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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

2015 Blogger Holiday Home Tour

The Christmas season is here and I couldn't be happier! I absolutely LOVE this time of year and was thrilled to be asked to be a part of a Holiday Home Tour with nine other incredible and inspiring bloggers. Grab a cup of hot cocoa or coffee and follow along with me as I show you our home decorated for Christmas! I've included the links of the other blogs at the end of my post that are participating in the tour!


I'll start off with the entryway. The big and long entryway is the first thing that you see when you walk through the front door of our home. It's what sold me on the house when we purchased it five years ago!


Painted Fox Treasures is my favorite place to shop for home decor! My very first purchase from them was this tiered tray. I LOVE decorating it to go with every season and holiday... Makes decorating a breeze! Click on the Painted Fox link in the right sidebar to shop!


Here's our shiplap wall DIY project that my husband recently completed. It turned out better than I could have ever imagined! I love the pops of red and white in the garland with the white shiplap wall on the stairs!


Everyone needs a reindeer feed bag ready to go in their entryway to give the reindeer a quick snack on Christmas Eve... I just love the simplicity of this feed sack that hangs on our coat closet door in the entryway!


Here's a wide view of the entryway, stairs and part of our living room. The Farmer's Market sign was just put up a few days ago and completely makes the space. Again, this came from my favorite, Painted Fox Treasures! The board and batten in the entryway and dining area was a big project we did two years ago. We love to add extra trim work in the house any chance we can get! Read my full board and batten tutorial here!







I spotted this Santa print online on the Ballard Designs website and had to have it! Santa is the first thing I see when I come down the stairs. Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas! 


There's even a little Christmas cheer in my office. Earl, the faux stag mount is also from Painted Fox and is a great focal piece in my office. Complete instructions on our DIY shiplap wall can be found here!


Love having pops of RED and GREEN in my office while I work each day!



Now we will take a few steps from my office to our dining room off of the entryway. This room is painted a gorgeous blue from Sherwin Williams. The color is called Silvermist and I love it just as much now as when we painted it over four years ago. Such a timeless, classic color with the off white trim work and chalk painted old furniture!


I decided to bring the outdoors in for the centerpiece on our dining room table... Literally brought our backyard in... I clipped fresh juniper branches from behind our back fence to put in the glass bottles and centerpieces from Kirkland's. It smells so good every time I walk by our dining room.


I used Annie Sloan Old White to transform this old china hutch from Craigslist... Best $60 I've ever spent! You can read all about that makeover here!


I also painted this old dresser we use as a buffet. We found it several years ago while antique shopping on an anniversary weekend getaway. I still love it. The natural wood pieces, fresh greenery and acorns all tie in with the the nature inspired theme of this room.






A few more steps past the dining room and stairs leads you into our open living room and kitchen. My husband built the fireplace built ins almost a year ago from some simple plans we jotted down on paper. He is so talented and they are PERFECT  for this room! They are so fun to decorate for the changing seasons.


 We took the plunge and purchased a brand new tree this year from Hobby Lobby. It was time, as our old one was almost 10 years old. This one is 9 foot tall and is lightly flocked and has crystals on the ends that look just like pieces of ice! It is so gorgeous!


A close up view to show the amazing detail of our new tree! I'm not sure I will want to take it down after Christmas! 


Packages have been pretty simple the last two years with them wrapped in brown craft paper and tied with string. Brown paper packages tied up with string... These are a few of my favorite things... I can't get that song out of my head now! I'm sure you won't be able to either! 



I'm so happy I decided to add pops of RED this year to our Christmas decor! Funny story... When you  decide to paint brown paper ornaments at 10p.m. at night and realize that you are out of red craft paint, you get REALLY creative and use red fingernail polish! Yes, I did that! Hahaha!




I never get tired of looking at the beautiful built ins my husband made for me. They make my heart so happy each time I see them. This is the view from my kitchen sink!





Next stop is our eat in kitchen with our brand new table that my talented husband built recently! He used plans from the Shanty Sisters at www.shanty2chic.com. This table will be treasured by our family for many years to come!


The gorgeous chargers came from www.decorsteals.com, and the festive red & blue placemats came from Dillard's!


The gather sign looks amazing on our shelves in our kitchen! It can be found at Charlie and Ella at their easy shop www.charlieandella.etsy.com.



