I absolutely adore the Holidays. It is by far my favorite time of year!! I love cocoa, sweaters, Christmas lights, holiday music and the general festivity of the season! Every year, one of the things I most anticipate, is decorating our home for Christmas. Most years, I go all out, but this year, I have scaled things back a little bit. Having a 15 month old who loves to grab and throw things certainly makes you think twice prior to putting out those delicate Christmas ornaments and decor. So, this year we’ve put up the tree and just a few other areas.

The Christmas Tree is my favorite thing to decorate. I love to change our theme each year (which of course drives my husband crazy)… but whatever. Haha! So I choose a different color or combination of colors each year. This year I wanted to do a classic Christmas look, being our first year in the new house. That said, I’ve gone with Red, Gold and Silver. Luckily for my husband, I already had a bunch of Gold and Silver ornaments, so all I “had” to buy was more Red ornaments. (I’m not saying that’s all I bought… LOL!) I also like to get new ribbon each year to freshen up the tree regardless of how many times I have used those colors in the past.

When decorating the tree, I adhere to a specific order to put things up:

• Lights
• Ornaments (Aim for even spacing)
• The Tree Topper
• Ribbon
• Picks (Like holly, berries, sparkly tinsel, pinecones, etc)
• Bows

Why do I put the tree topper up before ribbon, you ask? Well… we use an angel on top of the tree, so I like to tuck the ribbon under her skirt to keep it in place.

This year, I chose to put the ribbon around the tree in swags and in a horizontal pattern, sometimes I do vertical, it’s totally up to you. I think it turned out beautifully!

The garland I put going up the railing, was originally just a $10 plain garland from Hobby Lobby. I added some picks with extra branches and pinecones, red berries, and sparkly sticks and berries. Then, I took 2 ribbons and layered them. The first is a plain red ribbon that pairs well with the mesh ribbon from the tree, I layered it with a grey burlap ribbon that says “Merry Christmas.” I swagged the ribbon around the banister, and then cut some extra pieces of ribbon and tied them in simple knots. I’ve never decorated a garland before. I think I’m addicted… we may have garland everywhere next year.

In the formal living room, I hung our stockings and put up some simple decorations from prior years, including a pre-decorated garland, some gorgeous Christmas decor I found at Hobby Lobby, and our Advent Wreath.

On the buffet in the formal dining, I lay out our tiny Christmas Village. This village is special for me, because over the years I have hand painted each of these little houses. I put lights under the houses and surround it with fake snow.

I love the way these decorations make our house look and feel and hope they give you some inspiration! Show me your decor… share your pictures in the comments!

Well… Are you ready for the finished reveal!?! It has been a busy 3 weeks in our household. We moved into the new house on 11/12. Before move in we spent several days cleaning and getting rid of construction dust. After we moved in, there were still a million little things that needed to be done. Lights needed to be hung, baseboards caulked and painted, bathroom fixtures hung… not to mention I had to unpack and get the house decorated! And all of this before Thanksgiving. You see, I invited around 20 people over to Thanksgiving… back in August… so the house just had to be done. Why didn’t we just cancel, you ask?! Because that’s just not how I work… Haha. A little pressure is amazing for getting things done sometimes.

ANYWAY. So yes. There was a lot to finish. But amazingly, we finished most of our checklist. Now, we just have a few things to accomplish and a lot more time… which is NICE. I am SO happy with how things turned out.

So without further ado here are a few before and after pictures for you. The new one’s were taken on my cell phone… so no judging. Haha.

Entry Way/Dining Room

We had to rip up the hardwood floors in the dining (left) and reinstall new ones… because the old floors were only in the dining room. There was no way to match them. So as much as it pained me we pulled them up and installed new. We opted to go with a smooth wood as the hand-scraped look is starting to go out of style. We repainted everything you see. New front door which was a roller coaster ride of emotions to get done and new staircase.

Formal Living

The formal living room (right) is on the other side of the front door. We replaced the stone fireplace surround with carrera, pulled up the carpet and repainted everything. In this house, for some reason they had a tan paint on the walls and an almost peach for the trim. You can’t tell in the pictures… but EVERY surface had to be painted.

Family Room

The family room (left) is off the dining room, so when you come through the front door, you can see all the way through back to this room. Prior to reno, the family room was paneled in a light oak with green tile floor and a carpet insert. I hated the lighting and the colors. We carried the hardwood floors throughout the entire bottom floor of the house, and painted the paneling in a light gray with white trim. We removed the large built in china cabinet to declutter the space and make it feel larger. The fireplace was re-tiled in a white quartz. The wet bar and bar in the kitchen were accented with stacked stone. All the light fixtures were replaced with more contemporary style lighting.

