I already shared this house on Instagram, but I love it so much I figured I'd put it here too. It's probably my favorite house that I've found so far through @insidespokane, for multiple reasons. First of all, it's super cute and stylish, like it could seriously be in domino magazine. But secondly, I love that the owner, local photographer Deneise Bucko, is financially wise. She buys the majority of her furnishings from thrift stores (like 75%), rarely eats out, and has her house fully paid off. Those qualities align so well with my personal goals...to have a home I love and am proud of, but also to be super frugal and get our finances in order.

She got that sofa for $40 at a local thrift store. What a steal, amiright?!

Deneise says she thrifts because she's "cheap" (she also purposely shops the thrift stores that give a coupon when you donate)...but also because she doesn't want her house to be like everyone else's. You can also get better quality at thrift stores, too, like real wood and not just particleboard. I asked if she had any secrets to finding the good stuff, and she said the key is to go often and be patient. Ok, noted! I need to start taking my kids on more thrift store adventures!

Deneise lives in a fairly small house, which in fact she calls her "shoebox." To make it feel more spacious, she uses mirrors, furniture that allows light to come through, white walls, and lots of neutrals with pops of color. She also said less is more on the wall hangings--by keeping your walls less cluttered, it makes your home feel larger.

Gorgeous house (right here in Spokane!), and great advice too, right?? I'm super inspired!

This post is written in partnership with Signature Hardware. All opinions are my own.

My favorite house project from last year, by far, was our guest bathroom. It was just SO satisfying to see it go from a blah, boring bathroom to a space we really LOVE. It's not weird to use the word "love" in relation to a room where you do your business, right? ;) We had a goal to remodel at least one more bathroom in 2019, and I'm so excited that we get to do it SOON! In fact, we're actually starting on our kids' bathroom this month. I will do my best to show you guys updates throughout the process on Instagram Stories. Our kids bathroom has a very similar layout and look to the guest bathroom before. It's got beige builder tiles, beige walls, a honey oak vanity with a speckled Formica top, and a basic tub/shower surround. Our plan is to refresh the look of the whole space on a budget, by keeping the same layout but upgrading all the beige-ness. Since this is a kids bathroom, we are going to keep the tub/shower combo since it makes sense here. Our kids bathe in the tub all the time, and it would add a lot of cost to remove the old surround and put in a new tub. I prefer the look of tiled walls, but I like saving money even more. I think the room is still going to get a BIG cosmetic update with new floor tile, a beautiful new vanity, lighting and accessories! I'm excited...it's going to be fun.

by Casework

With this being a kids bathroom, I really wanted to make the room feel light-hearted and cheerful. Personally, I'm always drawn to classic choices and neutral colors. I love the look of a black and white bathroom with grey marble and some natural wood. But for a kids space? I wanted to have a little fun, and incorporate some color and pattern. My hope is that this room feels young and fresh, but not "little-kiddish." My plan is: patterned floor tile + a colorful vanity + mixed metals + some cute art. Here are a few examples I love that strike a nice balance between youthful and classy.

via HGTV

by Emily Henderson

by Erin Kestenbaum

The last one is actually my sister-in-law's kids bathroom! I love the bright pop of jewel blue, and she has some fun peacock wallpaper in there too. Looking for inspiration on Pinterest is all well and good, but seeing a space in person is the most convincing.

I really lucked out; I get to partner with Signature Hardware on this room. They have a huge selection of beautiful bathroom vanities, including several in bright, fun, jewel-tone colors. I debated between a few different ones. See if you can guess the one we're going with!

1. Everett Sapphire Blue / 2. Lander Green / 3. Lander Blue / 4. Keller Navy / 5. Robertson Navy / 6. Everett Elderberry

Here are a few of the other design elements: Bareva widespread faucet in chrome / Keswick brass triple sconce from Lamps Expo / Estrella patterned floor tile from Riad Tile / Merzouga rug from Wovenly. I'm still deciding on a mirror and shower curtain too. I know it looks like there's a lot going on, but I think the mix is going to be cute!

Which vanity would you choose? Knowing me, which one do you think I decided on for our kids bathroom?

