Konnichiwa! Passports? Check. Plenty of yen? Check. House/dog sitters? Check. Ready for the trip of a lifetime? Check. We are about to embark on an adventure in Japan and we’re so excited.

Today’s blog is all about an early birthday gift from my hubby, tickets to the 2023 San Diego Modern Home Tour. He knows just what this birthday girl likes. Beautiful weather. Beautiful homes. Leisurely pace. Lots to see and learn. And one more gift – the opportunity to share the experience with you. I hope you find this secondhand blog tour (blour?) educational and enjoyable.

I’m sure our story isn’t all that different than a lot of yours. You know the one…the one where you’re able to afford a great house in a terrific neighborhood. With a catch. The house hasn’t been updated since it was built over 20 years ago. Well we’ve been catching up in our “new house” for six years now, and we have been slowly but surely worked our way through the very, very long list of needed updates. This year, 2023, was deemed the year of the bathroom. In our house, we are fortunate to have three bathrooms. One powder room and two full baths, including an en suite to the primary bedroom. Stay tuned for our primary bath reno for a journey that included some crazy twists and turns – and dubious sales tactics – but ultimately a great result.

This is a furniture makeover challenge I issued to myself. Let me set the stage…

My hubby and I recently redesigned my workshop in the garage. There was an old buffet piece I had been using as a workbench. Now, with the new workshop area, there was no longer a place for the buffet. Being a reuse and repurpose girl at heart, I couldn’t with good conscience throw out a piece of furniture (no matter how scary the current condition was) without trying to fix it up and pass on to someone who could use it. This is where the makeover story begins.

Many, many hours. That’s what I spend in my garage working on different projects. Some for fun and some for work, which, thankfully, is also fun. The projects range from furniture redesign and refinishing to crafting and decorating projects. When you do something for many, many hours, you’re smart if you make the space that you’re working in the best it can be. That definitely was not the case with my garage space – but that’s all changed now, baby! I got me a great workspace and I’m oh so happy! It’s nothing fancy, and people with a really nice, dedicated workshop may not be impressed. But for this redesign gal, it’s just right. Let me share how I got from workshop mess to workshop bliss…

So you may wonder why on earth you would ever need to know how to read a floor plan. You got me. I cannot guarantee this skill will benefit you. However, if you ever remodel your home, look at design magazines, or simply want to use a simple floor plan to rearrange a room in your home, this skill can come in very handy. And learning new things is always good. And think of all the other ways you probably spend part of your time…seen any cat videos lately? Case closed. Read on to get the low-down on floor plans!

Quick: What’s the purpose of accessories? Believe it or not, they do much more than make a space look pretty, although they certainly do that. For example, baskets or decorative containers can function as extra storage. Large pillows, throws, and rugs can add comfort and warmth. Candles, accent lights, and floor lamps not only help you to see better but they can also visually impact a space by making it feel cozy, warm, and intimate. In this blog, I will give you some tips when it comes to choosing those accessories.

Chalk paint can be a magical tool to help you refinish a piece of furniture that has seen better days. Unfamiliar with chalk paint? It provides a hard finish that will cover a lot of imperfections and simply make them disappear. Many brands are available online, in a home improvement center paint department or even in your favorite craft store. While there are lots of good choices, they can be quite expensive. The simple solution to that is to make your own. Today, I will share three different chalk paint recipes I have tried and let you know which is my favorite and why.

Are you a “set it and forget it” person when it comes to furniture arrangement? If the answer is yes and you don’t THINK you have options, politely, you’re wrong. If you’re inexperienced or lack confidence, this blog is just what you need. Rearranging furniture is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to make a room feel new. It’s a core concept of redesign and one of my great pleasures in life. I’ve got six quick tips to help give your home a fresh look for the total cost of zero dollars. You don’t find bargains like that often, so stick around and let’s get our arrangement mojo in high gear!

It won’t always be like this, but lately I’ve been on a thrift store streak. I scored a sweet little bench with a cushioned top and front drawer for storage for less than 10 bucks! As is my habit, a few Saturdays ago, I checked my local Goodwill to see if they had anything I couldn’t live without. Apparently, my survival depended on a cheap bench. It wasn’t much to look at, but I could see its potential and the price was too tempting to resist. While I gave in to impulse, my motivation was about sharing with you. Okay, a little about replacing the bench I’d grown tired of in my primary bedroom, but also the sharing thing. Read on to follow the steps I took to create a cute piece for a killer price.

Do you have a room in your home that you walk by all the time and think to yourself, “If only I could use this room for blank.” No judging on what your “blank” may be – that’s up to you. Or, maybe you have a related challenge: you have a specific blank you want to pursue and no “blanking” space to do it in. I’m beginning to appreciate the multiple uses of the word “blank” through this blog, which is highly fitting since the topic we’ll explore today is making your home more valuable through multi-purpose rooms.

Before I go down the rabbit hole of what colors aren’t as popular as they once were, let me share that you should always make choices based on what you love, the look you want, and the activities you will be doing in that room. I have a great post to help you choose the perfect color palette by asking yourself five simple questions. If you haven’t read that, you can find it here. In my opinion, the only reason to choose colors for others and not yourself is if you’re painting to put your house up for sale or have a rental property to rent. In those cases, you would want to choose colors with wide appeal.

Disclaimer complete. Now, just for fun, let’s take a little look-see at what the paint manufacturers are noting as colors that the masses once made popular but now…not so much.