Home Updates

One of the last areas in our 40-year-old house to get an update is the half bath. It has original wallpaper, cabinetry, plumbing, and lighting fixtures. The floor is the "new" part of the room. We replaced it after major first floor damage from a water leak. So, from ceiling to … [Read more...] about How To Remove a Large Mirror That’s Glued to the Wall

The process we went through to get our water damaged wood floors repaired was long and frustrating…one that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. If we chose to do the repair through the insurance company, we would be required to use their contractor. That was fine with us as there were … [Read more...] about Total Floor Replacement Due To Water Damage

I recently noticed an area of our warm-toned Hickory floor was turning shades of cold, ugly gray. Since this new coloration followed the natural shape of the wood grain, it wasn’t immediately noticeable. With flashlight in hand (and my head down at floor level) I could see … [Read more...] about Water Damaged Wood Floors From Refrigerator Water Line Leak

Here’s an easy and fast do-it-yourself way to distress low cost wood planks. If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you probably know we’ve completely renovated our kitchen. During that process, we removed a wall (to see the post click here) to open up the kitchen to the family … [Read more...] about How To Distress Wood Planks The Easy Way

Our kitchen renovation was a comprehensive, long term project that is now, thankfully, over and we couldn’t be happier with the way it looks and functions. We have been living with our new kitchen for a while now and there are definitely some features that are becoming our … [Read more...] about Top 10 Favorites From A Major Kitchen Renovation

We’re in the home stretch of our kitchen renovation or, to be more accurate, kitchen transformation. During this last stage of our update we're installing kitchen cabinets and marble countertops. There are no words to express how much I look forward to having a fully functioning … [Read more...] about Kitchen Renovation – Installing Cabinets and Marble Countertops

As part of our kitchen renovation we are installing engineered wood floors in the kitchen, family room, living room, dining room and entry hall. It’s one of the more expensive line items in our remodeling project but one that will upgrade the space significantly. We are replacing … [Read more...] about Kitchen Renovation – Installing Engineered Wood Floors

We are adding a French door where there once was a large, square, impractical window. You may ask, why tear out a perfectly good window and put in a door? We are doing a kitchen renovation and we want access to the porch from the kitchen area. We frequently eat and entertain on … [Read more...] about Kitchen Renovation – Installing a French Door

We are now in the process of renovating our kitchen and removing a load bearing wall between the kitchen and the family room. Several things we look forward are to: - have more natural light in the kitchen from 4 windows in family room - have an additional counter/bar that seats … [Read more...] about Kitchen Renovation – Removing A Load Bearing Wall

One Day Until Demo Day! There are big changes coming! We have been preparing for a major kitchen renovation for a long time. It's now time to pack up our 1980's kitchen and get out of the way. We plan to be without a functioning kitchen for 8 to 9 weeks! Not looking forward to … [Read more...] about Kitchen Renovation – Countdown To Demolition

Enough with the 1980’s kitchen, it's time for a new one! Having updated kitchens in former homes, I’m a big believer in living with your old kitchen while you design your new one. I like to get a feel for the way the kitchen functions and see how traffic flows through the space … [Read more...] about Designing A Kitchen For Your Lifestyle

  There aren’t too many things I enjoy more than my screened porch. Once the worst of the pollen season has passed the first thing I want to do is clean up the porch and get out there. This spring the floor is looking particularly drab. The floor is original to the house, … [Read more...] about How To Prepare And Paint A Screened Porch Floor