While building our house we've learned a lot about how to save money while going through the building process. Here are a few ways that you can save money when building the home of your dreams.

We’re nearing the final stages of designing our new house (almost to the blueprints stage!) and I’ve spent the last couple months reflecting on this house, thinking about what we’ve messed up, what we love, and what we would change. I have a couple of posts coming up relating to all that, and today is...

Is it actually possible to build a new home on a budget? That’s the question we asked ourselves over two years ago when we were knee-deep in planning the construction of our new home. We had plenty of experience renovating homes, but this would be our first time building a home from the ground up. We […]

Custom built-ins can be expensive. The DIY Billy bookcase built in hack is a versatile, affordable, and stylish alternative for creating a built-in look!

We are building our dream home! Since we moved to Charleston, we have been keeping our eye a beautiful neighborhood on Johns Island, just 5 minutes away from our current house. Last week we decided to jump in with both feet and went under contract on a lot with perfect marsh views. We are using a small custom home builder…

We turned the plain white front porch pillars on our house into cedar pillars, and we couldn't be happier with the results!

These Beautiful Bible Verses for New Home Construction are a great reminder of our need for God’s guidance and blessings in this season. The

I fell in love with a patio set not too long ago by Restoration Hardware and then my dream fell apart when I saw the price tag! 1300$ for one chair? Well that wasn’t going to work for our bud…

One of the biggest "Phase 1" improvements we made was updating the floors throughout the house. The girls' bedrooms were recarpetted; the din ...

Keep these 5 things in mind when building a custom home! Discussing our new construction process, helpful ideas when building a custom home, & challenges.

Learn how we used a highly recommend DIY murphy bed hardware kit and plans to build our own gorgeous modern murphy bed, plus storage!

There are two choices when faced with an eyesore that is NOT part of the decor plan.1. Hide it so it just blends in and you forget about it.2. Turn it into a st…

How we stained, finished and installed our new pine flooring in our renovation. #flooring #pinefloors #diy

All about the white brick on our house, maintenance, and the best paint colors for white painted brick houses that have us drooling! Read with Chrissy Marie!

