When Am I Selling My Home & Moving? Answering All Your Questions

Ever since I shared in a post that I had purchased a home near family in Ohio, I've received quite a few questions via comments and emails. Today, I thought I'd try to answer some of those questions, although I'm not sure I have all the answers myself. Before we jump into the questions, let me give you a little background about how I came to find the home I've come to affectionately call the "Dollhouse" due … [Read more...]




Luxury Bathing: A 1938 Cinderella Bathtub, Plus Knob Upgrades For 2 Laundry Chutes

Welcome to the 814th Metamorphosis Monday! I'm back in Georgia and work will start back up again in the kitchen next Monday. I'm glad to have a week to get caught up before work begins again. Hopefully, they will be done this next week with the painting and the rebuilding of the desk. A week or so ago I shared how I had the unique and unusually-shaped tub in the Dollhouse master bath reglazed. I could … [Read more...]




Another Dollhouse Upgrade—Wish I Had Done This Sooner!

Over the years, I have really enjoyed having a Ring doorbell at my home in Georgia. It has captured some fun moments, in addition to being handy for knowing when a package has been delivered. Also, if working and the bell rings unexpectedly, I love being able to talk to the person at the door to see who it is and what they need. I've found that it saves a lot of unnecessary … [Read more...]




So Many Lighting Updates, Plus A New Console Table For the Upstairs Hall

Welcome to the 813th Metamorphosis Monday! When I first moved into the Dollhouse, it was a dim, dark place! I didn't have any lamps, yet, and a lot of the lighting either wasn't working properly or contained dim, low-wattage bulbs. For example, the master bedroom has an overhead ceiling fan with a light attachment, but one of the bulbs was physically shattered and the other bulb was a 40-watt bulb. I was so … [Read more...]




Reglazing, Refinishing The Bathtub—How Does It Look? Plus, Hummingbird Visits!

Over the years I've had the pleasure of going on a lot of historic/old home tours, almost always at Christmastime. I've also attended gatherings and holiday parties that were held in very old homes. One thing I've noticed about really old homes is that "things" are not always perfect. During a holiday party, if you happen to visit the bathroom, you may notice a little darkening of the grout over in a corner … [Read more...]




Office Updates: New Console, New Desk Chair, More Baskets, & A Refrigerator Update

Welcome to the 812th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a fantastic weekend! I've made some exciting and useful updates in my office recently that I'm excited to share, but first, I want to give you an update on the refrigerator that was delivered the middle of last week. I'm cautiously optimistic because this one is doing a lot better than the dented one that was previously delivered. The current arrived … [Read more...]




From Hidden, Weedy, Window Boxes To Window Boxes Filled With Flowers

Welcome to the 811th Metamorphosis Monday! Back when the Dollhouse was listed for sale in 2022, this is how the landscaping looked in the front yard. Notice the small tree on the right that's planted right up against the house. Two years ago when this photo was taken, you could barely see the window box behind it on the lower window, and you couldn't see the one under the top window at … [Read more...]




A New Addition To The Kitchen & This One’s A Definite Winner

Welcome to the 827th Tablescape Thursday! Still no dining table here in the Dollhouse, however my sales guy at Rooms to Go has been trying to find a way to get the one I wanted delivered here without it costing a blooming fortune. Since they don't deliver to Ohio (yet) is this the universe telling me to not buy this table? I know it's not the absolute highest quality, although it felt quite sturdy when I … [Read more...]




What Is The Name of That Blue Paint In The Bedroom, Bathroom & Your Office?

Ever since I shared a tour of the upstairs part of the Dollhouse in THIS previous post, I've had several comments and emails asking if I know the brand/name of the blue paint that was used for the Master Bedroom, Master Bath, and the FROG (Finished Room Over the Garage) that I'm using as my office. Recently, I came across several paint cans in the Dollhouse basement, and as I cleaned those off before moving … [Read more...]




Great Storage Solution For The Home Office Closet Or, Really, Any Closet

Remember this room? ;) Right now, this room almost seems like it's from another lifetime. I love this office, it's very different from the one I'm gradually putting together in the Dollhouse.   This is probably a good time to explain a little better how I'm kind of envisioning this room looking if/when I finally move to the Dollhouse permanently. The Pottery Barn Bedford file cabinets/storage … [Read more...]




How Do I Like My New LG InstaView, Door-in Door, Counter-Depth Refrigerator

Welcome to the 810th Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? I hope it was a great one! We ended up spending all day Saturday at a huge, 364-acre amusement/water park called King's Island. We arrived a few minutes after 9:00 am and didn't leave for 12 hours! What an experience! We hit the ground running as soon as we entered the park, making our first ride the Diamondback roller coaster, which is … [Read more...]




