Design. Home. Renovation. This is a real life blog; let's get ugly!
This summer I realized I needed a true office space to get stuff done. I’ve been working at the dining room table, on the sofa, and in my bed for 20 years. It was time for a true space to go into to actually get work done without distraction. By work I mean everything from writing this blog to paying taxes to actually opening my mail to freelance interior design work to working from home on my full time job. You know, the big things and the little things.
Continue reading “Office Inspiration”
One of my favorite corners of my newly refreshed kitchen is this awkward little one in the corner! Before my kitchen renovation the corner was looking really rough with chaotic 70’s wallpaper, a musty cabinet, and flaking vinyl floors. The stove needed to go below the windows in the appliance outlet and I planned to add cabinets on either side. But you know this already!
Continue reading “How to Build a DIY Shelf With Copper Hanging Bar”
Ages ago, I bought china hutch on Craigslist to use as extra pantry storage. I had ever intention to paint it at the time, but then… I didn’t. Flash forward three years and I finally got around to it! You probably saw it in my kitchen reveal, but I wanted to check in and share the whole process with you!
I’m getting ahead of myself though, let’s throw back, now. Remember when the hutch looked like this back when I lived at the Duplex?
Continue reading “How to Paint 1980s Cabinets: Transforming My Pantry Cabinet”
Happy Halloween!! I’ve been all over the place working on things for my One Room Challenge kitchen project! I still have a ton to do. Eeek! I’ll be stretching the the length of time I have to do this project to the limit and shooting the kitchen on a Saturday next week. I’m going to need the weekend to round out some of my projects. Plus I got sick so I’ve slowed down the last couple of days. Let me fill you in with what I have in completed though…
Continue reading “One Room Challenge – Week 5 a Bit of This and That”
The kitchen cabinets are painted and it is life-changing! So things are going to get a little hairy in this posts since some of the kitchen cabinet painting happened during the wainscotting installation and wall prep from last week! Basically, remember how my kitchen looked like this? Partially sanded cabinets? Look a little closer. See how those cabinets are all different styles? My kitchen cabinets were cobbled together over a few decades no earlier than 1930, but probably not later than 1960. It’s a mystery. There are 4 door styles. And none of them are good. The insides of the cabinets were gross and everything was a bit of a hot mess.
Continue reading “One Room Challenge – Week 3 Painting 1940s Kitchen Cabinets”
Let’s chat about the Berrybrier kitchen some more! It’s a big project and it started out crazy. Legit, no one wanted to cook in here kind of crazy. You can see more of the before pictures as well as the plan for the kitchen in last week’s post.
Continue reading “One Room Challenge – Week 2 Prepping Walls, Adding Wainscotting, and a New Door”
You guys, I needed motivation to finish my kitchen, bad, like real bad. It’s just been hanging out in renovation purgatory for ages. I won’t lie and say I haven’t touched it since I last posted about it — I definitely have — but I never actually got around to completing it. I even chatted about my plans for a Phase I and Phase II renovation here in this post, but still never actually got the Phase I of this project completed. Enter: the One Room Challenge. Nothing kicks my butt like a project deadline! My last ORC was my tiny master bathroom renovation.
Continue reading “One Room Challege – Week 1 Kitchen Plan”
I thought I’d continue today on the theme of paint! If you’ve been reading along I’ve already covered the Berrybrier whole house paint color palette and how to pick paint colors. I’ve got something juicy today: a round up of 5 paint color palettes that will work in nearly every home! Picking paint can be daunting, so I’m taking the guess work out of it for you. I headed to my local Benjamin Moore paint store (Dick’s Color Center for you Portland locals) and pulled some fun color palettes that will work for anyone. I’ve included some descriptions of where I can envision each color palette, but these are just jumping off points, each palette would work in any style home! And, if you want to dive into diagnosing your own personal design style, check out this post here!
Land of Laurel 