Last year around this time I wrote about our home goals for 2018. Now that 2018 is over, I thought we should take a look and see how we did!
Here was my list for the 2018 projects that I wanted to get finished.
Mudroom
The mudroom was #1 on my list, since I felt like finishing this would go a long way in making our house more organized and functional. The good news is that we finished it, and I was right. It's crazy functional. We are so organized now that we can leave the house without …
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DIY Electric Fireplace
So I know we said the bedroom was finished, but that was a lie. We still needed to add wood flooring and a fireplace, but neither one was going to happen for a few years (since my four sons are now eating our house projects budget. Literally eating it...they never stop eating. I'm screwed when they're teenagers.)
Adam and I found a way to add a fireplace and not break the bank though, and now this exists in our bedroom...
I'm so glad we didn't wait, because having a fireplace in …
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How to Build a TV Frame
Today I have a very simple and practical project for you. It's something that you 100% can do yourself....even if you are new to DIY and your tool collection is nearly nonexistent.
Why would you want to frame your TV? Well because of this...
This giant gap full of cords isn't exactly the prettiest sight, and I'm going to assume that if you have a flatscreen TV hung on the wall then you have the same issue. Fortunately there is a simple solution, and it only requires is a few …
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Weekend Sales and My Favorite Amazon Tip
I wasn't planning to write a post about the sales this weekend, but I've been poking around the web for deals so I figured why the heck not. There are some great ones to be had, and I feel like everyone has one big item they hold out buying until Black Friday. This year we're buying a soundbar....two actually. We chose this one, which is currently on sale for $98 from Walmart and is rated the best soundbar under $500.
Also, Saturday is small business Saturday! If you have a business please …
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Our Rustic Master Bedroom Retreat – The Reveal!
Thank you to Modsy for sponsoring this post. Want to try Modsy for yourself? Use code ASHLEY20 to get 20% off a design package!
It's here! Master bedroom reveal day!
Adam and I have been chipping away at the bedroom for the last couple of years, and slowly but surely it went from a mostly empty mishmash of random items to a relaxing retreat where we can escape at the end of the day. It's amazing.
So just to tide you over before we get to the guts of the blog post, here are a few pictures …
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Bed Shopping on a Budget
I've been bed shopping lately. "Lately" being a relative term, because it feels like much, much longer than that. It started off innocently enough, with Adam and I on our floor mattress, dreaming about what bed would be the one to finally lift us up off the concrete. Our bedroom is rustic and fairly masculine, and it has all the traditional elements you need for a great room - wood, stone, metal, white, some color, and plants. The only thing it was missing was leather. A leather bed would be …
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Master Bedroom Reading Nook
It's been a quiet two weeks around here, but I have a good excuse...Adam and I have been in Costa Rica! With no kids! And other adults! It was an amazing trip and just the break we needed. I'll write up a post about it when I'm finished with this bedroom makeover (so two weeks...I have a deadline) and share all the details.
Speaking of the bedroom makeover, we've finished a small section of it...the reading nook!
I love it so much, I just sit in bed at night and smile at it until I …
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Vaulted Wood Ceiling (from cedar fence pickets)
In the process of building our house, Adam and I messed up. We knew that we only wanted the builder to build the "shell" of the house and leave the rest for us to DIY, but what we didn't realize (no one along the way did... I'm guessing people don't finance half-built houses very often) is that in order to close on a construction loan, the house has to be 100% finished. This led to a giant, stressful, drawn-out mess when we tried to convert the construction loan to a mortgage. Our solution was …
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Simple Farmhouse Window Trim
The mudroom is so incredibly close to being finished, and I can't wait to get the reveal post up on the blog (thinking it will be next week). It's been way too long since we've had a reveal post around here. In the meantime though, let's take a detour and talk about window trim.
So all of the window and door frames were finished with drywall returns during the building process. Adam and I knew we wanted trim eventually, but figured we would do that later (plus they weren't going to make the …
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My New Article Leather Sectional (and why I returned it)
I've always owned ugly couches. My first couch as a married woman was a floral beauty handed down from my parents, then shortly after I went out and bought a sweet, tan, bulky microfiber set. Adam and I were on a tight budget, and there were only a few options in our little military town in Upstate New York. Shopping online wasn't an option....it was 2005 and we didn't even own a computer (can you imagine?!).
I feel like nearly everyone has owned a sofa set like this, it's like a rite of …
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Living Room Updates and Source List
Our living room isn't one of those rooms that is going to have a clear-cut start and end date. It's a room that will simply evolve over time, and one day we will look around and realize it is finished. That day definitely isn't today, but there have been quite a few living room updates happening recently! The last time I showed y'all the living room was about six months ago (Setember 2017), when it looked like this...
