My Maryland Home Tour
We purchased a 1970 brick ranch house in Washington County, Maryland in September of 2022. This wasn’t the home I envisioned us purchasing, but we thought it was a little gem that needed the kind of updating we were eager to do. We have had the privilege of meeting some of the children of the original homeowners, who built this Better Homes & Garden floor plan as their dream home. Follow along as we make updates to the home, big and small, while retaining the original charm and best features of the home.
power washing the front walk
We have done so much work on the front of our house over the last couple of years. After all of the painting, planting, and updates, there was one glaring thing that needed to be addressed. This front walk desperately needed to be cleaned. We bought a power washer a...
progress on the custom A/C surround
When I last shared about the custom A/C screen/surround we're building, it looked like this... My dad came over on Thursday to help me with turning those primed and painted pieces into finished panels. My dad and I are a good building team because we have a similar...
DIY Custom A/C Screen
After having the lumber on our garage floor to season for a few months, we are finally building the DIY custom A/C surround. I am joking about letting the wood season. I bought the material without consulting my building partners, and we were not all on the same...
progress on the front garden bed
I've been chipping away at gardening projects this week and have most of the front garden bed planted. After looking at black plastic for a year, it's nice to see plants and mulch out there. As a reminder, I laid down black plastic to smother some weeds and get a...
planting the front garden bed | part one
I feel like I'm way behind with gardening chores and projects, but when I looked back at last year to see when I did most of my gardening work, I'm pretty much on schedule. I might just be a week or two behind, but not as far behind as I feel! My two biggest garden...
dining room options & taking creative risks
Last week, I shared that I was contemplating the fate of the hand-painted dining room mural and unintentionally posted it on April 1, so a few readers thought it might be a joke! It might seem a little nutty, but it wasn't a joke. It's not unusual for me to look at...
2025 yard clean-up
In the final days of February, we kicked off the yard work season of 2025. We had a few warmer days and wanted to be outside, so we decided to start cleaning up the left side of the house. This is the side of the house we've avoided the last two Springs because it's...
how to remove carpet glue from concrete | part 2
I have had a lot of long, drawn-out projects in my DIY career, but I think removing the carpet glue from the concrete floor in the basement might take the cake. I haven't been working on it consistently or faithfully. Instead, I will push now and then to make more...
kitchen backsplash update
Since our kitchen renovation almost two years ago, the question I often receive is about our backsplash. Or lack of a backsplash to be more specific. If you followed along during the kitchen renovation, you know I was taking my time with each decision. (You can...
2025 home project wish list
I was amused as I was putting together my wish-list projects for this post because I know my eyes are bigger than my stomach when it comes to my home project ambitions. I always overestimate my energy and underestimate the time and money it will take to complete a...
2024 home project recap
If you've ever lived in a house that needs some work, even if it's just customizing it to suit your tastes, you know it's important to stop now and then and appreciate how much you've done. It's easy to focus on projects still hanging out on the to-do list and lose...
when the wrong order is the right order
I started working on the dining room mural when there were still nail holes in the walls that needed to be patched. I was doing so well with taking each step of the makeover in its proper turn. I painted the ceiling first, installed the molding, caulked the seams,...
Kitchen
Like the rest of the house, the kitchen has great bones, but it needed a lot of paint to make it fit my design aesthetic!
We replaced the modern pendants with some small spot/task lighting to accommodate the pot rack. We also painted the cabinets, walls, and trim, replaced the faucet and updated the appliances.
…and we built some simple open shelves in the awkward recess.
- Wall color: Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore mixed at 50% in Aura, matte finish
- Trim & cabinet color: custom match to Farrow & Ball’s All White (mixed by Benjamin Moore in Advanced, satin finish)
- Doors: Coventry Gray, Benjamin Moore, Advanced, satin finish
- Island: Custom green to match Boxwood from the MMS Milk Paint Line mixed in Benjamin Moore Advanced, satin finish. You can find the exact recipe HERE.
- Counters – Hanstone Quartz in Monterey
- Tile backsplash – Venatino Marble Subway Tile form Lowe’s. You can read about the installation HERE.
- Bar stools: Restoration Hardware
- Pot rack: Calphalon Stainless Steel Pot Rack
- Faucet: Delta Cassidy Kitchen Faucet
- Sink:
- Cabinet hardware: Hobby Lobby
- Braided jute runner: Joss & Main
- Applianced: Kitchen Aid (you can read about the “beefy range” HERE)
Still on the to-do list:
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- Sew a simple valance for the kitchen window
- Maybe replace the range hood with something custom, but that won’t happen for a while!