Hello! So, I have a sister and sister-in-law building homes and so I have been brought back to the home building process as we’ve looked at plans and lighting and flooring and paint colors! I have kept a list of things that I wish we had done differently or things I wish we would have considered and I hope it helps if you are building, re-modeling, finishing a space. First, I need to say without reserve that I *love* our home. It is perfect for our family. I try to give thanks whenever I can for the blessing of living where we do in with such incredible neighbors and beautiful mountains in our backyard. In all of our moves, from apartments to rentals to fixer uppers, I have come to know that you can make any house into a home because of the people and attitudes inside of it. So, I hope this comes in the spirit of giving pointers to a sister or a good friend, not with dissatisfaction or ungratitude. I think I’ve mentioned before that we weren’t planning on building! But we fell in love with a lot and area and it just turned out that way. There are many lessons that you can only learn by building. So… if you can build a practice house and then build your final house!! Haha. Here we go: * Floor Plan: take the time to get your floor plan right. Anything you change after you submit final plans to the builder will cost you much more money in change orders. * Invest now in features that would be difficult to change later: heating/cooling systems, insulation, cabinets, flooring, tile etc. Things like light fixtures, paint, closet systems, and furniture aren’t hard to change or upgrade later. * If you have an upstairs or downstairs use a high quality insulation so you don’t hear every step upstairs (especially on hardwoods)! We invested in using the Roxul Soundproof Insulation between our upstairs floor and the basement ceiling and it would also be good for rooms that are next to a bathroom. * I would have gone with lighter floors! (^^ too dark!) Ours show everything and scratch easily– I would go lighter (like the color of dirt!) with some variation. * We would have done separate HVAC for upstairs and the basement so that each could have their own thermostat and controls. The basement stays much cooler than the rest of the house and it would make much more sense to give it more heat in the winter and not as much as the rest of the house in the summer. * 9 ft ceilings in the basement and 10 ft ceilings upstairs can make the whole house seem bigger and more open. * Laundry room! Near the kitchen or near the bedrooms? I like mine by the kitchen because it is right where I work so I can switch loads and then my kids take them to their rooms to fold and put away (well…that is what is supposed to happen, right?) but I have friends that swear by having it by the upstairs (or downstairs bedrooms). I bring my laundry out to the kitchen table to fold with the TV on or while kids are practicing or doing homework so a big laundry room that I can fold all the clothes in doesn’t make sense for me. A trend right now is to do a stackable washer and dryer in the master closet and the plumbing isn’t that much more expensive – it may be something to consider. I do love a hanging rod, a sink to rinse, a counter to put laundry on, and cabinets to store laundry detergent, etc. in * Outlet and light switch placement! ^^ Here is an example where I ruined a perfect good wall with light switches – I could have just had them go on the the other side of the wall in the mudroom. Places to consider putting outlets: -on top of the fireplace mantel – think lighted Christmas garland. - by the top or bottom of stair railings (also for lighted Christmas garland) - the front porch – for Christmas decor or lights. - on the outside eaves for Christmas lights so you don’t have cords hanging down. - inside of cabinets with glass doors and a few in the built ins – this is mostly for our Christmas village. - a light switch by the master bed so you don’t have to get out of bed to turn off lights. - on the back patio for hanging patio lights and plugging in power washers, heaters, etc. - double outlets where girls get ready – hairdryers, straightener, curling irons, etc. - night lights along stairs for kids that get up at night - if you have a Roomba – where do you want it to dock? - in the pantry for small appliances - on the side of the kitchen island - where do you want your charging station for phones? In the mudroom, a cabinet, or in your room if you have kids turn in devices at night. * Kitchen: I wish we would have done soft close cabinets! I know I can switch the hinges out, but I wish I would have done it in the first place. Also, you should know that white cabinets will yellow if they are exposed to sun. I would have gotten window coverings or shades (on the outside or inside) right away for where the sun hits my cabinets – can you see how the top drawer is more yellow than the bottom? Or, talk to your cabinet maker about non-yellowing paint options. Other favorite features in my kitchen are here. I had much more to say on this than I was anticipating! To read more tips click here for Part #2 and click here for Part #3 What would be your #1 advice for building a home?

How to Build a custom DIY corner banquette for extra seating in an unused corner of a living room to create a cozy space.

How we turned Ikea Sektion cabinets into custom built-in storage in our playroom with Semihandmade doors, plus the total cost breakdown.

Everyone has asked how we did our Ikea Rast Hack, and I am here to show you! It was such a fun easy DIY!

The talented Kerrie-Ann Jones has renovated her mid-century modern home into an exceptional space that honours its original appeal.⁠ ⁠

Hey friends! I hope you had a good weekend! We had a GREAT weekend because we basically spent the entire weekend out on our new property! We are waiting to get the water and electricity ran to the property, so in the meantime, we decided to build a shed down on the back of the...

