I had a bit of a lull in projects this summer. Most people have beach vacations or family outings on the calendar here in Wisconsin where the memories you make in the warm months have to sustain you during the unmentionable ones.

As I usually do during this wane, I decided to turn my attention to The Mothership and its immortal list of repairs and neglected nooks.

It was pretty obvious which room I wanted to start tackling. But before I could justify anything fun, I had to address the raggedy garden shed.

It was rotting away at an impressive pace. One of the doors was hanging on by a single hinge. Aren’t we all.

I got to work rebuilding the doors, but the other more tedious task involved three full days of scraping the surface of loose paint in the summer heat.

In the end, I managed to get a smooth surface, apply two coats of peel-stop primer and two more of some fresh black paint, install some new hinges and a cute little medallion detail on the doors as well as a few planter boxes on the side for an herb garden moment.

I also used the opportunity to clean, purge, and organize the inside for what I can admit was the first and last time.

The shed came out cute and checked off one of the less inspiring items on the list but most importantly, it gave me permission to move on the something less urgent, less necessary, but way more Important.

The 1^st floor sunroom was one of the major selling points of this house. It’s full of windows with a smidge of a lake view surrounded by big trees. It’s a perfect spot to look out at the squirrels and birds fighting and stealing from the garden beds.

There are obvious signs that it was just an open porch when the house was built. The windows to the “back” of the house look into the kitchen and the floors slope slightly for rain.

The original real estate photos show a goldengirlsesque patio set up. The finishes were dated, with ’70s paneling on the walls and that specific ’90s blue color on the ceiling. Someone had started sanding the floorboards but stopped short so there were remnants of blue paint and water stains as the floor went unsealed for at least the decade since we’ve lived here.

Even though it was a little rough around the edges, the potential was obvious. A bright sunny room with 9-foot ceilings, three walls of windows, right off the kitchen (snack proximity is key).

I began dreaming years ago.

These were my goals for the space:

A café table set-up to drink tea or wine and chat with friends, work on my laptop, or have little romantic dinners.

A comfy corner banquette, substantial enough to nap on and easy to clean.

Additional seating with arms for my older people who could use a little leverage. And also for me who could use a little leverage.  I always try to think about usability in all the different ways when I get new furniture. It’s important to have options for everybody who you want to be at your house comfortably. Burned into my brain is a story a friend told me years ago. They are heavier and went to someone’s house and all the furniture was wicker. It was a no-go. They were laughing about it, but I’d rather launch myself into the sun than be a wicker-ass-bitch.

Nick wanted a workstation for planting and garden tinkering and storage for his various planting paraphernalia. He was also interested in coziness because he would sometimes read and fall asleep in the old space.

Temperature control was a big factor too. The room is an ice box in the winter and a brick oven in the summer. To help with airflow and moving that lake breeze a bit, I wanted a ceiling fan and some blackout curtains to cut the sun off when it’s doing too much.

I also planned for a room heater for the colder months. It gets so cold in the winter that it has become tradition to just keep the food out there when we host Thanksgiving like a big walk-in freezer. I could have pumped some insulation into the walls but without replacing all the windows with energy-efficient ones it seemed rather pointless.

One of the things that made this project so exciting is that it didn’t require much to have a major impact. In terms of actual work to be done, it was mostly paint and sourcing new stuff.

Mostly.

The one glaring eyesore and an actual project was the paneling. It was recessed enough that I knew I could simply apply some board and batten-style paneling right on top of it, but that required learning a few new skills at YouTube University.

I got a circular saw and a guide and learned how to cut some 1/8” hardboard panels down and just glued them over the existing panels with construction adhesive. I then ripped down some 1/2” mdf panels into boards and used them to trim everything out. I used my miter saw to cut the boards and some chonky baseboards to size.

I also used a paint sprayer for the first time to spray the walls and trim black. I rolled the ceiling. Of course, I’m impatient so I did it on a hot day, almost perished from the heat and fumes and it took like 3 days to dry due to the humidity. Nailed it.

Anyone who follows along with my antics is unsurprised by my paint color choice on this project but in my defense, this was the perfect room for it. It’s not lacking in natural light or space and in this case, the black sort of disappears everything, creating a picture frame effect for the view outside. Two different people who were in the space before the changes asked me if I added windows. It’s kind of like that optical illusion with painting the chicken wire. Look, I’m no paintologist. I just know it works.  

I brushed and rolled the floor with porch and floor paint to make it more durable and water-resistant.

Another first on this project was installing a ceiling track for the curtains. It came in a big roll and was just flexible plastic with an aluminum core. It was a little tricky to snap into place but honestly not too bad and it just kind of blends in with the ceiling. The curtains glide smoothly and I can easily adjust them as the light changes throughout the day to blast my delicate hermit eyes.

I also switched out all my crank handles for black ones and installed LED strip lighting on top of the window trim pointing up at the ceiling. It gives off a nice warm ambient light and is really vibey at night.

A friend came through and installed the ceiling fan and switch and changed out my outlets for black ones. I don’t like ceiling fans. I have scoured and know basically all of the not-too-ugly options out there and they just are not very attractive compared to the endless options for gorgeous light fixtures in every price range. I scoured for one that felt a little old-timey and had a light. I wish it was black instead of bronze but I’m satisfied with it and use it daily.

Another little add-on I decided I needed is a retractable clothesline, so I don’t have to hang my delicate lady things in the dungeon anymore. 

My mom finally quit playing and gave me the worktable that I’ve been aggressively coveting from her garage. She rescued it from the curb years ago and also used it for yard and garden tool storage. It was rusty and had flaking paint, so I used some wire brush attachments for the drill to scrape it down and primed and painted it. I also added casters to elevate it a bit and make it portable for Spring. Nick wants to use it for plant starts in that good Southern sun on the other side of the room. I put some drawer organizers in it and stuffed them with seed packets and tools.

After that, it was just a matter purchasing a few things over the next few months and assembling a few Ikea finds like this BBQ cabinet that works well to hold garden stuff and has the same stainless steel worktop as our heirloom curb table.

One of the big-but-totally-worth-it splurges was the vinyl floor mat that I 10/10 absolutely love.

I was all over the place with ideas for the floor. I thought about painting a pattern, going wall to wall with my beloved Flor tiles, or even refinishing and sealing the crap out of it. But it needs to be water and snow and slush and dirt ready. It needs to be able to hold up to some real slop cuz it’s a bit of a drop zone in the winter and a buffer between garden and yard shenanigans and the house. These mats are just like any vinyl floor but in rug form. They would be amazing for a basement or covered porch or maybe a kitchen with wood floors. They come in so many sizes and the pattern was pretty impossible to choose from so many good ones. In the end, I picked one that referenced the foyer floor in the front entry. So far, it’s not showing any signs of wear or scratching even with moving furniture around and it sweeps and wipes up great. Winter will be the real test.

I sourced some outdoor patio armchairs which should hold up well in the sun, a little rolling cart for the corner, and I finally found a home for my trumpet guy painting that I got a year ago. It was done by an artist named Jerry Jordan and came to me by way of Mahogany Gallery in uptown Racine. It was a birthday present last year from my friends and family. Art is one thing I would spend recklessly on if I was a gazzillonaire. Not for the usual money laundering reasons but because it’s just so cool to have one-of-a-kind pieces that your fellow humans made with their brains and hands and I love how personal it is. Like, I’m well aware that some people will be as perplexed by some of my art as I am of theirs and I love that we can all be on such different pages about something so instinctual.

This space transformation has actually changed my day to day. I work in this sunroom now. I have meals here. We have weekend oatmeal with our parents out here. I’m inviting friends over more. It’s the only place I wanna be right now.

It’s still amazing to me, even as a design professional, how design can change the way we act and live in our spaces. I’ve spent more time in the last month in this room that I’m typing from than I did in the last 9 years in this house.

Before and After…

The seasons are changing and pretty soon this room is gonna ice me out for a little bit.

But for now, you know where to find me and probably a friend or two.

I recently sat down with Coppersmith to recount my Caledonia projekt. Take a tour of the Kitchen Living Room and Dining Room and watch me gush over that beautiful hood!

The Projekt:

Hold on to your butts. This was a good one. Due to a little aquatic oopsie it was partially demo’d already but desperately needed to be decrustified and cutened. The primary goals were to keep costs down while honoring the historic home, aesthetically, and not pissing off resident ghosts who haunt the walls. Probably. At my old house, her name is Grandma Wisconsin. She’s mostly responsible for farts and spills but she’s never complained about the decor so I had a reputation to uphold.

With that important context out of the way, there are several tips to keeping your budget in mind without having to settle for a lame outcome:

– Maintain Layout

In a space like a bathroom or kitchen, with so many costly mechanics, the major way to avoid a costly remodel is to keep plumbing and electrical location changes to a minimum. Definitely don’t move that toilet or tub if you don’t have to.

In this bad boy, much of the plumbing needed updating but we worked with the existing layout.

We swapped out a good ol’ boob light with this vintage- imposter fan/light overhead. Since this is a second-floor bath, this required venting through the attic but the wiring was already in the ceiling.

The vanity wall light was swapped out for two sconces. This was a minimal change, made easier by the fact that the wall was already opened up, but we could have just replaced the vanity light to save a bit more. I much prefer lighting from the sides in bathrooms, when possible. Can you believe these mofos were $30!?

– Retain What you can

Try to hang on to as much as you can, especially floors, tile, woodwork, or anything else that requires major labor costs. I know you want the works, but be real about if your bank account is giving underfloor heating and bidet vibes or if this is more of a finally towels that match each other situation. There’s no shame in a simple well-put together modest space. HGTV has broken us all.

In this case, the flooring was in good condition. It’s neutral and durable. Of course, we could have imagined all kinds of fun materials to replace it with, but it was not absolutely necessary so it stayed! The toilet could have been retained as well, although ultimately the client decided to update it.

The medicine cabinet was original. I got a new mirror for it with a bit of a bevel, which is a pretty low-cost upgrade.

I was also able to clean up the original heat vent.

Hot tip: I soaked it in a crockpot full of water on each side overnight and for the center part that the water couldn’t reach, I used a heat gun, wire brushes, and a metal point to pick away at all that old paint.

We also worked with all existing door/ cabinet hardware. We were not able to reuse the baseboard but sometimes it is possible, depending on their condition. Check out this beautiful built-in. Score!

– strategic sourcing

I have a special sourcing strategy for budget projects. I like to think small. It may seem obvious to focus on less expensive materials and finishes but I actually like to splurge a little on details and focus my thriftiness on the larger-cost items. This can help the space feel elevated while still keeping the overall project costs down. Is this what the kids call girl math? I very recently turned ancient and I officially don’t know what I’m saying.

There was no need to overthink the subway tile in this installation. I opted for a basic 3×6 ceramic, sourced from a local big-box store. Subway is kinda subway. I know it comes in endless variations. But at the end of the day, even the most common subway gave the overall impression we were looking for. Bright. Cleanable. Connected to the past.

Another big cost-saver was going with paintable beadboard wallpaper, rather than the real thing. It’s very inexpensive and easy to DIY. Faked you out!

Some examples of items I splurged on were the bronze switch covers, artwork, and faucets, although even those items did not require breaking the bank. It can be really useful, on a budget project, to know when and where to use builder-grade and when more curated items can go a long way.

– tweaking

Don’t be afraid to tweak items that don’t quite do it for you. In my case, when I sourced the ceiling fan, I didn’t like the amber shades that came with them. I was able to source inexpensive replacements in a frosted white glass, which was more in line with what I was going for. Think creatively about little changes that can be made to make a big difference, like lamp shades that aren’t quite right even when the base is great, thrifted artwork in ugly frames, etc. Don’t settle if minor changes are within reach!

– Find a Contractor Who’s Game

If you’re hiring the work out, it’s really important to team up with a contractor who is on board with your goal of keeping costs down. This does not mean cutting corners. This means someone who is going to try their best to reuse materials, suggest creative workarounds when problems arise, and help develop a plan from the beginning with cost in mind. Not all contractors will want this type of work and that’s okay! But it’s worth it to shop around for that type of partner. In my case, that partner was ZP Construction. He was flexible and worked with us from beginning to end with our goals in mind and gave us a solid outcome. Shout out Zach.

The Plan:

The Results:

And that’s that on that. The clients are happy with their new bathroom. I hope you and the ghosts are pleased as well. Thanks for following along!

*I want to hear from you! What is your fantasy bathroom feature? Mine is a water closet. Something about doing my hair and makeup so close to a toilet never hits for me. 😉

I approached this bedroom and en suite bathroom with a focus on light and balance. I wanted to bring a new openness and freshness to the space that many of us see as our sanctuaries. In their original state, they were definitely vibrant but did not feel cozy or especially comfortable. I set out to lean into the client’s expressive instincts but to infuse the rooms with a bit more luxury, functionality, and maturity.

Bedroom

The Problems:

There was a lack of an established focal point.

Storage was haphazard.

The paint colors were distracting and not engaging.

Art and decor were not arranged or coordinated.

Windows were sparse and minimized by treatment.

The Solutions:

I focused on symmetry around the sleeping area, anchoring the space with a large chandelier and a large piece of art over the bed. I also sourced a substantial headboard that would not feel puny under the tall ceiling. It helped to establish the bed as the feature in the room, from which I was able to design outward. The larger scale beside tables and lamps also helped to establish some presence and intention, creating a clear focal point in the space.

There were too many dressers in the space, so we ditched one of them and made up for the storage with three-drawer bedside tables and a larger storage chest at the foot of the bed. I also sourced a mirror with hidden jewelry storage for a cleaner look. Hidden storage is an antidote to clutter!

I opted for a warm white paint color to keep the room bright, relying more on layered texture for interest with a bit of subdued color in the rug and decor.

As with the rest of the house, I pared down the wall decor in both rooms to just a few larger pieces. I always recommend swapping things out as frequently as you want rather than cluttering your space with everything you’ve ever wanted to look at, at once. I just think you reach a point where it just becomes noise and nothing is really particularly noticeable anymore.

I opened things up with shades and tall linen curtain panels. It lengthened the windows and made the incoming light more prominent than the windows themselves.

En Suite

The Problems:

Dated. From the gray toilet to the Hollywood-style vanity light and honey oak cabinetry, the finishes called for an overall update.

The vanity was not functional for the client’s needs and exposed an eyesore litterbox.

The lighting was harsh and overkill.

The shower was dark and cramped.

The Solutions:

I added bright white fixtures, a semi-custom vanity in a slightly more contemporary finish, and a neutral but fun patterned porcelain HEATED tile floor. Paired with fresh white subway tile and a deep bold wall color, the space feels updated without feeling particularly trendy. This is a balance I’m always trying to strike. I think that, unless a client is intent on a specific vintage era, spaces should feel timeless but current. I’m always reaching for that sweet spot.

I designed a new vanity, utilizing more vertical space with a wall cabinet and added a hiding spot/ door for the litter box.

I layered the lighting to include a pendant, sconces, and an updated light in the shower.

We ditched the linen cabinet in order to expand the footprint of the shower. It now boasts a shower seat and a cutout to let in the natural light from the skylight. I also sourced a decorative beveled glass pane to play off of the light fixtures and a reflective mother-of-pearl mosaic accent tile for the storage niche. I love the way the light now glints off of the slightly wavy texture of the subway and mosaic. One of my favorite parts of lighting a space involves thinking about how it can bounce around and reflect. It can add movement and drama in very subtle ways.

The Plan:

A Few Faves:

The Results:

This project was a fun challenge and the finished spaces feel more functional and balanced. Thank you to the Jensen family for your trust and collaboration.

Browse the blog to see the other rooms in this project and more and subscribe to be updated on any future transformations!