I love a good map. I mean, no one actually uses maps any more (do they? maybe my dad) but they sure can be beautiful. I love the look of old fashioned maps, and I love love the more modern maps designed solely as art. We are so excited to share our latest map art...
Blog
What to Thrift & What Not to Thrift
Whether you are first starting out decorating a home, redecorating on a budget, or just interested in decorating in a more environmentally friendly way, thrift stores and online yard sale groups can be a great way to get a deal. You can find lots of different types of items in those ways, but I have...
Turning a Cabinet into an Open Bookshelf
Here's the process for how to repurpose an upper cabinet and turn it into an open bookshelf! We did this for our kitchen remodel project! Seriously, one of my favorite things to do is find ways to use old materials to make new things. When we had our walls taken down, we lost two upper...
Replace an Attic Pull String with a Hook
Want to replace your attic pull cord with a hook? Here's a simple tutorial. It's the little things, right? The little things really make a house and give the final touches. But the little things can also make you say WTF when you see them. Case in point, the first thing you see at the...
How To Save Money on Lowe's Flooring Installation
If you're having flooring installed by Lowe's or Home Depot soon, here are some ways that you can save a little bit of money by doing some things yourself! Our kitchen makeover is totally under swing and last week we got our floors re-done. Some people that I talked to were surprised that we didn't...
Kitchen Decisions & Colored Island Inspiration
If you follow me on Instagram then you know about all of the progress that's been going on in our kitchen in the past week. One of the big decisions that we made was the one that we weighed in on here. We ended up going with Option One, which was not the most popular...
How to Remove a Phone Jack + Patch the Drywall
This post will show you how to remove the outdated and pointless phone jack on your wall and patch the hole with drywall! This will instantly modernize your home! Want to know how to remove a phone jack? Unless you bought a new construction house from within the last ten-ish years, the house you bought...
Where Do I Start Decorating In A New Home?
Moving into a new (or your first) home and not sure where to start with decorating? Here's the method we follow! When we moved into our first home, we knew that we wanted to makeover our entire house. Some rooms, like the kitchen, needed major work, while other rooms just needed paint and decor. However,...
Removing the Dog Run
We've started tackling some of our initial yard plan now that the weather is a bit cooler. It might seem counter-intuitive, but honestly, how can you work outside in Charleston in the 95 degree heat of the summer? I'd much rather work outside when it's cold. I remember when I helped my buddy build a...
An Easy DIY Wood Grain Painting & 3-D Mounting
This post will show you all about how we took a large sheet of plywood and painted the grain to make a large piece of art to 3D mount on our wall! We recently did a wood grain painting for our kitchen and added 3-D mounting. After peeling the wallpaper and painting the walls, the huge...
Quick and Easy DIY Driftwood Frame
Knocked out a super fast project last week. You know how we love driftwood around here and there certainly is an abundance at the beach. We've done things ranging from our coffee table to a mirror frame to a candle holder and more. But I had a coworker who was leaving for a new job,...
The Three Saws for a New Homeowner
If you're a new homeowner and you plan on making updates to your new home, both inside and out, I have the three saws you need to have to get the jobs done. There is a freaking saw for everything, I swear, and they all do different things well. Very few construction projects can be...
Rug Swap in the Sunroom
We are slowly but surely updating our sunroom. Recent big updates have been adding curtains to the windows and a gallery wall above the TV. The next thing that really needed to go was the rug. We have only had it for about 2.5 years, but it has gotten really gross looking. I guess that...
Going Solar!
When we moved into our new house, we knew that we wanted to make some improvements to increase the value of the home. Well, we never considered adding solar panels but now that I have, we are really hoping that they will be a huge value add to our resale value! We got our panels...
Our Favorite Superbowl Foods
We aren't super into the Superbowl this year (the Patriots and the Falcons are actually Sean's 2 least favorite teams so yay!) but I am still into the food. I wanted to share our favorite Superbowl Foods so if you are planning a party or just a gathering for your family, here is a little...
Guest Bathroom Mini Makeover
We previously shared a guest bathroom mini-makeover with you and I said that we wouldn't touch it again for a while. Well, that was a lie. It was fine how it was but I wanted to add a little bit of decor as well. A lot of this has been going on for a while...
How to Decide If You Should DIY or Hire It Out
Not sure if you should do something yourself or hire someone to do it for you? Here's some of the things you need to consider to make the right choice! One of the biggest questions that we get from readers is how do we decide when to do something ourselves and when to hire out...
Building a Wood Shed from Old Fence
Here's how I built a firewood shed using old fence panels from my yard! This is a great way to reuse materials! One of my favorite things about building projects is when I'm able to reuse wood or pieces from other things to create my new project, like when I built an industrial pipe bench...
A Door Gallery Wall (And How You Can Replicate It!)
Ever since we moved, I have been feeling sad that we couldn't get our whole entertainment center together. I loved it in the condo but it just wouldn't fit in our new space. We are still using the base piece, but the wall is not wide enough to accommodate the two side shelves. We moved them...
Why This Married Couple Keeps Their Finances Separately
One of the biggest causes for divorce or separation is money. So, it's one of the things that you really have to figure out early in a relationship or marriage. The default seems to be that couples share a joint account. That is not and never is how we have operated - we keep our...
Kitchen Decisions
I am so excited to be working on a DIY makeover of our kitchen over the first couple of months. I have previously shared my mood board for this space but I still have a few decisions to make! While I know what finishes in general I want, I have been trying to decide about...
How To Determine Your Decorating Style (6 Quizzes!)
Sometimes my friends ask me for decorating advice. Usually it's right after they have moved to a new place or go through some sort of life change that makes them decide that they finally want to make their apartment or home feel more like them. The biggest question that I get is Where do I begin?...
