Projects

The Start of Our First Project at the A-Frame | FrogTape® Paintover Challenge™ Week 1

May 7, 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. 

Portfolio

Projects

Design

We're Chris + Julia

read more

What we're                   right now

Loving

browse the shop

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.

browse all

browse all

browse all

02

01

03

Popular Posts

1.

2.

3.

Top Categories

This project is in partnership with FrogTape®. They allowed us to choose any space to makeover and provided us with painting supplies and $1000 to execute our vision. 

We’re so excited to share that we have been selected to compete in the FrogTape Paintover Challenge® this year, alongside 5 other talented bloggers! We have been working behind the scenes for the last few weeks to complete our first project at our A-frame and we are going to take you through the project and reveal over the next couple Mondays (and maybe a post or two in between!) to share how we transformed this odd corner in the main bedroom with just $1000 and FrogTape®.

It had a lot of things going for it: a great window with lots of natural light and pretty wood trim, and the best surprise we uncovered in the process that we’ll share later this week. But there were also a few strikes, like the gun safe that was bolted to the wall (see below) sitting on top of an interesting platform (we later discovered was covering an old set of stairs), and the color gave off zero cabin vibes. This corner also houses the electrical panel. Wolf poster–pro or con? Still up for debate. But more than anything, the space lacked purpose and function. Like, cool weird corner nook in the bedroom? It really felt like a mistake rather than an asset.

Our goal was to use FrogTape® in a few different ways to highlight the good features the space had and to add purpose and function in the form of a cozy reading nook with a sprawling window seat (this is the window we always spot the bear tracks, so it’s prime watching). I’ve been gathering cabin inspiration pictures for, oh, two YEARS! And one thing I knew for sure is I wanted to protect that wood trim from paint and help it shine as a design element in the room to make our A-frame in the woods, overlooking the water, feel like a cozy mountain cabin escape.

Here’s the simple mood board we made before diving in:

1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. 

We were allowed to choose any space we wanted for the challenge, but wanted to kick off our cabin renovation with a small project, like we did in our current home, because it really allows us to focus on the feel and helps us set the tone for our entire cabin. Taking on a large space in a brand new project could lead to expensive mistakes down the road as your taste or direction evolves, but biting off a smaller project is so much easier to nail “this is the vibe we’re going for” and branch out from there. Plus, we felt like our $1000 would go a lot farther here.

We don’t usually finish a project before we start sharing it, but in this case we have and all I can say is it turned out so much better than I even imagined. Can’t wait to take you along for the ride!

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

What do you think?

  1. Peggi says:

    That pendant is perfect! The color looks awesome too. Cheers to cabin vibes!

  2. Debbie C says:

    I love those Mcgee and Co pillows! But do you ever get nervous about using high-end decor items in a rental?

  3. justynn says:

    Which design trend were you assigned?

  4. Kimberli Jutte says:

    Hello, I want to share first off how much I love your podcast and your sweet relationship with your husband. I don’t remember which podcast it was. When I clean my house I put your pod casts on and go to town. But a while back I heard one that you had recommended a family friendly “America” game. I can’t find the podcast to see what game that was?!? ( I remember you saying one question was like when Pepsi was first made in the US. ). If you remember I would live to know what it is? Thank you!

all the latest

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. 

HI! We're Chris + Julia

read more

Load More

Reader Faves

SHop all

What We're                     Right Now

What We're                 Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop. 

Loving

looking for inspiration? 

A reader recently asked me if I’m starting to fully embrace traditional style and whether we still consider our house to be a “modern Colonial” and why. It was a really great question and so timely — I had really just been thinking about my approach to this home and how my style has changed […]

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

Follow Along on Instagram

Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations

@chrislovesjulia