Apartment Remodel REVEAL: Before & After

beforeaftermintgreenmidcenturymodernapartment

DIY Midcentury Modern Bathroom

This bathroom is a wrap! Going back to our before pictures, the finished product feels like a breath of fresh air. We are so happy with how it turned out, and so are the homeowners. We achieved a functional bathroom and the clean, simple aesthetic they were looking for. And I’m so happy they’ll be able to rent out this mother-in-law suite soon enough. Just in time for the spring market!

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Fall Front Porch

DIY front porch fall decor pumpkin

Front Porch for Fall

I know I’m late to the game, but I festivized my front porch just in time for Halloween. I didn’t put much effort into it, but started putting things out that looked fallish, one by one. Not even sure how that firewood got there… I kinda like our house colors, this time of year at least!

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Sofa Table with DIY Grain Sack Stripe

DIY grain sack stripe sofa table milk paint antique wax liming wax

Here’s a quick before-and-after tutorial of a sofa table I scooped up for $30 (bargained down from $50). There were a few scratches, but nothing a little paint and elbow grease couldn’t take care of.

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Hardware: Modern Bathroom Vanity, Sink & Shower Ideas

Bathroom Hardware Header

 

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.

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Bathroom Demo | Phase 2

Bathroom Remodel Phase 2

Bathroom Background

Let’s back up a little and talk about this bathroom remodel. If you missed the first video, pop over to that and come back here when you’re done watching. Here’s a little intro of us getting hyped up to start, and me swinging a sledge hammer for the first time! Awww, my first (intentional) hole in the wall.

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Whitewashing a Brick Fireplace

DIY whitewashing brick fireplace

How to Whitewash

Alright, this project has been on my dream wish list of house projects since before we even moved in. I figured we could tackle this in a day, and it didn’t even take that long. Honestly, it was so easy. This took me two hours, tops.

Supplies

  • White paint
  • Paint brush
  • Painter’s tape
  • Towel
  • Shop rags
  • Water
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Decking the Halls

deck the halls

Decorating for a Cozy Christmas

Something about baking, putting up lights, wrapping presents and listening to Christmas music just puts me in the most relaxed mood. I love seeing everyone slowly settle into the season’s comforts. I’m all about adding layers of decorations, day by day. And I love seeing everyone’s Christmas lights – new ones seem to spring up every night! It’s a month-long celebration and we’re right in the middle of it.

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Halloween House

Happy-Halloween

 

A couple weeks ago, Joe and I took a few days off work for our very first staycation. I’ve got to say, it was really exciting! We hardly told anyone where we were going – I know, it’s pretty anticlimactic when you realize our big getaway vacation was actually… nowhere. But to us, it was our time to truly enjoy the house for the first time between moving in, work, and a summer of nonstop commitments.

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Choosing the Perfect Rug

how to find the perfect area rug

 

Maybe perfection is that elusive, unachievable thing that you’ll always be chasing in your home. Maybe it’s an ongoing process that evolves over time. This is a new philosophy for me – Usually I know what I like and what I don’t like. I either fall in love with something, or I don’t. But that’s just not the case with this new area rug.

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5 Tips for Staging your House

setting the stage banner

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

 

staging layout drawing

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