Summer Staycation? How to Create the Perfect Outside Oasis!

June 19, 2020

Chances are the summer of 2020 will be nothing like previous summers. A global pandemic has many of our favorite theme parks, concert tours and any large gathering activities closed cancelled and shelved. But before you go and get all bummed out, this could be the year of the epic staycation!

If you can’t or are unwilling to brave the usual summer fun times this year, why not invest in a sweet outdoor space instead?

Take a look around the yard and see where you might put down some paver stones or have a small cement pad installed. Maybe you already have a small patio space that’s been neglected or under used over the years?

If there was a year to put a little elbow grease into that outside space, this is that year!

11 Amazing Hacks to Create Space You Didn’t Know You Had!

June 12, 2020

Ah, the small house… It’s often described as charming, cozy and quaint. But what you don’t hear it described as roomy, accommodating or versatile. That’s because unlike larger homes with space to spread out and grow, smaller homes are finite, and you have to work with what you’ve got.

There’s no “bonus” room that lacks definition, or a great room in addition to the family room and living room. Nope, the small house is purposeful. Bedroom(s), kitchen, living, and bath are all exactly what they are intended to be with little wiggle room for any other purpose.

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Hate Your 12 x 18 Living Room? Here’s 10 Flex Layouts to Make you Love it Again!

June 5, 2020

Small living rooms can be a P.I.T.A. Especially long narrow ones. It often feels like you’re playing Tetris; trying to maneuver a beefy couch next to a an even beefier chair. You lug and push until you’re too exhausted to care and you just leave your furniture any old way to avoid more stress. After a couple of weeks of “living with it,” you look at it and you know there’s a better way to arrange it so, on you go again, lugging and pushing, micro-positioning and tweaking angles ever-so-slightly…

The 5 questions designers ask before buying furniture and why you should too.

May 29, 2020

Maybe you’re fed up with the lumpy sofa and you can go through one more Netflix binge on something that feels like you’re sitting on a bag of sand and rocks.

But, if your room has a tricky layout or architectural obstacles, you may be hesitating to pull the trigger on new furniture.

Whatever the case, furniture shopping has changed for the moment and making the right decisions from home, when you can’t see or touch furniture, is more important than ever for determining a good experience from a bad one.

Master These 5 Essential Ways to Mix Scandinavian & Bohemian Like a Pro

May 22, 2020

What happens when you mix the relatively minimalist Scandinavian design aesthetic with the maximalist Bohemian look? Well you get Boho-navian or Sandi-hemian. Whatever you call it, it’s a pretty distinct pairing that’s as unique as you are.

You get to have all the color and whimsey of Boho with the restrain and curation of Scandinavian. And that can fit delightfully well in small homes.

5 Quick Tips for Mastering the Art of Mixing Modern Classic & Rustic Like a Pro

May 15, 2020

When a modern house is paired with rustic touches, there’s this phenomenon that takes the edge off the starkness of the modern style. Rustic’s texture and warmth contrasts modern’s simplicity and coolness by mixing in history with aged materials and worn in vintage charm.

5 Key Tactics the Pros Use for Mixing Mid Century Modern & Farmhouse Design

May 8, 2020

Throughout the years one of the most common stumbling blocks I’ve come across with clients is not knowing how to define their style. Many times I’ll hear, “I’ll know it when I see it” or, “I like different things form different decorating styles and it’s too hard for me to narrow it down.” I totally get that. You’re not a one-dimensional being and you don’t live in one-dimensional home.

Good design, just like a good partnership, requires give and take. You can take elements from one design style and mix it with another to give that combination a distinct look that everyone can enjoy. The same goes for one person with an affinity towards different design styles. A little from one style sprinkled into another makes for a dynamic and interesting combination.

9 Ways to Flawlessly Decorate Your New House with Old Furniture

May 2, 2020

Congratulations! You just moved to your new house! You’re thrilled to finally be in after months of jumping through hoops and standing on your head for banks and lawyers. Now, the house is finally yours, just in time for the stay at home orders… You’re spending loads of time on your furniture, looking at it day in and day out. As you look around, you’re beginning to feel bummed because it doesn’t quite look like the Pinterest board of your dreams. Maybe you’ve just been cooped up too long lately and you are just plain sick of your old furniture.

Don’t Just Sit There! Create a Vignette with Stuff Around the House

April 17, 2020

Here’s my 7 step process to easily and creatively get a new vignette styled with stuff from around your house. Now, this process can be applied to small spaces or big spaces, in any room of the house. There are no rules for where it should be.

How to Plan a Gorgeous Room Makeover Online, Step by Step

April 10, 2020

This week I’ll show you my step by step method for tackling a room refresh in your home. You can use these steps to update your current décor by adding in a few new pieces or you can start from scratch and get a whole new room planned while you’re social distancing.

If you’d like to go a bit further than just planning, then this post is the perfect chance for you to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

How to Get a Small Entryway Styled for Under $100

January 31, 2020

My journey from cluttered catch all space to a welcoming and styled front entry. I’ll show you step by step how I completed the project for a mere $100.

