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.  

spring 2024 projects

spring 2024 projects

After being sick for a few days, it always takes a little while to assess how you're feeling in the morning.  Am I still sick?  Have I finally turned the corner?  Well, this morning, I assessed after helping Jeff get the boys off to school and I have turned the...

project plans for 2024

project plans for 2024

In yesterday's blog post, we looked back at some of my favorite projects of 2023.  Today, let's look ahead to 2024 and the home projects we have on the list.  They might not all get done this year because other priorities might pop up or we might be unable to fit some...

2023 favorite projects

While I enjoy looking forward to the coming year in January, I think it's also important to look back.  It can be easy to focus on the to-do list and ways we want to improve, but, even if the previous year has been difficult or hasn't been everything one hoped, there...

antique-style fireplace mantel reveal

antique-style fireplace mantel reveal

Earlier this week, I shared about the antique-style fireplace mantel we built to replace the simple mantel shelf.  You can find more details about how we built that mantel in THIS POST.  I really liked the foundation of this room, but I envisioned the fireplace with a...

Building our new antique-style mantel

Building our new antique-style mantel

Several of you guessed we would build fireplace mantel option number one and you were right.  All of the antique-style mantel options I shared in THIS POST were strong contenders, but I kept coming back to the first one.  It was the first picture I saved as...

new plans for the mantel

new plans for the mantel

I shared early in the fall that I found an antique mantel removed from a local home built circa 1810.  I was so excited about bringing that piece of history into our house.  Overall the measurements seemed like they were going to work, but after we got it home and...

tips on painting wood paneling

tips on painting wood paneling

I know that some people are scared to paint paneling or perhaps are against it, especially if it's wood.  As with any to-paint-or-not-to-paint debate, I take this stance.  If you love it as is and/or you think that painting the subject of the debate will devalue or...

1970 home renovation | only making decisions as needed

1970 home renovation | only making decisions as needed

There is one thing I've reminded myself over and over as we've been working on our 1970 home - I only have to make decisions about the house when I need to make them.  Of course, decisions that really and truly NEED to be made about a house are few and far between. ...

what Dorothy would’ve done

what Dorothy would’ve done

One question I've been asked on occasion through the years of sharing our home on the blog is, "What do the previous homeowners think of your changes?"  With our PA house and then our MN house, I never heard from the previous owners. I never really expected to or even...

tips on painting ceilings

tips on painting ceilings

There are some DIY projects that are a lot of fun and rewarding and then there is painting ceilings.  I was so happy that the ceilings in our last house didn't need to be repainted, but the ceilings in every other house we've owned have needed to be painted.  I don't...

1970 home renovation | painting the “garage side” of the house

1970 home renovation | painting the “garage side” of the house

We had three warm, sunny days in a row towards the end of last week, so I put painting the garage side of the house on the calendar.  We were running out of paint-friendly days outside and I wanted to take advantage of them so the two most visible sides of the house...

1970 home renovation | working on the side of the house

1970 home renovation | working on the side of the house

I realized I haven't shared what we've been doing along the side of the house.  It's still in the works, but I think it's important to share the reality of a home renovation...  Sometimes progress is made in leaps, but most of the time it's just one small step...

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!

suburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seedsuburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seedsuburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seed

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.

suburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seed

suburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seed

suburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seed

suburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seed

suburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seed

…and we built some simple open shelves in the awkward recess.

suburban kitchen makeover | miss mustard seed

  • 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: Riverby Undermount Castiron Sink by Kohler
  • 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:

    • Sew a simple valance for the kitchen window
    • Maybe replace the range hood with something custom, but that won’t happen for a while!
 

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