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Room Makeovers

1970 home renovation

new lights for the hallway | 1970 home renovation

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Lamps Plus.  As always, all words and opinions are honest and my own. As I shared yesterday and in other posts about our 1970s home, one of our goals is to brighten it up.  So far, we’ve removed unnecessary window coverings, added recessed lights in six rooms, and pulled out or trimmed overgrown landscaping that blocked natural light.  Little by little, we’re noticing a difference and the house is becoming well-lit, which is not only welcoming, but it’s practical.  We can actually see what we’re doing! An area that still felt so dark, though, was the hall.  It is the only space in the house (excluding parts of the basement) that doesn’t have any natural light.  It relies completely on the windows from the adjoining rooms.  My boys like to keep their blinds drawn and doors closed (they are teenage boys, after all), so

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1970 home renovation

new bedroom windows | window world review | 1970 home renovation

This is a non-sponsored review of working with Window World to replace the three windows in our Master Bedroom.  Since I wrote this post, we have been repeat customers, and I’m now working with them as a blog sponsor. When we first started our home renovation projects, I felt like we had more than enough saved and dedicated to comfortably do all of the projects we wanted.  As I’m sure many of you have experienced in the past, that money can go a lot quicker than you expect.  Some projects have come in delightfully under our expectations, but the ones that have been over have been way over.  The floors cost about double what we anticipated.  And the roof, which we weren’t planning on doing for a few more years, came in about 30% higher than what we expected.  All of the little projects, materials, and required tools have also

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Antiques

new antique fireplace tools

The first thing I bought specifically for our house was a pair of antique “cannonball” andirons.  My mom and I went to an antique store as a diversion from a tense period of waiting for our offer to be accepted and I received a call from our realtor on the way that the deal was done.  So, I was shopping with more intention and excitement.  I spotted this pair of andirons and they immediately spoke to me. As with most antiques I feel drawn to, I can’t always explain why one piece speaks to me and another doesn’t, but my mom pointed out that they look like the andirons that were in my Oma’s fireplace and I think perhaps her mother before her.  It was intuitive and familiar and, in this case, I had an explanation.   I knew we had a woodburning fireplace for the house and, while I

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All Things Home

making & using paint sample boards to select colors

Yesterday, I worked on making some paint sample boards to nail down the colors I’ve been mulling over for the main living areas of our house.  Usually, I would just slap a swatch on the wall, but this house has slowed down my typical go-for-it approach.  The biggest obstacle has been all of the wallpaper and wallpaper glue still on the walls.  Several steps have to happen before I can even paint a swatch!  I also need to live with and learn the light in this house, which is so different from our last house.  I can’t just assume that what I know works will actually work in this house.  I have to take time to relearn what I think about color.  So, making paint sample boards was the way I could make some decisions. The colors I have selected to test out are  Light Blue, Oval Room Blue, Calke Green, Card Room

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1970 home renovation

kitchen cabinet shopping & selections | 1970s home renovation

This is the year of the kitchen makeover and I am so, so excited about it.  Every house we have lived in has had a kitchen that was too good to completely redo.  We’ve always been fortunate to have solid cabinets, a great layout, and good bones, so I have always focused my attention on cosmetic changes.  I was ready to gut a kitchen, though, and design one from scratch with what I choose.  This 50-year-old kitchen gives me the opportunity to go kitchen cabinet shopping for the first time ever. Let me say, any room that is as hard-working as a kitchen and lasts for 50 years was well done.  These cabinets are solid wood from the back to the sides to the shelves and they are still sturdy.  But, the kitchen is getting tired.  Most of the drawers on broken or on their last leg.  The finish on

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All Things Home

blue & white checked curtains

When my mom and I took a day to make the curtains for the living room, we also made blue and white checked curtains for the primary bedroom.  I used the same tutorial, same curtain rods, and black-out lining, but instead of the darker blue plaid fabric, I used THIS lightweight, linen blend I bought on Etsy a few weeks ago.  I also used clip rings instead of the rings I sewed into the header for the living room curtains. And here is how the curtains turned out… I was planning on using only the curtains for privacy and to block out the light, which is why I lined them in blackout fabric, but I realized while hanging the curtains that they would cover the air vents when closed—definitely an oversight on my part.  I tried using some magnetic hooks on the air vents to hold the curtains up, but

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All Things Home

tour of my new art studio

It’s the room tour that many of you have been asking for – the art studio!  Of course, it’s not finished yet, as is the case with our entire house, but it’s getting there.  It’s settled enough and looks enough like an art studio to welcome you into the space and give you a little tour. As we were looking at homes, this was a big question that needed to be answered.  Where would my art studio be?  In some houses, there was an outbuilding that would’ve worked for a studio and/or workshop and in others, I’d have to appropriate a room originally intended for another purpose.  In some houses, there really wasn’t an option and those were crossed off the list.  It was a must.  I could be flexible with the size, location, and other details, but I had to have a space to work and create. When we

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All Things Home

decorating process

Of course, there are a million practical things to do.  Unpack, strip wallpaper, paint walls, clean, and organize, but I have to give myself the gift of unstructured time to just play.  So, I bounce between things that need to be done and things that are completely unnecessary but are creatively fulfilling.  It gives me the energy to push through the things that are a bit more mundane and not exciting. So, yesterday I gave myself some time to work on some decorating things.  One of the things that are both practical and decorative are curtains and I’m looking forward to getting them made and hung for the living room.  Right now, we don’t have window coverings for this room and there is quite a glare on the TV.  This gave me a change to play with fabrics, which is great creative fun for me. I have picked a blue

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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