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Stressed Out Over a Queen Bed in a 10’ x 10’ Bedroom? Here’s 8 Hacks to Help

January 24, 2020

It doesn’t matter if you’re making over a small bedroom or downsizing from a large bedroom to a smaller one, there is always going to be some give and take in order to make that space work the best for you. So, it’s no surprise to me that the most asked question I get is how do I make my 10’ by 10’ bedroom work? The second most asked question is how do I make my 9’ x 12’ bedroom work?, followed by 10’ x 12’ room…

Budget Decorating Refresh; How to Fix Up Your Living Room in 7 Simple Steps

November 8, 2019

It’s your turn to host Turkey day and your living room is blah. You’ve been meaning to give it a mini makeover for a while but the weekends have flown by like a like Phil Collins skipping across the pond for Live Aid in ’85. Time is not going to go slower and before you know it, Thanksgiving Day will be upon us and everybody will be at the door ready to get their turkey and pie on! Now is not the time to panic. There’s still plenty of time to get your living room Pinterest ready so that everybody gushes over it they won’t even notice if the bird’s a little dry. Here’s How to Fix Up Your Living Room in 7 Simple Steps.

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Don’t make this expensive common mistake in your small space.

September 20, 2019

I could hear it in her voice, total disappointment... My good friend, Anna had planned out and budgeted for her small living room makeover for months. She created Pinterest boards and visited showrooms for 3 Saturdays in a row. She moved all her old furniture into the adjacent dining room and painted the living room walls and trim. There was no going back now, the new paint colors didn’t go with the old furniture and so to keep things moving, Anna purchased her furniture and was thrilled that she was going to realize her makeover plans in a few short weeks.

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11 Fool Proof Ways to Make Your Space Feel Bigger Than it is

September 13, 2019

Small space living can be tricky. If it’s a new space, it can be tough to figure out what to bring and what to leave behind. The last thing you want for your small space is to pack everything into it like Tetris and just live with it. A few times scooting past a sofa arm blocking a doorway or having to walk around a wide table in a narrow space will get old fast. With small space living, you must consider how you’ll use the space every day.

5 Essential Ways to Make Your Home Puppy Friendly

September 6, 2019

Getting a new puppy is exciting! If you’re like me, you’ve planned and searched for your new fur kid for a while. As soon as I saw her face I knew she was my baby. Those wrinkles, her coloring, the floppy ears, she was exactly perfect and I knew it. I’m pretty sure she knew it too! When I got to meet her in person, she walked right up to me, hugged my leg and wanted to be picked up right away. A few short days after that first meeting, she and I were in the car going home to our new adventures together.

5 Proven Techniques To Arrange Furniture In a Small Living Room

August 30, 2019

Small living rooms can be tricky. You have a limited amount of space and you also want to have a room that looks great and functions the best way possible. I’ve lived in many small spaces and each one had its challenges and limitations. I’ve had lining rooms with multiple doorways, rooms that need to have dual functions: living and dining for example. No matter what, I’ve always used these 5 proven techniques to arrange furniture in a small living room and they work great every time. And, these techniques also work just the same for bedrooms, offices, dens and any other small space. Let me show you what I mean.

5 Simple Ways to Create A Sacred Space After A Life Change

August 23, 2019

Our lives are busy, and we’re not meant to grind our days away without a chance to recharge. And, it’s not realistic to think that you’ll remember to slow down and recharge in between work, meetings, care giving and everything else you do to keep the world spinning and the lights on. The fact that you’ve found a few moments to ponder this really means that you are at least interested in a slowing down for some self-care and it’s important to pay attention to that. Having a personal, sacred space, doesn’t have to be elaborate, it just needs to support you for a few moments so you can re-energize yourself.

How To Make A Photo Grid Collage

August 16, 2019

It’s been a while since I’ve created a DIY. I can tell you that I’ve missed the creative process immensely. I’ve been thinking about this one for a while and trying to figure out the best way to make it happen. It’s easy to put together a photo collage of different pictures but I thought how cool it would be if I could take one picture and blow it up to a large picture photo grid format. I liked the idea of square frames, so I took the concept of a Instagram post and made my grid 9” x 9“ x 9 frames. I had already found the frames at my local dollar store. The great thing about this concept is that you can do it with any size picture frame: large or small. It will work with any shape picture frame as well. The thing I found out was that it was quite easy to bring this idea together using One piece of free software that is net based.

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5 Quick Fixes To Improve The Feng Shui Energy In Your Home

August 9, 2019

If you’re feeling tired or stressed or unmotivated, indulge in this read because making a few very easy changes can help you achieve positive energy flow and a better understanding of how the arrangement of your stuff could be negatively influencing you. It’s about to get woo up in here but I promise you, if you keep an open mind, you’ll benefit greatly from these 5 quick fixes you can easily make to improve the Feng Shui energy in your home.

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