Suzannah Hamlin Stanley's Blog, page 3

Charming preppy guest room/office reveal! And sources

This guest room was my most recent room makeover project last summer, finished just before our house was on the old house TV show. But then last February, I was relaxing in a hot tub in Scottsdale and scrolling Instagram, and saw an image that I just loved so much, and felt so much more true to my style than how I had been decorating the past few years! I am leaning into my preppy side. With the creative juices flowing from the relaxation state of that vacation, I became inspired to put up some ...

Historic breakfast nook makeover reveal! And sources

I visited this house once when I was a kid. With my mom, talking to the previous owners about some neighborhood association stuff. The only thing I remember is the built-ins in the breakfast nook. When we walked through the house 25 years later, I was delighted to see that of course they are still there and just as I remember them.

But the nook itself needed some updates. I painted it a couple years ago, which was fun, but it was still a little plain. I’ve put a lot of thought into the curtains a...

My experience with home warranties

I realized this summer during the big heat wave that we had that my air conditioning was broken. I shared a little about that on Instagram and how it was OK because my home warranty would probably cover it (it did! He replaced three parts and the thermostat, and it cost me the $85 visit fee/deductible). I got some questions and figured I should share a little more about my experiences over the past 10+ years with home warranties.READ POST

Mudroom/sewing room tour!

A few years ago I renovated this pass-through room that goes from our downstairs hall to the garage as my office. Previously it had been Otto’s nursery when we lived entirely downstairs! It was definitely awkward as a nursery. It was pretty good as an office because it’s downstairs near the kitchen, etc., but the north facing windows sometimes made it feel dreary. So I moved my home office to the guest room when I updated that space, and was left with this funky room that pretty easily became a ...

Brand new concrete driveway and patio: details and cost!

When we bought this house six years ago, we knew there were a lot of things that were big ticket items we couldn’t do ourselves. We’ve done those slowly, over time--roof, gutters, and garage door in early 2020… Major basement renovation in 2022. Then got a divorce and I really slowed down on my home projects. But with summer coming up and with my life feeling pretty stable right now, I felt ready to tackle the very cracked patio and driveway that I knew were really negatively impacting the home ...

Updates to the pink bedroom (with sources)

Last fall I painted my bedroom a light peachy paint color I concocted myself out of some samples and then had color matched. I had been thinking of doing this for a couple years, but ended up actually doing it around the time my divorce was final (not intentionally a girly single woman choice, but it works!). I was bored of the white (see that version here), but it was also comfortable/I was used to it. Adding color can be scary and sometimes it takes a while to get used to it. I was really not ...

Main bathroom sage green floral wallpaper transformation

I recently made a big change in my main bathroom and it's past time I share it on here. We redid this bathroom in fall 2019 (hardest reno we ever did btw) and afterwards it was... fine. Clean, fresh, not at all offensive. But my style has changed since 2019 and I've been leaning into the traditional and romantic vibes this house does well with, and this bathroom felt so boring. 

I knew adding some wallpaper above the tile, and painting the vanity to match, would totally transform it. I was overwh...

We're on TV! The house's moment of fame

I have some very exciting news that I haven't put up here on the blog yet, and it's time. Last summer a film crew came and shot at our house over two and a half days, showing all the projects, pretty vignettes, and family moments in our home. We're now in an episode of Diary of an Old Home, a charming series on Magnolia Network!

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The pretty projects I did in 2023, and my big ideas for 2024

It is very satisfying to look back on what you've done in your home over 12 months. I set goals every year and do a recap of progress too. Usually each goals post includes a depressing photo of the exterior in early January, some interior in-progress shots, and some inspiration photos. The recap posts have exciting before and afters. You get all of the above in this post since I'm combining recap and goals in one this year. Efficient! 

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Full basement renovation is complete! (Enough...) Cost breakdown!

Many months ago I shared about our basement renovation plans (here). A 1,100 SF basically unfinished, yucky, cobwebby basement that we, for the first time ever, hired out most of the work to finish to modern standards and add a bathroom to. We finished parts of it (bathroom, guest bedroom), but then began our separation and divorce and plans changed, including our use of the basement for a while. 

Now, the basement is basically done, except for some finishing things like paint touch-ups and clean...