Old House, New Owners
Well here’s a blast from the past! A friend of ours who is house hunting stumbled upon this little property. Look familiar? Fun to see what they changed and what they left the same.
DIY Concrete Trash Station
DIY Outdoor Trash Station
Do you have any problem spots in your home routine? Like the trash station outside? Nobody likes taking out the garbage, but here’s a hack that’s made this chore a little less dreadful around here.
Hardware: Modern Bathroom Vanity, Sink & Shower Ideas
Time for Ideas
It’s never too early to start thinking about the finishing touches, right? But honestly, we need to start ordering what we want, so we need to decide on styles we like. We’ve picked out most of our tile, so that’s all taken care of. The hardware is taking its cues from the tile color. For the bathroom entrance, I’m in charge. For all things shower, Joe’s the man.
5 Tips for Staging your House
5 Tips for Staging your House
If you’re in the midst of trying to sell your house, you know how stressful it can be. But if you follow some of these basic tips, it doesn’t have to be hard.
- Get help – A staging person has a great eye and experience. When in doubt, have someone walk through your house and uncover your blind spots. Many realtors offer to include this for free and have connections in the industry who consistently stage houses that sell.
- Borrow – Ask friends and family for select pieces of furniture before footing a bill on new things. Thrift shops and consignment stores can be your best friend.
- Keep it simple – Neutral paint colors, sparse furniture and minimalistic decorations are the name of the game. Clean, clean, clean! I could say it again. It makes such a difference. People like to envision what they could do to a space, not see that someone’s living there.
- Storage – Invest in a storage unit, or rely on friends and family to hide away your clutter. Nobody wants to walk into the garage and see mountains of odds and ends. On that note, hide away anything that is valuable to you. If someone makes an offer, they may ask for you to leave that favorite rug or those expensive pillows behind in order to seal the deal.
- Breathe – This is a process with lots of moving pieces. Get yourself a good team and do what you can to best prepare your home for showings. After that, let go and trust that things will work out. It’s important to get good sleep during this transition and eat healthy (even if you’re not able to use your kitchen.) It can feel chaotic, but it will all be worth it once you get a happy buyer for your house 🙂
Stage Presence
Here’s how we did it. We were pretty confident in our staging abilities, and guess what? We didn’t do too bad! When Barb the professional came in, we didn’t have a whole lot to change. Mainly this is because we had already cleansed the premises and shipped all our possessions off to various garages.
If you’re currently trying to stage your home, you don’t necessarily need to hire a professional staging person. Although, you may find it helpful. Luckily Joe’s parents had some furniture to lend us and his mom got to be the personal shopper for staging. I’ll try to give as many details as I can.
House is Sold
It’s (Almost) Official
The Sign Santa finally came around and left us a little present in the front yard. Just in time to update it to “SOLD” – Joe accepted an offer!
He was SO happy to hear it.
Good Things Come in 3’s (Part 3 of 3)
Zucchini Banana Bread 3 Ways
I had a baking party not long ago and whipped up a bunch of bread. Ever since I tested my hand baking bread, I’ve wanted to expand my bread skills. I had a few types I wanted to try and just about enough zucchini for an army, thanks to my parents’ compulsive garden giving. I manage to wind up with a bag of vegetables after every visit. Thanks guys! But what to do with them all?
YardWork
Putting the Yard to Work
At last! You may remember that we put in irrigation a couple months back. And we did reseed the back lawn as well. But that’s about it. It already looks better, but was in a pretty sad state. We always brainstorm such great plans for the back, but they never seem to come to fruition. The back is primarily the hangout for bonfires, hammock nights, and the bunnies’ playground. Yard work is now underway! (I know, I know. Summer’s almost over. shhhh. Don’t tell the lawn.)
Snowboard Ramps
Snow Day = Joe Day
Does anything make this kid happier than an afternoon of snowboarding? I honestly don’t think so. It was so gorgeous Sunday afternoon (yesterday). We needed to be outside. No photo retouching necessary. So. Much. Sunlight.