Knowing my bathroom remodel budget was made of pocket lint, I contacted Rustoleum and asked if they would donate some product in exchange for a video, a couple of blog posts, plus some serious social media promotion. They graciously declined and bruised my ego a bit in the process. Read more
Let’s talk area rugs for a minute. They won’t take you anywhere you want to go, but they do another kind of magic. They take a bunch of individual items and make them one. When done correctly, you get the feeling that everything in the room is a family. Area rugs are like marriage. Never mind, that’s weird. Read more
What I’m about to tell you will give you the power to change your room from ordinary to amazing. Yes, your room.
Your room is not too small. Your ceilings are not too low. There’s not much in a space that can’t be fixed with properly hung curtains. Read more
My natural tendency is to put furniture against the wall. It makes sense to have as much open floor space in the middle as possible. It will make the room feel big, right? And if we want to turn cartwheels or have a dance party….there will be plenty of room. Read more
It’s time to hush your space. The Nester calls it “quieting the room.” It’s essential. You can’t treat a room properly without this step, so don’t fight it. The room will tell us what it wants to be, but we won’t be able to hear it until we shoo all the extra voices out of the room and listen. Read more
In December, 2011 we bought a house that needed a gut job. Every room needed something and some rooms needed everything. We had a detailed budget and cash set aside for the kitchen and master bathroom project, but the rest of the rooms I planned to nickle and dime out of our monthly budget. Read more
This is so much fun! I made a video to show you how I try out a new design in a room before I break a sweat or spend a dime. I can decide if items work in my space just by trying them virtually without buying anything. If you take a photo of your room straight on, you can drop the items right over your picture so you get all the proportions right. Read more
Before we can get very far with our space, we need to know exactly what we want it to do for us. Without a clearly defined purpose we won’t know how to arrange the furniture, what furniture should be there, what storage options we need, or even what colors to choose. Read more
Do you know your design style? Are you a little bit modern or country? Do you like lots of decorations or prefer a minimalistic style? White walls, dark walls, neutral or bold? Painted trim, or stained wood? For some of us it’s hard to decide.
I can appreciate any well decorated space, so I made the mistake in our last home of combining too many styles in one room. Read more
When I was a teenager, I felt terribly awkward and unattractive. Girls all around me knew how to fix their hair, put together an outfit, and put on makeup to bring out their best features. I tried to mimick them, but something always felt off. My attempts at beauty made me look worse. I came to the conclusion that they were the pretty ones and I was plain. Trying to change that would make me a poseur.
I was especially awkward when I first met my husband. Read more