2017 - A Year In Review
/ AshleyWe're a week into the new year, and I'm still reflecting on 2017. I started the blog early last year (it's still an infant!) so 2017 was a milestone. Want to walk down memory lane and revisit the blog post highlights from the past year? Let's go backward in time, shall we?
1. The Office and A Mural - One Room Challenge, Fall Edition
I nearly didn't participate in the latest ORC and decided to do it only a couple of days before I wrote the week one post - but boy, am I glad I took the risk! I painted a mural and reconfigured the whole room with a dining table for a desk, and a hacked IKEA unit for custom office storage. After all that, I'm honored to have been selected by the Editor in Chief of House Beautiful Magazine as one of the top two winning guest participants out of over 200! Here are each of those posts:
Big news!! You can now have my office tree mural for yourself! The design is now available as an art print, a poster, a pillow, a clock and even as your own wall mural!
I've received many kind requests for my hand-painted mural to be made available for all to enjoy in their homes, so now you can enjoy the design without the 100+ painstaking hours I spent painting it.
Even better news, the entire shop is 25% off through midnight on Saturday, 12/7! Now is a perfect time to buy it for yourself or as a gift for a loved one.
I can't believe I'm saying these words, but I have an episode on Home Love Network's new show! GASP! I've been in love with Candis and Andy Meredith for ages now - you might know them as Old Home Love. For years, they've been fixing up old houses in the best possible way, they wrote a book that I treasure, they had an HGTV show before creating their own network, and they are just all around great humans. When they reached out to film at my house I had a mild panic attack from the sheer excitement of it.
We updated the bathroom before moving in, because it's the only one in the house. So, we technically didn't do this space in 2017, but I recapped it and shared it with you last year, then continued to make updates up until a few months ago. The bathroom was gutted and rebuilt to have a classic look to match the style of our 1915 home. Now, I'm smitten with it.
The window in our bathroom is perhaps the star of the show. Not until I got to bathe right next to the great outdoors did I come to fully appreciate how great a window in the shower is. And boy is it great! We had a custom wood window installed and while some people would disagree with this approach, I wouldn’t change a thing!
I've always taken a slow decorating approach, letting a room evolve as I find individual pieces over time. So, being challenged to transform a room from start to finish in 6 weeks was totally new to me. During my first One Room Challenge experience, I gave our second bedroom a bold wall color, added picture rail molding and new art, and reupholstered a chair. Now it's the perfect room for viewing all of my favorite shows.
I updated the kitchen with new paint, hardware, and concrete countertops before moving in. Then, in early 2017 I installed new flooring (and made my first ever video!) just in time to plan demolishing all of it in 2018. Stay tuned for what's to come during phase 2!
We really like the range we selected during our kitchen remodel, but despite my over-thinking and intense research for a range, I have a regret.
The perfect piece of art didn’t exist, so I made it. Now the kitchen walls are adorned with a beautiful (yet odd) photo with a lil’ cameo by Margot!
I debated over a hundred wallpaper pattern options for the kitchen. And I mean hundreds. I started with a giant stack, then narrowed it down to about 20 that sat on the walls for months.
Built-in cabinets and coordinating islands are lovely, but I wanted a standalone furniture piece in our new kitchen. So, I designed the layout to include a vintage wooden table instead of a peninsula of cabinetry. After lots of vintage hunting and some modifications, we have the perfect work surface, dining table, and all-around great addition to the kitchen.
I’m a sucker for a good café curtain. They’re the perfect mix of charm and practicality - two of my favorite things.
I’ve been working hard on the peeeerfect design for our open storage plate rack in the kitchen. I’ve been picky about how I wanted it, and it isn’t quite done yet, but I love where we’re at with it.
I DIY sealed our marble countertops and you can, too! Sealing protects the stone from staining which really helps me not worry about spilling coffee on my bright white counters. I did a bunch of research on the best products so I’m sharing how and why I chose the one I did, plus detailing the steps to seal that gorgeous marble.
Marble counters are in the kitchen and looking so so good! There’s a process to designing the layout, coordinating with a fabricator, measuring, installing, and sealing. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
Countertops are major workhorses and one of the biggest design elements in a kitchen. So, there’s a lot of thought that goes into the material, style, and design of them. But you know me, I have to research even further. In addition to picking a pretty countertop, I factored in the environmental footprint, worker health, land reclamation of the quarry, and the way it fits into a historic home. Ready to get into it? Let’s!
5. The Living Room
The living room isn't done but it's slowly getting better. We added new chairs and I refinished the bookcases in 2017 - small changes but they make such a big difference.
5. The House
We bought the house in early 2015, but since the blog didn't exist at the time, I revisited it in 2017. I reflected on the house buying process from our experience hunting to my recommendation to tour 100 houses. Then, I laid out each of the rooms of the house in the full before tour. I can't believe how far it's come! Before moving in, we refinished the floors, retextured the walls, and got rid of the stench. Now it's the perfect canvas to keep tweaking for years to come.
Follow Along!
Well, those were the majority of the projects from 2017. I have SO much more coming in the new year, so follow with any (or all) of the following ways:
Subscribe to emails (get an email each time I post, once a week, or once a month)
Read on Bloglovin' (get all the posts, but in the app)
Admire on Instagram (see photos that never make it to the blog and watch my Stories)
Follow on Facebook (pretty much the same as Instagram and blog posts, but no Stories)
Subscribe on YouTube (I hope to do more than one video in 2018!)
Pin with me on Pinterest (see what inspires me before I implement the design in my home)
To see before and afters of each room, click here and to shop the house, click here. Later this week I'll be sharing what I have planned for 2018. See ya then.
I’ve converted my tree mural into a paint-by-numbers coloring page, just for you! It’s totally free, of course. You can color it with markers, paint, colored pencils, or just a plain old pencil. You do you.
Every once in a while we crave a mind-numbing activity. And I’d vote that during a pandemic is one of those times. Some folks are sittin’ around looking for things to do and others are working five jobs instead of one. So, may I interest you in some brain-less coloring to take your mind off the stress for even a minute or two?