The house I want to buy, native lands, the dress I’m sewing, more dresses I’m eyeing, thinking about money, ordering more wine, my favorite smoothie, what I’m eyeing on eBay, COVID-19 risk assessment, and needing your feedback.
Read MoreWhether renovating rooms or just planning a new furniture layout, I’ve been using this free app for years. It’s so simple to use - and there’s no need to understand CAD or Photoshop! Truly anyone can do it if you have some patience to figure out the quirks. In addition to designing a new layout, the renderings are so pretty and helpful for visualizing your new space!
Read MoreAn 18th-century home restoration, new swimsuits, end-of-life planning, my birthday, new cleaning tools, adopting a swing state, a kitchen makeover with clues to my kitchen, how not to go zero waste, a mask with my mural, and my monthly playlist.
Read MoreIt’s summer. It’s hot. The backyard is where it’s at. So, I gave us a pool! We have a giant 10-person jacuzzi taking up space, so why not put it to use to cool us down when it’s toasty and we aren’t leaving the house to go anywhere? Why do we have a giant jacuzzi? And How did I convert it? I’ll tell ya.
Read MoreWhen we remodeled our primary bedroom a couple of years ago, we added beautiful outdoor seating to extend the space to our backyard. It’s been great! But, I’ll admit that I neglected doing a deep cleaning for two years. Mostly because it’s just so easy to care for outdoor furnishings in our climate. They sometimes get food spilled on them, and they do get rained on, but the San Diego sunshine often dries out the moisture and bleaches out the stains in a matter of days. Or so I thought.
Read MoreHey there. You may have noticed that I’ve taken a month-long break on the blog. My muting started with the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade. It simply felt too trivial to talk about paint colors when we were on the edge of another civil rights movement.
Read MoreThe things on my mind this week including painted ceramics, the show I’m binging, new PJ pants, a Sudoku video, 50 ways to be more sustainable, $100 off wine, fighting racism, supporting local workers, temporary tattoos, and my monthly playlist.
Read MoreWe did something very controversial. According to the heated debates, there are two types of people in this world: The TV in the bedroom people, and the people that wouldn’t dare put a TV in the bedroom. Whelp, Ross and I are now officially TV in the bedroom people. Hear me out.
Read MoreThe things on my mind this week including finalizing a kitchen cabinet color, my antique wedding ring you spotted, lava rocks, postcards, neighborhood cohesion vs. property value, new shorts, wallpaper I can’t stop thinking about, and time flying.
Read MoreWhile staying home during the COVID-19 crisis, we’re yearning for ways to stay connected. So, I made some quarantine postcards that I sent to friends and family! It tells them I’m thinking of them and it serves as a unique souvenir of these bizarre times. Plus, the kitschy nod to an antique travel postcard during a time when we aren’t traveling is cheesy and I like that kind of sentiment.
Read MoreThe things on my mind including a portrait on our front steps, an art print that I can’t stop staring at, becoming a hairdresser, dogs doing dog things, ranking lamps, pants with elastic, a funny construction bit, how infectious disease shaped American bathroom design, four tips to transcend design trends, a sweatshirt of my favorite city, and my monthly playlist.
Read MoreWe just celebrated the five year anniversary of buying our house. FIVE YEARS! It feels like time has flown by yet it also feels like we’ve been here forever. I get nostalgic about it and I like to take trips down memory lane, so I thought I’d share some Before, Progress, and After photos from that last five years. Plus I’ll share what we have planned for the next five!
Read MoreThe plants finally filled in, the veggie beds are in the wrong spot, and I've learned that the yard you design and the yard your kids actually use are two very different things.
Hi. It's been a while. I've missed this. I took a longer break than I planned. Life has gotten full. I've been developing film and knitting at soccer practice, attempting to garden with the girls and fussing around with furniture layouts. I’ve also been scheduling summer camps, refilling the watercolors multiple times a day, and trying to keep the toys tidied. Around the house, I’m adding color wherever it fits and making some changes to the overall function and feel.
My friend Martha had a vision for this garage conversion: to turn her unfinished catch-all garage into a beautiful, hard-working space that could function as a living room, media room, playroom, laundry room, home office, and storage zone. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t entirely convinced all of that could fit. But somehow(?!), it absolutely does and it turned out even better than I imagined.
Margot is getting an upgraded room to make space for baby sister in the nursery.
What I’ve been up to - from gardening, to film photography, and the books and shows we’re enjoying. Plus a house tour that requires a closer look, grass seed to always have on hand, cedar shake excitement, historic window screens, and the privilege I’m reminded of daily.
Hammocks, cookbooks, gardening, sewing, and the other things I’ve been up to on my impromptu break, and more.
Where I’ve been, shooting on film, my dream house, retro costume inspiration, energy rebates, a magic cake, textiles I don’t need but want, a lampshade DIY, my best defense against mosquitos, a new podcast, what’s killing home remodelers, best decision-making advice, overheard parenting, Little Women on acid home tour, best marble etch remover, and more.
Ashley’s restoring her historic home at a snail’s pace in California. She shares home improvement DIYs, tips for sustainable living, and renovation stories - all while aiming to add more color and present real, lived-in, family friendly spaces.
I'm Ashley, a deeply systematic homebody restoring my 1915 Craftsman bungalow in California, slowly and on purpose. I don't make a single decision without first opening 100 tabs. Renovation, DIY, color, and what it actually looks like to live in an old house with two young kids.
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Welcome to a new series: Report Card. I'm going through (nearly) everything in a space and telling you how it's actually held up. The backyard's first up, and spoiler, I did not ace this one.