Updated Entry with Hand Painted Wall

We had a small front entry that was boring and bland, but a few hours and a little paint fixed that! I used paint I already had on hand and shopped my house for accessories, making this update practically free!

Guest Bathroom Update with Rust-Oleum

Do you have guests coming for the holidays or is your builder grade bathroom in need of an update? My bathroom was not horrible, but it needed a refresh. Since my son  (who mainly used this bathroom) was away at college, I had some time to tear it apart for a few days. See how I updated our guest bathroom over a couple of weekends with some paint and new accessories...for less than $200!

I painted the vanity shortly after we moved in with a chocolate brown paint and it just made the bathroom feel a little dark. After I painted my kitchen cabinets with Rust-Oleum's Cabinet Transformation kit and had some left over, I decided to use it to update the vanity and medicine cabinet. Here is what the bathroom looked like when I started.

Craft Room Makeover - (One Room Challenge) Week 6

If you are new here, I am a guest participant in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda at Calling It Home and this week all of the participants are showing off their finished spaces. I have made it to the finish line of my Craft room/work space makeover.

I want to say a special thanks to Linda and the official ORC media partner, Better Homes and Garden! I have made new friends through this challenge and gained tons of inspiration for future projects, so make sure you head over to the ORC blog and check out the amazing Featured Designers as well as some of the Guest Participants.

Geometric Accent Wall - (One Room Challenge) Week 2

I am back with my progress on the One Room Challenge. To refresh your memory, this is a twice a year blogger event hosted by Linda at Calling It Home, that consists of 20 featured designers and hundreds of guest design bloggers showcasing a room makeover that they have to complete in just 6 weeks.

In my last post, I shared my current craft space and overall plan for the makeover.
You can catch up on that HERE. 

Craft Room Makeover - (One Room Challenge) Week 1

Here I go again! I am joining the One Room Challenge as a Guest Participant. If you remember, I made over my kitchen this past Spring (and didn't quite finish.), but I did pull off a Mudroom from scratch in the Fall 2017 ORC. This time, I am taking on a much smaller project, so hopefully this will go much better.

If you have not heard of this challenge, it is a twice a year blogger event hosted by Linda at Calling It Home that consists of a 6-week challenge where 20 featured designers and hundreds of design bloggers get to showcase a room makeover that they’ve completed in just 6 weeks. A few of my fave blogger buddies are participating as a Featured Designer this round, so make sure you follow along!

MCM Inspired Cinder Block Wall

Do you have a plain wall that needs a little color? We did! Our deck is built on a cinderblock wall that faces the pool area. We painted the blocks white a few years ago to make the area look a little more finished, but it needed something else. 

After seeing several bloggers I follow on Instagram painting murals all over their houses, I decided to give it a go. The worst that could happen, is I would not like it and I could just paint over it.

Tips on Installing Peel and Stick Glass Tile

Aspect Tile provided the back splash tile kit for this project, but all opinions are my own.

We recently updated our kitchen for the One Room Challenge. One of the things we did was replace the outdated tile back splash with Aspect Peel & Stick glass tiles. These tiles are available in metal, stone, glass, and wood and will fit in with any style of room.

This was my first experience with tiling, so I did not want to deal with grout. This product was easy to install; I did it in a few hours over a weekend.

MCM Kitchen Reveal (One Room Challenge)-Week 6

So here we are in the final week of the One Room Challenge...the long awaited REVEAL! If you are new here, I am a guest participant in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda at Calling It Home and this week all of the participants are showing off their finished spaces. I want to say a special thanks to Linda, official ORC media partner Better Homes and Garden, and my sponsors for making this possible! I have made new friends through this challenge and gained tons of inspiration for future projects, so make sure you head over to the ORC blog and check out the amazing Featured Designers as well as some of the Guest Participants.

Catch up on my weekly ORC posts here:

Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 

Installing Butcher Block Counters (One Room Challenge) - Week 5

Here we are at week 5 of the ORC, just one week away from the reveal! If you are just joining me, I am a guest participant in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda at Calling It Home, where 20 Designers and over 200 guest bloggers make over a room in 6 weeks! Our kitchen is coming right along and hopefully (fingers crossed) will be finished next week.

One of the things we did in the kitchen was replace the tile counter tops with wood butcher block. This project definitely had its challenges, so I am sharing what I learned with you in case you are considering installing butcher block yourself.

How to Paint Wood Cabinets (One Room Challenge) - Week 4

Rust-Oleum provided the kit for this project, but all opinions are my own.

