A lot has transpired in the past few months, and we are so excited that we finally own the farmhouse! We are doing work on the home as we go, and we are learning a lot about older homes as well. We are making updates here and there- some cosmetic, and some necessary to bring the home up to date. One of the most exciting updates that we have made was the new smart thermostat. Yes, you read that right. I said new smart thermostat. I’m not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing that I am so excited about a thermostat, but let me just say… if it’s wrong, then I don’t want to be right. Throughout my recent ventures with DIY, I’ve been lucky enough to discover and speak with new brands, and I was recently introduced to LUX Products, a brand from Johnson Controls and maker of residential smart thermostats. Having grown up in the Milwaukee area, I was already very familiar with Johnson Controls, and so I was really interested in learning about LUX Products. I’m currently majorly crushing on our new LUX KONO smart thermostat from Johnson Controls, which is both practical and stylish. The fact that it is a smart thermostat in and of itself obviously implies that there are all kinds of really cool technical features, which I do love. But I have to say that as a DIYer, my favorite aspect of this thermostat is definitely the paintable faceplates. They are so cool! How often do you see a beautifully painted room, or even a feature wall, and then the thermostat sticks out like a sore thumb because it doesn’t match? With the LUX KONO, this isn’t a problem at all. With nine interchangeable faceplates that provide variety, including a paintable option, I know my smart thermostat will blend in with my décor, which makes my heart happy! A feature involving paint is obviously the first one to jump out to me, but like I mentioned, there are a ton of other technical aspects that are going to make my life easier in my new home and save me money as well. Our family is on the go a lot, and so when we aren’t home, being able to control our smart thermostat virtually is a definite plus. With the LUX KONO, I can control the temperature of my home from anywhere. It is also compatible with the Apple Home Kit, which allows me to control it right from my iPad if I want, but I also have the option of managing the thermostat from my smart phone using the LUX App as well. I can’t tell you how it will ease my mind to know that I don’t have to worry if I forgot to turn off the air conditioning if we are away during the summer, or turn down the heat when we go up to the cabin in the winter. Peace of mind is priceless to our family, and the LUX KONO provides that for us. And since it is in fact so smart, it also puts money back in our pockets by saving on energy costs. If you’ve been following along with our latest adventure, you know that there is no lack of updates for us, so we’ll take all the extra pocket change that we can get. But, we can now check one update off of the list. Cool technical features that save me money AND design aspects that cater to my DIY passion… I don’t know if I could really ask for more. Smart Thermostat, check! If you’re interested in doing your own thermostat upgrade, purchase the LUX KONO here and use code MissLiz for 15% off! *this post is sponsored by Lux Products, a brand from Johnson Controls

*This post is sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart* Moving into a new house is full of excitement, and for me, a lot of the excitement comes from the projects that I plan in my head far before our boxes even enter the home. I was so excited to have a sunroom in our new house, and ideas were flooding my head from the moment I saw it. The sunroom started as a blank slate for me, and even though it was absolutely beautiful to start with, I wanted to put a touch of my own style on it. I was thinking light and bright, and so the wood paneling and ceiling had quite the makeover in its future. I knew I wanted as much white as possible, and so I used my paint sprayer to cover the entire room in a beautiful shade of white. It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint did for the space, and the room, though a good size already, immediately seemed even larger. I decided to divide the space into two separate areas- an eating area and a sitting area, and I couldn’t wait to grab some new decor to pair with my already owned items. As soon as that paint was dry, I quickly ran out to grab some items, and I completely fell in love with the items that I got from Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart. One of the things that I knew I wanted from the start was white curtains throughout, and so I needed quite a few (six to be exact) quality curtain rods. The Oil Rubbed Bronze Adjustable Curtain Rods from Better Homes & Gardens were absolutely perfect, and the bronze finish perfectly highlighted the wood tones on the window frames that I left untouched. For the eating area, I wanted to find a light fixture that would make a statement but also be light and bright for the sunroom, and BHG 3-Light Pendant checked all the boxes. I love the asymmetry of the different globes, and the satin nickel finish paired perfectly with the white ceiling. And speaking of ceiling, the biggest statement in the room came from the pair of Oil Rubbed Bronze Ceiling Fans, which were also from Better Homes & Gardens. Every sunroom must have a pair of ceiling fans, right? Last but not least, accessories are a must in every space, and to me, they are arguably the items that really make the space feel complete. I was able to touch the space off with some beautiful throw pillows and lanterns. The colors of throw pillows were perfectly neutral in this space, and I couldn’t get over the adorable fringe! As an added bonus, they are indoor/outdoor, so I can use them on the patio as well! The black finish of the decorative lanterns anchor the ceiling fans beautifully, and really put the final touch on the room. It is safe to say that this room is my new favorite spot, and because of the affordable price point of the Better Homes & Gardens line at Walmart, I was able to create this space without breaking the bank. I have been enjoying this beautiful oasis every morning with my coffee. I love to sit in this functional and equally fashionable room, and it makes me incredibly happy to look at this space and how far it has come.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full affiliate disclosure here. We made it. We finally made it into the house, and we hit the ground running. If you have been following along on my Instagram and have seen the inside of the house, then you already know that there is no lack of projects to be done. We won't be bored, that's for sure. That being said, it was important to us to prioritize which projects we wanted to tackle first, and the kids' rooms were at the top of the list. After a crazy few months, the mom guilt was real, and I really wanted to create a space for each kid that would make them feel at home; a space that really reflected their personalities. I started planning each room right away, and both kids (and I) are very happy with the ideas we chose. I have been working on both rooms simultaneously, and both are almost completely finished. Luke's room is the most finished. This is mostly because we can't find the slat's to Mallory's mattress at the moment, so I can't finish assembling her bed. Oops. Luke's room does in fact have a mattress though, and so we'll cover that one first. When I asked Luke what kind of room he wanted, he didn't hesitate for a second. He wanted a Rockstar Room. So Rockstar Room he got, and I have to say- I kind of want it to be my room. I love it that much! The first thought that comes to mind when I here "rockstar" is obviously a guitar, and so I knew that I needed to come up with a creative way to showcase his birthday present: an electric guitar (I found a used one on Craigslist- score!). Originally, I loved the idea of a wall feature in his room, but I had another cool idea planned for above his bed, so I shifted gears with the feature wall and decided to make a guitar frame that resembled a feature wall. Armed with a sheet of handiboard (a small, precut piece of plywood) and some pvc lattice trim (looks like wood but a fraction of the price), I went to work. I started by framing the plywood with 1x2 pine pieces, and cut the corners at a 45 to ensure a nice miter cut. I then scored and snapped the pvc pieces at desired lengths in order to create geometric lines. There was really no rhyme or reason to this process. I kind of just laid them out as I worked and the pattern that I ended up with reminded me of guitar strings, so it was perfect. A little spackle in the cracks and a coat of black spray paint, and the guitar frame was ready for the guitar hook, which I attached by screwing it to a piece of scrap wood on the back. I also added a few more scrap 1x2s along the back so that the frame wouldn't sit flush on the wall. I screwed the entire frame directly into the wall, and attached a strip of colorful lights from Amazon to the back (this is why I didn't want it flush). The finished product was a cool piece of art, conversation piece, and functional guitar holder that sits right by his door next to a framed photo of our little rockstar performing at a school concert. A new papasan chair and a geometric rug, and half the room was finished! The next big project in the room was the wall that Luke's bed is on, and I had big plans for this. I saw a picture on Pinterest of these light up marquee letters in a kid's room, and I thought they would be perfect for the theme. I hung these above his bed, and against the Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black wall, I've gotta say.... they look pretty rad. I added some remote controlled twinkle lights, and a new plaid comforter, and I was set. And in case you were wondering... yes, I realize that I am missing a letter. But I can't find a 20" vintage, light up, marquee letter "S" ANYWHERE, so for now, it's a RockTar room. Can't win 'em all. So, one room down! A rockstar room for a rockstar kid. Let's just hope he sleeps more than actual rockstars do!

I have to tell you, this life of ours never ceases to surprise us. In this family, it seems that every big life event happens completely out of the blue, when we aren't expecting it. Moving in particular, has always been a bit of a spur of the moment thing for us. When we moved to our current home, we weren't even looking to move. We hadn't seen any houses, we didn't have our home at the time on the market... but we saw this house and thought, "We'll give it a try. If it's meant to be, we will move. If not, we won't." With no desire to move unless it was to this particular house, we put our townhouse on the market, sold it quickly, and before we knew it, we were living in what we thought would be our forever home. We should really know better. With our track record in life, we should really know better than to make plans, because nothing ever goes according to plan. I say this in the best way possible, because I don't know about you, but I am a firm believer that everything happens the way it is supposed to in life. So, when perusing real estate one night (because, DUH, that's what one does at night), I stumbled upon a property not far from where we live now, and I just KNEW. I knew right then and there that I had to see this place. It was a big, beautiful farmhouse with a barn and land, and I should note that all of those things just so happen to be part of my life dream. I thought that it was worth a look, and the second I walked through the doors... It is hard to put into words, but I honestly have goosebumps on my arms as I'm typing this. As I was walking through the home, I felt the love that had been poured into this place. I imagined the memories that had been made there, and I imagined what our memories would look like there. I calmly walked through each room, and fell harder with every turn. I should note that the inside of the home is gorgeous, and had clearly been touched with the hand of a very stylish individual. Could it use some cosmetic updating? Sure. Was it outdated? Maybe a little bit (ok, maybe more than a little bit). But it just needed to find its perfect match. It needed to find some owners who would respect the history and memories of this place. An owner who wasn't afraid of a few updates. I just KNEW. The next parts of this story are a whirlwind, but after a series of what I can only describe as serendipitous events, we found ourselves under contract on this adventure of a home, and we could not be more excited. We truly feel honored to have found such a gem, and we can't wait to make it ours. The last few years have brought out a part of me that I never knew existed. I feel a commitment of sorts. A commitment to chase dreams; to make this life what I want it to be. Moving to this home is definitely part of my dream, but I also have no false assumptions here. I am well aware that dreams take work. I know how much work it will take to make this home exactly what we want. I know it will be tough, and I know it will be challenging at times. But I also know that working hard and pouring love into a dream is what makes it worth it. I know it will be worth it. ----- I can't wait to take you all along on this journey with us. I am so excited to show you more updates soon, but in the meantime.... I've gotta get packing!