Unique handmade look tile backsplash - fast DIY but pros and cons!

6.21.2019

Unique handmade look tile backsplash - fast DIY but pros and cons!

As I shared the other day, our countertops are in and our kitchen is mostly functional again! After countertops comes tile backsplash, which we installed ourselves.

Choosing the tile... I didn't commit early enough on our tile so made a last-minute decision and have had a roller coaster of feelings about it! But it's up--we installed our entire backsplash in about 7 hours total, less than half the time we took tiling at our last kitchen!! This type of tile went FAST, but had both pros and cons!

DIY tiling

Ah, tiling! The classic DIY-able project that anyone can do, but so many are intimidated by! I helped my mom with tiling a few times in my life before tackling our straight herringbone pattern subway tile backsplash at our last house--intimidating project that took 3x as long as I hoped it would--and then felt empowered!! I tiled three bathroom floors at that house (see them all linked here), then one at my friends' house, and now: our kitchen backsplash!

A couple things made this tiling project easier, as I will share in the post, but I had some serious mixed feelings about this tile!

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Prefab marble look countertops - budget-friendly and DIY-friendly options

6.20.2019

Prefab marble look countertops - budget-friendly and DIY-friendly options

Getting our countertops in was a HUGE milestone for our DIY kitchen reno. We are using the kitchen again basically as usual! Countertops are a major part of the expense of a new kitchen, so I shopped around and found a great option for ours from a local place, but I'll share how you can find something similar near you.

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5 weekend projects you can do right now--and a handy tool giveaway!

6.18.2019

5 weekend projects you can do right now--and a handy tool giveaway!

Sometimes, you just don’t have time for month-long renovation projects but you still want to improve your house. Well, you're in luck!

On the Your Home Story podcast this week, we are walking you through five projects that can be completed from start-to-finish in just two days, perfect for a weekend!

(Also, make sure to check out our post this week on Instagram to enter the giveaway that we have going on! It’ll give you the tools that you need to make one of these weekend projects a reality!)

Specifically, we covered:

1. Our giveaway partner, Arrow Fastener products
2. A colorblocked hallway that really inspires
3. If you are keen to try your hand at hand stenciling, then this hand stenciled hallway could serve as your inspiration
4. Removing the scalloped woodwork above the sink to modernize it
5. How to Convert a Can Light to a Pendant Light
6. My easy tutorial on how to recover dining chairs
7. Video tutorial on reupholstering
8. How to Tighten Wobbly Chairs
9. Vintage Rug Upholstered Bench
10. How to Install a Door Knob
11. Refresh doors and trim
12. Updating switch plates for a small but mighty impact
13. How to Install a Doorbell Button
14. Love this painted front porch inspiration!

Image source--one of the updates we talked about, hand stenciling a small area like a hallway!

You can find us on our blogs or connect with each of us on Instagram:
@suzannahstanley
@biggerthanthethreeofus
@yourhomestorypodcast

And you can join our Facebook group here to connect with other listeners and ask questions!

Listen here or in your podcast player!

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Interior photography and editing tips for beginners

6.13.2019

Interior photography and editing tips for beginners

Whether or not you're a blogger, don't we all want to have visual reminders of our homes looking their best?? Clean, things put away, styled for the season...? Oh, how I wish I had photos of my grad school apartments and better pics of the first places Jason and I lived together. Even once I started taking photos of our homes and blogging about them, it took me way too long to get good at it and capture images I was proud of. (One of my biggest regrets about our first fixer upper, the Stanley 90's Reno, is I never took the time and money to buy a lens that would capture whole rooms and even when it looked PERFECT for the listing photos or our Apartment Therapy shoot, I didn't feel confident walking around with a tripod shooting the images I wanted.)

So over the past year or so, I've done my homework and spent a little money and time to up the quality of my images. While I'm totally still learning, I am already so proud of some of my work and the skills I've gained.

It is really NOT that hard and anyone can do it! So I'd love to de-mystify it and share my top tips here!

Interior photography and editing tips for beginners

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Design, Make, & Live: Garages

6.11.2019

Design, Make, & Live: Garages

Ohhh, the garage... has potential to be such a functional, important space, but it's so easy for it to get messy and not very usable at all!! We've had quite a few experiences of garage as car storage, gym, work area, overflow storage...

Someday I would love to paint the interior of our garage, seal or paint the floor, build some shelves for tool storage, and of course get rid of the stuff we don't need! In the meantime I can dream, plan, and learn about the options...

On the Your Home Story Podcast we often do a “deep dive” into design and function of a specific room or space--this week it’s garages, so we’re focusing on how to make your garage work for your home and family. (This room/space is heavier on the function than form, but still can be nicer and more inspiring than a cluttered eyesore!)

Ideas and resources we talked about:

1. DIY above-garage-door shelving
2. Painting garage tutorial
3. Before/After garage door makeover
4. Ashley’s garage Pinterest board with lots more garage organization and DIY ideas

Image source (found on Ashley's garage pinboard, of course!)

Remember you can find us on our blogs or connect with each of us on Instagram:
@suzannahstanley
@biggerthanthethreeofus
@yourhomestorypodcast

And you can join our Facebook group here to connect with other listeners and ask questions!

Listen here or in your podcast player!

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How hard is it to install kitchen cabinets?? The exciting part of our DIY kitchen reno

6.10.2019

How hard is it to install kitchen cabinets?? The exciting part of our DIY kitchen reno

It's amazing how much can change in a week!! Last week I shared about our kitchen demo and we've been working HARD all week and have checked so many things off the list. Including installing the cabinets we assembled a couple weeks ago. We'd never done it before, and it was definitely a new skill to learn but pretty straightforward!

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