If you are just joining me, I am a guest participant in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda at Calling It Home. We are in week 4 and I am finally panting our cabinets. I am using Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformation kit which comes with all the supplies needed to update your cabinets. I am always for products that make my DIY life easy and this kit comes with almost everything you need.

It is easy as 1-2-3...Clean, Paint, Seal!

MCM Kitchen Makeover (One Room Challenge)-Week 3

Here we are at the halfway mark of the One Room Challenge. To refresh your memory, this is a twice a year blogger event hosted by Linda at Calling It Home, that consists of  20 featured designers and hundreds of design bloggers showcasing a room makeover that they have to complete in just 6 weeks.

MCM Kitchen Makeover (One Room Challenge)-Week 2

I am back with my progress on the One Room Challenge. To refresh your memory, this is a twice a year blogger event hosted by Linda at Calling It Home, that consists of  20 featured designers and hundreds of design bloggers showcasing a room makeover that they have to complete in just 6 weeks.

Special thanks to my sponsors: 

Rust-Oleum, Aspect Tile, and D. Lawless Hardware for providing product used to achieve this fabulous transformation!

Modern Kitchen Makeover (One Room Challenge)-Week 1

I am joining in the One Room Challenge again this Spring as a Guest Participant. If you have not heard of this, it is a twice a year blogger event hosted by Linda at Calling It Home that consists of a 6-week challenge where 20 featured designers and hundreds of design bloggers get to showcase a room makeover that they’ve completed in just 6 weeks. I transformed our Mudroom in the Fall 2017 challenge, which you can read all about HERE. This time, I am taking on my kitchen, which I am a little nervous about since it is used daily.

Each Wednesday, you can follow along with 20 featured designers as they complete a room transformation.  On Thursdays, there over 200 participants that link up with their own makeovers. Make sure you check them out, so you can be inspired by all the dramatic transformations.

How to Create a Wooden Walkway in Your Yard

This is the year for outdoor projects! My husband has been wanting to tackle a few problem areas in the yard for several years now, and we are finally doing it. Our goal was to move the pool pump and sand filter away from the deck, hide it, and create a walkway from the deck to the basement entry.

How I Painted My Door and Stairs In One Day

It has been a couple of months since I posted a house DIY, mostly because we needed a break after finishing the basement. Our new focus is on the outside of our house. We have done several projects over the years, such as updating and staining our deck, painting the concrete around the pool, and painting the exterior siding, but there is still much we want to do. We recently added a firepit area, moved the pool pump, and are currently working on a boardwalk/walkway in the backyard. We also spent Memorial Day updating our side entrance.

How to Remodel a Basement on a Budget

This post has been a long time coming...about 2 1/2 years to be exact! This basement renovation was one of the main reasons I started this blog. I wanted to chronicle all the work we did on our basement with befores and afters, DIY tips, and lessons we learned along the way in hopes to help some other weekend warriors like us. Before I start, I have to give a shout out to my husband who worked tirelessly along my side and did not give up, even when we both wanted to. I have to say, if your marriage can survive a home remodel, it can survive about anything!

Creating a Cozy Living Area in a Basement

We recently completed a major remodel in our basement, which included updating the living room area. Prior to the renovation, we spent zero time down there because it was dark, cold, and uninviting. My main goal when creating this space was to make a cozy area where we could hang out as a family or entertain friends.

Transform Your Stairs Using Paint

Do you have stairs that are covered in dirty, ugly carpet? Well, we did...and as part of our basement renovation, we were going to change that! We ripped up the old, nasty carpet then painted the steps and risers. We ended up having to also use carpet tiles on them because our dog slipped when going down the stairs and got freaked out.

Surprisingly, the process of ripping up the carpet was not as hard as I thought it would be. You just need a few tools and a lot of elbow grease.

Basement Mudroom Reveal (One Room Challenge) - Week 7

Yay! We made it to the reveal! I cannot tell you how good it makes me feel to have this space done, since it was the last area in our basement to finish. And, I have to say, it turned out pretty fantastic! If you are just joining me, I am a guest participant in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda at Calling It Home and this week all of the participants are showing off their finished spaces.

This was my first One Room Challenge and I decided to start small and tackle our empty basement entry and turn it into a mudroom area. Here is where we started; we basically had to build from scratch.

DIY Boot Tray (One Room Challenge) - Week 6

We are in week 6 of a 7 week Mudroom renovation. If you are just joining me, I am a guest participant in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda at Calling It Home. Since next week is the reveal and we are pretty much done with the mudroom, except for accessorizing, I have a DIY project for you this week. We used a large plastic tray and scrap wood to make a drying tray for our shoes and boots.

Catch up on the other posts here: