Previous installments: Making a House a Home Vlogs 1 here, 2 here, 3 here.
We have spent the entire month of August getting our home prepared for fall. Both Riley and I are very seasonal people, meaning that we are very affected by the change of season, and that’s reflected in our behaviors, schedules, purchases, recipes, and more.
In preparation for the cozy fall season that’s upon us, when we plan to use our wood-burning fireplace for the first time, watch lots of movies cuddled on the couch, and generally begin to hunker down in our home, we have made it a point to deep clean and organize every part of our home. In fact, in just the past week, we’ve cleaned out and organized the garage, the pantry, the guest bathroom, the second den/man cave (we don’t know what to call this room…you’ll see it in the video), and under the kitchen sink! Needless to say, we’ve been busy working on our house in August.
I’m super excited to share this installment of Making a House a Home because it captures a dramatic change and difference–much more so than any previous installment! I hope you enjoy seeing what we’ve done with our home in the past month and how we’ve continued to settle in, which includes cleaning out the “nursery,” adding an entryway table, and blue curtains that I might return. 😉 You can watch the video below or on YouTube here.
// What are your thoughts on the blue curtains in the living room? What are your favorite stores to shop at for furniture and home décor?
Hey Blair! I always love your home tours, you guys have come such a long way!! The fireplace is especially beautiful! I love the blue curtains in the living room. If you feel like it’s too formal you could try adding bamboo or faux white wooden blinds to make it a bit more casual. I would also love to see a cleaning video sometimes. Your house looks perfect and I’m always looking for better ways to clean and new products as well. Especially when it comes to bathrooms, they are the worst. Thanks again for all you share and post!!!
Hi Valarie! Thanks for watching and for your sweet comment. You’re the third person to say that you like the curtains, so I may just have to keep them! We plan on adding faux wood blinds in that room, and I hadn’t thought about how they’ll make it feel more casual until you mentioned it. You’re totally right! Thanks!! 🙂
PS- You are not the first person to request a cleaning video. I’d love to film one in the coming months and share! xoxo
Enjoyed the video! I really love seeing the process – most time on Pinterest and other sites it just seems like the homes just instantly became perfect, but these posts remind me that’s a much slower process. I wanted to ask how you and Riley budget for items in your home – do you plan out your priorities and judge/plan out what amount you’re going to spend on each item for a single room? Or is it part of your monthly budget? Any insight would be great!
I totally agree with you about the Pinterest deception! Beautiful houses take time. And money, let’s be real. As far as budgeting for our house–we look at our disposable income for the month, every month, and we decide what we’re going to do with it. Sometimes we eat out a lot, sometimes we buy small things for our home, sometimes we buy more expensive furniture. This works well for us! Thanks for reading and commenting!
I would love to hear more about how you budget for home items! And even more so, I’d love to read (or watch vlogs) about how you and your husband simplify your finances and stay on budget. I know this is tricky because you don’t want to give out personal financial information (I wouldn’t either), but if you could share some financial advice without specific numbers, that would be wonderful! Thank you for creating such amazing content on your blog! Yours is always the first blog I read every day 🙂
Hello Blair! I’ve been reading through your blog the past few weeks and finally am commenting. Your home is so nice! It’s such a nice feeling to be settled, isn’t it?! My husband and I returned from teaching overseas about 5 months ago now and are finally getting our job situation nailed down. I am so looking forward to purchasing our own house with a yard within the next year! We currently own a townhouse at the moment. Your blog and vlogs inspire me even more and get me excited for the future. I personally think the curtains in the front living room look very nice and do go well with the rest of your home. They provide a nice hint of color, and the blue is a very calming color. I agree that adding blinds or a shade will help make the room feel more casual :). I think the curtains definitely blend with the rest of your home because they are the same style (2 long panels) as the curtains in the rest of your home.
Hi Julie!! 🙂 Welcome! Thank you for your sweet comment. It is SUCH a nice feeling to be settled. Where were y’all teaching? It’s always been a secret dream of mine to live (and possibly teach) overseas for a period of time. I hope y’all have a quick and easy house hunt when you start looking! In the meantime, enjoy your townhouse. We absolutely adore townhouses, but they don’t make them in Texas! Weird, right?
Thanks for your input on the curtains! They’re growing on me and I’m really glad to hear that you think they go with the rest of our house. That was definitely my main concern! I appreciate your opinion.
Thanks again for reading and commenting, Julie!
We were teaching in Thailand – Bangkok to be exact! it was a lot of fun to experience the Thai culture by living there for 6 months! I also taught in Moscow, Russia right after college. I think living overseas is definitely worth it and a great experience. So, let me know if you have any questions about it at any time!
I love the curtains! I think they do blend in with the rest of the decor and your home and add a subtle “pop” of color in the room. I think with the spray painted lamps you might like the curtains even more! Love your home. So glad you are continuing to get settled in especially in preparation for fall! Xoxo
Ahh, thanks for your input! I may just keep them!! I agree that with spray painting the lamps and adding more décor in that room, I’ll like them even more. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave me a note! Thanks, Alyssa!
BLAIR. I NEED that t-rex head!!! AHAHAHA That is amazing! Ask Riley where he got it, please! 😛
Amazon. *GIANT eye roll*
HAHAHA That makes it even more hilarious! I assumed he found it in some kind of unique thrift store or something and he HAD to get it, but no — he sought out t-rex head decor on Amazon. That’s phenomenal. AHAHAHAHAHA 😛
Hi Blair, it’s great to see that you’re settling more into your home, and all the work you have both put into it has certainly paid off! I love your pale blue curtains and I think it’s really nice to add a pop of colour in a neutral room, and I think the blue just works really well. I think the snacks/drinks idea in the guest bedroom is a lovely touch too. My husband and I moved into our house in February and we’ve had a lot of work done downstairs (lots of paint, and new wooden floors) and the furniture bill is also mounting up… we live in the UK but we just ordered a couple of desks and a new dining table from West Elm, and they’re being shipped from New York! I am also a big fan of John Lewis (dept store) – they sell really good quality furniture here in the UK. And we also buy the odd piece from Ikea. We still have a lot of things to add to our home – from light fittings to new rugs, but are getting there slowly – and are doing little upgrades when we can. The garden is another story! We try to keep it neat and tidy, but would like to start growing our own veggies! Do you and/or Riley do much in the way of gardening?
Hi Blair! I love the curtains. It really adds a calming touch to the room. Your house looks great!
Hey Blair! What kind of hooks did you install in the shower for your loofahs? They look like the command hooks but I didn’t think those would stand up in such a damp environment! Thanks 🙂
They are command hooks! They’re specifically designed for bathrooms and are awesome! Here’s the line: http://amzn.to/2ccL3bc Hope that helps!