Sharing the high end house building ideas I didn't do! Grab these brilliant ideas for your new consturction home so you don't have regrets.
When building a custom home, make sure everything is exactly the way you want it. Here is a helpful checklist to follow when making this endeavor.
A list of regrets we have from our first time new home construction experience. Helpful info if you want to build a new home with a builder near you.
Do you ever wish that your home looked more elegant? Have you wished that it had more of a staged, organized look? I am here to share with you how to make your home look more expensive on a dime. I’ll show you how to make your home look more expensive using easy and affordable...
4 things to do before completion to make your new build house instantly feel like home. Handy apps for floor plans, how to mood board & more!
Sharing the high end house building ideas I didn't do! Grab these brilliant ideas for your new consturction home so you don't have regrets.
Have you ever heard people who have just moved into a new home say.....I wish I had thought of that when I was building or I wish my contractor had suggested that to me? I
Keep these 5 things in mind when building a custom home! Discussing our new construction process, helpful ideas when building a custom home, & challenges.
Looking for a list of essential household items needed for a new home? Here is a comprehensive shopping list for a new house that will make moving easier.
There's a lot of remember when it comes to renovating.....& there's a LOT of numbers. I've rounded up all of the important house measurements in one place.
When we first looked at this property, from the outside, we saw potential for it to be a great renovation! The plan was for this to be our newest flip project, but once we got inside we knew this was just a Fugazi House! Everything had to be redone, and the cost to do that was just more than...
Buying your first home? Make sure to check out these home buying tips that can save you thousands of dollars. Learn by our mistakes!
Decluttering your home can be a huge task! But don’t worry you don’t have to tackle it all at once. A better strategy is to really focus on one or a few easy decluttering projects at a …
16 of the most common decorating mistakes most people make with paint colors, furniture layouts, and styling, plus tips on how to avoid them.
Because giant overhauls are overrated.
I am super excited to share my covered and open deck reveal on the blog today. It has been a long process; however, it was definitely worth the wait.
When working with a custom home builder, you have a chance to create the house of your dreams. There are so many major details you've probably already
If you just purchased a new home, you might be wondering what to do before moving into a new house. Come check it out!
The top 9 things I WISH I had known before building a house! This is helpful for anyone in the midst of, or thinking about, building!
If you are renovating your home, start with these 10 cheap and easy DIY home hacks!
Family’s first night in a new home checklist. This list will give you an idea of the first things to do when moving into a new house.
Get your free printable home maintenance checklist so you can protest your biggest asset and keep your home looking its best.
Want to give minimalism a try and have a clutter-free home? Here is a list of 70 things to get rid of for a minimalist home.
I’m not the most organized person, but these Moving Hacks You Probably Didn’t Know really helped me to arrange everything before the big day.
This comprehensive checklist (that you can download and print) of new home essentials will help you prioritize everything you need to buy to get started in a new house. It includes essentials for safety, first aid, furniture, kitchen, yardwork and more.
Questions to ask and things to look out for when viewing a property to make sure the house you're viewing IS the house of your dreams.
Do you think it's impossible to build your dream home without breaking the bank? I’m here to tell you how you CAN build within budget!
The most important things you don't want to forget when building a new house. This is a must-have list you'll want to save!
Here is a decluttering checklist with 100 items you can get rid of today. Stop feeling overwhelmed, and declutter your home! FREE printable available.
Shopping around for a new house? Thinking about rearranging the one you’ve got? Not sure where to put your furniture? Try the Make Room! This “Make Room” program is great, becau…
Find the perfect low light houseplant for your home in this list of the 40 best indoor plants that don't need sunlight to thrive!
Making a house a comfortable home takes some extra touches. Here are 15 ways we've worked to make ours a home in our first year.
There are 8 things buyers are going to hate about your house so what things do you need to fix before selling your house.
Popular Philadelphia lifestyle blogger just bought her first home and shares her First House Essentials Checklist to help you out. Click here now to read more!
Tony and I have moved several times so I've come up with 9 things to do when you buy a new home to make moving less stressful.
My Idea Notebook goes everywhere that I go! It usually stays in the car, but I always have it handy should I need a measurement, a color, or a description for someone who's helping us make this home a reality -- such as a bank lender, blueprint designer, or cabinet installer. Or, if my friends & relatives have a question or make a suggestion on the fly, then I just grab the Idea Notebook and add it to my collection of great ideas.
