Welcome to The Beach Casita: Our Kickoff Plan!

Over a decade ago, we bought this house and many of you watched us transform it room by room (and outdoor space by outdoor space)! Now, after a three year break from that house (one year at a beach rental and two years living & working around the globe), we're back in a brand-new area further north with an old(er) house needing our unique new treatments. ;) Right now for a working title, I'm calling…

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In Fun News for 2025: We Bought a New (Well, Old-ish) House!

If you enjoyed seeing what we did in our last house, then you'll L-U-V this time around! After selling our "Big House" (an hour outside of Los Angeles) three years ago, we rented a house at a near-ish beach for a year. That beach rental was old and ugly and you won't find pictures of that here on the blog because it was just a rental. We quickly determined we were never going to buy…

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The 12+ Simplest Plaster Fireplace Surround Ideas to Ease Your Eyes!

Looking for the best plaster fireplace surround ideas? Whether you want Venetian plaster over brick or to design yours from scratch, think of me as your own personal designer on this one—I've saved you time and compiled the 12 best ones in this post! (Plus other fireplace tips at the end!) Today I'm sharing a peek at a new client project! (Namely, the best plaster fireplace ideas for your enjoyment. :) ) (Things are so…

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How We (Accidentally) Circumnavigated the Globe Over 2 Years As a Family!

After selling our Big California House and then moving to the beach (a 1-year beach house rental...we did not buy in the area...just moved for fun!) ...we called an audible when Matt's job went 100% remote and decided to seize the window of opportunity! (We loved living at the beach but there was a series of events that led us to decide to delay another house purchase. I wrote about those in more detail in…

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21+ Hottie Fireplace Wall Ideas You Can (Actually) Get Excited About!

Looking for brilliant fireplace wall ideas with a TV (or without)? Maybe you have blank walls, a window...or you're wondering to use paint or stone? I'm a Design Architect who's going to help you solve this for yourself once and for all today! Tired of seeing the same-old, same-old so called fireplace wall ideas? Then you're in the perfect place! Because I'm with you! :) Maybe you're not interested in having a TV anywhere near…

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The Only 7 Office Guest Room Ideas You (Actually) Need to Know About!

Looking for smart home office guest room ideas? Or maybe you're wondering how on earth you can maximize your room that serves as a guest room office? As a professional in room layout & flow, I've collected the 7 categories you can choose from here today! (PS: See what we chose HERE!) We had limited (some might call it zero) space for a guest bed, let alone an entire guest bedroom. Sure, we had what…

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Blank Wall Ideas: 5 Quick-n-Easy Solutions That Just Might Blow Your Mind!

Looking for blank wall ideas? Whether a small accent wall or a large blank wall you don't know what to do with, I've narrowed down your options into five simple categories to choose from and make your life easier! :) Walls, walls everywhere! What's a person to do?😅 Whether it's a big empty wall you're drawing a blank on (no pun intended) a console or TV wall you're struggling with knowing what to do with,…

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Raised Ceiling Height: Making This Small Room Look 7x Bigger!

Wondering how to raise ceiling height and make your room look bigger? I'm sharing what we did -- the thing that 97% of people never even think about as a way to create the "illusion" of more space! Oh, what a difference a foot makes! 😍 If you have a certain room that you cannot make any larger in width or depth, yet you reeeeeally want it to truly look + feel larger ...then I…

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By Room: 50 Unique Wall Art Ideas for Your Living Room, Bathroom & More!

Need help finding unique wall art ideas for your room? I've narrowed down tens of thousands of internet options for you and focused on creative wall art ideas for your living room, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, office, entryway and more! 😍🧠💪 Let's do this! Do you LOVE a good piece of art or wall decor -- but struggle to know where to find which one to choose etc? That's what I'm here for! ;) Keep…

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15 Deceptive Home Ideas That Don’t (Truly) Work!

This is not a joke, but it sounds like one. 🤣 Q: "How can you make Jess use a face palm emoji?" A: "Show her thousands of people 'liking' a bad idea on Pinterest!" 😅🤦🏻‍♀️ Some people love to say "There are no bad ideas!" but that's a myth... Bad Idea #1: Driving into oncoming traffic. Bad Idea #2: Curing rheumatism by climbing into a whale carcass for 30 hours. (That one's from 1896!) Bad…

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