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full affiliate disclosure here. Did you catch my last post about those faux marble countertops that we are still ogling over? If not, you'll want to run to see my previous post about them or check them out here, but the truth is that the icing on the cake for these beautiful countertops was truly the new sink and faucet. Our previous sink was a very old, very beat up stainless steel, double basin sink. It worked just fine, but we were longing for an updated sink to go with our bright new countertops. Enter, Elkay. We were lucky enough to be able to receive a gorgeous quartz sink and faucet from Elkay to finish off the space, and now the countertops aren't the only thing that we are ogling over. I had never seen a quartz sink before, but knowing the durability of quartz made me excited about the prospect of having a sink that was made of it. The sink itself is a gorgeous white quartz (but it also comes in other colors) that has proven to be easy to clean. Its matte finish looks stunning against the countertops, and the matte black faucet stands tall and beautiful in the space as well. And don't even get me started about the pull down faucet and spray/stop feature. They make my heart go pitter patter. Now I don't know about you, but I had never installed a sink before. However, I am here to say that I lived to tell the tale, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Elkay made it incredibly easy for newbies like us with detailed instructions on how to punch out a hole for the faucet, connection of the water lines, and faucet installation. So here's what I now know about installing a new sink: First, turn off that water. Pretty obvious, but crucial step. Next, you will want to disconnect your water lines from your sink, and cut any caulk or silicone around the sink edge that may have been used to seal it. Removing is as easy as lifting it out. For installation of the new sink, Elkay made it easy with all the necessary brackets and detailed, step by step instructions. Once we dropped our sink into our opening, we used kitchen silicone to seal around the edge. We opted for a clear silicone, but color choice is obviously a personal preference. That is basically it! It was a way easier process than I anticipated, and best of all, we didn't need to hire someone to do the job! If you know me or my instagram page at all, you know that I pride myself on working with and recommending companies that I know and love, and I honestly can not say enough wonderful things about Elkay. Their customer service has been wonderful, and the quality of their products speak for themselves. So if you're in the market for a new sink or faucet, I highly recommend!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see affiliate disclosure here. I'm going to be totally honest. When my husband saw a method for creating faux marble countertops with epoxy and wanted me to try it, I shot that idea down real quick. "There is no way," I thought. It seemed really complicated, and working with epoxy was really intimidating to me. BUT I stand here today, as a survivor of this DIY, and I have to say...not only was it WAY easier than I anticipated, but I also really enjoyed it overall. Before you start, you should know that this is definitely not a DIY-in-a-Day kind of project. It is a process, and allowing yourself a few days to complete this project is a key to success. This process can be performed on most surfaces, but if you have a particularly porous surface, more sanding and possibly sealing will be necessary than what I did. I have a complete supply list at the end of this post for anyone wanting to take their countertops from drab to fab, and you can find the videos of me completing this project on my Instagram page. First and foremost, preparation is VITAL. Clean those countertops, and then clean them a couple more times. You want to make sure that your surface is clear of all grease and debris of any kind. In our case, preparation also included removing the cooktop and our drop-in sink. This step is not completely necessary, but I do think it made the process easier. Tarping everything off is extremely important, as you can imagine what getting epoxy on your countertops would be like. I used this pretaped plastic, and it was a lifesaver. I used painters tape just under the line of the countertops and then attached the plastic on top. At first, I had plastic covering all of my floor, but I learned that this was NOT the way to go, because it ended up being messier that way. Having a few inches from the cabinets covered on the floor was the best method for me. Once everything is prepped (a necessary evil), painting can begin. I used this chalk paint for a variety of reasons. First off, chalk paint is the bomb because it adheres to almost anything, so minimal sanding, if any, is required. Second, it is thick and has great coverage. It also dries quickly, so you can get a lot of coats on in a small amount of time. I poured the paint right onto the countertop and used a foam roller to paint all the countertops. In our case, I ended up putting FIVE (yes, you read that correctly) coats onto our countertops. This will likely not be the case in every one else's homes. Our previous countertops had a piece of trim along the outside of them, and in order to make the faux marble appear seamless, I used joint compound to fill the crack. I sanded and repeated as necessary, so a couple of coats on top of the joint compound were required for our kitchen. In a normal situation, I would advise at least 3 coats. After the white base coat was finished, it was time to create the veining. This was definitely a learning process, and it took me a couple of tries to get my method down. What's cool about this part of the project is that this is the part that allows you to totally customize your