decorating
Front Door Smart Lock: 3 Things We Love, 1 We Don’t
Two months ago we switched to a smart lock on our front door. There are three things (at least!) that we love about about this smart lock and one thing we don’t love. Before I dive into the details, I want to mention that we feel so fancy now with a smart lock. We don’t have a Ring doorbell camera. We don’t even have a regular doorbell. If you come to our house, you have to knock on the door like in the good ol’ days. If you do knock, I may or may not “hear you knock,” if you get the excuse I’m throwing out there. Just depends on…
Bedroom Gallery Wall of Nature Paintings
Do you have something in your home you look at daily? Perhaps this thing has been fine for months or maybe years and not merely fine, but enjoyable to look at too. Then one day, out of the blue, you look at it and it’s all wrong. Has that happened to you? As long as that thing isn’t your spouse, I’m pretty sure that’s a normal reaction. But what do I know? I didn’t go to school for either psychology or interior design. The thing that was no longer fine in our home was the painting behind the sitting area in our bedroom. It wasn’t specifically the painting. It was…
Tiny Art and Where To Display It
Let’s talk about tiny art and where to display it so that it packs a big punch. By tiny art, I mean art that is a few inches in size or smaller. I’m not a designer, but I do pay attention when they all say something to the effect that art needs to have the right scale for a space. Same thing for furniture, lighting, etc. Scale, scale, scale. Got it. Then you find the cutest tiny painting at the thrift store. Did someone say something about scale? I tried stepping on one of those once. Didn’t like it. But I do like finding tiny art. Love it, actually. I…
In Praise Of: Pretty Pepper Mills
Let’s spice things up! I went on the hunt for a pretty pepper mill recently because our old one broke. Apparently, there are things we cannot fix around here. We are still recovering from that shock. In the process, I learned if you Google “pepper grinder,” you get a video game, not a spice grinder. Oops. Today, I will try and use the words “pepper mill” instead of “pepper grinder” because I’m fancy like that now. I went to college and everything. Ha! I also learned that spice aficionados are very particular about pepper mills. They know all about and argue over blade material, mill capacity, grinding speed, hand comfort,…
Why We Saved Our Vintage Blue Bathroom Tile
Out with the old. In with the new! Or not? I recently read an article in Domino about why designers are saving vintage bathroom tile during remodels. We saved the vintage blue bathroom tile in our upstairs bathroom for a variety of reasons, so the article resonated with me. It was a tricky choice though. Is this vintage blue bathroom tile a tile I would have chosen? Enthusiastically, no! Not in color. Not in pattern. Not in shape. Has the blue bathroom tile grown on me? Yes. I’m not ready to pledge my undying love, but I don’t recoil in horror every time I walk into that bathroom either. Why…
6 Split Ceiling Medallion Installation Tips
If you’re considering installing a split ceiling medallion, I Â have six split ceiling medallion installation tips for you! (Say that six times fast! Haha!) A ceiling medallion is that decorative circular ring on the ceiling above a light fixture. They used to have a practical use of helping to conceal the ring of soot put off by lighting that involved a flame, but today are mainly decorative. If you’re considering installing a split ceiling medallion (two half circles you put together) over a regular ceiling medallion, you probably have a very good reason for not wanting to take your light down to install a ceiling medallion. I had my reasons…
10 Wedding Gifts We Still Use 25 Years Later
Every time I pull out our popcorn maker I think to myself, “We got this for our wedding.” Well, I’ve now been saying that for 25 years. Twenty. Five. That’s a lot of popcorn! It’s hard to believe we reached that anniversary milestone earlier this year. It doesn’t feel like we’ve been married that long. But it did get me thinking. What other wedding gifts do we still use 25 years later? I’m going to share mine and I thought it would be fun, no matter how long you’ve been married, to see if you have and use some of the same things. Or maybe you have different wedding gifts…
What We Regret About Our Laundry Room Makeover
It has been one year since we completed our laundry room makeover. One year? Already? It feels like forever since we completed that project. I suppose that means time does not fly by when you’re doing laundry every day. Shocking…said no one typing a blog post next to a giant pile of clothes to be folded. Don’t get me wrong. We love with a capital L how this space turned out. It is a combination laundry room and pantry and it flows so nicely with the rest of the house now, particularly the kitchen. It’s how the space always should have been. No matter how much you enjoy a room,…
Wood Bowls: For Food or Decor?
Do you use your wood bowls for food or for decor? Or both? Or are you a wood bowl free household? Tell me everything. Leave no details out. I have a collection of wood bowls that I only use for decor purposes. You might have seen them stacked above our black pantry cabinet. The collection has grown larger, as collections do, since I took this picture. I started to wonder why I don’t use these wood bowls for holding food. And I’m not talking about food as in popcorn or a bunch of apples and bananas. I mean the wet, sticky, gooey stuff like pasta, soup, bread dough, cereal, etc.…
In Praise Of: Colorful Patio Umbrellas
Spring has arrived, the temperatures are warming up, and we are so close to being able to dine alfresco. That’s why I have all things outdoor furniture on my mind, including colorful patio umbrellas. I’ve been solidly in my black and white patio umbrella phase for the last few years. If anything were to tempt me cross over into the land of color, it would be one of these colorful patio umbrellas. Check them out! Bourbana 9′ Market Umbrella | Wayfair A pop of yellow sunshine on your patio would bring a big dose of happy no matter the weather. (image: Wayfair) Having the beach in the background wouldn’t hurt…