Damaged Bookcases, Triple Monitors, Drawer Organizer, Best Shampoo, Shutters Ordered & More!

Welcome to the 809th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a fun, relaxing weekend! I was busy as usual working on projects in the Dollhouse. On Saturday, I shared the updated office with a new rug and plans I had to add bookcase cabinets behind my desk here in the office. Update: I've had some questions about the rug, it's available in several sizes/colors here: All-Wool Rug.   This was the … [Read more...]




Beautiful Updates For The Dollhouse Office & The Desk Is Finally Here!

Happy Friday! Hope your week has been a great one! I've gotten a tremendous amount accomplished here in the Dollhouse this week, including in my office. I will be adding some more items this weekend, so will share even more updates for Metamorphosis Monday, but I thought it would be fun to share where things are as of right now. If you've been following along the last couple of months, you'll probably … [Read more...]




Dollhouse Dining Room Updates & Mail Served On A Silver Platter ;)

Welcome to the 826th Tablescape Thursday! I finally figured out why everything is so hectic when I'm here at the Dollhouse. It usually goes like this: Today, I had two appointments scheduled. Just two. I had a shutter company representative stopping by at 8:30 to take an order for some plantation shutters, and later this afternoon I have a meeting/call with a developer to look into a new blog design. That … [Read more...]




So Many Updates For The Dollhouse, & More To Come!

Welcome to the 808th Metamorphosis Monday! Whenever I'm here at the Dollhouse, I always feel a lot of pressure to get stuff done, and get it done right now! That's because my time is always limited since I have projects going on back in Georgia, too. The minute I pull into the driveway, I'm on the go. I usually have appointments set up with repairmen or tradesmen starting the very next day, so there's no … [Read more...]




Grandfather Clock Relocation & Refrigerator Shopping For The Dollhouse

Welcome to the 806th Metamorphosis Monday! However you spent it, I hope you had a fun, relaxing 4th of July weekend! This wasn't one of my favorites since I was kinda all over the place. I spent two days in Big Canoe while the hardwood floors on the main floor of my home were being refinished due to a leak from the icemaker hose behind the refrigerator in the kitchen. The holiday delayed the process a bit, … [Read more...]




2 Mysteries In This 1938 Cape Cod: 1 Marked Solved, 1 Still Unsolved. Any Ideas?

Welcome to the 804th Metamorphosis Monday! Buying a 1938 Cape Cod has been an interesting, intriguing, and sometimes challenging experience. Some days are days are challenging, and some days are filled with mystery and intrigue. In a recent post, I shared a mystery electrical switch that I discovered in an unusual spot in the master bedroom. If you look closely at this picture of the room when the home was … [Read more...]




A Few Bathroom Updates & Cute Daisy Towels

I'm back home in Georgia, arrived late yesterday afternoon. The painters arrived bright and early this morning. There's been lots of pressuring washing going on, the actual painting outside will start tomorrow. I'm not doing a color change, just refreshing the exterior paint in the areas that are painted. During my time in Ohio, you know I had to make a few visits to my favorite grocery store, Dorothy … [Read more...]




Beautiful, Affordable, Comfy Bed & Mattress, Plus, A Special Secret Storage Space

Welcome to the 803rd Metamorphosis Monday! If you've been following along, you may remember that the closing on the Dollhouse took place on the 30th of May. The sellers had asked to stay through the 14th, but they ended up moving out on the 8th, except for a few items that they came back for over the following week. They graciously allowed me access to the house a bit earlier, which worked out great since I … [Read more...]




More Dollhouse Adventures, Including Trapping Myself In One Of The Rooms!

It feels like I've been working on projects inside the house for weeks and weeks, when in reality I've only had access to the Dollhouse about a week. I'll be sharing the temporary sleeping quarters I've created for this week's Met Monday. Over the past week, when I haven't been building something, taking boxes to the nearby recycling center, meeting with internet installers, electricians, plumbers, … [Read more...]




Setting Up My New Office & Playing In The Dining Room

Welcome to the 802nd Metamorphosis Monday! So much has happened over the past week since the closing on May 30th. I wish now I had kept a diary of sorts, detailing each day. At the end of each day, I fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow, but if you were to ask me what I did that day, I'm not sure I could remember half of it. I've been in almost constant motion since arriving in Ohio. Things are … [Read more...]




Let’s Tour the Basement, Bedrooms, Baths and Gardens In The Home I Just Purchased

Welcome to the 801st Metamorphosis Monday! When I last left you on Saturday, we had just taken a tour of the downstairs part of the home that I recently purchased. If you missed that post, you'll find it here: Not Going To Make You Wait—Let's Go Inside The Home I Just Bought.   Before we head upstairs, let's go downstairs and check out the basement.   You may remember from my … [Read more...]