countertops to your taste. I recommend having an idea or inspiration picture to guide you, but I really just kind of let my brush go where it would. I did end up finding a method that I preferred, which is described as follows. First, I dipped my artist paint brush in grey chalk paint, and then blotted it on a damp sponge. Once I had my line painted, I would go back with more grey paint and "dab" along the line to make it less stark. I then found a makeup blender sponge to be helpful in further blending the line edges. Once the grey was done, I took a soft paint brush and dipped into the white paint and very gently blotted along the outside of the vein to blend with the rest of the white countertop. Finally, I dipped a very fine artist paint brush into the grey paint and painted on some very thin lines sporadically along the veins. Trial and error is key here, and you an always paint over it if you don't like your results. I continued with this process until I was happy with the veining, and I am so happy with the way it turned out! Again, sometimes it is easier to see the process in video form, so you can find a profile highlight called "faux marble" on my Instagram page if you'd like Once all the painting was finished, I took a fine sandpaper (220 grit) to all the white parts of the counter top, being very careful to not sand down the grey veining. This step ensured that the surface was as smooth as possible, since some texture does develop from the foam roller and veining process. I personally think that this step helps to make the countertop appear less hand painted. And now, the moment we have all been waiting for! It's time to epoxy. If you're anything like me, and have never used this product before, you might be pretty nervous. I know I was. But looking back, I really did get myself all worked up for nothing. It is a little nerve wracking to know that once you create your epoxy mixture, you are on a bit of a time crunch, because the mixture does harden after some time. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, though. I needed multiple kits to cover all of our countertops. One mixed gallon will cover about 12 square feet, and we had roughly 42 square feet to cover. We had more than enough epoxy with 4 gallon kits. I mixed two different brands, and I found that I really liked this one. The kits will give instructions, but you will want to thoroughly mix the activator with the curing agent to form the epoxy mixture. I then poured a smaller amount of the mixed product into a smaller container so that it was easier to work with. And then... you just go for it! Pour on some epoxy, and working in sections, spread the epoxy with your squeegee so that it is covering the countertop and so that the mixture waterfalls off the sides of your counter on to the plastic. I also experimented with a couple different tools for this, and I found this squeegee to be my favorite. Again, this is a little bit of a learning process, but I promise that you will get used to it! And remember: THIS TABLETOP EPOXY IS SELF LEVELING. I found myself getting incredibly stressed about having the epoxy layer be completely smooth and even when I smoothed it. This is NOT necessary. It may take a couple of hours, but the epoxy will level out. ***THE MOST USEFUL TIP THAT I CAN GIVE YOU is to have any kind of antibacterial wipes on hand. Lots of them. Epoxy does NOT clean up well with soap and water, but antibacterial wipes have alcohol in them and they work really well. Figuring this out was a game changer for me, because let's be honest: this project is STICKY. Sticky, but oh so worth it, if you ask me! Once all your epoxy is poured, you will find that it may have some air bubbles. Many will rise to the surface on their own, but a heat gun is recommended for the best results to get out any stubborn bubbles. I should say that I did not use a heat gun. I used a hair dryer and a blow torch. I DO NOT recommend either. The blow torch worked well, but ended up causing a slight yellow along some edges, and the blowdryer tended to cause a bit of rippling. After some research that I should have done before I attempted this project, I found that a heat gun is the way to go for bubble removal. Overall, though, I am incredibly happy with how smooth our counters turned out. Lastly, it is important to remember that epoxy countertops are a TEMPORARY fix. They will likely yellow over the course of a handful of years, and eventually we will replace these with authentic stone countertops. However, for a small price, I now have beautiful, bright countertops that are such a step up from our previous laminate, and I would definitely try this DIY again! Next up? Backsplash! What about you- would you give it a shot? If you want to get started, here is a supply list to make your life easier! White Chalk Paint Aged Grey Chalk Paint Artist Paint Brushes Soft Paint Brush Painter's Tape Pre-taped Plastic Covering Tabletop Epoxy Kit Squeegee Antibacterial Wipes Heat Gun You've got this!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see affiliate disclosure here. If you have recently started following along with my projects, it may very well be because you saw my loft guest room on my Instagram page. This was, by far, our biggest project to date, and yes, I realize that I continually say that. But that, my friends, is because my projects just seem to keep getting bigger and bigger. But this one, guys. We may never do a project bigger than this one. Although, I guess I should never say never. The first thing I had to do was paint the walls in here. Does anyone remember what this room used to look like? I don't have any white walls in my house, but I've gotta say, since I painted the walls in here, I kind of want them everywhere... swoon. The contrast of the white with the color of the loft bed (Behr Sculptor Clay: double swoon) genuinely makes me happy. Once the walls were painted, we were ready to start building, and the first thing we did was attach frame pieces to the wall. We chose to use 2x6 boards for this part. A lot of loft bed tutorials will recommend 2x4s, and they will likely be perfectly stable, but because we had such a long loft (18 feet, to be exact), we wanted to take extra precautions that anyone snoozing on the top wouldn't come crashing to the floor. Hence, our choice of 2x6s for the perimeter of the frame. We screwed the 2x6s into the studs behind our wall with 3 1/2 inch lag screws along the back