Thank you so much for stopping by and taking a few minutes to take a tour of our home decorated for Christmas! Be sure to visit all of my other sweet friends who are a part of the Holiday Home Tour! 

Sandra at The Rustic Life
Collette at Spindle and Rye
Courtney at Hamby Home Decor
Allison at A House and a Dog
Trinity at Circa34

Merry Christmas, everyone!


Tuesday, December 1, 2015

December Everything Home Magazine!

Hi Friends! 
I'm so excited to let you know that the December issue of Everything Home Magazine is live! I just love this time of year. This issue is so fun and festive! You will find a little of "everything home" in the magazine!



I was honored to feature Dedra's amazing kitchen renovation in this issue. Here's a little sneak peek of her dreamy kitchen! 

The new mantel makes the kitchen and is the perfect spot for a fresh Christmas wreath!


Click here to read the full magazine! ❤️ I know that you will love it! Also, be sure to check out the Everything Home Magazine website. It's amazing with new inspiring posts coming in often! 


Friday, November 13, 2015

Featured on Remodelaholic!


Hi Everyone! I'm excited to share that my home office makeover is being featured over at Remodelaholic today!


The feature includes directions on how to install a shiplap wall yourself!

I would love for you to go and check it out and leave me some comment love on the post. Click here to see the Remodelaholic post. Have a great Friday everyone!

Thursday, November 12, 2015

A labor of love


Within a few seconds of seeing pictures of Patsy and Jeffrey's home, you will be in awe. After a few minutes of learning their story, you will be in love. I know, because it happened to me. A little over a year ago, I began to delve into the home décor world on Instagram. And through social media, I found Patsy. Immediately after seeing pictures of her home on Instagram, I was captivated and began to follow her. I’ve made many friendships via social media over the past year and I’m happy to call Patsy my friend.

Their beautiful renovation has truly been a labor of love. After years of living in their 1,100 square foot carriage house, their growing family desperately needed more space. While living in a quaint carriage house may seem romantic, it was becoming a little too cozy for their growing family. To expand their footprint, Patsy and Jeffrey had plans created to build onto the existing carriage house. Before they could begin construction, their third daughter, Magpie, was born. Beautiful Magpie was born with Down Syndrome. To care for her, Patsy closed her successful home décor business to become a full time stay-at-home mom to her three daughters.

The carriage house during construction.

Without Patsy’s income, they scrapped their original plans of having a builder build their home. Patsy went to “plan B” and sketched her vision for their DIY home renovation. After showing her plans to Jeffrey, their new plan to create the house of their dreams was born and the work began. The remodel was a long and slow process, but according to Patsy, “It wasn’t our plan, but it was all part of His plan. And now, I can’t imagine our home any other way.” Patsy has told me on several occasions that the birth and diagnosis of Magpie has been a blessing to them in more ways than one.


The original carriage house garage is now the kitchen and living area. You can easily see why this is the family’s favorite space. This is the spot for movie nights, family meals, homework, lots of snuggles, and lots of love. Every detail of this space is breathtaking. The center island is wood and the counter is stunning and features a beautiful soapstone remnant. The vent hood was built from old doors that Patsy found at a yard sale. Patsy describes the open kitchen and living area as French Country Farmhouse. The shiplap walls, exposed beams and ductwork, brick, and barn doors are all beautiful features. Patsy and Jeffrey have a deep appreciation for this space because they designed and constructed every detail themselves. The cabinets were built by Jeffrey. Patsy painted and glazed them and every brick was hand placed. 

While the safe thing to do would have been to drop the ceiling to 10 feet and cover the ductwork, this couple took the risk and decided to leave the beams and ductwork exposed. Wow! This makes the room! The original support beams were not as beautiful as they are now. To dress up the beams, they covered them with reclaimed poplar wood that they tore out of the barn loft that Jeffrey’s grandfather walked on as a young boy to stack hay bales. This makes my heart so happy! So much history intertwined within the bones of this home.


Love of family, God’s plan, and lots of hard work, was the perfect combination to turn this house into a home. While there were times that Patsy thought she could not look at another piece of trim, paint another wall, place another brick, or live another day in the huge mess of the renovation, she always had a vision of the finished house. Patsy claims she learned a lot about patience and the power of prayer during this extensive DIY project. “Because it all just seems like it was meant to be this way. Just like our family… Just as it was meant to be.”

I originally wrote this article for the premiere issue of Everything Home Magazine, but wanted to share it here as well. You can click here to view the entire November issue! It was such an honor to feature such an amazing family. You can read more about sweet Magpie and her family at Patsy's blog, Miss Maggie Rae.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Everything Home Magazine



I am so excited to announce that I will be a writer for the brand new Everything Home Magazine! It's a monthly online home decor (& more) magazine written by your favorite bloggers & Instagram friends. I will be the contributor for the Room Renovations column. (Pinch me... In case I'm dreaming!) I've known about this for a while and still can't believe it is really happening! It's an amazing opportunity that I am so blessed to be a part of! Many of you may not know this, but I have a home decor Instagram page @jillykay. You can follow along if you love all things decor. Click on the link in the right sidebar to follow!

I am honored to be a part of this talented group of contributors! It is going to be an AMAZING magazine featuring so many familiar faces in the Instagram & blogging communities. Follow us on Instagram @everythinghomemagazine to meet the editorial team, get exciting updates & to see all the hashtags to use to get the chance to be FEATURED!


Collette and Daraka are the editors and take care of all the behind the scenes work for the magazine. Thank you both for all your hard work! Thank you Collette for dreaming this up. So excited to see your vision come to life!


Those pictured above are the monthly contributors. Each and every one of them are amazing and have a very unique style. I am blessed to call them friends!

I was thrilled to be asked to write for the Room Renovations column. Room renovations make me giddy every time I see a room transform. I have a passion for all things DIY and love to see a room become a beautiful and usable space. Be sure to tag your Instagram before & after pictures with the hashtag #EHroomreno for a chance to be featured. I'll be looking for them!


I love that the magazine will be featuring those that own small businesses as well! Do you own a small business or have an etsy shop that you would like our readers to learn about? You can advertise in the magazine! Send an email to everythinghomemagazine@yahoo.com for more information.

Our first issue will be available on November 1st! You can go to the website to enter your email address to have the digital magazine delivered right to your inbox. Keep checking the Everything Home Magazine website, facebook page and instagram for updates!

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Home office makeover (Wood floor update)


I'm back for a flooring update in my home office! In my last post, I gave detailed instructions on how my husband and I completed the DIY shiplap wall. Take a look to see how easy it is! We installed the hardwood flooring several weeks ago and it really transformed the entire room. I just thought I loved this room. I REALLY love this room now!


The amazing faux buck mount, Earl is from Painted Fox. Earl completely makes this room and is a fabulous focal point when you walk in. Click on the Painted Fox link on the right sidebar to shop! It's my favorite place to shop for farmhouse home decor!


The shiplap wall is painted in the color Antique White and the remaining walls are Mindful Gray. Both are from Sherwin Williams. The amazing desk and chair are from Nebraska Furniture Mart. The desk is made by Hooker and the chair is made by Ashley, but go perfect together. I love that place and could literally spend all day looking in there! I placed the Everett Foyer Table from World Market behind my desk and it provides plenty of room for my filing boxes, lamps and storage boxes below.


This set of bookcases and storage cabinet was once very dark brown. I grabbed my trusty paintbrush and a few quarts of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color Pure White and went to work! Love how clean and bright it is now. 


These cute little shelves came from Target. I fell in love with them when I saw them and knew they would be perfect for the shiplap wall. 



 My husband did a great job laying the hardwood floors. We went with handscraped hickory and absolutely love them! They are made by Regal Hardwoods. We looked for almost two years and could never find floors we loved. These were worth the wait! We LOVE them! They are a part of the Old Time Luxe collection and the stain color is Kensington.


We decided to float the floors instead of going with the glue down method. The installation was much easier this way!



I was getting pretty giddy at this point and was doing a happy dance on my brand new floors!


I love all the scrapes and color variations in the wood. Each square foot is scraped by hand by three craftsmen for 25 minutes! Wowzers! I wish the pictures would show the detail, but it simply doesn't do the floors justice.


Here's a before picture of my office. It wasn't bad, but not the look I was wanting. I spend a lot of time in this room and am so happy with every detail now!


Thanks for stopping by! I hope to have a few more rooms to show soon.