Not Going To Make You Wait—Let’s Go Inside The Home I Just Bought

The closing on the house went great yesterday—no hiccups. There were 5 of us present at the closing: the title agency representative (not sure of her exact title), the seller, the seller's realtor, my realtor, and of course, yours truly. The representative leading the closing sat at the head of the big conference table with the seller to her left and the buyer (me) to her right. Our realtors sat beside us, … [Read more...]




Exciting (And Just A Little Scary) News

Remember this adorable cottage playhouse—the one I've had a crush on for so many years? I've always loved its design and imagined how wonderful it would be if it were built to grownup size. Well, about a month ago I made an offer on an adorable cottage, and my offer was accepted. Yikes! It doesn't look exactly like this cute cottage, but it does share some similar characteristics. I'm truly in love with it … [Read more...]




Hope This Tip Will Save You A $149 Electrician Visit—Still Can’t Believe It Worked!

Thanks so much for your helpful comments and suggestions yesterday. I am much, much better today and feeling right back to normal, thank goodness! No more wall paper stripping without a mask on! So, I have to share this crazy "lighting" thing I just discovered in case you ever run into this issue. Hopefully, it will save you from having to call an electrician and pay a troubleshooting fee, as I just had … [Read more...]




Covering Edges Of Melamine Shelves & What Happened To My Fave Wallpaper Remover

Welcome to the 797th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! I've been working on a few bathroom projects this weekend. One of the tasks I worked on involved the shelves in the closets of both upstairs baths. When this house was built many years ago, I'm not sure why, but the closets were built with wood boards inside for shelves. I think they were 1 x 12s or something like that. There are … [Read more...]




The Upstairs Living Room Window Seat Just Got A Much Needed Update

A few days ago, I made a small update/repair here in the upstairs living room, aka the bonus room or FROG.   It turned out so well, I thought I'd share it in case you find it helpful. When I moved into this house so many years ago, the upstairs living room already had window seats under all the windows.   There's storage built in under each of the window seats. The two dormer … [Read more...]




Sharing A Much-Needed Favorite, Porch Update, & How Do I Stop Squirrels From Eating My Roses

Still working on getting the porch wiped down after its long winter's nap, but thought I'd pop in and share how the new swing chain covers look on the swing.   I kinda wished I had washed them first since the fabric is a bit stiff which makes it stick out a little awkwardly in a few spots, but overall, I really like them! They were a gazillion times easier to put on since they close with … [Read more...]




A Visit To The Brand New Centurion Lounge in Atlanta, Plus, A Few Porch Updates

This has been a busy, crazy week. I had a quick trip to visit family in Ohio, and I just returned home on Tuesday. One of the cool things that happened on that trip is I had the opportunity to visit the brand new American Express Centurion Lounge that just opened up a few weeks ago in Atlanta. I had read so many good things about it online, so I was excited to experience it in person. The new Atlanta lounge … [Read more...]




My Dream Home Revisited, Still Dreaming Of Life In An Adorable Cottage Home

Welcome to the 795th Metamorphosis Monday! Many years ago, I shared this photo in a post called, My Dream Home. I don't remember now how I first came across it, but the photo was of an adorable playhouse available to purchase at the website PoshTotsdotcom. In that post, I shared that if/when I ever move, I would love to find a cute cottage home similar to this one. Of course, it would need to be made to … [Read more...]




A New Addition To The Porch & Some Fun April Fool’s Day Lore

Welcome to the 792nd Metamorphosis Monday! Met Monday has fallen on April Fool's Day! I'm not much of a prankster and not that keen on having jokes pulled on me, but I received a delightful email from Norma this morning with some fun facts about how April Fool's Day sometimes plays out in France. Norma wrote: Hello Susan, I don't know if you have April Fool's day on April 1st in the U S. I suspect it is … [Read more...]




2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back: Why Do Gains Always Seem To Include Losses?

Welcome to the 788th Metamorphosis Monday! Having lived in the same house a long time, I've been through quite a few renovations and updates over the years, some small and some that were pretty big. I don't mean this to sound pessimistic, and I say this with a big sigh accompanied by a very big eye-roll, but with every single update I've ever completed in my home, it seems like something has always had to … [Read more...]




My Absolute Favorites For Spring Cleaning The Porches And The Garage

Update: Just noticed that Talbots has made their 25% off sale even better with 40% off any one item and 25% off everything else. You the code SPRING40 to get 40% off any one item. If you missed my spring favorites post, you'll find it here: Getting a Jump on My Spring Wardrobe, Everything is Currently on Sale. You'll find the Talbots spring sale here: Talbots Spring Sale. The temps here this week have … [Read more...]