The Kitchen

The room that took the most work was the kitchen (right). The two before pictures, show the light oak cabinets (Same color as the paneling in the family) and brown granite counter and backsplash. The accent lighting was gold, and the ceiling lights were dropped fluorescent lights. We dropped the bar around the sink to open the kitchen to the family room. I can’t stand being stuck in the kitchen when we have guests and not being able to see what is going on. This simple change makes it feel much more open. We painted all of the cabinets in a bright white; got rid of the dropped fluorescent lights and added can lights. I chose a beautiful white quartz counter for a white on white look. In the kitchen we put down a beautiful gray tile that meets perfectly with the wood so there isn’t a transition piece. We ran gas from the laundry room into the kitchen so we could have a gas range, we replaced the double ovens because they were little 24″ ovens and didn’t fit the cabinet size or our family needs. We put in pendant lighting with edison bulbs that gives the room a more modern feel. The backsplash is a gray glass tile pattern that accents the floors. And we went with a white quartzite stacked stone around the base of the bar to give it a more finished look. A modern single basin deep 14 inch sink and contemporary fixtures update the space beautifully.

Staircase

The staircase (left) got quite a makeover as well. We ripped out the carpet, replaced the treads and risers with wood. Redid the trim surround. Refinished the banister and replaced the ballusters with a beautiful ash gray finished iron spindle. We also painted the risers white to match the trim and stained the treads dark to match the floor. I love the effect. It just makes the entry way feel so much grander.

There are still plenty of rooms to show you, but we are still finishing minor touches on some of them. I will do a big reveal when we are finished with everything. Also, can I say, that having professional photos taken makes a huge difference? When I’m done staging I’ll be having those taken as well and post them so you can see the difference! This house has been so much fun to redesign.

I am simply in love.

Learning how to put down tile may seem like a daunting task. But, once you get the hang of it, tiling is actually not that difficult.

Tiling is one of those things that most people pay a professional for, and that’s fine. If you’re not a handy person, or you don’t want to get your hands dirty, that’s cool. You do you. BUT if you absolutely want to do all the renovation you can yourself… you have come to the right place!

There are some basic supplies you will need to get started:

• • Tile – If you’re just starting out, the easiest tile to use is 12 by 12.
  • Thinset – also referred to as mortar, this bonding agent will help the tile adhere to the floor
  • Floor Leveler – To prepare a level surface
  • A chalk line or square
  • A Trowel – to put down the thinset
  • Grout – Depending on the space between tiles you will need either Sanded or Non-Sanded grout
  • A bucket, Scooper, and Grout Float
  • Spacers
  • A drill with a mixer attachment
  • Tile Saw – We use this Tile Saw but we had a cheap little $100 saw that worked fine for the first several years. If you are just doing a small area, don’t invest a lot of money in a large tile saw.

Overwhelmed yet? No. Okay sweet. Now for the fun part.

1. To begin, you must prepare your surface. I have never met a level surface yet. So, that’s where floor leveler comes in handy! To get started, prepare the mix the way it says to on the bag. I recommend self-leveling as it is easier to work with. Pour it on the floor, smooth the edges with a smooth trowel or spatula and let is set according to instructions – sometimes this is overnight, sometimes just a few hours.
2. Once your floor is level, take a square or chalk line and draw a straight line down the center of your surface. (Wherever you want to begin). DO NOT start your tile along a wall. No matter how straight you may think it is, most walls are not square, and you will notice this in the grout lines in the center of your floor.
3. Starting in the middle of your floor or surface ensure that you have a straight line regardless of the walls. (Tiling a wall is a little different as you have to start at the bottom – so I suggest using a level. Putting down the first row of tile, checking for level and adjusting with spacers or props as needed until you get the tile level.)
4. Now that you know WHERE to put the tile, mix the thinset according to the directions on the bag. You don’t want this to be too soupy or too stiff. A good thinset is about the consistency of mashed potatoes.
5. Using your toothed trowel, apply the thinset in even strokes. Make sure that your entire area is even, you don’t want globs. (Don’t put too much down at one time or you wont have a way to reach the edges.)
6. Put down your first tile and then surrounding tiles. I don’t recommend laying them in a brick pattern as your brain searches for patterns automatically and if you’re slightly off you will notice. Put them in a slightly offset pattern.
7. Once you have the pattern moving, it is fairly simple. Measure, cut and repeat.
8. Don’t walk on the tile for 24 hours or so.
9. Once dry, come back and grout. You can buy grout in a variety of methods. They have bagged grout that you have to mix, premixed grout, or tubes of grout that come out of a caulk gun. Any of them will work but if you have a large area the caulk gun method will take longer.
10. If you are using dry grout, mix with water until you reach a consistency that is a little firmer than pancake batter. It shouldn’t run off your trowel but shouldn’t be too thick or it will be harder to get into the grout lines.
11. Using a trowel and grout float, push the grout into the lines. When it has begun to set, come back with a sponge or wet rag and wipe up the excess. you will have to wipe multiple times to get it all up. (If you don’t you will end up with cloudy tiles).
12. Seal the grout after it drys with an appropriate sealer. Using natural stone? Make sure to get a sealer that will cover the whole tile. Using ceramic or porcelain? You can buy a sealer that just goes on the grout lines.
13. Sit back and enjoy! Once you’re finished sit back and enjoy all your hard work!!

Have questions about your project? Or maybe you have another project you want help with… Reach out to me and I’d be glad to answer any questions.

Want to check out some more awesome DIY Tutorials?

How to Sew Your Own Curtains

How to Landscape like a Pro

Staging How-To

Happy Renovating!