Lifestyle

Ep 56: 7 Steps We Follow For Every Renovation

January 29, 2018

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

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Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here. 

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen. 

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.

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In this episode, we peel back the curtain on a few projects happening around here. What you see are the photos, but there is always more uncertainty and conversations about nearly every decision. We take you through conversations around 2 projects we’re knee deep in (our bedroom and bathroom) and how we come to conclusions as a couple. We also answer the question, “What is your process for renovating a room?” And! Talk about how we sometimes feel we have unintentionally betrayed our readers.

Listen to the latest episode on: iTunes, GooglePlayStitcher.

• In the first few minutes, we talk about how our bedroom is coming together. Side note: Do you say “make the bed?” or “fix the bed?” Either way, we get into it about throw pillows and this scene comes up.

• We answer Preston’s question about mismatched nightstands (they’re totally okay!). Image below found here

• Then we talk about the bathroom and the most freeing thought we renovate by:

We share what intimidates us, big, normal house projects that we still haven’t learned how to do and the secret we’ve been keeping: we don’t know how to do everything. And that’s okay!

• What’s Your Process For Renovating a Room?

  1. Live in a space long enough to decide your feelings about it and discover pain points.
  2. Make a wish list—things you want from the room, how you want to use the room, how you want the room to feel.
  3. Gather inspiration photos.
  4. Make floor plan renderings and layout options.
  5. Make a mood board to see how all the elements will work together.
  6. Order products
    • If I can help it, I don’t order everything at once. I like things to arrive and then I can course correct if needed. Sometimes we have to order it all and then I can return something if it’s not going to work.
  7. Make a timeline for getting it done.

• Can’t Get You Outta My Mind

– Preston has Beef Jerky on his mind. Specifically this brand.

– I recently watched this YouTube video that changed my perspective on motivation. (bottom line: it sucks) In turn, I’ve been able to get up early every morning since and hit the gym. I hired a trainer to write a program for me so I have direction and use the JEFIT app, which shows how to do every exercise and work every machine out there plus keep a log!, so I’m no longer intimidated to go to the gym.

– Chris has always been passionate about cooking and although he doesn’t share much here anymore, he got this chest harness that holds his phone so he can record while he cooks! He’s been sharing a lot of our meals and his recipes on his Instagram–@c_marcum. 

This Episode is Sponsored by:


 

 

 

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What do you think?

  1. Vicki says:

    I love listening to you guys. Good information and good fun. Thanks for the 7 steps they make complete sense. Laughed out loud at the pillow parody bit. Had to call husband in to hear it. He just loves our bed pillows–Ha! Preston exaggerates pillow count exactly like my husband!

  2. Molly says:

    I love throw pillows and might have gone a bit overboard on one of our couches. So, my husband and I jokingly refer to them as “throw away pillows.”

  3. Laila says:

    Hi you guys!
    Love the podcast as always.
    If you ever make your way down to Texas, find a gas station named buc-ee’s. It’s very popular here in Texas, you can find them pretty much everywhere. I never really liked jerky, but they have the best jerky I’ve ever had (plus many other delicious things). Make sure to get the turkey jerky. ????

  4. carissa says:

    I was wondering if you no longer use your home gym which y’all redid a portion of your room for & loved so much because it saved you alot of time (which you didn’t have excess of) running somewhere? I loved that room.

  5. Julie S says:

    Your take on adding one thing at a time to see how it feels really helped me. I’ve always heard and grudgingly believed that you should collect your room piece by piece for an authentic and deeply loved space, but have trouble waiting when all I see is gaps that need filling. Somehow the way you put it makes slow decorating seem like something to savor and enjoy.

    I also really liked the idea of a timeline! I literally never considered that and am totally doing it. Otherwise projects or finishing details totally drag on

  6. Stephanie Rawlins says:

    This episode rocked out, as usual! Thank you for the beef jerky recommendation, Preston. I’m totally ordering some for my hubby’s birthday. Also I have been thinking about sharing my weekly meal plans on the interweb (nothing fancy, but I always get comments & questions about it – it’s posted in my kitchen wall) and was inspired by Chris to make it happen! 5. 4. 3. 2. 1! (Thanks, Julia!)

  7. Angela says:

    I’ve been enjoying Chris’ cooking stories. I took the lesson on using beef broth w the mushrooms and used chicken stock in a shrimp dish. It cut way down on the fat and didn’t taste like chicken at all!

  8. Marie Hanna says:

    Love the cooking segments on Chris’ instagram. Looking forward to trying the shrimp arugula salad. Simple to make and looks beautiful.

  9. Kate says:

    So jealous that you have people helping with your bathroom layout. We just bought a home to flip that needs completely gutted. Working on a more functional layout has been fun, but I would love to have more feedback because what I think is practical and amazing may not be for another family.

  10. KO says:

    Listening to your podcast…is there an app you use or one you can recommend for making design boards?

    • Julia says:

      I use photoshop and illustrator. You can use PicMonkey, Pinterest, or even a word doc! It’s just a way to visualize all your products together in one space.

  11. Joanna says:

    I loved the mini throw pillow hot topic. I kind of fall into the middle between you (i’m assuming Julia is reading this) and the Chris/Preston camp. I like the look of throw pillows but I don’t love taking six pillows off my bed every night and then having to put them back on in the morning. When I get around to updating our bedding, I might get some coordinating pillow cases to make the pillows we actually sleep on more decorative.

    • Julia says:

      We’ve done that in the past and it’s a great idea! There’s truly a million ways to make a bed–why isn’t THAT the saying.

      • Megan says:

        We often have this debate in our house. I am pro throw pillows on the bed and my husband is not. We are renovating our master now and have decided to meet in the middle by using only one decorative pillow-an extra long lumbar pillow. There are tons of great options on Etsy. Just an idea for other readers who are in the same boat :)

  12. Julie says:

    We say, “make the bed.” I’ve never heard “fix the bed,” but I think it’s kind of charming.

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