A New Addition To The Garage For The Rainy Days

Welcome to the 783rd Metamorphosis Monday! Thanks so much for all your amazing and much-appreciated comments on our 800th Tablescape Thursday post! I can't wait to see what the next 15 years holds. If it's half as fun as the first 15, I know it will be awesome! If you missed the Tablescape Thursday post, you'll find it here: Celebrating 800 Tablescape Thursdays & Looking Forward to Many More. No … [Read more...]




New Addition To The Office: Walking Pad Treadmill For Getting My Steps In Each Day

Welcome to the 782nd Metamorphosis Monday! Hope your weekend was amazing! I spent part of mine working on a puzzle that I've had for a while and have been itching to do.   With the super cold weather we've been experiencing, this was the perfect weekend for snuggling down inside and working a spring-themed puzzle—a reminder to myself to hang in there because spring is coming! (Puzzle is … [Read more...]




A Favorite Winter Escape Into The World Of Fashion + A Little Bookcase Decor

Welcome to the 781st Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Winter! Hope this cold January day finds you hunkered down under a warm throw, or if you're working, it's time to take a little break and enjoy a bit of eye candy. Do you ever feel a little scatterbrained? Maybe our brains go through cycles of indecision because I changed my mind at least three times this weekend about what I would share today. Sometimes I … [Read more...]




It’s The Battle Of The Ninjas–Which One Will Win?

Welcome to the 775th Metamorphosis Monday! I've often shared with you in previous posts how much I love my Ninja Air Fryer.   I use it almost every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. If someone said to me, you have to give up either your microwave or your air fryer, I wouldn't even have to think twice. The microwave would get the boot because I can't imagine not having this air … [Read more...]




Throwing Fisticuffs–It’s That Time Of Year When I Duke It Out With The Mattress! Ha!

Welcome to the 773rd Metamorphosis Monday! Or, maybe it's more like a wrestling match! It was past time--normally I swap out my summer bedding for my winter bedding around the first week of October. I think I'm late this year because it really hasn't felt that fallish. We've been having some wonderfully warm days. The leaves have really started falling now, though--so it was time, past time! My biannual … [Read more...]




New Blinds For The Basement & A Minor Repair You May Find Helpful

Welcome to the 768th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Monday--how was your weekend? I hope it was awesome! I have two Before and Afters to share for this week's Met Monday--one is kinda small, but will hopefully, prove helpful, and another one that was a bit pricey but I'm glad to have completed.   Let's start with the pricey one--if you've been reading BNOTP for the past year or so, you know I've … [Read more...]




Porch Decorated for Autumn With Hints Of Halloween

Welcome to the 767th Metamorphosis Monday! I had a bit of fun out on the front porch this weekend.   Having just purchased these black and white striped bench cushions this past summer, this is their first autumn here on the porch.   The cushions are currently on sale in several colors/ patterns here: Bench Cushions and here: Bench Cushions.   Since were only a … [Read more...]




Cabinetgate Continues, It’s The Never-Ending Drama

Welcome to the 764th Metamorphosis Monday! If you've been reading BNOTP for a while, you may remember that back in the day when I first started ordering storage cabinets for the garage (and now for the basement) the cabinets were often arriving very badly damaged.   They would often arrive with big chips and dents in various parts. During that period, I had so many returns and reorders, only … [Read more...]




A New Method For Storing The 13 Christmas Wreaths I Hang On My Exterior Windows

Welcome to the 763rd Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? I hope you had a great one! Mine was busy and turned out to be quite productive. I started pulling out all of the holiday decor I had stored under the attic eaves, hauling it all two flights of stairs down to the basement.   There was a lot stored here on the Christma-storage side. In addition to what you see, there were around … [Read more...]




A Successful Microwave Installation & Protecting The Top of My New Washer

Welcome to the 761st Metamorphosis Monday! I have two quick updates to share for this week's Met Monday. I finally have a working microwave again. The Home Depot installation went great and was handled professionally--they even arrived during the time frame of the appointment. Also, the microwave actually works! So happy to have this completed after two previously failed attempts from another … [Read more...]




How NOT to Have a Microwave Installed!

This is the state of my kitchen right now, after multiple attempts to purchase and have a microwave installed. When it comes to buying appliances, I'm snakebit and starting to develop a case of ASPTSD--Appliance Shopping Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If that's not an actual medical diagnosis, it may be time to suggest it.   In June, my microwave started making bizarre noises, like a … [Read more...]