and side walls. We chose to position the frame pieces 5 feet off the ground. We have 8 ft ceilings, so this allowed for us to have about 30 inches of clearance on top of the mattress. Many loft beds call for a minimum of 36 inches of clearance. In our case, we knew that we wanted a queen platform bed underneath the loft (which we assumed adults would be sleeping on), so we prioritized adults' heads over kids'. Sorry, kiddos. After the wall-side frame pieces were up, we attached deck braces to them to hold 2x4s as crossbeams between the 2x6 frame pieces. The spacing on the 2x4s can vary, but for us, we chose to space them about 20 inches apart. The deck braces/crossbeams were an element of our design that probably aren't completely necessary, but again: we were building a very large loft, and we wanted to make double, no TRIPLE sure that it was structurally sound. And the deck braces provide that extra strength. We also spray painted these bronze which ended up being a really neat design element. My husband had the idea of staining the 2x4 cross beams to look like ceiling beams, and we paired that with a bead board on the underside of the beds to give it a modern-farmhouse-ceiling-like vibe. The bead board was glued to 3/8 inch plywood and screwed into the 2x4 crossbeams from the top. As far as the length of the 2x4s (and the depth of the loft bed), we made our loft about an inch wider than the mattress we chose. I wanted a snug fit and as much room as possible in the rest of the room, but this is obviously personal preference. Cute, right? Alright, back to how we built this guy. In order to attach the front support beam, my smarty pants husband put together a little support that would hold our boards up in the middle so that we didn't have to do so while screwing into the 2x4 cross beams. Not a completely necessary step, but it sure saved us from some pretty sore muscles. All of that is pretty straight forward, but you may be wondering how we actually made an 18 ft loft bed stand up. We decided to use the ladder as the main, center support in order to kill two birds with one stone. We needed a ladder anyways, and with a loft spanning that long of a distance, we knew we needed some support in the middle. We created the ladder out of 4 2x4s. We individually cut notches out the 4 2x4s in order to form a little shelf for the 2x6 frame pieces to rest on. We then wood glued and screwed two notched 2x4s together to form the two posts of the ladder. The picture to the right shows what I mean. We used 2x5/4 boards that we stained as the ladder rungs, and cut out facade pieces to hold those up (between the rungs on the interior sides of the posts). The remaining sides of the posts were encased with select pine boards so that we had a nicer finish to paint. The guard rails were created from 2x2s with miter cuts, and assembled with wood glue and a finish nailer. We wood glued (can you tell I like wood glue), clamped (if you don't own clamps, I highly recommend having at least 6 on hand for projects), and screwed in from the inside of the loft. We actually think we will probably add metal brackets to the guard rails once our kids get a little bigger, just to be safe. SO, spanning frame pieces, cross beams, ladder structure, guard rails. Loft bed, check! The only other building project we had in this room was the queen platform bed, which was relatively easy. We wanted the queen bed to be as close to the ground as possible without actually feeling like it was on the ground. So, we used 1x12s around the outside, which we screwed together using pocket holes. We attached 2x4s as supports on the inside to hold the mattress slats (we used 1x4s). As you can see here, we had enough room to create a little reading nook on top of our loft. We have about 5 feet of space between our mattresses, so although our room happens to be very large (13x18ft), you wouldn't need a room that large to create this project. As for the rest of the room, it was basically all aesthetic touches. The bead board on the back wall was a last minute addition, and I am SO glad I did that. It might be my favorite design element in the room. And I suppose you're wondering about that cool headboard too. That headboard was actually an IKEA hack that I did that kind of went viral on the ole interweb. INCREDIBLY easy, and you can find the tutorial for that here. We used memory foam mattresses for all the beds, and I can't recommend them enough. The queen mattress is a Novilla Mattress, and it is a dream. So, there you have it, folks. Our goal was to create a space that an entire family could sleep in comfortably, and I think we accomplished that goal. It honestly turned out exactly as I had hoped. As always, please never hesitate to reach out with questions, and I'd love to hear what you think of this space in the comments section! Room Sources: Loft Bedding Queen Bedding Rug Curtains Curtain Rod Side Table Twin Mattresses Queen Mattress

*this post may contain affiliate links. Please see affiliate disclosure here Well, that escalated quickly. I have to say, I knew that I was going to love this Ikea IVAR bookshelf headboard, but I don't think I realized how much all of you would love it! I posted a video of this process on both my Instagram and TikTok accounts, and people kind of went crazy for it! It is also honestly one of the easiest DIYs I have ever done, so if you want to recreate, I'll tell you how! Please note that these supplies are what I used for a queen bed. Materials: IVAR Bookshelf side piece (I used the 20x70in piece Cotton Webbing (I used 75 yards worth in the color "cream") That's it. That's honestly all you need. 1.To begin, I stapled pieces of the cotton webbing along the shorter, vertical side of the bookshelf piece and cut them to length. Pull the pieces tight, cut to length, and staple along the back of the other short, vertical side. 2. Next I did the same along the long, horizontal piece. Once I had the pieces all cut and stapled on the top, I wove the pieces along the long, horizontal side (or TOP) through the pieces that I had already stapled in the first step. I alternated starting above and below the first strip, in order to ensure a woven look throughout the piece. 3. Once woven, pull shorter pieces tight and staple along the back to secure. 4. To secure ours to the wall, we screwed directly through the IVAR piece and into our bead board. Optionally, you could attach picture hooks on the back to hang.

