Suzannah Hamlin Stanley's Blog, page 13

When to paint original historic wood trim! (Yikes!) Office update

Ohhh, this is a loaded topic. It goes way back to my childhood growing up in a restored 1909 foursquare house, but in short let's say I respect old houses and was (mostly) glad when we first walked through this 1937 Tudor revival home and I saw still had the original wood trim in almost every room. Well, sort of glad, sort of trapped because it wasn't exactly my style but I didn't want to paint it. It's made it this long and shows off the original character of the house! Plus I liked that it's t...

Outdoor tool upgrades you might need

Honestly, I don't love yard work or outdoor projects, but I do them! Or I watch and learn as Jason does. And we’ve found a few tools that make things easier. Sharing some basics and some upgrades, plus a few unique hacks! 
Tune in to this week's Your Home Story podcast to hear how Ashley and Luke and Jason and I use each of these and when we think they’re worth buying.
The tools:
PickRototillerTorchLeaf blowerSledgehammerHedge trimmerTree trimmerFolding camping/outdoor knife
You can find us on our b...

6 tips for solo parenting in the evenings

With our current work schedules, I do dinner and bedtime for the kids 5 nights a week. As any parents of young kids out there know… 5 PM till bedtime is like the hardest time of the day. So many things to do and manage with little, not-very-independent kids. It is exhausting. It’s been a few months of this now and I’ve come up with some creative tips and hacks for making it easier! 

I realized that none of these involve screen time or having someone else watch the kids--also great options, but th...

Office progress: a change in direction

Like I said in Week 1, I don't have this office design fully fleshed out, like I usually do before I start a room renovation. It's really showing, because we are literally two steps forward, one step back over here. 

Despite how excited I was able a striped jute rug for this room, when I did my round-up of patterned jute rugs... once we got the one I chose down, I just knew it wasn't right. So I pivoted...

New here?

If you're new to this blog from the ORC site, welcome!! I'm Suzannah, a longtime DI...

Great ways to update your home for free

It can be overwhelming to think about all the money that we want to spend on our houses to get them “finished.” But there are some improvements that don’t take any money at all, some of them not even that much time!, and make a big difference. (This is a lot more than your basic ideas of moving art around!!) 

Deep cleaning, decor/style, and home improvement--there are tons of ways to change and better your home without spending anything. Actual real high-impact DIY projects you can do with materi...

Fairytale baby girl nursery reveal! So-called pointy room before, after, and sources

Hooray! I am so excited to finally reveal this room and share all the details! Last December/January, we turned this mysterious paneled extra room off our bedroom into a charming nursery for Lucy, thus creating a 5th bedroom and making enough space for all of us upstairs. It took a while to "finish," but now, it is beautiful!

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11 great patterned jute rugs! Including the one we chose for our office

I’m still designing our One Room Challenge office, but as many good that designers will tell you… start with the rug! The rug is the first thing I chose for the space and I am building the design around it. We actually had a couple debates about it: vintage rug or jute? Softness is important in this room because Lucy is often crawling around here while I work. 

Neither vintage nor jute rugs are super soft… but I also have a goal of only bringing natural fiber rugs into our home. A lot of the insp...

Six design rules that are true for any style!

I follow designers with a range of decor styles, and have noticed there are a few rules that apply across all of them. Not just design school basics, but principles that will help you shop for your home over time.

This week on the Your Home Story Podcast we’re breaking them down and sharing how to use them in your home!

Design rules that are true for any style:
Where to hang artHow to choose paint colorsA large rug makes a space look largerHow to mix wood tonesWhen and how to use overhead lightingV...

Embarassing home office makeover BEFORE and inspiration: Week 1 One Room Challenge

Well… Here goes! I am excited and apprehensive to kick off this One Room Challenge project for our office! I love the One Room Challenge and have participated several times before, usually for pretty intense renovations (three bathrooms and two bedrooms, all of which you can find here). This one is more on the cosmetic side, but in some ways will be more challenging because of what I have to work with!
When I started working from home last year, we quickly got an office set up for me upstairs. Th...

Embarassing home office makeover "before" and inspiration: Week 1 One Room Challenge

Well… Here goes! I am excited and apprehensive to kick off this One Room Challenge project for our office! I love the One Room Challenge and have participated several times before, usually for pretty intense renovations (three bathrooms and two bedrooms, all of which you can find here). This one is more on the cosmetic side, but in some ways will be more challenging because of what I have to work with!
When I started working from home last year, we quickly got an office set up for me upstairs. Th...