Will The Garage Ever Be Done? Plus, A Foxtail Fern Flower Reveal

Welcome to the 757th Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? Mine was very relaxing, something I really needed after the long drive home from Ohio, but things are starting to get busy this week. I'm having a new microwave installed tomorrow, mine started making bizarre noises a few weeks ago. I ordered a new one but it ended up being backordered and will finally be installed tomorrow. Since I use my … [Read more...]




How Do I Like My Speed Queen Washer & Would I Recommend It

Welcome to the 755th Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? I hope you had a great one! If you've been following along with my recent washing machine saga, you may remember my 43-1/2-year-old GE washing machine recently started having issues. The appliance repairman I've used in the past when my icemaker acted up, confirmed that parts are no longer available, so it was time to go washing machine … [Read more...]




Why I Returned My Brand New Washer And The Washer I’ve Chosen To Replace It

Welcome to the 754th Metamorphosis Monday! Recently I mentioned that my beloved 43-1/2-year-old washing machine, the only one I've ever owned, had to be replaced. The washer I purchased to replace it was delivered on June 21st and within 24 hours I was calling the store from which I purchased it, asking them to please come pick it back up.   The Speed Queen washing machine you see on the left … [Read more...]




Sometimes It’s the Little Things That Can Make Life A Lot Better!

Welcome to the 753rd Metamorphosis Monday! Have you ever had something annoy you for a long time, then one day that final straw hits and you realize you have to do something to fix it, or at least find something that works better? That's what finally happened to me with these super annoying tape dispensers I've been using for ages. The red one normally lives in the basement and I have another one just like … [Read more...]




Sharing 4 (Actually 5) New Updates For This Week’s Metamorphosis Monday!

Welcome to the 752nd Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? I hope it was an awesome one! If you saw Saturday's post where I shared Norma's recipe for making this beautiful Tarte Soleil, you may want to revisit that post and print the recipe out again. Norma provided some additional details/corrections so I made a few changes, so definitely take a moment to print it out again if you would like a copy … [Read more...]




A New Washer Has Me Yearning For A Laundry Room-Butler’s Pantry Renovation

The time was June 1979 and we had just graduated from college. During that final year of school, we lived on campus in a tiny apartment in what was referred to as "married student housing." With our studies now completed, we loaded up a small U-haul and headed off to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland for Officer Basic Training. Four months later, with that commitment completed, it was time to … [Read more...]




A Beautiful Addition To The Front Porch, Can You Guess What It Is?

Welcome to the 751st Metamorphosis Monday! Quite a few years back I added two benches to my front porch.   If you've been reading BNOTP for a while, you may remember this porch below. I came across this home/porch many years ago in a Southern Homes magazine and it was the inspiration for the front porch that I had added to my home back in 2008. Notice the benches on the inspiration porch. I … [Read more...]




So…How Do You Feel About Purple?

Welcome to the 748th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a restful Memorial Day weekend and are enjoying some additional time off today. When I last shared the basement storage/work room, the painting was mostly finished except for the windows and some areas that needed a bit of touch-up. Before I share how it looks now, here's a photo of where we started. This side of the basement was functional for storage … [Read more...]




So Close Now–Almost Done!

Welcome to the 747th Metamorphosis Monday! The basement storage room is so close to being finished now. When I last shared this space, this is how it looked.   Here's a quick update on where things are as of this morning. Baseboard was installed and the walls and baseboard have been painted. I went with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace for the walls and the trim--semi-gloss for the trim and … [Read more...]




When Things Go Sideways–Literally! Never Had This Happen Before!

Welcome to the 746th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Monday! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! Mine was great except for one mind-numbing incident. lol So you know how I've put together a gazillion of these white storage cabinets for use here in the garage? I have 9 here in the garage--five along the side wall and four on the front wall.   I decided to order two for the basement storage room … [Read more...]




New Lighting For The Upstairs Hall & This Lighting Has A Surprise, Unique Feature

When I had an electrician here on Friday to add recessed lighting to the storage/utility room in the basement, I also had him change out the three lights in my upstairs hallway to recessed lighting, recessed lighting with a special, built-in feature. This was the lighting that was in the long, upstairs hallway.   Two of the three lights are visible in this previous photo from when I was … [Read more...]




Wow! What a Difference New Lighting Can Make–The Basement Is Almost Done Now

Welcome to the 745th Metamorphosis Monday! One week ago I shared an update on the storage/workroom part of my basement. I had just had flooring installed...the same type of epoxy flooring seen here in the garage.   I was surprised and a little disappointed when I saw how it looked here in the basement. It seemed a lot darker in this room than it had in the garage.   Ummm. I … [Read more...]




Such a Big Improvement–Love This Spice Rack Organizer!

