I've been so excited to show you! Our deck was in desperate need of staining -- it's been years since we did it last. I didn't take a before pic but it looked even worse than these photos from last spring: We've always gone with a dark red stain and white railings and I love the look, but the red doesn't hold up well in full sun year to year. This time we wanted to go with a more natural look and also needed to stain the pergola that we had built last year:  We ADORE this space! Last year we placed some old outdoor furniture out there and called it done -- the staining had to be put off because of the treated wood but it got away from us at the end of the summer (and building it cost enough). We were super close to tackling this ourselves but in the end decided to pay to have it done and seriously, BEST DECISION EVER. It took a crew five full ...

Hello all! Hope your weekend was great! I was sick all weekend -- at first I was frustrated I couldn't get anything done but then I embraced it and just enjoyed laying around and watching movies for 72 hours straight. Now I'm on the mend and trying to catch up from my lazy days. :) I'll be hard at work on some outdoor projects this week but I wanted to share a quick spray paint project I did a few weeks ago. If you've seen my kitchen you know I added a tray to our island since I expanded it more than a year ago -- I love having a spot to corral all the stuff that we reach for every day.  I've been using a tray I found at Goodwill but I had been on the search for something a little larger for months. I found this one at HomeGoods:  I liked the big industrial/farmhouse metal rings as handles and loved the color of the wood, but unfortunately it was all wrong on the butcher block island.  Spray paint to the rescue! I wanted more of a contrast so I sprayed it black and...

Hello my friends! I have a fantastic blogger to share with you this weekend! Rachel at Shades of Blue Interiors has a beautiful blog and home and I know you will love her! I've been planning to share her for some time and I'm excited today is the day. :) Of course I have to start with her beautiful kitchen redo -- the best part about it is the changes weren't crazy expensive. She kept the same cabinets and painted them: The new counters and backsplash made a big difference too. She also added the island which I LOVE.  Another favorite of mine is her entryway and the beautiful set up she has there:  Rachel shares how to make that hanging "mantel" here and isn't that pew beautiful? Love all of the textures too. She offers plans and tips for building furniture as well. I have a couple favorites -- this desk is awesome: I love that it has storage and the middle lifts up so it could be used as a vanity as well. So cool! What a lovely piece that serves double du...

Hey hey! It is a stunning day here in Indiana and I'm heading out soon to take advantage of this beautiful weather. I want to work on a little gardening and cleaning out the garage a bit. I'm so thankful I am done with the massive purge of our house I told you about a couple weeks ago. I still have a lot to share about the process, especially the ways I've organized what's left.  Our junk drawer in the kitchen has always always been a thorn in my side. Every single time we pulled it out stuff would get stuck and then I'd find random junk laying around on the pots and pans in the cabinet below. You've been there I hope? :)  I cleaned this drawer out months ago and I'm pleased to tell you it's stayed organized since. That's the first time that's ever happened for this long. Part of it is that I've gotten rid of so many items we didn't need, I've stored items in other places where they make more sense, and also that it's organized ...

Hello there! How was your weekend? Ours was fantastic. Sorry for the silence late last week -- I planned to post on Friday but we drove all night long to get home from a quick trip out of town. I was exhausted and then we had a full day when we got home.  I'm back at it this week and it's our first full week home on summer break. I'm looking forward to being equal parts lazy and productive -- yay for summer!! I wrote about this beautiful flower two years ago (actually on the same day, that's weird) but I adore this plant so much I thought I'd update you with a few more tips. On that last post I share about the varieties of the flower and how to get the ants off of them when you bring them in. Today I'm talking more about how to care for the plant and how to get more blooms. Peonies can be kind finicky, but when they're happy you won't ever need to touch them again.  This year my larger bush didn't produce as many blooms -- only about 12. That's ...

Well hello all! It feels like forever since I've been writing to you all. I hope you had a lovely holiday weekend! A lot has happened in the loft already and I'm excited to show you the progress. Keep in mind I show you updates in real time so this is truly how it looks as I'm going. I wish I could show you a beautiful space each and every time but that's not real life. Dangit.  So the floors were put in last week -- I'll show you a larger shot at the bottom of the post but you will get glimpses of it throughout. The floors are white oak, stained in Jacobean stain with a satin poly -- satin poly is my BEST FRIEND. No foot prints can be seen, it hides dust and makes hardwoods completely, totally easy to live with. Satin is the key, you heard it here. :) You can find out more about the floors we've put throughout the house here .  I've been adding chunkier, craftsman style trim to our doors and windows for years now. It's not a hard process at all, but I ...