Our Experience Removing Wallpaper - VIDEO
In our first house, we had to remove all of the wallpaper during our kitchen renovation and we learned a lot. Here's how to remove wallpaper the easy DIY way! I am so excited to start our kitchen makeover this month! I have tried to break up the DIY to-do list into one major task...
A Staircase Gallery Wall - Phase One is Better than Phase None
Interested in hanging a staircase gallery wall? Here's how we did it and why we didn't wait for the walls to be painted first! I am usually fast to get to projects. I make a list and I don't sit around and talk about it - I jump in and do it! Though we had...
6 Months In - Updated House Tour!
Hey guys! Can you believe that we have been in our new house for six months now? It really feels like we've lived here for forever and I feel like we have gotten so much done! We wanted to share a current walk-through of how the house is looking at the moment. Check it out...
How to Make Windows Look Bigger (With Curtains)
Small windows can really look dinky and sad. If you have a sad windown in your home, you need to see these tricks for making it look bigger and better! It's a new year and I am excited for the new projects in our home. This is month six and we have both big and...
7 Unexpected Moving Expenses
When you first move into a house, there are tons of costs. You know about many of them, but there are a lot of unexpected moving expenses you need to plan for! If you are planning on buying a house and moving, you probably know that it is really expensive. While you might be focused on...
Creating Storage in a Cramped Attic
Growing up, we stored all of our annual and infrequently used stuff in the attic. It was natural. I never would have thought differently or that any other house would be different. That can have its own set of problems (like when you go help your dad move out and it takes hours to empty...
Our New China Cabinet Set Up - IKEA Hemnes Glass Door Cabinet
If you are considering an IKEA China Cabinet, check out our gorgeous Hemnes glass front cabinet setup! Right before Christmas, Sean got my china down from the attic. It's a set that I actually got at a thrift store a few years ago (the pattern is discontinued but called Imperial Leaf). He told me that we...
Our Favorite Organizing Projects
Between our condo and our new house, we have done some cool organizing projects! With the new year, I know a lot of you are trying to get organized as well. My biggest suggestion is to read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and get purging! Here are some of my favorite projects that we...
Our Kitchen Remodel Plan
Hey y'all! I am excited that it is January because that means that we can officially start working on our kitchen! We aren't going to power through it like it's a One Room Challenge, but I have identified one or two sub-projects that we will focus on each month. It will take us the first...
The Biggest Mistake New Homeowners Make
The biggest mistake new homeowners make is making big purchase too soon after they move in. Here's some advice! So, you just moved into a new house. How exciting! If you are anything like me, you want to immediately start decorating and making the space feel more like you. Well, before you jump in too...
DIY Knock Off Faux Reclaimed Wood Emmerson West Elm Benches
After building a knock off West Elm table, we also made knock off reclaimed wood benches to go along with it. Here's the tutorial! We built a DIY knock off faux reclaimed wood table modeled after the Emmerson table from West Elm. Well what good is a table if you don't have anywhere to sit?...
West Elm Emmerson Table DIY Knock Off
Check out how I built this knock off version of the West Elm Emmerson dining table because I didn't want to spend the money to buy it! What happens when you find the perfect piece of furniture, but that piece of furniture costs $1,300? Ummm, you just build a knock off version, duh. Ain't no...
The 14 BEST Places To Get FREE Moving Boxes
If you are planning to move, you might be feeling overwhelmed by all of the costs that you are racking up. Movers, deposits, down payments, new furniture, home repairs - the costs of moving can really add up! One expense that can seem small but really adds up is the cost of moving boxes. If...
Our Stay in a Tiny Home!
We love living in Charleston and really enjoyed hosting Christmas for the first time this year, but one thing that we miss is cold weather. Don't get me wrong - I don't want to live somewhere cold. But, it doesn't especially feel like Christmas when it is 73 degrees. So, we have started a tradition...
How To Organize & Store Christmas Decor
Trying to organize Christmas decorations? Here are my best tips for getting them under control! It's that time - time to take down all the Christmas decorations. I know that I love cleaning mine up quickly, but others keep theirs up well into January. After all, it was a lot of work putting them up! A...
101 in 1001 Recap
A couple of years ago, we launched an endeavor to accomplish 101 pre-planned tasks in 1001 days. That's roughly two and a half years. Our 1001 days actually came to a close about three months ago, but we've been so wrapped up in house projects since we moved that we actually forgot about it! Well,...
How to Make and Keep Resolutions and Ours for 2017!
Happy New Year! It's the classic and traditional time to make big goals and resolutions for yourself for the coming twelve months. We share our resolutions every year (2014, 2015, 2016) but we have never really shared how we make them. To set my goals, I like to think what makes me happiest? I try to think...
Our 10 Favorite Books of 2016
Okay okay, so 2016 isn't technically over yet. I had this post in drafts but I got so excited about the GoodReads annual reports (see mine and Sean's here) that I wanted to go ahead and talk about our favorite books from 2016. This was a huge year for reading for us - we both...
Five Elements for a Coastal Christmas
There are lots of themes that you can use in your home for the holiday season. Our theme for the past few years has been a coastal Christmas. A coastal chic holiday is calm and sophisticated while still feeling very holiday and special. If you are interested in decorating your home for a coastal Christmas...
I Found Bamboo Furniture on the Side of the Road
Y'all! I interrupt your regularly scheduled blog content with some breaking news. Last night we were at our neighborhood holiday gathering at a neighbor stopped by and said that someone had just put a set of gorgeous bamboo chairs on the side of the road. If you know me, you know I had one foot...