I’ve had a few questions about our floors, so I’m going to answer them all here and in a follow-up post, plus some lessons learned from two survivors who knew exactly nothing about hardwood floor installation before undertaking this giant project. You’ve probably seen a few episodes of some HGTV show in which hardwood floors […]
Baby-Decor Compromise #456
Things that don’t mix: oil and water. Toothpaste and orange juice. Icy driveways and me, walking. Also: babies and beautiful home decor. And because I can’t send him back where he came from, and don’t want to, because he’s really pretty cute and I’m getting kind of emotionally attached… Requisite smiling baby photo … I […]
Resolved for 2011: Take down my Christmas Tree
Do I really, really have to take down all my Christmas decorations? You wouldn’t think it was weird if I had a Christmas tree in my living room next June, would you? (See, that’s why we’re friends.) Okay, okay, I’ll take it down. But I can already tell my ornaments have multiplied like bunnies in […]
Least Grandma-ish Thing Ever: My Plate Wall
It’s controversial. It’s divisive. It tears families apart. It’s my plate wall. Andy and I have a standing “disagreement.” He believes walls-o-plates are grandma-ish, while I – having seen lots of incredible plate displays in beautiful rooms (see below) – know he’s wrong. I present to you my first piece of evidence, from Apartment Therapy: […]
Decking the Halls
It’s taking everything I have within me not to title this post, “It’s beginning to look a lot like…” You’re welcome for avoiding the blog post cliche. You’re welcome. But really, it looks like Christmas around here! This was my first year decorating our house for Christmas, and Michaels and Dollar Tree are thanking me. […]
Annabelle’s Baby Shower
I recently hosted a baby shower for my beautiful friend Emily, along with a few of her friends. (Okay, if I’m being honest, it was just a brilliant excuse to play with crafts.) I made this banner out of scrapbook paper and cardstock. (See the full tutorial here.) I really stretched that one pack of […]
Sofa Table
One thing my living room is missing: lamps. During the day, you’d hardly notice. But if you plan to do anything task-related on the sofa after dark, you should probably bring your night-vision goggles. And unfortunately, there was just no good place to actually put lamps. So, I put in an order: one super-long, very […]
Pendant Light
Clearly, I never tried internet dating, or I would have known that nothing ever looks quite as good as advertised online. For example, the pendant light I ordered online to hang in my breakfast nook? As advertised: chic, glowing and glorious, made of capiz shells! Awesome! In real life? Fat and bland. But worse, it […]
We made the bed, now we’ll lie in it.
UPDATE: We’re going to be recreating this bed with full tutorials, measurements and cost breakdowns, so if you want more step-by-step tutorials, follow along right here. This is a story about a project spiraling out of control. All I really wanted was a different look for our bed. We have a simple rectangular upholstered headboard […]
My Chinese Chippendales Got Fancied Up
You know how when something is “meant to be,” you just know? That’s how I felt about my new set of chinese chippendale chairs. I stalked craigslist for four solid months – never missing a single furniture listing – until I saw them. A set of four genuine antique chinese chippendale chairs and – bonus! […]
100 projects
The other day after arriving at our (perhaps slightly disheveled) house and stepping over various random piles of wood, tools and furnishings, my mom casually commented, “Looks like you have a lot of projects going on right now.” What that really means is: this place is crazy! Can’t you guys finish one thing before starting […]
Five months late, but who’s counting?
Weston’s nursery is fiiiiiinally finished! I added a little side table and lamp for the glider, which makes reading stories at bedtime much easier and, well, illuminated. I didn’t realize it until I got it home, but I love how the lamp echoes the orange circles in the little mushroom mural. Nothing like a little […]
The Nursery: Not quite finished, but good enough for now
Here’s a newsflash: it’s not easy to run out on a quick shopping trip with a one-month-old guy following you around. So Weston, it’s definitely your fault that your nursery has stalled out at “good enough for now,” and might not get to “completely finished” for some time. But here it is for now: See […]
Nursery: Building a Built-in Front-Facing Bookshelf Wall
Having known Weston for a little over two weeks now, a few things are already clear. He’s pretty much the smartest, strongest, cutest baby ever. So his future probably includes male modeling, playing football at the University of Georgia, and a profession in either medicine, law or astrophysics. (We’re going to let him choose which […]
The Nursery, Part 2: Closet Storage System
What’s the number one must-have for babies this season? A tricked-out closet for all your new trendy clothes, that’s what. And if you’re thinking about being born early and your closet looks like this, you’re going to wait around a little longer until your parents have time to fix it up. That means your parents […]
Hi, I'm Kelly. Glad you're here! This little blog is where I chronicle our efforts to fix up our beaten-down home on a tiny budget. We're not there yet, but here's a peek at the view along the way...
