Suzannah Hamlin Stanley's Blog, page 37

How to add character to a cookie-cutter house!

I LOVE this topic! There are so many 80's, 90's, and 2000's builder-basic homes around me (I've owned/lived in two of them, even) and I love helping my friends with ideas to personalize theirs. Cookie-cutter, basic homes need more than just decor to feel like home. You need out-of-the-box thinking on updates (but you also have more opportunity to go with your favorite style!).


Both Ashley and I have lived in brand-new builder basic, cookie-cutter homes (like my first home) (and I has also live...

This fixer upper's 1-year anniversary: progress so far

IT HAS BEEN A KILLER YEAR. So much has happened since the beginning of last summer, it's been almost too much to handle! But now I think we're pretty much on the other side of a lot of the stress and hard work... well, some of it.

It is really satisfying to look back at the "before" pics of this house and compare how far we've come.

We moved into this house ONE year ago. We got the keys 7/2/18 and spent the next two weeks emptying trash/donations, cleaning, and painting as...

How to save $4k on appliances for a full kitchen reno with Sears Outlet!

While the first goal of our kitchen renovation was updating everything to a style we like, we also had to choose function-heavy pieces like new appliances. Appliances are not cheap, no matter where you get them, and our budget for this project was on the very low end of kitchen renos!

The cheapest appliances are usually not the most attractive (and the prettiest ones are crazy expensive). But I really didn't want to replace our fridge and range with plastic-ey, modern-looking, builder spec...

Novice DIYers' take on a full bathroom reno! Interview

Remember that 6-week full bathroom reno I shared a couple months back? That gorgeous space belongs to my friends, Gabriela and Matt, who were brand new to this kind of DIY effort when I guided them through that one. Well, they're sharing some lessons learned today!


Can you tackle a complete bathroom reno as a new DIYer? What challenges might come up? How do you get the tools to actually complete the job?

Today on the Your Home Story podcast, we interview my friends, "novice DIYers," about their...

DIY, budget-friendly floating-look open shelves!

I knew I wanted to include open shelves in our kitchen because I loved them so much at our last house! We did very simple DIY wood + metal bracket open shelves at our last house, and installed them over tile. It was a DIY success, but they were never that exciting looking.

For this kitchen (lots of white, more elegant, less boho than our last) we wanted more presence to our open shelves. Thicker, stained wood. I looked into floating shelves, but because of our stud locations, we weren't co...

How to choose cabinet hardware, plus my fave traditional kitchen hardware styles

It has taken me MONTHS of mood-boarding and even installing this kitchen, and I have FINALLY chosen our hardware!! Shopping for cabinet/drawer hardware is so fun, but when it comes time to choose one of the amazing pretty styles of basically jewelry for your cabinets, it can be so hard!! I love them all and went back and forth even on finish, size, and layout.

I think I can save you some of my pain, however, with my tips for how to choose cabinet hardware for your kitchen or bathroom reno. I a...

How to Define your Decor Style! & Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July holiday! We share what we’re up to this week, then revisit a favorite episode of ours from the archives, episode 3. It’s a big one--how and why to define your home style!

Some questions we tackle and resources we cover:
Why pick a style? Why not just collect and decorate with all the stuff you like? Are style quizzes worth the time? (Some we recommend: My Domaine home style, HGTV home style, My Domaine Spirit Pattern. Also, Home Edit Guides to home styles.) How much is dictate...

So much style, so much function: Our kitchen sink and faucet! Plus why we didn't choose a farm sink

Some of my favorite parts about our new kitchen are the sink and faucet! I debated trendy options like an apron-front "farm sink" and bridge faucet, and in the end chose styles I think are even more classic and more functional!

READ POST

How to lay sheet vinyl flooring in a complex, larger space. Our DIY kitchen reno slate-look vinyl

After we learned that the vinyl flooring in our kitchen had asbestos in the glue, we decided not to rip it out and lay oak flooring to match the rest of the house. I considered tile, but tile is tricky in a kitchen... it's hard underfoot, hard when you drop things on it or kids fall on it, has grout lines that can be annoying to clean, and takes time to lay. But I do like the look of tile--I thought about terra cotta or slate as a solid but varied, rich color.

Then I thought about vinyl. I...

How to Include Family Heirlooms in your Decor

Family heirlooms, from furniture to small decor items… how to use them in your home and decor? Sometimes these pieces are so special and beautiful to us but other times it’s hard to fit them into your style.

This week on the Your Home Story podcast, Ashley and I share our personal experiences with heirlooms and antiques, really fun unique ideas for what to do with them, art ideas, plus our favorite tips from our Facebook group on when to keep vs. when to get rid of. (You guys are so wise!) Imag...