We've chosen (and installed!) our new courtyard fountain and can't wait to show you here! In our last post, we shared why we needed to take out the old courtyard fountain that had been in the front patio of our fixer upper for 30 years. I briefly toyed with the idea of planting another olive tree in the basin, but no...we definitely wanted another fountain there. It just needed to check all the boxes! Before:…
If you remember from back when we lived in our first house (circa 2006-2011!), my dream allllllll the way back then was to have a no grass front yard. Matt wasn't on board, so we compromised back then and did some "low" grass landscaping in our front yard. Now, after living in California for awhile and seeing the water bill in a state that does NOT get as much free rainfall as Oregon did, Matt…
We need to replace a broken, high-maintenance fountain, but with what? Here we're sharing the story, plus some of our top fountain replacement ideas! Remember when we first bought our fixer upper—and found out that the front entry patio boasted this little number? Our new courtyard fountain! To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that we'd have a fountain in the front. While it hadn't been on my list of things to…
Less is more. And on that note, today I'm sharing four easy styling tips to keep in mind if you get the urge to redo one of your consoles, shelves, or other surfaces this weekend! (As often happens to me. Changing things up is one of my joys of life! Matt knows this all too well...what a lucky man!) Since we've gone more minimal in our home and decluttered a lot of unnecessary furniture, we…
Life is hard enough. So why not make life in the kitchen as easy as possible? We're full of kitchen organization ideas, and today we're sharing 5 that have made life easier for us. (One reason being that they're 5 of our most-used areas!) PS: We've also put together this unique tool to help you organize your kitchen fast + smart! KITCHEN ORGANIZATION IDEAS #5: Upright Stove Utensil Drawer First, let's talk about the two…
Today we're sharing three of the best creative cabinet storage ideas that we used in our kitchen remodel. But why? If you've read our post on why we installed all lower kitchen drawers instead of cabinets, then you know about our die-hard love for drawers all day long. But what about when drawers are impossible? (Such as in high spaces 6 feet above the ground; you couldn't see inside.) We can't put drawers everywhere. So…
In our kitchen remodel, we did a lot to make it not just physically larger—but to also look and feel bigger! Our new layout is like a large galley kitchen but with massive kitchen islands. Today we're walking you through our galley kitchen remodel before and afters with the three biggest changes we made to get to this new layout and bigger space! Galley Kitchen Remodel with Islands Visual Extension Tactic #1: Wall Removal Before:…
So, there we were, freshly moved in and right after the surprise discovery in our fixer upper's kitchen. We hadn't even unpacked all our moving boxes yet, and they were ripping out our sink and our cabinets. And that was just the beginning. We suddenly (and unexpectedly) went from this view... ...to this view. Why we ripped out our new-to-us kitchen! Nope! No más sink! We tried to stay positive. Maybe they could still salvage…
When we moved into our new-to-us house, the kitchen wasn't too bad. It had been (mostly) updated at some point by one of the previous homeowners, and while it wasn't our style, it was totally functional. Here's the kitchen during painting (before we moved in). Have your own emergency remodel? We got you! Sure, it still had its original 1980s double ovens and a non-functioning trash compactor, but we weren't fussed about the aesthetics. We…
When Matt and I were first married, we bought a large rectangular dining room table. Envisioning a large family in our future, plus years of Thanksgivings and entertaining, it seemed the logical choice. Years later, after selling our first house and moving to New Zealand, we had moved to California and started our next house search. When we first toured our current fixer upper's downstairs, Matt and I decided we'd make the fireplace room, right…
Heyyy, you found us!🤗 It’s so fun to meet you! We’re Jess & Matt, a husband-wife team helping you create smart spaces that free up your time & enjoyment! We help you work smarter (not harder) + gain 100% confidence in every home decision you make! 👉Who’s “The Brain” & who’s “The Brawn”?
Get our Home Design Mini-Guide for FREE today when you join our 300,000+ followers for new tips + ideas!
Join below for FREE access to your free printables!
Stop procrastinating! Get FREE monthly design help + our Design Guide for FREE today!
If you have a question on your order, reply directly to your Order Confirmation email for the fastest response!↩️