Well. It has been a minute since I posted, but 2020, am I right? I'm excited to be able to come back to this space and update you on recent projects, and I've got a doozy for you this time. Last week, we transformed our builder grade master bathroom into a beautiful master oasis, and I have all the details on our new shiplap wall for you. I promise that I won't wait another 3 months to update you on the rest, either, so keep your eyes peeled for a new post on that soon. This shiplap project was not for the faint of heart, and I mean that literally. We have 12 feet ceilings in our bathroom, and reaching the top often required a lot of balance and a little bit of guts (can you say "step ladder on the counter"). The first thing we had to do was take down our builder grade mirrors. BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER- go grab some work gloves and safety glasses. I like my eyeballs too much to skip this step. This is actually a lot easier than you might think, but patience is key. The first thing you will want to do here is tape the mirror off, just in case the glass does break. Wooden shims are the key to this project, and you will want to SLOWLY slide the shims along the outside of the mirror, gently tapping them in further and further until you feel the mirror start to loosen from the wall. Eventually, you will hear the adhesive on the back pop off, and you will be able to carefully take the mirror down. Now that the mirror is down, we need to address this mess of a wall. And what better way to fix a wall than to apply shiplap?! I didn't have to worry about repairing the drywall damage, and the beauty of a shiplap wall just goes without saying. I used 8 ft MDF shiplap boards for this project that were 5 1/4 inches wide. The board width is completely personal preference, but the nice thing about the tongue and groove shiplap boards is that they easily snap into place, leaving you with a small nickel sized gap between the boards. Your first board is the most important, and in our case, I wanted to make sure that there was a board completely flush with the top of the counter, so that's where I started. If you make sure that your first few boards are level, the other boards should be level as well. You clip the boards into one another, and push down gently to ensure that the boards are snug, and that the gap is as small as it can possibly be. Before nailing the boards into the wall, you will want to mark your studs on the wall so that you don't need to worry about finding them throughout your process. A nail gun is pretty much essential for this project, and since the boards aren't too thick, we used 1 1/4 inch finish nails into studs, which worked perfectly. Placing the nose of the nail gun right on top of the lip of the board and angling down will ensure that the nail is hidden by the next board, so you won't have to fill those holes- SCORE! The next step is CRUCIAL to you keeping your sanity for this project. If you are planning on painting these boards, you will want to paint the lip BEFORE you attach the next board. This will save you the time and energy of having to paint the tiny gap between the boards. If you are leaving them white, then you won't need to worry about this step. Once that is done, have at it! Place those boards, one by one, until your wall is filled! We staggered our lengths so that we wouldn't have a lot of joint lines lining up with each other. These lines will be filled with wood filler, which you can use on MDF, and you can go ahead and sand and paint like normal. I prefer "Plastic Wood" but the filler of your choice will work fine, as long as it is paintable. Once everything is filled, sanded, and wiped down, you can go ahead and paint. Rolling like a normal wall works perfectly fine, and as always, two coats is highly recommended! This isn't a small project by any means, but I can assure you that if I can do this- you can too! As always, feel free to follow along on social media for more tips and tricks, and never hesitate to reach out with questions!