Hey guys!!! So, I haven't blogged in nearly 4 months. It's crazy. I barely even know where to begin! There's so much to say and so much to share, so let's just jump right in and pick up where we left off. Our little Ava is now 5 months old and doing really great. We survived 4 months of colic/milk allergy/reflux and between that and a pretty difficult pregnancy, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of my sails. But, little by little, things are getting so much better and I'm slowly starting to feel like my old self again. Thank you guys so much for being patient with me and understanding that I needed some time off to focus on Ava. I'm so grateful for this precious girl, and I'm sure one day I'll look back and laugh about the past year. But, like, not yet. Ava on Halloween...finally giving us all sorts of sweet smiles. So, let's get down to business. In the final few months before I had Ava, I was able to share with you guys the finished basement renovation, our upstairs flooring redo, and the nursery. But I kinda ran out of time (duty called) before I could share the finished living room. So, a quick 5 months after I finished it, today I can finally show it to you. Many of you guys have been following my blog for awhile now and have already seen the before pictures of the upstairs living area, but I'll share them again, as it's always a nice reminder of how outdated our house was when we first moved in. So, here are the before pics. This is the living room in May of 2010 when we first moved in...wall to wall carpet, outdated light fixtures, dark wood trim, and windows so old that you could feel the wind in your hair when you stood next to them. This was what the entryway looked like. Outdated light fixture, parquet flooring and carpeted stairs, rickety old stair rail, and dark wood trim and door. This was what the dining room looked like. There was a wall between the kitchen and dining room that made the room almost too tiny to use. There was an old glass sliding door that barely opened, dark wood trim and wainscotting, outdated light fixtures, and a tile/carpet combo. This is what it looked standing in the dining room and looking into the living room. This house sat on the market for a really long time before we bought it, as it was obviously totally outdated. I was a little scared, as it was our first house and I had never renovated anything in my life. But, ultimately I decided to just go for it and I'm so glad I did. Renovating it took me almost 5 years to complete. Sometimes it was totally stressful, sometimes I wanted to quit, but ultimately it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. And I learned a lot. Which is great because we won't live here forever, and the next time I renovate a house, I'll be much better equipped. So, that being said, here are the pics of what this upstairs area looks like today. Let's start with a little recap of the dining room and entryway and then we'll move into the living room. One of the things that made the biggest difference was knocking down the wall between the dining room and kitchen. We also built a new stair rail, painted all of the trim and wainscoting white, added new light fixtures, and installed white washed hardwood flooring. I painted our kitchen cabinets and updated the hardware when we first moved in the house, and although in an ideal world I would have been able to fully renovate the kitchen, I decided that I could really stretch our budget by just painting the cabinetry and working with what we already had. In the dining room, I added a bold rug that I found for $60 (I know it's not for everyone, and that's okay.). I found the dining room table at a salvage shop, and the white leather chairs with metallic legs I found on Overstock. The original post about the dining room with sources can be found here. Also, we've talked about my orchid sabotage many times, so...that's a fake orchid. I've got a child to raise. Here's a quick view from the landing at the top of the stairs. You can see where we also knocked down the wall and widened the old doorway into the hallway. Here's a look around the corner. You can see how we painted the old outdated wainscoting white. We also replaced the old sliding glass door in the dining room with nice french doors. In the entryway, we replaced the light fixture, and installed double doors on the coat closet. We replaced the carpet on the stairs with hardwood treads and painted white risers, and we also built a new stairrail. I painted the existing front door Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze (favorite!), and added a little silver coat hook from HomeGoods. One of the deer heads broke off after I brought it home. And now this little coat hook reminds me of Jesse tinkering in the garage for an hour, determined to fix it for me. I think there was some ametuer welding going on in the garage, but I was too pregnant to waddle out there and watch. And now, let's move on to the finished living room. I don't expect this room to blow anyone's mind. But, it's come such a long way, and it's where we spend most of our time, so it definitely deserves at least a little time on the blog. We replaced the light fixtures, added some inexpensive tufted couches and a giant comfy ottoman, the rug is from awhile back, and then I thrifted the TV console. Here's a pic of the TV console I found at the thrift store. It's obviously nothing special, but it was the right size and $20, so...sold! I painted it (using the only furniture paint I ever use anymore) and changed out the hardware. It has a super glossy lacquer finish and looks really great up close. I'll eventually mount the TV on the wall, too. Here's a closeup of the hardware. Some little polished nickel pulls from Home Depot. I haven't decided on what kinda curtains I want to hang yet, so for now the windows are just bare. It took us 5 years to finally replace those old windows, so I don't mind looking at the new ones in the meantime. I added some Etsy pillows to the sofas. Here's a view of the living room looking back into the dining room, one of my favorite views. We built the mantel and made the stacked log insert for the fireplace (both were done awhile ago) and then I freshened up the mantle with some things I had around the house. The little framed floral art is a print I found on Etsy. And then, I made some art of my own...some black and white abstract art for above the sofa. I had Jesse build me a basic wooden frame. And I spray painted it with this Krylon Foil Metallic silver spray paint (affiliate link). It's good, ya'll. I think I'll be using it as my go-to silver spray paint from now on. It made my little frame look like actual metal or like it was silver leafed. Either way, good stuff. For the painting itself, I just used some Sherwin Williams Simply White paint (the same color that's on the walls), mixed it with a little gray, and then sketched out a doodle and filled it in with some Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze (the same black paint I used on the front door). It's probably not gonna end up at a museum, but it took me an hour and only cost me a few bucks, so homemade art for the win. And that, you guys, is the finished upstairs living area! I'm sure it will continue to evolve and change, but it feels great to at least have it furnished and not under construction. We lived in the basement throughout most of my pregnancy, so it's nice to no longer be a cave dweller. And I'll leave you with this picture of how the living room looks in real life, filled with baby stuff. Because it would be ridiculous to pretend like my house always looks like the above pictures....it took me at least twenty minutes to clean out all the baby apparatus before I could take some blog pics. Let's be honest. :) As for the blog, a lot of you have asked what my plans are. I plan to slowly get back into the swing of things, as time allows, and as quickly as my brain starts functioning like normal again. Thank you guys for all of your sweet comments and messages. I appreciate it so much. I know I'll eventually find my groove again, but right now I'm still doing a lot of this. And I wouldn't have it any other way. 'Til next time! Follow my blog with Subscribe to LiveLoveDIY with email! Enter your email address:

I get asked about our flooring almost daily, so I wanted to share a little more about the LVP flooring in our home.

The family table is such a special place in the home, I had some important priorities for designing our dining room. My main two goals were, first, to be comfortable. Our kitchen is not right next to our dining room, and I wanted it to be a really good space that felt a little compelling for us to go and sit down each night.READ MORE

We painted the exterior of our house! Literally every square inch got a fresh coat of paint minus the roof. Come see the full reveal and everything that went into my biggest project yet!

For years and years, even before my husband and I owned our home, I have dreamed of having a mudroom in our entry. When we bought our first house 2 years ago th…

Learn tips and tricks for framing basement walls with ease. Read more about our first time building walls to finish our basement.

Ever wondered about the steps to building a home? I'm sharing this first time buyers guide to walk you through the process. You'll learn how to work directly with your builder and the perks of building a house vs buying an existing home.

DIY simple deck for a modern playhouse - Our deck is 3' high, which is tall enough for a slide but not so tall that it feels unsafe.

If you follow me on Instagram, this week you may have seen our master bedroom makeover. I transformed our grey (and let’s be honest, drab!) room into a modern minimalist bedroom. To give the room interest and for plenty of styling opportunities, I designed a ledge wall to run behind our bed. Like a built-in ...

Midcentury Modernism has in recent years become a prized “retro” look among the young and stylish. The furnishings that helped define the era.

To say I’ve been dreaming about this greenhouse is an understatement. Ever since we purchased our first home and I got a little taste of gardening I was hooked. It’s funny how my Mom and Nana were so into gardening and as a kid I couldn’t get far enough from a greenhouse or doing yard

Learn how to transform your space with this clever hack on turning Ikea Billy bookcases into a custom wall of built-ins. Easy and affordable!

The ultimate way to cocoon a space

For admirers of the Fox Den, featured in Dwell Magazine, comes our catalog’s first ever shed roof home design. With design elements blended from both the Washroom and the Office, this space features a full kitchen, bathroom, fold down bed, and clever outdoor storage for firewood. Glass on three sides of the shed house offer panoramic views of your own slice of earth from the comfort of your tiny house. Whether your days are full of Zoom calls and computer programing, or yoga and meditation, the Shed Tiny House will welcome you home with its zen like design and open floor plan.

The simplest approach (with step by step pictures) to installing DIY board and batten molding so you can add architectural interest to any boring walls.

What do you do when dream of having an arched wall library in your home? You hack robe inserts from Bunnings and make it! I am so excited to finally share my DIY Arched Wall Library! This project has been months in the making and I couldn’t be happier! Ever since we built our home, we have always r

When customizing our cabinets, we worked with our cabinet builder to create a built-in hidden dog gate, perfect for our family!

Our 3rd Floor design plan is live! Nordic inspired design has this space feeling bright, cozy, and clean.