Okay, I know what you are probably thinking… “Update?! Didn’t she just give her entire kitchen an update?!” Well, yes, yes I did. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have the blogger itch to make changes every couple of years! Nothing big this time, but some superficial changes that will hopefully be an upgrade to my inexpensive choices the first time around, and in turn gelling better with the general style of my home. So, yeah! I’ve got a couple of projects in mind for the month of August! And I wanted to share it with you and get opinions before I throw myself head first into them. (The above image is a rendering of the changes I plan to make.)

First, let’s review. My kitchen has been through quite a transformation already! When we moved in, our kitchen looked like the one below.

Now it looks like the image above. Much brighter and more fitting to our style. But some of the finishes and installations I had chosen simply for their budget friendliness, and I’m ready to upgrade them now. Check out the link list below to view my detailed posts about each step of our budget kitchen reno. And read on to hear about the new updates I’ll be working on this August!

• Planning a Budget Kitchen Renovation
• Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets
• Cleaning, Painting, and Drilling into the Brick Wall
• Reconfiguring Existing Cabinets for a Fresh Look
• How to Make an Inexpensive Plank Backsplash
• Installing Butcher Block Counters with an Undermount Sink
• Kitchen Renovation Reveal

This one is nonnegotiable. I’ve been wanting to tile my kitchen walls since I first did a facelift to this space two years ago. But instead I chose a shiplap treatment that was incredibly budget friendly, in turn helping my entire ktichen reno log in at under 2K total.(Read about the shiplap process here, with details on the cost of each material used.)

I’m very drawn to the dramatic tile wall trend that’s happening right now, in particular, tiles with a sixties modern boho vibe. Jonathan Adler designed a beautiful circle-textured tile for his home that would be perfect for what I envision for my kitchen, but I couldn’t find anything like it in my price range. Enter: The DIYer’s Solution! You guys, I’m going to use ceramic coasters to tile my kitchen wall. This is a thing that is actually happening. I’ve ordered the coasters in bulk and am currently waiting for them to arrive. Before I get to work, I’m planning on changing up the shelving situation as well. Let’s talk about that next!

This is actually the first part of the work I will be doing. I decided to instal floating shelves first, then cutting the tiles to instal around the shelves, making the design fully integrated and visually cohesive (no gaps between shelves and the wall). For my first budget kitchen facelift, I had chosen simple Ikea brackets and used 1x10s and 1x8s with a 1×2 front lip that I glued in place to give the shelves a more substantial feel. The end results was a nice, bright open-shelving look, but perhaps a bit more country than I’d like. Not a big deal, but since I’m redoing the wall, I wanted to take this opportunity to change up the shelves as well.

I purchased some 2×6 and 2×4 poplar boards that I’m edge gluing to make them wider and will be installing them as floating shelves, with no visible brackets. I’ll share all about the easy process later this month! But for now I’m stuck on deciding if I want to paint the shelves white, or stain them. I had to do a mock-up to see how both ways would look with the new tile I plan to do, but I still can’t decide! I love the clean, crisp look of the white. But I love the warmth of the wood too.

I’d love to hear your opinions! I’m very excited to do this little addendum to our kitchen facelift, and am so excited to share the results with you guys! Later this week I’ll share peeks at the progress of our little living room facelift as well. So many little changes that are adding up to a big shift in the look and feel of our home. We’re lovin’ it!

It seems like everyone’s bringing a little more green in to their homes these days, and I’m not just talking about paint! Even brown thumbs are giving houseplants a go, and with good reason! They add such warmth and liveliness to a space, and for those who like a good challenge, the right plant will fill that void in your life. Ha! As if we need another living creature to take care of, eh? Well, now that I’ve mastered the art of nurturing the houseplants I’ve had for years, I’ve been all about adding a few newbies into the mix, which in turn launched a hunt for a few new (old) pots. I really love the way vintage planters put the icing on top of my houseplant cake, adding a whole new element of texture and character to the decor of a room.

Now that I’ve claimed dibs on my favorites (they’re en route to my house as I type! Yippee!), I figured I ought to share the fruits of my vintage planter hunt with all of you, in case you’re in the market for a new houseplant or two. I mean, whose home couldn’t stand a new little green guy, amiright? Check these out, though! Very nice planters simply oozing all the cool mid century vibes.

(above planters on my dining room cabinet from left to right: West Elm; thrifted ; Lowes)

 Spiral Stoneware Planter (5″ x 6″) // $20.00
 White Splatter Pedestal Pot (6.5″ x 8″) // $26.00
 Turquoise Drip Glaze Dish (12″ x 4.5″) // $30.00
 Brown Spatter Pedestal Dish (5.75″ x 4″) // $10.00
 White Scalloped Bowl (6″ x 3″) // $19.95
 Two-Tone Brown Portuguese Planter (3.5″ x 4″) // $14.84
 Orange and Lavender Speckled Planter (5″ x 3.75″) // $18.00
 Brown Glazed Planter (5″ tall) // $14.00
 Copper Hanging Planter (2.5″ tall pot) // $48.00
 Green Splatter Dish (9.75″ x 3.5″) // $20.00
 Blue and Teal Footed Planter (5.5″ x 4.5″) // $60.00
 Black Stoneware Globe Vase (4.5″ x 3.5″) // (etsy shop on break)
 Goldenrod Yellow Pedestal Planter (5″ x 5″) // $10.98
 Large White Pumpkin-esque Planter (10.5″ x 5.75″) // $78.50

And for good measure, I thought I’d share some new plants I have in my home! Hanging pothos plants are my fail-safe houseplant that I can use in dimmer lit rooms. I’d been wanting to hang something in our bathroom for quite a while, and finally got these cool diagonally glazed planters from CB2. I think the pothos will grow pretty long and look beautiful in here!

I found this ficus tree (below) on Craigslist and took Lucy on a two-hour road trip (four hours there and back) to go get it. We’re crazy like that! (Super fun experience, by the way! We talked all the way there and back!) I was really nervous about having this ficus in our home, because I heard they are notorious for dropping leaves in shock when moved to a new location. I love the tree and while I would’ve been disappointed to lose the money (just $30) and waste the effort I put into the tree, I mostly just really felt like this tree is exactly what our living room has needed. So, I have lost some leaves, but I’ve also have a lot of regrowth and feel pretty good about this guy! It’s a great sculptural element to jazz up the simple white brick fireplace wall in our living room.

And last, but not least, I decided to challenge myself to grow a couple of cacti in our home (one pictured below). I’ve been convinced that they’re very easy to maintain, and I’ve been reading lots about them, but they’re so different from anything I’ve grown, I definitely feel challenged and a wee bit worried.

(above planters in order of left to right: West Elm, Vintage, Home Goods, Amazon, Ikea)

Side note: Am I the only one who stays awake at night worrying about my plants and reading up about them? I feel a a bit like a crazy person. Crazy plant lady. It’s the new cool thing to be. I’ll accept the title gladly.

It’s been absolutely ages since my last Movie Monday post, and I’m simply dying to talk classic film with you again. If you’re thinking that my syntax seems a bit odd, just reread that first sentence in a poorly disguised Haley Mills American accent, and it might make a bit more sense. Yes, this girl’s been watching the original Parent Trap again, and it’s seeping into every nook and cranny of my brain!

Rather than summarizing the plot and offering a sort of quasi-review of the 1961 Parent Trap, I thought it would be a bit more fun to just talk about the style influence this movie can offer to our modern day homes (and wardrobes!). So click through if you’d like to take a walk down memory lane with me, and, of course, drool over that killer 1960s Monterey California house.

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