My spice organization left a lot to be desired. The only place I have near my stove to store spices is inside this relatively narrow cabinet next to the stove. To try and make it more functional, I have a lot of my spices on a little turntable. It's not a great system because when I need a particular spice, I have to spin it around and around searching for the one that I need. Often, the smaller spice … [Read more...]




How The Epoxy Flooring In The Basement Turned Out & Lighting Is Next!

Welcome to the 744th Metamorphosis Monday! The flooring in the unfinished area of the basement is done and it looks a bit different from how I had imagined it would look. You may remember this is how it looked before its makeover.   A previous owner of my home had it painted white at some point. It was pretty scraped up and had some impossible-to-remove stains, so I decided to give it the … [Read more...]




What Do You Think About This Shelving & A Sneak Peak At The New Flooring

Happy Weekend! I hope you are having a great one! Just wanted to pop in with a brief update. The guys from Granite Garage just finished up with the flooring in the unfinished part of the basement today. You may remember the floor in that part of the basement looked like this. (This photo was taken before I had the drywall added.)   A previous homeowner apparently had it painted at one time. … [Read more...]




How The Solar Fountain Is Working & An Exciting Basement Update Coming Soon

Welcome to the 743rd Metamorphosis Monday! A few days ago I shared an addition I had purchased for the heated bird bath I keep out year around on my deck.   I had ordered a solar fountain for the bird bath. This bird bath see a lot of visitors throughout the day so I thought it would be something the birds would enjoy.   The solar fountain arrived yesterday and I pretty quickly … [Read more...]




An Appliance Slider Tray For My Kitchen, Love How It Works!

Welcome to the 742nd Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? Hope it was a great one! Last Monday I shared a full, down-to-the-studs kitchen renovation my son and daughter-in-law just recently completed in their home. If you missed that post, you'll find it here: This 1970s Kitchen Just Got a Dramatic, Down-to-the-Studs Renovation.   As part of a yay-we-have-a-new-kitchen and early, joint … [Read more...]




Have You Ever Been Inspired By The Decor You Saw In A Great Movie House?

Not sure what got me thinking about this, but a few days ago I was thinking again about how much I loved the home in the movie, Home Alone, and how it had made such an impression on me when I first began buying furniture and decorating my own home. That sent me down another rabbit trail wondering what else have I done in my home that was the direct influence of something I had noticed in a movie … [Read more...]




Epoxy Flooring In The Garage: Would I Do It Again? A 6-Month Update!

Welcome to the 732nd Metamorphosis Monday! A few months back, my garage got a really substantial makeover. The walls, ceiling, and the inside of the garage door badly needed painting. The original builder-grade lighting was not the greatest, and the floor was your typical concrete floor and very stained after 40+ years of use.   Here's how the garage looked after its makeover, definitely an … [Read more...]




2 Electrical Updates: A Practical One For The Basement & A Bit Of Luxury For The Bath

This would make a great Metamorphosis Monday post, but I'm eager to share how the electrical work I had done yesterday turned out so let's just dive right on in. It was a good day for getting stuff done! So, remember when the unfinished side of the basement looked like this with insulation visible in the walls between the finished and unfinished side?   When I had the whole house surge … [Read more...]




A Happy, Bright Update for the Basement and Storage Room!

Welcome to the 728th Metamorphosis Monday! How is 2023 treating you so far? I hope it's going well! I'm feeling a lot better now after having caught a bug at Christmastime. I have a basement update for this week's Met Monday. Here's a quick recap if you're new to the basement updates I've been making--I added stair lighting along the right side of the stairway going down.   I also added … [Read more...]




A Few Updates For The Guest Room

Welcome to the 723rd Metamorphosis Monday! It's dark and rainy out so I had a tough time getting some decent photos this morning. Yellow walls seem to completely freak out my camera. The walls in my guest room are a pale yellow, not the dark yellow they appear below.   This photo is a bit more accurate, but still too dark. The yellow you see above the secretary is a bit more accurate. I am … [Read more...]




A Basement-Terrace Level Reveal, Sharing All 3 Spaces and How They Look Now!

Welcome to the 720th Metamorphosis Monday! I am so excited to give you an update reveal on the basement area. As you look at these pictures, please keep in mind that the basement is still not complete--I have many more plans for this space! You may remember when I first started this process a few weeks ago, the basement stairs looked like this. Not sure why, but when this home was built in 1982-83, the … [Read more...]




Painting Starts Today! Also, Progress Has Been Made in the Crawl Space Storage

Welcome to the 719th Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? I hope it was great! I spent it working here in the crawl space area of the basement. My muscles are spent! When I last shared this area, I had just started priming shelves in this space for painting. I also planned to use Drylock on the walls since it's what I found recommended when I did a search for the best paint for basement … [Read more...]




