Tag Archives: makeover

Ugly Red Bathroom Update {One Room Challenge}

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Julie

We bought our house 15 years ago when everyone was in love with dark reds, deep golds, browns and jewel tones. And, yes, I was on that dark color train, too. I’m sorry to say that I still have a room in my home that is stuck in that era. It’s a little embarrassing.

I have wanted to change it for ages but so many other things have stolen my attention so it just kept getting pushed to the way side.

Well, friends, I recently found that the bi-annual One Room Challenge hosted by Calling it Home starts today.

It is just the kick in the pants I need to get this bathroom updated and looking fresh and farmhouse-y — more like the rest of my house! I will have just six weeks to get my room done from start to finish. (more…)

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POSTED IN: Bathroom, decor, makeover, one room challenge, paint, tile

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Farmhouse Table Makeover & Happy Accidents

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Julie

A few months ago I made over my farmhouse table.

It’s a table we have had for about 15 years and the very dark factory finish was in poor shape. I stripped the entire table and used a belt sander to help me remove some of the stubborn remaining finish. I knew I needed to use an orbital sander (which I don’t have) to get the wood looking new but decided that I would leave it as is because I kind of liked the rustic, imperfect look the belt sander created.

Here is what it looked like after Makeover #1:

And here’s what it looks like today:

(more…)

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POSTED IN: farm table, farmhouse, farmhouse table, makeover, paint, refurbish, stain, table

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Lamp Makeover {Thrift Benefit for Sheltered Animals}

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Julie

Have you ever been on the hunt for a specific thing for months and months yet you can’t find just the right thing?

Me too.

I’ve been searching for a lamp for my living room for almost two years. Yes, years.

With our 20-foot ceilings, so many lamps just look tiny in this room. So I needed something tall, sturdy (the cats were tipping over my old one until it was bent and cockeyed.) and, of course, stylish.

Of course, I could easily find ones I loved with ginormous price tags.

Pass.

I could find great lamps at places like Target and Home Goods but there always seemed to be the issue of size and/or sturdiness.

Grrr.

Finally, I bit the bullet and bought a lamp from my beloved Pottery Barn during an online sale using a special discount coupon and free shipping offer.

I was so excited!

Unfortunately, when the lamp arrived I discovered that the electrical cord was in a visible location and, therefore, very conspicuous from several angles.

Lamp returned.

Then, my sweet blogging friend, Jeannette from Country Design Style, asked me if I’d like to participate in her annual Thrift Benefit for Sheltered Animals blog tour.

For the past three years, she has coordinated an effort to help spread the word about thrift stores that directly benefit animal shelters. Her hope is that when bloggers share thrifted projects, it might inspire others to shop at stores that help animals in need. (more…)

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POSTED IN: Burlap, burlap shade, lamp, makeover, paint, spray paint, table lamp

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Pinning and Future Projects

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Julie

It seems like every January I find myself surfing the Internet and pinning things I love more than usual.

You see, in January I am 1) at the start of a new budget year and 2) with the hulabaloo of the holidays behind me, I can get focused on my bigger projects around the house. This leads to lots of inspiration searching and pinning on Pinterest.

via Pinterest

I have two big projects that I want to accomplish this spring. (more…)

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POSTED IN: Bathroom, decorating, makeover, spare room

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Kitchen Remodel Reveal

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Julie

The day has finally arrived – at long last! I am revealing my kitchen remodel.

Just so you remember where we started, here are a few pictures of our kitchen before:

The oak cabinetry had taken on a bit of an orange tint over the years and was in need of a face lift. But the real motivator for our total update was the appliance configuration (the microwave was way too high), lack of lighting over the island and overall dark feel in the space. We were wanting something a little lighter and more classic so that it would carry us for the next 10-15 years.

After months of researching, planning, talking to contractors, and then finally living through the dust and disarray we finally have our updated kitchen.

Here is the after:

Here’s what we did:

re-configured the existing cabinetry so we could change up the appliances to function better for our family (we now have a 36″ stove, a microwave that is easily reachable by all and we added a warming drawer underneath the microwave)
painted the cabinets
added a pot filler faucet over the stove (after discovering there was already a water line there!)
changed the back splash tile
installed new marble counter tops
installed a new farm sink
added pendant lighting over the island
moved our island to the center of the kitchen (it was off-center by almost 15 inches for years!)
extended the island counter to accommodate seating
painted the kitchen walls

By far my favorite aspect of the new kitchen is the new, upgraded appliances and how everything was reconfigured to create a better functioning space. This layout not only looks pretty, but it functions amazingly well and I didn’t lose any storage space. In fact, my storage is better organized than ever before so I absolutely ADORE it! (More on that in another post coming soon.)

Above you can see my dream sink. It is HUGE!

The counters are marble…called, Calcutta Green. It doesn’t have a lot of veining and I immediately liked the simplicity of it when we found it at the stone yard.

The kitchen is the complete opposite of what it was before, and I have to confess it has taken a little getting used to. We have lived in this house for 13 years so the change was a little startling at first!

I’m trying to add back in some color and some warmer tones to bring the warmth back in. I think I’ll be tweaking and moving things around for awhile as I get used to these lighter and brighter surroundings.

Oh..I almost forgot to mention another thing we added which has me so excited…the cabinet hardware.

I know…I need to get a life if I’m getting excited over cabinet hardware, but here’s the deal…we didn’t have it before. My husband doesn’t like cabinet hardware. He thinks it clutters up the cabinets. As you can see, there’s no “lip” on the edge of our cabinetry so it drove me CRAZY to open these doors and drawers all the time without hardware. Well, it took 13 years, but he gave in and I am SO HAPPY! Even my kids got excited about this small update!

I have a few more finishing touches to add (I’m waiting on pulls that I ordered for the island) and I have a new kitchen rug in mind that I will purchase sometime in the future. Right now, I’m so happy to have the workers gone, the dust cleaned up and things back in place. It feels so good to be back to normal.

Later this week, I will post about the paint colors and sources for lighting, cabinet hardware, appliances, etc.

Thank you to all of you who have cheered me on here on the blog and on Facebook and Instagram as well. I’m letting out a huge sigh of relief that it’s DONE!