Suzannah Hamlin Stanley's Blog, page 17

DIY home project goals and achievements: interview with the husband and wife team!

There’s a lot to do inside and out when you own a fixer upper. We are 2.5 years into renovating our historic home and are sharing our (huge) achievements in 2020 plus goals for 2021 this week!

In this episode of the Your Home Story Podcast....

Jason has done a lot of the manual labor while watching our little kids and finishing physical therapy school, and I've been designing and planning while working and having a baby, but we are still are checking things off the list for getting our home to whe...

Plaid wool blanket throw pillow DIY and long lumbar

It's been a loooong, long time since I did an "upcycle" of a vintage or older garment/home decor piece into something new. That used to be half my posts, back when this was a sewing blog! But I didn't need more and more homemade stuff all the time, and my style changed, and I have way less time for sewing now. But, back to my roots! I recently rename a vintage wool plaid throw blanket into three, unique throw pillows and I LOVE them!

Oh, but not only that--I also made a custom down-filled extra l...

Why we decided to mount our TV above the fireplace!!

We've lived in this house 2.5 years now and we've tried several different locations for the TV. You can see the different layouts we've tried for our living room here. It's a long, skinny room with the fireplace on the long wall, and we know we're not the only ones who've struggled with this--when we first walked through the house the previous owners had the TV in front of a window, creating two living areas! 

A TV over the fireplace is a common, but not ideal situation in a lot of homes. In fact...

Home decor trends for 2021!!

I'm pumped for this topic!! Every year I do research and put together a list of trends I expect to see in the coming year. This year it's a little different... it's not just colors, patterns, and types of plants... it's design based on how we live and what we're longing for after all the changes of 2020.

This week on the Your Home Story podcast... it’s our annual episode on decor trends. For 2021, we’re seeing trends based on 1) nostalgia/looking for comfort and 2) function! It’s so interesting w...

Another upstairs hall/stairs safety improvement: an attractive baby gate!

Our stairs/upstairs hall just keep getting better! A while back we removed the carpet and painted up here, and then last year we replaced the wood balusters with metal ones that are close enough together to be safe. A month or so ago I installed a wool runner on the stairs--so much safer and nicer! And now, we've installed a baby gate at the top of the stairs to contain our exuberant toddler when we're upstairs with him and the baby, and just don't always have enough hands or eyes to keep him ne...

Expert tips for mindfully organizing and decluttering

I have definitely been thinking about and working on going through old stuff, getting rid of extras, and getting more organized lately! I think it's natural this time of year!

This episode of the Your Home Story Podcast is an interview with Kira from Zestful Design on what it means to mindfully declutter and organize. We chat about what over-owning is, how to decide if you really need multiple items of one kind, what to do about family heirlooms and more. From systematic reduction to Marie Kondo ...

DIY custom patterned fabric Roman shade tutorial!!!

Possibly my favorite project of the year!!! though I started it in 2020 and just finished installing it now, so I'm not sure what year. I am SO happy with how this DIY custom fabric Roman shade came out!

I wanted to add pattern to Lucy's room but because the back wall is so small and has a pointed ceiling, there wasn't room for curtains and art, and curtains can look funny on unique windows anyway. I'm very particular about the pattern and color we bring in here and I didn't expect to find the ri...

How to paint wood paneling (spray and/or roll!)

We recently transformed a dark, dated small bonus room off our bedroom into a charming nursery. It had dark wood stained paneling and dark green linoleum on the floor (think 1950's elementary school). Now, it's fresh and pretty and has a storybook vibe. Oh, the power of paint!!! (and new flooring). 

But it took a few extra steps to paint the wood paneling, and we tried multiple methods (sprayer, roller, and brush). Sharing what we did, and how you can paint wood paneling better, here!

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Multi-generational living and high quality DIY home design and reno

Sharing an interview with DIY and design blogger Bre Bertolini about her design process, how she makes it work sharing a home with her husband, two little ones, and father-in-law (including her #1 tip for designing in a shared home), how she budgets for room makeovers/home projects, her go-to online sources for home decor, and more! 

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This week on the Your Home Story Podcast... tips and resources we learned from Bre:

Bre's Photoshop mood board tutorialBre’s 5 go-to online sources for h...

2021 house project goals!!

We're feeling so good about our progress on this house (the Stanley Tudor - Revived)! We're in a great spot where we don't have ANY rooms that need to be completely redone (as long as you don't count the basement or garage). We have some updating to do and some rooms to finish, and plenty more on the exterior, but we don't have any more bathroom renos on the horizon. Phew!
I shared our 2020 house project progress here and you can see the almost-current state of our house here. Here's the list for...