Category: all things renovation
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Our Regrind Driveway Review – 3 Years Later Would Asphalt Have Been Better?
Now that our latest construction project is done (the garages) and until we start the next one (the carriage house), we have fewer trucks, cars, and equipment wreaking havoc on our property, which made me stare at our regrind driveway with fresh eyes. I just reread the original article, from three years ago, debating all…
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We Found The Best Garage Doors Ever – See For Yourself
I never thought I’d be this excited to show you the prettiest garage doors ever. When we finally agreed to invest in making our garages better, our goal was to make them functional, but we had very low expectations on how beautiful they would be. Our garages aren’t on a street where neighbors can see…
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I Pushed My Brother Into Buying Very “Non-Ken” Contemporary Fabric – Another River House Sneak Peek
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I could debate the “timeless versus trend” pursuit for hours in home design. But where I almost always land is this philosophy: keep hard finishes (flooring, windows, tile) high quality and simple/special, and then layer on the wild style/trends (to make sure it’s not boring). This is not everyone’s pursuit, nor am I saying it’s…
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Am I A Hoarder? Our Next Youtube Video – Inside The Vintage Carriage House
Today we are discussing two very important things – 1. I am a hoarder of vintage stuff, and I don’t have as much shame about it as I probably should, and 2. We have produced some new YouTube videos in the vintage carriage house that you simply must watch (it’s my favorite video we’ve ever…
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Why We Chose A Clover Lawn Instead Of Grass (This Time)
I feel like I’m about to step into an opinion minefield today. Deciding to do a clover lawn in one area of the property has been oddly polarizing. I’m not an expert, so don’t use me as your sole point of research, but we did opt for a clover lawn instead of traditional turf this…
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How We Made Vintage-Inspired Corbels For The Outdoor Kitchen Gazebo
As I was designing this “kitchen gazebo,” I found almost no inspiration that looked and functioned like I wanted ours to look/feel. They were mostly big boxy McMansion-looking Texas-style structures or hexagonal sweet old timey gazebos, but I found almost no images of rectangular covered structures that looked charming and pretty. So I knew that…
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Design Coaching Chrissy & Pete: A Mini Demo Update And OFFICIAL Kitchen Layout
Gretch here, signing on to give you a project update! A few weeks ago we kicked off a new design coaching series and introduced you to our starting line-up (Chrissy & Pete). If this doesn’t ring a bell, hop on over to the intro post where we break it all down. But for a quick…
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How We Built Our Outdoor Kitchen With RTA (Assembled In One Day, Folks)
We are wrapping up phase two of the backyard (which is admittedly a pretty large phase) and I wanted to give you an update, show you the plans, and give you a sneak peek into the new RTA outdoor kitchen (which went from a little “grill area” to full blown kitchen really fast – it’s…
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Repairing Our 150 Year Old Garage (An Update) – We Have Walls Again!
I shouldn’t be so excited about this, it’s just a garage and I don’t even like to drive or know what my own car looks like in a full parking lot (it’s called “car blindness,” and yes, I have gotten in many similar cars that aren’t mine). But as someone who owns probably 19 hammers…
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Design Coaching: Peter And Chrissy’s Builder-Grade Kitchen Plan (I’ve Got Thoughts!)
Oh boy, this is fun. I love inserting myself into other people’s problems (usually when asked) so this whole “help someone else design their house” thing is already making my dopamine spike. After sifting through countless submissions (sooo many good ones–thank you to all who applied!), battling weeks of email hacking snafus, and balancing our…