2019 A Very Merry Christmas Home Tour: Minimal & Natural Christmas Decor

It may not be Thanksgiving but I bet you're already thinking about Christmas decorations! Let's be honest, most of you already have your seasonal decor up and most likely your tree too. I'm generally not that person, but this year my friend Carrie from Lovely Etc. invited me to participate in the annual Verry Merry Christmas Home Tour! Hopefully you've had the chance to follow along with the 2019 lineup already and are here from Lehman Lane — welcome! I'm Elizabeth and my husband Auston and I bought this house (our first) 3 years ago at the bottom of the market as a major fixer upper. We live on a budget and believe you can make your home designer-beautiful without spending tons of money.

New GE French Door Fridge for the Kitchen!

We've lived with a fridge from the 1970's since we moved in. It came with the house, but was originally an almond color so I spray painted it with appliance epoxy and we lived with it for 3 years. It was a whirlpool and was a really nice fridge for the time, it lasted almost 50 years! For the last 6 months we had to kick the bottom of the door for it to fully shut, it was time for an upgrade. We searched the sales for the last two months and finally Lowes and Home Depot came out with their pre-Black Friday sales.

Baby Jones Arriving May 2020 + 16 Week Update

I can't believe I'm finally writing this post! Last week, we announced through our One Room Challenge Reveal that we are expecting our first baby May 2020. It was supposed to be a guest room but we really turned it into a nursery. We are so grateful for all the love and excitement you had to share with us — this community really is the best. First things first! My actual due date is April 26, 2020 so it's easier to just say May than it is end of April. Since I'm 16 weeks now, I have a lot to catch you up on!

I've always known I wanted to be a mother. When we got married we made a plan (aka the spreadsheet) and laid out all the goals we wanted to reach before we would start trying. The highest on that list was to pay off our house, which we did last year. Then it was paying off his student loans, which we also did last year. Then it was saving up to afford the "start-up" costs of the first baby, which we reached earlier this year. Then it was going on our Alaska Cruise, which we did in June. Finally, we were at a place where we were ready!

One Room Challenge | Week 6: Surprise Nursery Reveal (!)

We've been keeping a secret... we're expecting our first baby in May 2020 and for this One Room Challenge we're revealing what was supposed to be a guest room that we actually turned into a nursery! I used the same moodboard and aimed for the same feel, we just swapped out a bed for a crib and a glider.

If this is your first time here — hi! What a week to stop by! My name is Elizabeth and my husband of 3 years is Auston. We live in the Northeast Georgia mountains, a little more than an hour from Atlanta. We bought our first house (this house — a 1960's brick ranch) when we got married and have been renovating it ever since. Both of us have day jobs but this is my hobby! This is my 5th One Room Challenge and I'm a big advocate for women using power tools and just doing it no matter your skill level!

Week 1: The Middle Room Befores
Week 2: The Neutral Minimalist Mood Board 
Week 3: Middle Room Is Painted
Week 4: New Dresser & Painted Closet
Week 5: Customizing IKEA Dresser + New Shades

One Room Challenge | Week 5: Customizing IKEA Dresser + New Shades

It's the last progress week! Week 5 of the One Room Challenge was mostly waiting on products to arrive and cleaning out the rest of the room. We actually did some traveling over the weekend so I had some time to think about all the reveal shoot details. I almost always take a last minute trip to Target or some boutiques to get the finishing touches the weekend of the reveal shoot so I scribbled down some things I think might be missing in preparation.

If you're like me and have missed reading the some progress weeks, you can catch up really quickly.

Week 1: The Middle Room Befores
Week 2: The Neutral Minimalist Mood Board
Week 3: Middle Room is Painted
Week 4: New Dresser & Painted Closet

One Room Challenge | Week 4: New Dresser & Painted Closet

Reveal week is creeping closer and closer! This has been a slow but productive week for our One Room Challenge middle guest room. We took a huge trip to IKEA, which is an hour and a half trip, and got most of the furniture. I ordered 90% of the products online and some have already started to arrive.

Week 1: The Middle Room Befores
Week 2: The Neutral Minimalist Mood Board
Week 3: Middle Room Is Painted

The New Roof is Up

Last week I showed you the different options we were considering for our new roof color from our roofer United Roofing. I landed on a dark gray and a lighter gray. After photoshopping both colors onto the house I decided on the darker gray called Charcoal Gray. A few days later the company showed up to work their magic. Yes, absolute magic.