My $400 eclectic kitchen remodel

I wish I could sum it up in a sentence, the journey of my kitchen. I’ll start with prefacing that this is my first house! My boyfriend and I bought a home in the suburbs of Raleigh, and in my own words, it is fabulously 1970’s. When we first walked through at the showing, I fell in love. Was it the original walnut wood moldings everywhere or the wood paneling in the basement..or the so-yellow-they-are-pink tiles in the master bathroom you may ask? It was none of those – actually I didn’t even notice all of that when I walked through the home. I noticed the layout, how much light flooded every room, and the gorgeous moss-covered backyard! I am an interior designer after all..any cosmetic issues in the home didn’t even phase me. If you know me, you know I always bite off more than I can chew, it’s kinda my thing. So the kitchen was no exception. Oh..the kitchen! The cabinets were two-toned..and not the trendy kind you are imagining. The cream and brown paint that covered the cabinets made me want to shower immediately…but I also knew this was the first room that needed my love. Another thing I knew – being only 2 years of out college, and this being my first house, my budget was gloriously tiny. At work, I had won $300 in Amazon gift cards, so I decided that those gift cards, plus another $100 would be what i’d work with. I honestly didn’t […]

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Move-In day & Pinterest Overwhelm

If you are anything like me, you are a Pinterest addict. Before I even go to Google, I go to Pinterest, and I search for answers there. I mean..to be fair most of the things I’m Googling are home decor and food related, but I can easily spend an hour a day on Pinterest just going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of Paleo cupcakes and gallery wall inspiration. Even though Pinterest is by far my favorite website, and I use it for business, it also is super overwhelming. As y’all know, I’m an interior designer. I own Honey Bee Interior Design  and I often ask my clients if they have a Pinterest board or inspiration images to help me better understand what they are dreaming of for their space [a picture is worth a thousand words, am I right?]. However I also know the extreme overwhelm…let me explain. You want a farmhouse style living room, so that’s what you search. Two hours later, you have 100 “Pins” of what you like for that space, and no real direction on where to start. It’s not like the pictures say “Here, buy this sofa first, then do this to your walls, and the paint color is _____, and the budget for this room is $2,500″. It’s just a picture, sometimes linked to a blog post…but still it’s just a starting point. Now let’s get real. I tell my clients something I started to tell myself..and actually had to practice what I […]

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My 5 favorite (cheap) home decor stores!

I’ll preface this by saying, there is a difference between cheap and inexpensive, and honey there is a fine line when it comes to home decor! If you follow me on Instagram  then you know I love shopping and finding deals. I’m a certified bargain-hunter. That’s why I decided to create this list of my top 5 favorite places to find home decor. These are 5 places you can walk into; I have 5 top online retailers for home decor, but if you like to walk through a store with a heart full of design ideas – this list if for you girl! Hobby Lobby Hobby Lobby is one of those stores that I walk into and immediately have to hone in and remember what I came for. Why? Because everything is always on sale – and if it’s not, they have a permanent 40% off coupon on their site. You’re welcome. From candles, kitchen decor, office trinkets..not to mention their enormous selection of faux plants (for those who are plant murderers like me).   IKEA Okay so maybe you don’t have an IKEA near you. This is what you’re going to want to do: Get in the largest vehicle you have access to, and drive. Keep driving. Until you reach IKEA. Welcome to heaven. (click here to find the closest one to you) Now you know how I feel about IKEA. There are some people out there who seriously hate IKEA..but let me tell you WHY it’s actually amazing (from […]

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Why and How to buy-second hand home goods!

thrifting, reuse, upcycle home

*Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you if you click through and make a purchase, I will earn commission. The opinions are completely my own, and I only refer to products that I absolutely love and have tested* Let’s talk second hand goods for a moment. Specifically for the home. Maybe you are thinking “ew” like a lot of people i’ve encountered have, or you are thinking, “yes let’s talk about it!!” Either way, I’m going to tell you why you should be buying them, and how to shop for them like a pro. The funny thing is, many of my interior designer friends who design luxury homes have their own homes filled with thrift-found pieces. It’s no secret among designers how valuable an older piece or second hand piece of furniture is, but it can be challenging to know what to buy second hand, what not to buy, and how to look for them. That’s why I’m going to break it all down for you. I am not the expert in antiquing, but when it comes to filling my home with second hand items, and thrifting my home together, I feel like a queen at it. When I go to an estate sale, thrift store, or flea market I get in a zone that you couldn’t shake me out of. My boyfriend actually prepares when he “assists” me at these, because he knows I will be zipping all around, completely in my element, and […]

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how to get the space you want on a budget

*Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you if you click through and make a purchase, I will earn commission. The opinions are completely my own, and I only refer to products that I absolutely love and have tested*   We all want to look like a million bucks..and a $100 budget. It’s not to different when it comes to ours homes. As an interior designer, I have clients who want the same thing; they come to me with a low (realistic in my opinion) budget and want a room that they see on Pinterest. Instead of saying “Yeah goodluck with that!” I say “challenge accepted”. I grew up pretty humbly. Instead of buying new things, I would make something if I wanted it. I guess you could say i’ve been honing in on my DIY skills since I got my first hot glue gun and set of paints! So it’s no surprise that when I was 8, I painted the inside of my Barbie dream house, because I believed Barbie needed a blue bedroom wall instead of pink. How does this help you? I’ve been making things look like a million bucks for pennies for years now, and I want to share my tips with y’all. If you want a space that’s stunning on dime, you must be open to putting in a little elbow grease, using your investigation and negotiation skills!   If you want a piece of furniture that is totally out of […]

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