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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

9.05.2024

Charming preppy guest room/office reveal! And sources

This guest room was my most recent room makeover project last summer, finished just before our house was on the old house TV show. But then last February, I was relaxing in a hot tub in Scottsdale and scrolling Instagram, and saw an image that I just loved so much, and felt so much more true to my style than how I had been decorating the past few years! I am leaning into my preppy side. With the creative juices flowing from the relaxation state of that vacation, I became inspired to put up some blue and white wallpaper in this sun-filled guest room that I also use as my office. It’s taken quite a few months to get all the elements in place but it’s finally done and I’m so happy with it!

Classic Feminine Wallpapered Guest Room

This is a really great room because it has south and west-facing windows, so lots of light particularly in the afternoon. I love it for my office for that reason! But it’s also just beautiful as a peaceful bed to look at as I passed by in the hall. And, we’ve used it to sleep in when it’s too hot upstairs! The blue and white Rifle Paper Co. paper wallpaper was obviously the anchor, but since it is a little cleaner/fresher/preppier then I've done the past few years. It took me a lot of head-scratching to find the rest of the pieces.

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9.03.2024

Historic breakfast nook makeover reveal! And sources

I visited this house once when I was a kid. With my mom, talking to the previous owners about some neighborhood association stuff. The only thing I remember is the built-ins in the breakfast nook. When we walked through the house 25 years later, I was delighted to see that of course they are still there and just as I remember them.

But the nook itself needed some updates. I painted it a couple years ago, which was fun, but it was still a little plain. I’ve put a lot of thought into the curtains and other elements and now it’s finally done!

Tudor Revival Breakfast Nook Reveal

Welcome to this sunny room. The sun comes up on this side of the house and sunlight streams into here on clear mornings. 

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8.12.2024

My experience with home warranties

I realized this summer during the big heat wave that we had that my air conditioning was broken. I shared a little about that on Instagram and how it was OK because my home warranty would probably cover it (it did! He replaced three parts and the thermostat, and it cost me the $85 visit fee/deductible). I got some questions and figured I should share a little more about my experiences over the past 10+ years with home warranties.
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7.24.2024

Mudroom/sewing room tour!

A few years ago I renovated this pass-through room that goes from our downstairs hall to the garage as my office. Previously it had been Otto’s nursery when we lived entirely downstairs! It was definitely awkward as a nursery. It was pretty good as an office because it’s downstairs near the kitchen, etc., but the north facing windows sometimes made it feel dreary. So I moved my home office to the guest room when I updated that space, and was left with this funky room that pretty easily became a catch-all for shoes and coats and returns going out the door. So I cleaned it up, and made it functional again with some hooks and shoe shelving, and still had room for my sewing stuff on the former desk.

Mudroom/Office Reveal

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6.20.2024

Brand new concrete driveway and patio: details and cost!

When we bought this house six years ago, we knew there were a lot of things that were big ticket items we couldn’t do ourselves. We’ve done those slowly, over time--roof, gutters, and garage door in early 2020… Major basement renovation in 2022. Then got a divorce and I really slowed down on my home projects. But with summer coming up and with my life feeling pretty stable right now, I felt ready to tackle the very cracked patio and driveway that I knew were really negatively impacting the home overall and property value/future sale price. I knew this would be expensive, but I got three quotes and talked the project over with my dad and an engineer friend, and went ahead with it.
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5.31.2024

Updates to the pink bedroom (with sources)

Last fall I painted my bedroom a light peachy paint color I concocted myself out of some samples and then had color matched. I had been thinking of doing this for a couple years, but ended up actually doing it around the time my divorce was final (not intentionally a girly single woman choice, but it works!). I was bored of the white (see that version here), but it was also comfortable/I was used to it. Adding color can be scary and sometimes it takes a while to get used to it. I was really not too sure about this color at first but I’ve made a few changes around the room, and now I just love it and it feels so right!
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3.04.2024

Main bathroom sage green floral wallpaper transformation

I recently made a big change in my main bathroom and it's past time I share it on here. We redid this bathroom in fall 2019 (hardest reno we ever did btw) and afterwards it was... fine. Clean, fresh, not at all offensive. But my style has changed since 2019 and I've been leaning into the traditional and romantic vibes this house does well with, and this bathroom felt so boring. 

I knew adding some wallpaper above the tile, and painting the vanity to match, would totally transform it. I was overwhelmed by the prospect of the project, and choosing a paper, so I sat with this idea for more than a year. Well, I finally did it, and I LOVE it!

Historic home sage green wallpaper bathroom

Ta-da! I chose the Alexandra Sage Green wallpaper from Sandberg Wallpaper. It's a floral stripe with a 19th century French feel. 


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2.09.2024

We're on TV! The house's moment of fame

I have some very exciting news that I haven't put up here on the blog yet, and it's time. Last summer a film crew came and shot at our house over two and a half days, showing all the projects, pretty vignettes, and family moments in our home. We're now in an episode of Diary of an Old Home, a charming series on Magnolia Network!

Our Diary of an Old Home Episode

The production company that makes the show is based out of Portland and found me through Instagram. They wanted to know if I was about done with renovations on the house (I am) and asked for some more photos and info. They ran it by their team and their client at Magnolia, and I passed the test!

We scheduled filming for a weekend in late June, which gave me time to finish a couple little projects and get things cleaned up. They didn't pay me, but they gave me a small stipend which I used to pay for some landscape cleanup.

The sunny weekend in June approached and we coordinated schedules--it was mostly outside my work hours but I'd have the kids around, and they would be in some of the shots but we also needed lots of time at the house without them there.

The first day, only the directory and videographer came to scope things out. They took some test shots and I gave them the tour, and they confirmed which areas they wanted to show the most.

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1.04.2024

The pretty projects I did in 2023, and my big ideas for 2024

It is very satisfying to look back on what you've done in your home over 12 months. I set goals every year and do a recap of progress too. Usually each goals post includes a depressing photo of the exterior in early January, some interior in-progress shots, and some inspiration photos. The recap posts have exciting before and afters. You get all of the above in this post since I'm combining recap and goals in one this year. Efficient! 

Historic house 2023 project recap

I started the year with almost no energy for projects, and that wasn't a bad thing. After our separation the prior spring and a tumultuous year and holiday season, a year ago I was feeling like I could really be myself, and didn't really have the energy or time for doing a lot around the house. Instead I went on my first warm weather long weekend vacation (Palm Springs in February with a girlfriend); I made major decisions about my life; I made major progress on my resolutions list like learn to make cocktails, get my tattoos removed, and buy golf clubs. But then this fall I got the bug again and have been pretty busy doing little things around the house and sharing about them on Instagram.

In April I wallpapered the dining room. It was a daunting job but I'm so glad I did it!

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