2025 recap and 2026 project goals!

12.29.2025

2025 recap and 2026 project goals!

2025 was a year of finishing touches and classic upgrades—the kinds of projects that make our historic home feel more polished and personal. Here’s a look back at the projects I actually completed and documented this year, plus what I’m dreaming up for 2026.

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2025 Home Project Recap

1) Dining Room Updates

In January (worst time to refinish furniture outside) I refinished a vintage Ethan Allen table. Such an improvement from the Target farmhouse-ey one I had had for years.

And then, after years of trial and error, I found the right size rug for this room! I landed on this classic jute rug in a square (comes in so many sizes and multiple shapes!) that actually fits this square room and makes it feel finished.

3) Wallpaper Projects

I swapped the old peel-and-stick for a tree-and-daisy print that suits the Tudor vibe of my house, and is an instant mood lift the second you walk in.

I also added wallpaper to my upstairs bathroom in this charming floral and bird print that makes it feel like a treehouse! I did some other updates there too, like a sink skirt and painting the cabinet. I love it in there now.

4) Window Treatment Upgrades 

I upgraded several rooms from worn fabric shades to woven bamboo with top-down options—so much prettier and more practical.

In my bedroom I replaced some sad old Target blackout curtains and layered a blackout Roman shade with pinch-pleat linen curtains (with ribbon trim!) which I love against my custom peachy-pink walls!

5) Timeless Style Updates to My Plain All-White Kitchen

I was so excited to replace my old DIY industrial shelves with these pretty curved painted brackets that are much more appropriate for my home's style, and look pretty with my trim and plate walls.

I did some other small swaps too, to get more of a Nancy Meyers kitchen feel and less of a confused 2018 modern traditional boring fee. I added warmth and character with my polished nickel hardware, sink skirt, and more) to align with my classic style.

6) Sod and More for the Yard 

This spring I spent a lot of money having my backyard redone (it was a wreck after the patio project), plus the front and side yards, with sod, fresh mulch, and some cleanup/pruning. I bought a hose sprinkler system and timers and kept it watered (unfortunately that meant three $300 water bills this summer) and it all is still looking great!

Here it is right after install. So flat and smooth... ahhh...

But it needed something. I had them remove 2-3' of sod around the edges and plant a million hydrangeas, small shrubs, and other plants I bought at a local garden store's fall 40% off sale. I have yet to see it all in bloom, but already it looks a little better (as good as it can in its sad Oregon winter yard dress).

Plus we added some classic swings to the cherry tree, and new chips under it, and new plants tucked in elsewhere too. Here's a lovely Oregon winter photo for you.

7) Major Living Room Upgrades

The living room finally feels balanced thanks to a custom-size jute rug—proof that the right dimensions are so important.

Getting the new sofas in here was so important, too. I started with these and then got a second of the blue velvet, we love it so.

2026 Project Goals

Here’s what I’m planning for the year ahead...

1) Finish the Basement Media Room

This fall after Micah moved in, we got a TV for the basement, and he brought his weights down there to use as a gym sometimes. It was not looking cute so I brainstormed... decided to get some pre-assembled kitchen cabinets and install them as built-ins! And I found a classic slipcovered Pottery Barn sofa on Facebook. And added this nice rug.

But... it's still a work in progress. I'm not sure what to do on that big blank wall with the outlet in the middle (was meant for a TV when I had a different layout planned), it needs art/interest (that lamp on the cabinets is temporary), and we need a coffee table or ottoman. Sometime in 2026!

I'm also working on the toy areas down here, with more storage, getting rid of the little kid stuff, and creating a Barbie village for Lucy that you can see parts of here.

2) Lucy's Room Updates

I think it's time for an update to this darling room now. Lucy got some American Girl doll things this Christmas and currently has about 5 doll beds taking up space on the long wall.. I just moved the rocking chair out, but I think she needs some more storage of some kind here. Plus that DIY Roman shade I made years ago has finally stopped retracting when I push it, so I think it's time for a new one in a cute pattern she can help choose.

3) Yard/Garden

Now that I've spent the big bucks on sod and polishing, it's time to add in layers with pretty plants... I'm excited to see what I've planted bloom! Hope it all does well. I'm not sure what else I'll need next. Probably a few more smaller, filler plants here and there.

4) Minor Decor Updates

It feels like such a privilege to have such a short list! After almost 7.5 years of projects here (including the hard ones), it's a wonderful feeling that aside from some function upgrades, mostly I'll just make some minor aesthetic changes like I hope to replace one of my gold mirrors with something more antique, and I need some better lamps for the basement. On the thrift/antiquing list!

As always, thanks for following along—here’s to a cozy, classic, and creative 2026!

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Classic Christmas decor around the house

12.15.2025

Classic Christmas decor around the house

Classic Christmas Around Our Tudor Revival Home

Welcome to our cozy holiday house tour! I've been doing traditional reds and greens the past few years but this year decided there is nothing wrong with the basic Hallmark color palette... it's not overdone, it's classic! So you'll see some needlepoint, plaid, brass, and lots of greenery—layered over my existing "new traditional" decor. Come on in and see the living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, and even the new guest room all decked out.

Linking everything I can to shop below!

Entry & Living Room Welcome

The living room features the tree and mantel so is automatically Christmassy, but this year it also has a puzzle table! One of the things Micah brought with him. We've done a couple already! So cozy and relaxing.

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My friend's simple but big kids' bathroom makeover

11.23.2025

My friend's simple but big kids' bathroom makeover

My sweet friend has a very nice but somewhat builder basic home from the early 2000s and I’ve been helping her lately make it a little bit more personal to her style. They did some nice updates to their bathrooms when they moved in, like replacing the square tile countertops with solid surface, but her kids' upstairs bathroom was still feeling kind of plain. We made a few simple updates over the course of about two weekends to totally refresh it!

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My friend's dining room--what a makeover

10.21.2025

My friend's dining room--what a makeover

I’ve been working on several projects at my good friend's traditional but somewhat basic family home. The first one to be 100% done is this dining room! What a dramatic before and after (you’ll see) and all we did was some Facebook marketplace shopping, paint, and upgraded accessories like window treatments.

Light and cheerful modern traditional dining room update

We’re so happy with how this room turned out!

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The perfect high quality rug solution for a uniquely shaped room!

9.16.2025

The perfect high quality rug solution for a uniquely shaped room!

I have just majorly up-leveled my living room! (I hope I used that term right.) Point is, I have a unique, long, skinny living room in my historic Tudor revival house and there is just no way that a modern standard rug was ever going to be the right size. Back in the day homeowners could order from the Sears & Robuck catalog or other mail order sources to get a custom piece of carpet or linoleum cut to exactly the right size to give a nice border around the room. My parents' 1910 home still had some of these when they bought it, and my 1937 home has very clear lines where the wood floor has discolored from the sun over time around the edge of a perfectly sized floor covering.

But now nowadays, a 10'x14' or 12'x16' rug are about as big as you can get and they are just not the right dimensions… Until now! There is a new way to get incredible quality natural material, fully custom size rugs, down to the inch!

Custom Jute rug for my uniquely shaped living room

I actually started with an 8'x10' rug in this room and just kept slowly getting bigger over the years. Finally we had a 10'x14' which was close-ish to the right width, but there were these two bare floor areas on either side of the couches. I put a small vintage rug on one, but it wasn’t a great look. My kids played so frequently in the other one, near the bookshelf with toys and books and Barbies, and I really wanted something comfortable there for them. Plus, you’ve probably heard this before… a too-small rug makes a room look smaller! Repeat that after me… When your rug is too small, it makes your room look smaller!

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Timeless style updates to my plain all-white kitchen

8.20.2025

Timeless style updates to my plain all-white kitchen

I redid my kitchen in 2019, which was not that long ago, but I was still figuring out my style at the time and I chose some then trendy, more modern finishes I would not choose now. (I also was still very much in a fixer upper mindset, and the house had glass block tile and peeling wallpaper and three layers of old roof tiles and… point is, I just wanted something fresh and clean and new.) So I ended up with a very white, pretty boring kitchen.

But it feels wasteful to redo a new kitchen. I’m not about to replace tile countertops or cabinets, but I realized there were several things I could do that would add more character and interest. I also had some circa 2022/2021 “organic earthy modern” touches to undo! They had coordinated with the brushed brass and industrial wood shelves, but did not go with my clean, classic, Nancy Meyers-inspired, hopefully timeless kitchen look.

I did several small, budget-friendly projects to totally refresh this kitchen!

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Otto's blue and yellow classic bedroom update

8.14.2025

Otto's blue and yellow classic bedroom update

I did not find decorating for a seven-year-old boy to be particularly easy or fun, but I’m excited that I finally have finished Otto's bedroom after more than a year of picking some upgraded, non-toddler, still not big boy, things! And this room features a lot of special touches, including a watercolor of us at the coast and some pieces he chose himself!

Boys room bunkbed upgrade with timeless decor

Otto's nursery and toddler room were a lot more minimal and modern than a lot of this house. Something about having a baby in 2018 when you have very little money I guess. So I was excited to start replacing some things in his room with more timeless pieces. The first thing I changed was the rug, to a jute one. Obviously replaced the crib with a bed, but then decided we needed a bunkbed for the hot days is when Lucy also sleeps in here, so found this adorable colonial inspired bunkbed in this pretty blue color.

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Bedroom updates, and affordable custom trimmed curtains

8.06.2025

Bedroom updates, and affordable custom trimmed curtains

After many years of subpar window treatments in my bedroom… I finally cracked the code! I had been using slightly-too-short standard 84" Target curtains, pretty good blackout, but just the hidden tab top, because I knew they would be quiet for opening and closing while the kids were sleeping nearby. But I really wanted the elegant look of pinch pleat curtains on rings. Well, I figured it out!

The best window treatments for my primary bedroom

The solution: layered Roman shade and curtains. I got this beautiful woven Roman shade from Twopages, with a super thorough blackout lining, and I mounted it outside the window to block the light around the cracks and allow all the light I can through the window when the shade is open. This thing is so powerful, but all I need is the shade closed for a seriously effective blackout (and it’s silent when I open and close it).

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Floral wallpaper transformation (and more) in our plain upstairs bathroom

7.30.2025

Floral wallpaper transformation (and more) in our plain upstairs bathroom

I think I’ve done it… I think I’ve wallpapered the last room in this home that needs it! I hesitated for a while because I had already renovated this bathroom… Back in 2020, with kind of a mix of that organic earthy modern thing that was trending for a while plus some traditional elements like wainscoting. It was...fine. Honestly, fine. But I also thought it was sort of begging for wallpaper about the wainscoting on the white walls.

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