Ever since we moved in this house, I know I wanted to add built-ins flanking the fireplace downstairs. My friend and I made over the fireplace itself last July, so the space one each side was begging to be filled in and useful. For the numerous people I have explained the whole process to by … Continue reading Built-in Bookcases

When we did the flooring for our basement, we left this little nook for last where the workshop, bathroom and basement doors are located because of all the (perceived) complicated cuts. This area clocks in at about six feet by three feet, and has four doorway openings. We cut the trim at the bottom of … Continue reading The 847 steps in the nook

After living with carpet+peel and stick tile for 3 years, we are now the proud owners of a new laminate floor! First, let's recap what it looked like: We were going to edge the carpet/tile edge with a few transition pieces, but after the first year I gave up the whole idea. Now that the … Continue reading Living room flooring

As I look around our house, I sometimes forget how far we've come from where we started. We've completed about 70% of the trim painting, and about 90% of wall painting. That alone has transformed this house from dated to decent. Now, as I feel like we've brought everything up to a neutral starting point, … Continue reading Third year’s the charm

It's been a wild year this year and we have accomplished so much in this house! To start, lets look back at what I set my goals for at the beginning of 2017: Master bedroom: This year we will finally be making a headboard (and, if we’re really good, some nightstands)! We’ve lived long enough … Continue reading 2017 Recap!

  I can't BELIEVE after two years of whining I didn't mention we finally got nightstands!! What a DIFFERENCE they make, and now we can actually put our phones where we can find them! To recap, we had none to begin with: Then I tried this behemoth It was fine on Schenny's side (shown) but my … Continue reading Nightstands, by any other name, are just as useful

I have been doing the French door treatment to all the closet doors in our house, and have learned things along the way to apply to the next set. I recently completed our Master bedroom closet doors and WOW was there more work than I anticipated! I had tweaked some things this time that added … Continue reading Master bedroom Closets

Hooray! Step one of the workshop kickoff has been completed- we painted the walls! I had my friend Amanda over (I am not talking in the first person; I'm not that weird) and as we were discussing the room, we got into a lively chat about design mistakes. My only defense of the "design" (I … Continue reading Workshop beginnings

I am (very slowly) working on the new studio/workshop to get it ready in time for winter. In between though, I stole away for a super quick trip to Portland, OR to visit my sister. There, we WHIRLWINDED through her apartment and massively stepped up her organization game. Since I flew out of Minneapolis, I … Continue reading The downstairs living room rearrange

Ok, so here's a little disclaimer: I makeover rooms all the time, both in real life and in my head. I paint, gather furniture, pick lighting and art, and at least quarter of it gets changed out or replaced because my needs or design aesthetic changes. And that's ok! At our old house, I think … Continue reading The new “gym”