New Lighting–the Basement Staircase Is Transformed! Lots of Updates!

Yesterday was another busy day with the basement renovation. I managed to get a final coat of paint on the wall in the unfinished area and got the shelves fully primed in the smaller storage area. I need to buy paint for those and will do that today or tomorrow. The electrician was here for most of the day doing all kinds of good stuff! At my request, he installed dimmer switches for all the recessed … [Read more...]




Renovating 4 Spaces In My Home, And It’s Happening All A Once! Yikes!

Welcome to the 716th Metamorphosis Monday! The next few weeks are going to be pretty busy around here. I just had a new hot water heater installed and this week I have two different electrical companies coming out to give me estimates on adding additional lighting for the staircase that leads down to my basement/terrace level.  Hard to believe when this home was built around 1982, the only lighting … [Read more...]




New Tablescaping Goodies, Attractive Storage Idea & the Room I’m Renovating Next

I'm headed over to Home Depot today. I have a project I'm working on in both the unfinished, the semi-finished, and the storage area of my basement. I will share a lot more about that on Monday for Metamorphosis Monday. In the meantime, I wanted to share a couple of table purchases I just made recently, as well as a few photos of the semi-finished part of the basement at the end of this post. The fall … [Read more...]




Fortnum & Mason Hamper As a Side Table, Great Place to Hide Throws & Pillows

Welcome to the 711th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a fabulous start! A week or so ago I shared the arrival of a Fortnum and Mason Hamper I had purchased, along with the goodies that I chose to go inside. I ended up creating my own bespoke hamper to get the size hamper and the contents I really wanted.   When I first placed my order for one of their hampers, I … [Read more...]




Garage Art, Easy Way to Level Cabinets & Such a Cool Tool–I Bought it Twice!

Welcome to the 710th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope your Labor Day weekend is going amazing! I've been goofing off and relaxing a bit, something I find hard to do. lol I always feel a bit guilty if I'm not being productive. Anyone else have that problem? There was one thing that I got done here in the garage, something that's been bugging me since the garage makeover was completed.   See that … [Read more...]




What’s Inside All Those Storage Cabinets? I’m Throwing Back the Doors!

Welcome to the 727th Tablescape Thursday! For this week's Tablescape Thursday, we're taking a peek inside the nine storage cabinets I have here in my garage to see what's stored inside and how it's all organized. I hope this little storage tour offers up a few ideas for your storage needs.   Let's start with the cabinets here on this side wall of the garage. Before we throw back the doors … [Read more...]




Is it True? Will LED Light Fixtures Cause Your Garage Door Opener to Malfunction?

Over the past few weeks as I've shared the updates I've been making here in the garage, one question I've been asked in the comments a couple of times was if the new LED lighting I had installed would create any issue with my garage door opener.   During the renovation process, one of the things I had done was the replacement of the original seal on the garage door. Sometime over the past 40 … [Read more...]




It’s Done! The Cabinets are Back and All Systems are GO!

Welcome to the 709th Metamorphosis Monday! It was a long time coming but I finally have all the cabinets back in the garage and filled back up. Before I share the "After" here's a little reminder of where we started. The garage walls were in need of a fresh coat of paint and much better lighting than the builder-grade lights that had been here for 40 years.   Previously, I had 6 dish … [Read more...]




Garage Storage Cabinets, Progress Has Been Made But There’s Been a Few Glitches

Welcome to the 708th Metamorphosis Monday! As I type this, I'm waiting for the second garage door repairman to arrive. Hopefully, I can get this post up before he arrives. I will have to create a post sharing all the things that have had to be done and redone multiple times so you'll know life isn't all rainbows and unicorns up in here. Ha! Seems like every project I embark on has had a major glitch (or … [Read more...]




Not Again! Unfortunately, yes! Again! Plus, Sharing a Handy DIY Hack

So remember when the garage looked like this?   Well, it looks like this again. Arggh! :( I'll explain more on Monday but basically, the original painter the company sent out did a terrible job of fixing a couple of places on the ceiling where the sheetrock tape that was used 40 years ago was starting to loosen in places. He really botched it. So the painting company has sent out a much more … [Read more...]




A New Addition for the Office & How I Track Down Studs

Back around 2010 when I put my home office together and purchased an office desk chair, one of my top priorities in choosing a chair was its appearance. Of course, I wanted it to be comfortable and great for day-to-day use, but I also wanted it to be pretty and to work with my home office interior. Over the years and many desk chairs later, I have pretty much given up on worrying about how it looks and if … [Read more...]