Remember the days before this crazy quarantine when we could head out to a local restaurant or enjoy a beer garden on the weekends? Life definitely isn't that simple anymore, and ever since I realized that we would be spending most of our summer nights out on our own patio, I wanted to spruce up the space a bit. We love spending time out there, and I really look at our patio as an extension of our home, when it is actually warm enough in the Midwest to use it. And just like the rest of our home, it was important to me that this space felt warm and inviting. Last summer, my husband and I decided to build a porch swing. It is still going strong, and we absolutely love it. This year, I've been focusing more on ambiance, and this wine barrel planter that I recently completed was the perfect touch. The following tutorial will help you give this project a go, and you can also follow along with the progress videos on my Instagram page. These look intimidating, and I have to admit that I was pretty nervous to work with concrete for the first time, but it was honestly way easier than I anticipated.The material list is pretty basic. Here's what I used: Wine Barrel (I got mine off of amazon and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was actually a functioning wine barrel at one point) Mixable Cement (the quality on this does not need to be the best) Mixing Paddle (optional) Treated 4x4 L brackets Hanging Planter hook Outdoor Lights Once I had all my supplies gathered, I was ready to get to work. Since you are pouring cement into this planter, you will probably want to do the actual project where the planter will live (it's going to be heavy when it's all finished, so moving isn't ideal). All I needed was two days of no rain (so my cement could sit) so that I could start my project. So I waited, and waited, and waited, and I swear I would have been waiting for the rest of my life because it just never. stopped. raining. So, change of plans- I decided to work on our planter in the garage and move it to the back yard. See above- not ideal. Not ideal, but also doable if you happen to have a dolly (which we thankfully do). Determining the height of your 4x4 is the first step. The 4x4 that I used was 10 feet long to begin with, and I settled on 8.5 feet as a desired height. If you are unsure about this, cut long (you can always go back and take more off the top later). Once I had my post cut, I awkwardly placed it at the center of my barrel and secured with my L brackets. This is probably a two person job, but I did it myself, and I'm not very strong... so again, doable. When securing, use a level to ensure that the post is plum (standing up straight). The L brackets will help your post to stand up enough until you can pour the cement. The cement is the fun part, and surprisingly a lot easier than I anticipated. There are a few different strategies to this step, but I'll tell you what worked for us. Get your notebooks- this part gets technical. Just kidding, I just followed the directions on the back of Quickrete. I poured the bag in, added the water that the directions called for, and stirred. The directions will tell you to add more until you reach a desired consistency. We did end up having to do that, and for us, the consistency we reached was similar to brownie batter. I did use this handy dandy mixing paddle, and it was extremely helpful. Mixing by hand is completely optional, but using the paddle attachment with my drill did make my life a bit easier. Once the concrete is mixed, let it be for 48 hours. If you know me, you know that I don't love to wait on projects (chronic non waiter for paint to dry over here), but in this case, I made sure to wait the full 48 hours (and then some) before moving on to the next step. Once I (and by I, I mean my husband) had moved the decently heavy planter to the back patio, I was ready to add the finishing touches. I attached the plant hook, used these small hooks for the lights, and added some flowers. After you add the soil, you will want to remember to drill a couple of holes in the side of the planter to provide adequate drainage for your flowers (and it may go without saying, but make sure that you drill your holes higher than your concrete level!). Once you have the drainage all set, you should be ready to add whatever you'd like, with added peace of mind that rabbits won't eat all the flowers that you just paid for (the planter should be high enough to deter them). Guys, I love it so much. I feel like I'm on our own little restaurant patio when I'm out here, and it's such an easy way to add some ambiance to your space. Let me know if you give it a try!

I don't know about all of you, but since we have been cooped up during this quarantine, I have been finding all kinds of projects around the house. Being stuck in your house for weeks on end really makes you see all the areas that need work, and since we are spending a lot more time at home than we usually do, I have been able to get to some projects that had been put on the back burner. You guys already saw what I was able to do with the wood scraps from our garage. Well, I did it again. I wanted to use what I had (aka, I didn't have a choice... because, well, quarantine). So I think everyone has that one closet. Ok, let's be honest. Most of us have more than one. But I had one closet in particular that was just a complete disaster. It was organized, for the most part, but it completely lacked any kind of functionality. I have been wanting to redo this closet for a while now, and suddenly I found the time (have you heard about the current quarantine?). So I got to work. First things first, organization was imperative. There was so much stuff in this closet that really had homes in other places. I was doubling up on storage space, which was completely detrimental to my desire for functionality. So, I threw some stuff out. I put some stuff in the giveaway bin. I moved the art supplies to the other art supply cabinet. I moved the toys to the basement with the other toys. Pretty basic stuff, and before I knew it, I was left with just a few every day items that could easily be stored in baskets. That was honestly the hardest part. The next steps are where the DIY really comes into play. To begin with, I removed the door in hopes that it would make the space seem like more of a built in locker rather than a closet (I filled in the hinge holes and door jack with spackling). I removed the lower shelves of the closet, and filled the holes that were left in as well. After a good sanding, the closet was ready to be painted, and after a brief check of my paint inventory, I realized that all I had was white ceiling paint. So, white ceiling paint it was. The closet got a couple of fresh coats and was already looking like new. I was able to find enough wood pieces in my scrap pile to add board and batten to the rear wall. I've got a super easy tutorial for that project if it's something that you want to tackle. I also added a wire shelf cover to the top shelf, made a little bench for the lower area with a few extra boards, and added the hooks from- yep, you guessed it- scrap wood. The wire shelf covers (blog post for these guys coming soon) that I have been putting everywhere might be my new favorite project. The bench was pretty basic. I cut the top board to size, and used construction screws to attach the legs. I wanted it to be pretty snug in the closet, so that it seemed like it was build into the wall, so I attached one of the legs once it was already in place in the closet. It was that snug. Both the shelf covers and the bench got a fresh coat of walnut gel stain that we had left over. As for the hooks, I cut down a couple of 2x4s, and made a 45 degree angled cut on one side so that they would be able to be attached like... well, hooks. I screwed them into the board and batten using construction screws as well. You guys, this space makes me happy every time I walk past it. It won't always stay as clean as it is in the pictures, but having it open will make it stay more organized than before. Plus, I found a little slice of happy amongst all the madness in the world right now, and that right there is worth more than anything else.

