7QT: home design edition

kitchen sneak peek!

Lots of people ask me how we got into home renovation and design stuff. Honestly, it's all been a pretty big experiment. I figured I'd write up a quick takes post about it because this has been in my drafts for  w e e k s  and I just need to finish it. Linking up with Kelly!

1.
For some backstory:
When we bought our first house in Lincoln right before we got married, home renovation kind of became our shared hobby. David and I don't really share hobbies, otherwise -- he likes sports, watching sports, figuring out how to do things, etc. I like reading and crafting and have never been called athletic in my life. So we had to figure out something that we could do together, and fixing up stuff around the house fit the bill.

The house we purchased was in good shape overall, but it was built in 1930 and hadn't really been updated in awhile. We had to some basic upkeep (replacing old windows in the basement, replacing a basic toilet, etc.) but it was just plain fun to keep going.

Like I've said before, home renovation is not for the faint of heart. It's kind of "the rage" right now on the internet, but like...if you don't enjoy fixing up your house, don't do it. It's too much work to do just because everybody else is.

2.
We have come a long way, both in style of renovation and photographic abilities since we started. Some of the bigger renos we've done, if you're new around here:

Nursery before-and-after (old house)

Bathroom renovation (old house)

Kitchen renovation (old house)

Fireplace before-and-after (current house)

Gosh, rereading those to add the links make them feel like ages and ages ago. We have learned and done so much since then! (Speaking of which, I should probably add these all to a dropdown menu on my blog so I can access them easier. Someday. In all my free time.)

3.
I would say the other biggest question we get about home reno is: how did you/David learn how to do this? I've answered a bit on Instagram before but the short version is: YouTube and experimentation.

David has got a natural knack for working with his hands. He likes experimenting, truly enjoys figuring out how to do something totally foreign or new, and is pretty much unstoppable when he puts his mind to something. He is 100% the muscle behind every project we do. Not that I don't contribute! But two parents can't usually do home renovation at the same time unless the children are sleeping.

The general process for a project: I pin a bunch of things way out of our reach on Pinterest (I have expensive taste). We discuss and argue back and forth about whatever project it is, trying to decide exactly what we want. We decide on a general budget. Eventually we come to a final decision, and we sketch out plans. David spends hours researching how to do whatever new thing it involves on YouTube, watching every video he can get his hands on. David then does most of the work while I support and watch the kids.

4.
When you are doing home renovation the DIY style, you have to be ready to be:

1) frustrated at every turn
2) way slower than a professional
3) willing to spend money to fix mistakes you yourself may have made

Those are some of the biggest hangups that stop people from starting their own projects. And honestly they are legitimate reasons to not DIY things! There are for sure things in our house we wouldn't tackle by ourselves. But for every project we start, we weigh those three factors vs. how much money we could save doing it ourselves. Lost of times DIYing it wins out.

5.
I also seriously love getting inspired by design and home renovations. Some light architectural and design inspiration I've enjoyed lately, in link list form:

First, on why open floor plans are ruining parties. I agree with this so much! We debated opening up our wall in the living room of our house when we did the kitchen renovation, and eventually decided not to. I'm so glad we didn't, not only because open concept plans are umm, expensive to recreate, but also because I really like having separate rooms and I didn't realize it until we considered opening it up. I grew up in a house built in 1910 and I love the separation it gives. Our 1957 current house is relatively open - we're not sure if that was original to the house or added later -- but it's plenty open. I think if we ever get to design our own house, I might advocate for more walls. (Plus they'll be out of style in like 10 years at the most, mark my words.)

Second, if you're not reading McMansion Hell at this point, you really really should be. It's a blog written by Kate Wagner, an architect, who dismantles to a hilarious degree what she dubs "McMansions" of the last 30 years -- huge, poorly built, poorly designed houses that are selling for way too much money. Between McMansion Hell and Grand Designs (the TV show), my house tastes are far too refined for our budget...but one can dream. Also, there are like 3 years' worth of hilarious posts demolishing houses so if you need some hours to fill, go for it. (Vulgarity warning in some of her stuff.) Here's one of her most recent roasts.

Third, on how HGTV needs to pivot to reality in the year of 2018. Kate Wagner of McMansion Hell wrote this one, too, and she has some great points about how HGTV could really give good, accessible design tips to people who could really use it. Renters who can't paint? People living in tiny apartments? Design for people who don't have $10,000 to spend on a bathroom? Ideas for how to reuse things you already have in a fresh way? Like she mentions in the article, that's sort of where HGTV started and I'd be all for going back that direction. Don't get me wrong -- I love me an episode of Fixer Upper for Chip's antics, but not everyone 1) lives in Texas where houses cost less than a university degree or 2) has a desire to rip everything out of a house and start fresh when some things in it are perfectly good as they are.

Fourth, if you're at all into modern design or watching people build their own homes, then Grand Designs is the show for you. Each episode follows a family building a new home in England, and they are all architecturally interesting, either very eco-friendly, or in an interesting location, or innovatively designed. It's on Netflix and each episode is 45 minutes and I've gotten so much good design inspiration from watching it.

6.
Not really related, but you know what's weird? Designing a fireplace wall for your living room, using a photo for inspiration but kind of making it a little different, and then watching an episode of Fixer Upper ~6 months later and finding out Joanna designed basically the exact same thing. GUYS, I had not seen this episode of Fixer Upper when we designed our fireplace. As a reminder:

Our fireplace:

JOANNA'S FIREPLACE:

source: Magnolia Home

Besides the fact that she has a, ahem, professional photography team...THE SIMILARITIES FREAK ME OUT. I swear to you, I had not seen the episode when we designed this. Gave me a heart attack when I watched the show.

7.
All this being said, home renovation isn't gonna slow down around here...once we take a few months off. I've been pinning a bunch of basement ideas, and we're going to fix up the backyard someday too. And eventually, I do really promise I will blog about the kitchen. That first photo is a sneak peek. (We have some finishing touches to do before it's gonna be all done and ready to be photographed.)

Head over to Kelly's for more quick takes!
HG