Hey guys!!! So, I haven't blogged in nearly 4 months. It's crazy. I barely even know where to begin! There's so much to say and so much to share, so let's just jump right in and pick up where we left off. Our little Ava is now 5 months old and doing really great. We survived 4 months of colic/milk allergy/reflux and between that and a pretty difficult pregnancy, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of my sails. But, little by little, things are getting so much better and I'm slowly starting to feel like my old self again. Thank you guys so much for being patient with me and understanding that I needed some time off to focus on Ava. I'm so grateful for this precious girl, and I'm sure one day I'll look back and laugh about the past year. But, like, not yet. Ava on Halloween...finally giving us all sorts of sweet smiles. So, let's get down to business. In the final few months before I had Ava, I was able to share with you guys the finished basement renovation, our upstairs flooring redo, and the nursery. But I kinda ran out of time (duty called) before I could share the finished living room. So, a quick 5 months after I finished it, today I can finally show it to you. Many of you guys have been following my blog for awhile now and have already seen the before pictures of the upstairs living area, but I'll share them again, as it's always a nice reminder of how outdated our house was when we first moved in. So, here are the before pics. This is the living room in May of 2010 when we first moved in...wall to wall carpet, outdated light fixtures, dark wood trim, and windows so old that you could feel the wind in your hair when you stood next to them. This was what the entryway looked like. Outdated light fixture, parquet flooring and carpeted stairs, rickety old stair rail, and dark wood trim and door. This was what the dining room looked like. There was a wall between the kitchen and dining room that made the room almost too tiny to use. There was an old glass sliding door that barely opened, dark wood trim and wainscotting, outdated light fixtures, and a tile/carpet combo. This is what it looked standing in the dining room and looking into the living room. This house sat on the market for a really long time before we bought it, as it was obviously totally outdated. I was a little scared, as it was our first house and I had never renovated anything in my life. But, ultimately I decided to just go for it and I'm so glad I did. Renovating it took me almost 5 years to complete. Sometimes it was totally stressful, sometimes I wanted to quit, but ultimately it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. And I learned a lot. Which is great because we won't live here forever, and the next time I renovate a house, I'll be much better equipped. So, that being said, here are the pics of what this upstairs area looks like today. Let's start with a little recap of the dining room and entryway and then we'll move into the living room. One of the things that made the biggest difference was knocking down the wall between the dining room and kitchen. We also built a new stair rail, painted all of the trim and wainscoting white, added new light fixtures, and installed white washed hardwood flooring. I painted our kitchen cabinets and updated the hardware when we first moved in the house, and although in an ideal world I would have been able to fully renovate the kitchen, I decided that I could really stretch our budget by just painting the cabinetry and working with what we already had. In the dining room, I added a bold rug that I found for $60 (I know it's not for everyone, and that's okay.). I found the dining room table at a salvage shop, and the white leather chairs with metallic legs I found on Overstock. The original post about the dining room with sources can be found here. Also, we've talked about my orchid sabotage many times, so...that's a fake orchid. I've got a child to raise. Here's a quick view from the landing at the top of the stairs. You can see where we also knocked down the wall and widened the old doorway into the hallway. Here's a look around the corner. You can see how we painted the old outdated wainscoting white. We also replaced the old sliding glass door in the dining room with nice french doors. In the entryway, we replaced the light fixture, and installed double doors on the coat closet. We replaced the carpet on the stairs with hardwood treads and painted white risers, and we also built a new stairrail. I painted the existing front door Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze (favorite!), and added a little silver coat hook from HomeGoods. One of the deer heads broke off after I brought it home. And now this little coat hook reminds me of Jesse tinkering in the garage for an hour, determined to fix it for me. I think there was some ametuer welding going on in the garage, but I was too pregnant to waddle out there and watch. And now, let's move on to the finished living room. I don't expect this room to blow anyone's mind. But, it's come such a long way, and it's where we spend most of our time, so it definitely deserves at least a little time on the blog. We replaced the light fixtures, added some inexpensive tufted couches and a giant comfy ottoman, the rug is from awhile back, and then I thrifted the TV console. Here's a pic of the TV console I found at the thrift store. It's obviously nothing special, but it was the right size and $20, so...sold! I painted it (using the only furniture paint I ever use anymore) and changed out the hardware. It has a super glossy lacquer finish and looks really great up close. I'll eventually mount the TV on the wall, too. Here's a closeup of the hardware. Some little polished nickel pulls from Home Depot. I haven't decided on what kinda curtains I want to hang yet, so for now the windows are just bare. It took us 5 years to finally replace those old windows, so I don't mind looking at the new ones in the meantime. I added some Etsy pillows to the sofas. Here's a view of the living room looking back into the dining room, one of my favorite views. We built the mantel and made the stacked log insert for the fireplace (both were done awhile ago) and then I freshened up the mantle with some things I had around the house. The little framed floral art is a print I found on Etsy. And then, I made some art of my own...some black and white abstract art for above the sofa. I had Jesse build me a basic wooden frame. And I spray painted it with this Krylon Foil Metallic silver spray paint (affiliate link). It's good, ya'll. I think I'll be using it as my go-to silver spray paint from now on. It made my little frame look like actual metal or like it was silver leafed. Either way, good stuff. For the painting itself, I just used some Sherwin Williams Simply White paint (the same color that's on the walls), mixed it with a little gray, and then sketched out a doodle and filled it in with some Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze (the same black paint I used on the front door). It's probably not gonna end up at a museum, but it took me an hour and only cost me a few bucks, so homemade art for the win. And that, you guys, is the finished upstairs living area! I'm sure it will continue to evolve and change, but it feels great to at least have it furnished and not under construction. We lived in the basement throughout most of my pregnancy, so it's nice to no longer be a cave dweller. And I'll leave you with this picture of how the living room looks in real life, filled with baby stuff. Because it would be ridiculous to pretend like my house always looks like the above pictures....it took me at least twenty minutes to clean out all the baby apparatus before I could take some blog pics. Let's be honest. :) As for the blog, a lot of you have asked what my plans are. I plan to slowly get back into the swing of things, as time allows, and as quickly as my brain starts functioning like normal again. Thank you guys for all of your sweet comments and messages. I appreciate it so much. I know I'll eventually find my groove again, but right now I'm still doing a lot of this. And I wouldn't have it any other way. 'Til next time! Follow my blog with Subscribe to LiveLoveDIY with email! Enter your email address:
