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Featured on Today’s Homeowner: Lipford Family Condo
This weekend on Today’s Homeowner TV show, my family’s new condo at the beach is being featured! And by my family, I mean my parents’ condo that I’m hoping they’ll let me visit. 🙂 It will be episode 2 of a 2-part series. Aka, the episode with all of the beauty shots! But I’m giving you a sneak peek at the before and afters right here!
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Front Door Intercepted
Since the beginning of time, my front door has not been able to open all the way. It hits the side of the mantel instead. Ok maybe it hasn’t been that long. But it has been like that ever since I bought the house. Obviously it’s not a deal breaker and it’s something I’ve easily tolerated for 5 years now. It seems to me the mantel is not original to the house. It overlaps the brick surround in a way that doesn’t seem like it should. So I’m thinking they built the mantel without checking the path of the front door first.
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Chelsea’s Choice: Light Up The Night
**This giveaway has ended. Scroll down to see the winner and click over to my giveaway tab to see my current giveaway! While I was out in Las Vegas last month for Design + Construction Week, I dropped by the Kichler lighting booth to see what new stuff they had. I immediately fell for their beautiful Harbor Row collection of outdoor lights. And in particular I loved the wall lantern version. Unfortunately for me, my front porch is not prepared for such grand beauty. All I have is one ceiling-mounted fixture. But fortunately for you, Kichler is giving away a set of (2) of these wall lanterns to one of…
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Now Trending: Kitchens & Baths
I just got back to Sweet Home Alabama after a whirlwind trip to Las Vegas for the annual Design + Construction Week. This huge industry event is put on by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) every year. It’s always fun to see people I see there every year and meet new people in the trade. And what better way to see the up-and-coming trends to share with you! The funny thing about trends is that they don’t just pop up and then disappear all of a sudden. The change is gradual. According to the NKBA’s annual Design Trend Report, kitchen…
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Featured on Today’s Homeowner: Energy Efficiency
This past weekend across the country, my husband and I (and Mary Helen in utero) were featured on the Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford TV show I co-host. I mentioned this episode, titled “Energy Efficiency for the Family”, before when I made the Roman shades for the nursery. But now the episode is online in case you missed it! Click here to watch us! I was 8 months pregnant when we got a new HVAC system. So it’s fun to re-watch the episode and relive those days full of joyful anticipation waiting for Mary Helen to arrive! You wouldn’t believe how large our old HVAC unit was unless you saw…
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Hanging Hooks on a Hollow Door
Living in a tiny house like mine really makes you get creative with storage solutions. An easy trick, though, is to hang things on the backs of doors. There are mirrors, jewelry organizers, shoe organizers, etc. made for such an application. For probably close to 2 years I’ve had our step ladder hanging on one of the laundry doors. Unfortunately the laundry doors are both hollow core doors so a normal hook would just fall out with a little pressure on it since there’s no “meat” to the door. My solution was to use my favorite adhesive Command hooks from 3M. They worked well for several months before one fell…
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Chelsea’s Choice: Grabbing Hold
**This giveaway has ended. Scroll down to see winners and click over to my giveaway tab to see my current giveaway! In addition to being the start of a new year and a great time to get organized, January is also National Bath Safety Month. Bath safety is important no matter your age or physical prowess. Everyone and anyone can benefit from grab bars in the shower and bath. But only if you like the added peace of mind… This time last year I helped a thirty-something improve the safety in her bathroom with some stylish grab bars you wouldn’t even know were grab bars. They even had a shelf for…
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Recycle Christmas Tree into Mulch
How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree Nothing compares to the scent of a fresh Christmas tree. Which is why my family always had one growing up and why I continue to buy a fresh one each Christmas season. Now I’ve got a way to make my dollar, and the fresh scent, stretch a little further. Mulch! I did it last year and I’ll do it again this year. It’s so easy to cut up your real tree and use the branches as mulch around the yard and the trunk as firewood! After you’ve removed and stored your ornaments and twinkling lights, drag it outside and grab a pair of loppers.
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Accented Living Room
It’s been a long while since our living room has gotten any love. Back in January of this year I posted a to-do list of everything I’d like to accomplish in there. And then I found out I was pregnant and the living room lost all of my attention. Now that the nursery is complete and the baby is here, it’s time our front room returned to the home improvement docket. One of the easiest ways to change the look of any room is with paint. And it’s been on the list to do so in this room. But I never thought of doing anything else to the walls until…