It’s been a few months since I painted my kitchen cabinets, and i’ll be honest – I wasn’t too optimistic when I started. I had only heard bad things about painting cabinets – that it’s time consuming, it’s hard works, and it’s not worth it to do it yourself. After painting mine, I disagree with all of those statements. So you want to paint your cabinets without sanding, or other fancy equipment? I’m writing this to show you how simple it really was, but also because i’ve had countless comments and DM’s from my followers saying they want to paint their cabinets, but they are scared. Is it hard? Isn’t that really expensive? I wouldn’t know how to do that!I Here is the truth. I painted every cabinet in my kitchen in 72 hours, for $85 (this includes paint, primer and all supplies brand new). I had NEVER painted cabinets before, and my cabinets were not in the best shape – so the odds were against me in my DIY quest. Ready to find out the easiest way to transform your kitchen cabinets? Read on! 1 – Clean well and skip the sanding. I didn’t even own a sander or sanding block when I redid my cabinets – and honestly if you told me I had to sand my cabinets before priming them, I probably would’ve throw in the towel then. I despise sanding y’all. Instead, I cleaned my cabinets with a degreaser – and by that I mean I mixed […]
The truth about buying a fixer upper
October marks the 6th month that Brian and I have lived in our fixer upper home. In those short 6 months we have learned a lot of lessons about buying a fixer upper. There are things I didn’t think about before buying a house that needed major work, and things that were also a pleasant surprise. So whether you are considering buying a fixer upper house or are in one and can relate, this post is for you! Now I am not a real estate agent, and I am not an expert in construction or finances, but my perspective comes from a millennial first time home buyer who is an expert in interior design. 1. Time equals money It has not been any secret that i’ve been trying to revamp my 1970’s house on a tiny budget. Like TINY. After spending less than $400 on my kitchen, I felt like a champ. The rest of my projects have has similar success; I’ve kept budgets low and had great results. However, the time I’ve sacrificed was something I didn’t fully consider. For example, it took 6 full days to finish our kitchen, which does not seem like much, but this was days spent inside, putting sweat equity into the house instead of doing anything else. My advice to you when looking at a house that needs work – be realistic about how much time you have, but more than that, if you can’t afford to outsource work (a painter, laborer, contractor, etc) then be realistic […]
The cozy home decor must-haves: Amazon edition!
It’s October 1st, which means pumpkin patches, hayrides, long nights with warm drinks, movies, and all the other fall festivities we all have going on! Is it just me or does October always fly by in a rush? I love this time of year for so many reasons, but it also seems to be the busiest! Busy is good, but it means before I know it, it’s December and my house is still look like it’s summer weather. Not this year! I have discovered the magic of Amazon. I used to use Amazon for just about everything but home decor and furniture. Now that my schedule is full, and my job is diy-ing and decorating, I don’t always have time to drive around to every store, hoping to find the best deal. Instead, I will pull up Amazon during a lunch break and order everything I need in a few short clicks. It’s a game changer for sure! My Amazon list of the coziest and essential items for your home this fall (+ winter!) It’s been my goal since summer was creeping to a close to turn my house into a cozy sanctuary for my family and for all who visit. That’s why I put together this curated list of home decor you need for you home this fall – order it now and get it in a few days. No more hoping you find time to make your home cozy for the cold seasons – get a head start with my cozy home […]
Bedroom Canopy Update
This last weekend, Brian and I were rained in because of the hurricane, so we decided to move furniture around in our master bedroom. (what else would a designer do when she is forced to stay in? haha!) More is less? I moved my IKEA wardrobes into my bedroom for added clothing storage, and moved the dresser to the other wall. I also added my favorite rug – which used to be in my kitchen, then in my entry way, and now has a home in my bedroom. My master bedroom is not large by any means – it’s a 12×14 box, but it seems the more I added, not only the cozier did it feel, but it actually felt bigger. I like the feeling over being in a cave – maybe that sounds odd? Let me explain. I used to live for pillow and sheet forts when I was a little kid, and I love to sleep with my body 99% under the covers, and I love the feeling of being encompassed by a space. Which is why I took a risk and ordered a $15 canopy off the internet. What I started with.. This is the only picture I have of the master bedroom from the day we moved in. It’s been set up 3 different ways now, and we’ve switched out the horrible light fixture for something new – but we haven’t pained or redone anything else. This room was actually in good shape, with a decent […]
Why I’m completely changing my office
It has been quite a week here! Honestly, it’s been a bit surreal. As you know, Brian and I just celebrated a year in North Carolina this month, so we are not up to date on this hurricane thing. We are more snow storm and tornado type people ha! So with this impending hurricane coming our way, things have stalled a bit in the home improvement area of our lives. Last weekend, we finished building the base of my desk – I shared the progress on my Instagram stories, but if you missed it, I crafted a 7′ desk out of Wooden Crates (From Michaels) and reclaimed wood from Habitat Restore. I spent a total of $60 on this desk, and with the extra scrap wood we sawed off, I have shelves to hang. Like I said, we are stalled until next week (fingers crossed!) on getting this finished. Change is a comin’! I always strived to make my office my happy place, because i’m holed up in there 40+ hours a week, so I wanted it to be a space that I LOVE. In my previous apartment, my office doubled as the storage/guest room. However, I had spent years collecting items for my office to make it happy and cheery, which in the past meant a lot of pink, gold and white. My office was all pink, gold and white. I actually had this theme going since I was in college (my interior design studio in university was […]
