We’ve been without a kitchen for over a month during our renovation. The room is totally gutted so needless to say, we’re without a sink, cooktop, oven, organized pantry, and open counter space. And we’ll be without for many many more moons so we’ve set up a functioning temporary kitchen to prevent starvation.
Read MoreDemolition has officially begun on the kitchen this week - yaayayayyay! I’m sharing all of the play-by-plays on Instagram Stories so please follow along there for the most up-to-date happenings. But before demo commenced this week, we did lots of prep work to get ready for the big day. With a goal of being tidy, efficient, and eating healthy, we took a few steps to maintain our sanity while living without our cooking space for a few months. Here’s what we did.
Read MoreI created an organization and declutter challenge for the month of January in an effort to kick off the new decade with clarity at home. How did you do? How did I do?
Read MoreWe did some rearranging of our closet the other day. It was so easy thanks to the particular system we have - which is on sale! I’m also sharing how we store our clothes, give you insight into our layout, update you on our slow renovation status, and simply let you snoop at our clothes. Let’s jump in, shall we?
Read MoreIt’s the first day of a new decade! January is the month of decluttering when we get the itch to start fresh and get some post-holiday clutter relief. So, I thought we should declutter and organize together! I’ve compiled a list of 20 projects to tackle as we welcome in 2020 to get our homes a bit more organized. I’ll be doing these projects (and sharing daily progress in Instagram Stories!) so join me, why don’t you!?
Read MoreThe title is weird, I know. But hear me out. I have a strange philosophy for making decisions about my home: pretend you're sharing your reasoning with thousands of people. Not in fear of their judgment, but to solidify your own intentions.
Read MoreWhen it comes to homeownership and home improvement there are lots of receipts, and manuals, and warranties, and documents, and maintenance reminders, and just stuff! Luckily, “organization” is my middle name, so you can bet I get a kick out of keeping that stuff in check. Here’s how I do it.
Read MoreI love looking at how people store things - especially in their kitchens. I like learning other people’s reasoning for things, I like snooping, and I always like to improve on my own spaces. So, I filmed one of my own kitchen! However, mine isn’t perfect. This whole kitchen was a stopgap solution until we could renovate the space (coming soon!) so there’s no fancy pull out drawers, no custom spice racks, no perfectly sized shelves, and certainly no perfect layout.
Read MoreI wrote a blog post last year with a list of unique ways to donate a bunch of things when you’re decluttering. Things like dingy towels, toiletries, cleaning products, paint samples, light bulbs, eyeglasses, houseplants, and so so much more. Check it out even if you read it last year because I added a few more tips, and we can always use a refresher.
I mentioned the Buy Nothing Project in that post but I want to give it a big shout out and profess my love for this group. I mean LOVE. I’m in this group’s page literally every day and I’ve decluttered a bunch of hard-to-get rid of items (read my trash - I’ll explain later), plus I’ve saved oodles of money in the group, too. What is it, you ask? Well, I’ll tell ya.
Read MoreWith Netflix’s Marie Kondo special all the rage and her book selling like hot cakes, I wanted to chime in with my experience folding clothes and purging clutter the KonMari way. You may remember that a year ago my pal Natasha Habermann helped me clean out my closet using Marie Kondo’s method. Well, I started folding my clothes in the KonMari way and I’m smitten, so I’m here to show you how, too!
Read MoreI guess I’ve made it known that I’m a type-a neat-freak that likes cleaning, sorting, and organizing because I got a bunch of requests for an organizer gift guide. I’m not surprised because I admitted the other day that one of my hobbies is oiling my wooden utensils. Anyway, I’m a proud neat-freak, so here’s a collection of goodies for your tidying loving friend.
Read MoreOver the years, our house gained a few additions in the technology department. It has always had electricity, but then it got a phone line, and then a cable line, then another phone line, then satellite, then another cable line to route to another room, and so on. By her 100th birthday, our house had wires, conduit, and cables on every side of her. Naturally, I wanted all of this visual clutter gone. Here’s what I did!
Read MoreHi. 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.
If you like florals and color, this bathroom is for you. If you don’t, well, maybe scroll through and you’ll be converted? Or not? Either way, here’s the reveal of a bathroom addition that’s finally here - after a whole three years of construction.
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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The 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.