Blog - at home with Ashley

Laundry Room Renovation Costs

After I finished up my laundry room renovation, I kept getting the same question- how much did this cost?

And I get it! Putting a number next to a final product can give a (somewhat) realistic exception of how much to budget when planning a room. Personally, I love to see what projects cost too so I’m happy to share the laundry room renovation costs!

I should say though, that this was a big renovation. We tore out a whole wall! And everything else was down to the studs. It was a massive undertaking, my husband and I spent hundreds of hours customizing every detail, and the price reflects that.

The other thing I want to say is that every home and every renovation will be different. Every person will make different choices based on what works for their family. Which they should 🙂

For example, a few readers are sad for me that I don’t have a sink in there, but for us, that was an unnecessary expense when our kitchen sink is a few feet away. So this breakdown is what we chose, but we know others might have different priorities.

catch up on the laundry room makeover!

week 1 / week 2 / week 3 / week 4 / week 5 / week 6 [Read more…]

DIY Plant Markers

I grew up in a family who loved to garden. Each year we’d spend hours planting and weeding and picking what we grew. I loved it! Well, not the weeding part, but definitely seeing the miracle of life that nature shows when a seed becomes a plant! My favorite was our raspberry bushes. I still don’t think there’s anything better than vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries- yum!

And then I got married and my husband and I rented then bought a condo and didn’t have a garden of our own for 12 years. This year, for the first year, we have a garden. And I’m THRILLED! Don and I started seeds in March to prep for when the ground is safe from frost and have been watering them everyday. Tomorrow we’ll be planting our little starts, but I figured, I needed plant markers!

So that was a long background story to today’s DIY. Essentially, I had to make something that was functional and beautiful for the garden to commemorate this new season for our family. Because I am so dang excited! In case you’re getting ready to put in your garden too, here’s how to make some pastel rainbow DIY plant markers!

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DIY Faux Stained Glass

While renovating our laundry room, we made an exciting discovery! By vaulting the ceiling, we’d be able to restore the transom window between the kitchen and laundry room. The glass had been replaced with wood since it used to look into an insulation filled ceiling.

Luckily, we found the glass in a shed! So, now it was just a matter of cleaning up the glass. The more I thought about the window though, the more I became convinced that doing a faux stained glass to the transom would look beautiful. [Read more…]

DIY Renter Friendly Wallpaper Panel

Thank you to Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart for sponsoring this post! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

A few months ago, I framed a chinoiserie wallpaper mural in my living room. It was a really fun project, but I got the question- how would I do this if I was a renter and I wanted to take the panel with me when I left?! I thought and thought about it and came up with a solution, so I thought I’d share it!

This’ll work nicely if you’re scared of the commitment of wallpaper or are moving in the foreseeable feature and want to move the wallpaper panel with you.

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One Room Challenge- Laundry Room Reveal

Today is such an exciting day! I get to share how my laundry room came out! We finished painting and caulking the room on Monday and then installed the room. I’m pretty happy with how colorful, textural, bright, and happy this room turned out!

Photography by Developing Bliss Photography. [Read more…]

DIY TV Gallery Wall

I’m just going to say it- my TV wall was a bore. Which is fine- the main attraction is definitely the TV! But as the rest of my living room has slowly come together, this sad wall felt neglected and bare.

One thing I think is interesting is how TV walls have changed with time. Remember back in the day when there’d be a big box TV and all of the VHS’s would be on display on shelves. Maybe huge speakers? Or when TV’s were hidden in an armoire? Right now, the trend is to make the TV disappear and I am here for it!

p.s. I feel old saying “here for it.” Lol! I used to work with high school kids when I did displays for a furniture company. I would ask them “what do the kids say now a days?” And then they’d try to keep me up to date- I loved it!

Anyway! TV walls! I decided that the remedy to my boring wall was to create a gallery wall around the TV. That way there’ll be a spot for the eye to look besides the TV. Some decoration when none existed.

Also, my TV is the Samsung Frame. It has a setting where when it’s “off” it looks like it has art on it. I have a white frame for it (the company manufactured a few colors). It’s the prettiest TV of all time and I’m sure most people have heard of it. But if not, there’s the 411! [Read more…]

The Best Affordable Etsy Artists

Last month I talked about how to create a gallery wall on a budget. One of my suggestions is to go on Etsy and buy “printable” art. What that means is you pay for the file, it is electronically sent to you, and you print and frame it. From my experience, that’s the least expensive way to find cute, unique art. And it’s super fast too since you don’t have to wait around for a physical product to be shipped.

This morning I got this email-

Hi Ashley,

I read your blog every day and love it! You’re such an inspiration. I’d love to shop for some cute art prints like you have on your gallery wall on Etsy, but I don’t know where to begin. Etsy feels so overwhelming to me. Can you offer any tips or advice?

Thanks for your help. Dawn

I thought that was such a great question! So I figured that I’d do a round up of my favorite and the best affordable Etsy artists in case anyone else is in the market for some cute art that isn’t too expensive (less than $10 a piece). Let’s get started!

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One Room Challenge 5

Eep! We are officially down to the wire with the laundry room! A week from now everything has to be done. Considering that last week we literally didn’t have a wall, things are looking up.

Catch up on the laundry room progress!

week 1 / week 2 / week 3 / week 4 / week 5 / week 6

[Read more…]

3 Creative Ways to Update a Table

This weekend I took my son to do some vintage shopping at a market close to our house. I usually leave him at home and go with my sister, but he was so fun to shop with and well behaved, I think this’ll become a tradition for this market! I let him pick out one item (he got a dinosaur book) and I got a table for $35! [Read more…]

How to Wallpaper Cabinets

I’ve done a bunch of updates on my dark kitchen and they have made a world of difference! This has been a DIY space that I’ve tried to do on a tight budget and I’ve been thrilled with the results so far. But the insides of my cabinets have remained untouched. I thought that wallpaper would add some pattern and lighten them up.