So if you have been following along for a while, you know how much we love our home. You also know how many updates we have put into our home. Our home is wonderful, but there are definitely some things that, in my opinion, are a little outdated and could use a little updating. The tile floors in our laundry room definitely fell into this category before I stenciled them. I am too embarrassed to tell you how long ago I did this project, because this blog post is incredibly long over due. BUT- better late than never, right?! If you are looking to update your tile floor, but ripping out the existing tile isn't really in the cards, stenciling is a great way to update. Paint has come a LONG way, and they actually make paints specifically designed to hold up on tile floor. First things first, you'll need a stencil. I'm sure there are some super crafty people out there who have some super crafty tools that would allow them to make their own stencils. I, however, am not one of those people. Crafty... eh, some would say, but not nearly ambitious enough to attempt to create my own stencil. So, here's the stencil I used. I highly recommend this company. They worked with me to create a custom order that would fit my tile perfectly, and I have used them multiple times in the past. Other than a quality stencil, you will definitely want to use a foam roller. You'll also want a water based top coat to apply. I should also note that I am partial to using chalk paint. I personally have never used a tile paint (though people swear by them). I use a chalk paint because its quite a bit thicker than regular paint and so it will give nice coverage. Alright, so now that we've got all your supplies covered, let's get on with the project! STEP 1. Cleaning your floors is one hundred percent a necessity. It's super important that the floors are cleared of any debris or dirt before you apply the paint. {NOTE: An optional step is to put a solid color base coat down on the existing tile. For example, lots of people may have painted the tile in our laundry room white before they stenciled. I didn't mind the color of our existing tile and thought it went well with the color scheme in this room, so I chose to forego this step} STEP 2. Start at an easy starting point. What do I mean by this? I would recommend starting your painting at an edge where the tile fits fully. At some point, you will likely need to trim down the stencil for the tiles that are cut, unless of course, by some crazy miracle, you happen to have a perfectly symmetrical room. Man, that would be awesome. Super unlikely, but awesome. So, as you can see, I started at a point where the tiles were full size and worked my way down. Now you may remember from my previous post on chalk painting that it dries pretty quickly. So, you will likely be able to get corners and hard to reach spots after you paint the main area. When rolling the paint on, ensure that your stencil is secured in place (I used painter's tape). You will also want to make sure that you apply enough paint. Too much and it will bleed, but not enough and it won't provide great coverage. I recommend testing out your roller on some scrap cardboard before starting on the tile. STEP 3: Not my most favorite step, because it is arguably the most difficult one. For the tiles that are not full size, you will want to either a) bend the tile to make it fit (not preferable for me) or b)cut the tile to size. Now you will want to make sure that you work from the biggest tiles to the smallest here so that you don't end up with a stencil that is all cut up before all your tiles have been painted. Be strategic about it. {NOTE: these stencils are NOT flimsy and CAN be wiped down and dried periodically. Do not hesitate to take the time to do this if the bottom of your stencil needs cleaning} STEP 4: Once the paint has fully dried (and a 24 hour drying time is probably sufficient), a top coat (or three or four) can be applied. I rolled mine on with a foam roller. I highly recommend doing a minimum of two top coats, especially for high traffic areas. This room accesses our garage and is our main entry and exit on a daily basis, so it got four top coats. Super tedious, but oh so worth it. STEP 5: Let it sit. If you are anything like myself, you will want to walk on that bad boy as soon as it's dry. However, I can assure you that patience is your friend, and in this instance, the longer that you let the paint sit, the stronger it will become. This is a project that does take some time, but you guys... it's a show stopper. The end product looks like custom ordered ceramic tile, and it saved me a TON of money. Super worth the time if you ask me!