A Small Addition to the Garage That I’m Absolutely Loving

Welcome to the 707th Metamorphosis Monday! Over the last week, I've been sharing the dramatic makeover my garage went through recently. (See that makeover in full here: Dramatic Garage Makeover with New Lighting, Fresh Paint, and New Flooring.) This weekend I shared over two posts, the 2-day process of how the flooring was installed. A painter will be coming out to complete a few touchups on the back … [Read more...]




Garage Flooring Installation, Day 2–All Done and So Worth It!

In yesterday's post, I shared the first day's process of having a new floor installed here in my garage. You may remember we ended here with the garage door left a few inches open to prevent the door from damaging the newly installed floor. The flooring was left to dry and set up overnight during which time the colorful flakes that had been broadcast out over the floor, would have time to meld with the … [Read more...]




Garage Flooring Installation, Day 1–Here’s How They Did It!

Imagine that you regularly visit a gym for a full workout, but for some reason, you don't go for 3 months. After a 3-month break, you go back, but instead of starting back slowly, you dive full-in doing your old routine as if you've never missed a day. That's how I feel today, every muscle in my body feels like it's had a full workout to the max! I don't think there's a single muscle that's not feeling the … [Read more...]




Where Did You Store All Those Cabinets & Beautiful New Flatware for a Bargain

Welcome to the 724th Tablescape Thursday! Before we get into today's Tablescape Thursday, for those who have asked for it, I've added a printable version of the recipe I shared recently for these delicious Crunch Wraps to that recipe post. You'll find that post here and the printable version of the recipe is right at the end of the post: Crunch Wrap Recipe.   Soooo, though the garage is … [Read more...]




Dramatic Garage Makeover with New Lighting, Fresh Paint and New Flooring!

Welcome to the 706th Metamorphosis Monday! There are so many things I would love to share in this post but if I share everything that's happened through this garage renovation, this post would be a million miles long--and ain't nobody got time for that! Today we'll just enjoy the transformation which is pretty darn dramatic! A little back story: Does something ever needle at you and then one day you … [Read more...]




Three Days That Felt Like a Week

Welcome to the 704th Metamorphosis Monday! Choosing paint, at least for me, is one of the most stressful tasks ever! I hate it, I really, really hate it. Here was my thinking for the garage: I wanted a neutral color for the walls, definitely no red, blue, green, yellow, purple, etc... just something neutral and light, but dark enough that it would contrast with the white cabinets here in the garage. I … [Read more...]




How’s That Garage Makeover Going? Big Things Are Happening This Week!

Welcome to the 703rd Metamorphosis Monday! My home was built around 1982-83 so it's 40 years old now. I've lived here for 32 of those 40 years. Many, many years ago, sometime around the 2001-2002 time frame, I painted the walls of the garage. I don't remember now why I did that, I guess I thought they needed it. In 2010, I turned my son's childhood bedroom into a home office. At that time, I moved all … [Read more...]




Garage Sneak Peek & My Favorites from the Talbots and the Amazon Prime Sale

There are so many great sales going on right now! Talbots has a huge sale going on and here are some of my favorites. I love, love, love their linen tunics and have quite a few. They are perfect for wearing on super hot days since they keep the sun off of your arms, yet are so airy, light, and breathable. This beautiful aqua-colored tunic is on sale 40% off. It was originally $89.50, was marked down to … [Read more...]




Lots of New Upgrades, Plus I’ve Chosen New Lighting for the Garage

Welcome to the 702nd Metamorphosis Monday! Are you familiar with the children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? In the book, the cute little mouse asks for a cookie. The cookie makes him thirsty, so then he asks for a glass of milk. I've forgotten now what the glass of milk leads to, but each request leads to another and another and another.   This garage project I've embarked on is … [Read more...]




Garage Flooring Has Been Chosen & A Back-Saving, Step-Saving New Purchase

Welcome to the 719th Tablescape Thursday! A few days ago I shared plans to have my garage's concrete floor prettied up. I was trying to choose between two flooring systems: Epoxy vs Polyaspartic Polyurea.   After getting estimates for both methods, I've decided to go with the Epoxy system which is also finished off with a topcoat of Polyaspartic. I know several of you asked that I share in … [Read more...]




Planning a Garage Makeover, Here’s the “Before” and the Plan!

Welcome to the 701st Metamorphosis Monday! For many, many years I've been itching to spiffy up my garage. I've always hated this concrete floor. It's so depressing to look at and never really feels clean.   Last week I got a quote for having Epoxy flooring installed. Tomorrow I'll be getting a quote for another type of flooring that is also very popular called Polyaspartic Polyurea. I … [Read more...]