Before & After Photos: 14 Months In!

Note: This post was born from an updated Before & After page that we heard people were having trouble finding (since it wasn’t at the top of our blog feed). So here it is, forever immortalized as a chronological post. And now, since we’ll continue to update our Before & After page over time, we have this post frozen in time, which is nice to look back on. Wish we had done it around 6 months in and at the year mark too.

We downsized to this 1,400 square foot house in Northwest Florida on May of 2020 after a fast, furious, and long-distance three-month renovation. You can read more about how we found ourselves craving a pared-down lifestyle for our family here and here (that last one is a really good synopsis of what led us to this exact spot).

Continue reading Before & After Photos: 14 Months In! at Young House Love.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.uniquelyyoursmo.com/?p=555

Building An Easy Privacy Trellis (With 2 Pieces Of Wood + 1 Planter Box)

BRB, just changing the name of this blog to “Solving Problems With Plants.” And I know we promised a huge pool post, but the pool is still very much in progress. Hopefully it’ll be done next month and we can write one big breakdown with approximately 473 photos. But back to how plants can not only hide ugly stuff, they can also offer some pretty great privacy, as we’re about to demonstrate below.

One of the things that contributes to our house being extra walkable to shops, parks, the beach, and restaurants is that it’s less like a sprawling suburban neighborhood due to the lots being a good deal smaller (you can read more about why a walkable neighborhood and a smaller house/lot really appealed to our family in this post).

It’s a similar feeling to our former beach house in Cape Charles, Virginia, which taught us that we really didn’t mind being that close to other homes.

Continue reading Building An Easy Privacy Trellis (With 2 Pieces Of Wood + 1 Planter Box) at Young House Love.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.uniquelyyoursmo.com/?p=552

A Simple DIY Outdoor Plant Shelf To Disguise Ugly Utility Boxes

When we shared pictures of our front porch last fall, we said that our decorating strategy out here was basically “plants and more plants.” It helps visually connect the porch to all of the greenery surrounding our house and – as we’ll show you today – it’s also helping us hide some less-than-pretty parts of this outdoor area. Let’s call them wall warts. Three large rectangular wall warts. But more on that in a second.

white fluted planter | outdoor ceiling fan |wicker storage box | larger white planter | similar egg chair

First let’s travel back in time to what this all looked like last February when we put an offer in on this house (that’s our realtor in the photo below)

As you can see, we’ve already come quite a long way (you can read more about the exterior updates we did in this area herehere).

Continue reading A Simple DIY Outdoor Plant Shelf To Disguise Ugly Utility Boxes at Young House Love.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.uniquelyyoursmo.com/?p=549

Weekend Reading 11.14.21

We’ve had misty mornings with thick fog for over a week and there’s something so wonderful about wearing a winter coat and taking an early morning stroll in those conditions, like something out of a classic novel. 🙂 This week I’m opening up the Christmas closet and pulling out some favorites. I’ll start with the mantel, then decorate the staircase. I like to do it slow, and in sections, it feels better to take time to decorate slowly and I enjoy it much more.

I like carefully digging through my bins and pulling out objects that resonate with me each season, placing them here and there around the house. I have a lot of decor tucked away in giant bins and each year I donate things that I don’t love and add just a few new things that I do. This year I’m in the mood for natural textures with a dash of whimsy. I’ll share holiday images soon!

Favorite links from the week:

Find many beautiful design ideas in this builder home portfolio.

Blue, white, and bright: this home with coastal style in Queensland decorated for Christmas.

What a difference an arch makes: this kitchen transformation.

Impressive: give and old stove a high end look.

A variety of laundry room shelving ideas.

What happens to your body over time when you…. sit for long periods or stop eating sugar.

Reasons why your fears of what other people think are not worth your mental energy.

Fifty quotes on the subject of kindness.

Vacation destination of the week: these stunning villas in Greece.

Ha ha so good: marketing the Icelandverse.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.uniquelyyoursmo.com/?p=546