And here is now, a little more evolved and a little less ugly …
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Rustic Wooden Blanket Ladder (for free!)
There is this empty wall in our living room that has been begging me to put something on it, something large but with a slim profile. A framed picture would be too small, furniture would be too big, but a wooden blanket ladder....well that would be just right. So I decided to make one myself, and the best part is that is was an easy project that I did for free using branches scrounged up from the yard.
Materials needed:
branches - two large ones, 3-4 smaller ones
using …
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Modsy Review – How to see your finished room before you even start
Want to try Modsy for yourself? Use code DOMESTIC20 to get 20% off a design package, and keep reading for a full Modsy review!
Today I have a sponsored post for a product that I know y'all are going to LOVE. I personally think it's amazing and can't wait to tell you all about it. So what is it? Well, it's Modsy.
Modsy is a personalized home design solution that utilizes 3D visualization technology to let you try on furniture before you buy it. You can see the space, try out products from …
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2017 Black Friday Deals, Home Decor Edition
I don't know about you, but I love getting a deal. I will pick an item I want and stalk it for months, waiting until the price hits rock bottom before I buy it. My husband is the same way, and he will decide in March that we need something and be like "Let's wait and see what the price is on Black Friday." This year I'm on the hunt for a robotic vacuum, my house is a crumb factory and I would love to not sweep it by hand four times a day. (Does anyone have one of these? Are they worth the …
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Wood Slice Coffee Table
So this morning I woke up at 6 am, made breakfast, made lunches, got the kids ready for school, finished that last little bit of homework, found everyone's shoes, and made it out the door in time to meet the bus. The boys and I waited for about 20 minutes (while getting attacked by mosquitos) and the dang thing never showed. Since we are at a new stop (just added last week), I figured they forget us and went to get the car to drive them to school. Well guess what? Turns out it's Colombus Day and …
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Double Sliding Barn Doors for the Office
Remember that time Adam and I DIYed some double sliding barn doors and it was the biggest fail ever? Well I'm happy to report that we have learned from our mistake and these sliding doors are a complete success. I love DIY, but many times it is just not worth it. Considering this hardware was about the same price as the failed DIY hardware (that now sits in our garage taking up space) I'd say DIY barn door hardware is forever on the "just buy it" list.
Alright, so here is the story of the …
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Living Room Progress + Dreaming
Well hey there strangers! Sorry about all the blogging I have not been doing lately, this summer hit me harder than I was expecting. Adam worked a ton of extra hours and the four boys were all-consuming, so I decided to put blogging aside and enjoy my kids until summer was over. The older two are back in school now (kinder and 2nd) and here I am! Having just a two-year-old and nearly one year old at home during the day is like a freaking vacation...they're so quiet. I love my older boys to …
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Try Something New: Macrame Results
If you missed the first part of this post you can read it here.
It’s time for the results for the macrame challenge! So sorry about being a date late posting this, life happens and sometimes blogging has to wait. I’m here now though, so lets talk macrame.
For those of you that missed the previous post, I’m starting a new blog series where I try a project or technique that I’ve never tried before and post about how it went. For this round I chose macrame and I challenged y’all to join me, …
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Try Something New: Macrame Edition
I think it’s time to mix it up on the blog a bit. I’m tired of just posting about house updates all the time, I miss doing fun creative projects and sharing them with y'all.
So here’s what I'm thinking, a new blog series where I pick something I have always wanted to try, or think looks like fun, or have been meaning to learn for forever and haven’t, and I actually do it. What a crazy idea, right? Not only that though, I want us to do it as a group.
These “challenges” will pop up randomly …
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Breezeway Makeover and Family Dinners: No Excuses Edition
For years now Adam and I have said we should start hosting big family dinners at our house once a month, and for years now we have come up with excuses not to. Either we were too busy, or the old house was too crowded, or the new house was too unfinished, or a variety of other things. We ran out of excuses after laying sod a few weeks ago though, and decided that Mothers Day weekend is going to be the start of a new tradition. Once a month, every month, we will have a giant potluck and hang out …
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Master Bedroom Progress and the Nicest Draperies I’ve Ever Owned
Progress has been happening in the master bedroom! We haven’t done any big projects (there still isn't a ceiling or a floor) it’s mostly just been me shopping and dreaming, and its been fun. Last month I posted the plans for the room and showed you these before pictures -
This is the design mock-up I came up with (it’s not great, but you get the picture) -
And here are some of the updates I made -
There is still plenty to do, but it is certainly a huge improvement. The …
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