Modern Farmhouse Kitchen Renovation Design and Before Tour

Tour a living room, dining room and kitchen of small ranch style home before a major kitchen and first-floor renovation. 

It's hard to believe our kitchen renovation is underway!  We've saved for this project for many years and dealt with a few major financial setbacks (like needing a new septic system, furnace and air conditioner), but we are FINALLY moving forward with expanding our kitchen and opening up our floorplan.  

I've mentioned in the past that we struggled with the decision to move or renovate our current home and we decided to renovate.  Yes, it would be nice to have a larger home and more property, but ultimately, that's not what was most important to us.  We are perfectly comfortable and content with the size of our home, we just wanted to make it work better for our family.  

How to Get A Chippy Look with Milk Paint

Create the perfect chippy finish on furniture using milk paint!

I promised the next furniture makeover I shared would be aged and chippy and this dresser makeover is definitely full of chippy goodness.  I usually stick to mid century modern furniture that I keep smooth, clean and free of distressing, so this chippy dresser was a bit different from my normal painted furniture makeovers.

The Best Home Decor Items to Buy Secondhand

The best home decor items that you should always consider buying secondhand.

I love decorating and redecorating our home, but I don't love spending a lot of money on new furniture and decor.  Lucky for me, I also love thrifting and hunting for deals, which makes swapping out decor and redecorating both fun and super affordable. 

I've shared my favorite sources for buying used furniture and decor and I thought it would also be helpful to share my favorite home decor items to buy secondhand.   The thrill of the hunt is my favorite part of thrifting and I often visit thrift stores, auctions, estate sales and flea markets in search of specific items in mind.   

A Simple Vintage Modern Basement Office

Creating a beautiful vintage modern office in a basement living room. 

A month ago, I shared that major changes are coming to our little house.  In order for those changes to happen, I had to move my office from the addition to the basement.  I knew I wouldn't be able to keep everything that was in my previous office space,  but I did keep a few of my favorite pieces to create the perfect vintage modern basement office. 

Queenstown Gray and Wood Mid Century Modern Dresser Makeover

A mid century modern dresser gets updated with paint and stain for a beautiful two-tone makeover. 

I know, I said I wanted to start trying new painting techniques (and I promise the next furniture makeover I share will be full of chippy goodness), but I couldn't resist updating another tall MCM dresser.   Mid century modern furniture is my favorite to update, especially when I'm able to refinish the original wood and create a two-tone finish.  I've painted many mid century modern dressers in the past and love the contrast of using both paint and stain.  

Dollar Store DIY: How to Make Decorative Moss Balls

Learn how to make decorative moss balls using supplies found at the Dollar Tree.

Happy April and happy Dollar Store DIY day!  Last month, I shared how to make DIY sharpie art bowls and today I'm sharing a super easy way to make decorative moss covered balls.  

Making DIY moss balls is nothing new and there are many different tutorials floating around, but I wanted to share how you can make them using only supplies from Dollar Tree.  You only need 3 supplies, $6 and less than 10 minutes to make these decorative moss balls.  It doesn't get much easier or cheaper than that!  

You can make a bunch of moss balls and display them in a dough bowl or glass vase for an easy table centerpiece or make just a few for affordable shelf decor. 

***DESIGN TIP*** Display decorative objects in odd numbers, in particular, groups of three.  Odd numbers create visual interest and force your eye to move around a grouping.  

Friday Favorites: Mid Century Modern Lighting From Amazon

The best stylish and affordable mid century modern lighting from Amazon!

With the start of our kitchen renovation less than two weeks away,  I've been spending a lot of time researching and making decisions on hardware, paint colors, counter stools, lighting and everything in between.   Some aspects of the process have been easy (like choosing cabinets and hardware) and other aspects have been a bit more challenging.  

Lighting, in particular, has me a little stumped as I work to pick pendant lights, sconce lights and a dining room light that all coordinate.  I'm totally splurging on the sconce lights for over the kitchen window, which means the rest of the lighting has to be both stylish and affordable.  I really wanted to go a bit more modern in the dining room, so I headed to Amazon where I found plenty of great affordable modern lighting options.