This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

It's easy to want to focus on the FUN parts of home ownership: decorating, remodeling, and just living in/enjoying your house. But don't forget that just like a car needs regular oil changes, a house needs regular maintenance. I know, home maintenance is not fun and exciting, and it's almost certainly not where you want to spend your house budget...but these tasks are necessary. And in the long run, keeping up with regular home maintenance will save you money (and a whole lot of headache). I fully admit that I myself am not good at this. During the 1.5 years we've owned our home, we have only changed the HVAC filter once (yikes! we need to work on that asap). Another task that often gets forgotten? Gutter cleaning. However, it's so important. Neglect the gutters for too long, and you'll end up with regret when you're faced with a costly repair.

The function of your gutter is to collect all of the rainwater that falls; it will then divert this water away from your home. Considering how much rain we get here in Washington state, that's pretty darn important. If you don’t look after our gutters and keep them clean then there could be some serious effects to your home. The hygiene of your property will be compromised as the gutter clogs and the rainwater lingers.

So how often should we get our gutters cleaned? Most companies recommend that your gutter is checked and cleaned every six months. But this is a general guideline. If the weather has been particularly challenging and you note a build-up of debris then you may want to get this checked more frequently. You might assume that winter months pose the biggest challenge because this is when your gutter is getting a lot of use. However, autumn is actually the time when gutters usually become clogged because of falling leaves and debris.

We've established that if you do not have your gutters cleaned and checked on a frequent basis, then you are simply asking for trouble. You also need to make sure you have gutter covers too. Failure to follow these steps means you will have a huge bill to foot if your gutter ends up damaged. Blockages can easily result in big cracks within the guttering if they are not dealt with swiftly...an issue that’s not cheap to fix. An even bigger problem lies with the hygiene risks you create if you neglect your gutters. Blockages can lead to damp patches occurring in your home, such as on the walls or on the ceiling. Gross!

This is a task that you can totally DIY...Ben regularly checks our gutters, and clears out the leaves in the fall. But if you're short on time and worried about forgetting, the easiest way to take care of all this is to hire a professional company. There are many companies that will regularly clean your gutters so you don't have to wonder if you're doing it correctly or often enough. Most of them aren't very expensive either. You might be surprised at how worthwhile it is to have someone else come check this off your home maintenance list (and take the burden of remembering to do it). They will have all of the tools and equipment to ensure that your gutters are operating effectively. You can even arrange for the company to come twice a year and put your mind at ease.

This post is sponsored by Zabitat. All opinions are my own!

Believe it or not, this whole project took less than an hour--and we finished it a month ago. What took me so long was finding the time to take photos and write this post. January was a doozy of a month for us, including a terrible stomach flu rolling through the whole family (it was miserable). I have quite a few posts that I've been neglecting while we recover, and I'm excited to finally finish writing about them...starting with this DIY front door makeover! We worked with Zabitat, the same company we used to update our French doors back in August. They sell glass inserts for steel or fiberglass doors that allow you to simply replace the glass on your existing door for a whole new look--without the cost of actually buying a new door. I think it's just the smartest idea! Replacing the glass is a very quick, easy, and budget-friendly way to improve your curb appeal.

Our original front door had a small glass insert at the top, which was not necessarily what I would have chosen. Driving through our neighborhood and paying attention to other front doors, I realize it could have been a lot worse (those oval glass inserts in particular look really dated to me). However, once Zabitat mentioned the possibility of working together on a new front door insert, I just knew our door could be so much better. I looked through the options on their site and found some really beautiful inserts that would give our door a more modern, updated, distinctive look. These were my top three choices: one / two / three

We ended up choosing #2: the Parkway frame kit. I loved the simple, elegant, modern design, and it seemed a bit more unique to me than the other two. We also appreciated that the glass is privacy glass with a Privacy Rating Level of 9. We were kind of scared to cut into our front door in the dead of winter (what if we messed up and were without a front door in the coldest part of the year?!?) but we carefully read the instructions and told ourselves we could do it.

And we could!! Seriously you guys, this project is NOT that hard. We are not DIY experts by any means, and we did it by ourselves. I'll admit, it sounded very intimidating to cut a big fat hole out of our front door, but I'm so glad we gave it a try! It was just a matter of getting the right tools, and the rest was (relatively) easy. To complete the makeover, we bought a cute new doormat (the old one was actually left from the previous owners so it was definitely past its prime...haha!). I also found some planters on Facebook Marketplace, spray painted them black, and added some arborvitae bushes to flank our door and add some presence. If it kinda looks like we painted the door a slightly different color...we didn't. That's just the different lighting from two different days. I would say the after photos are a little more correct (if you like the color, it's Behr Malaysian Mist). We're actually thinking of repainting the door this spring, but we were worried that the paint wouldn't dry well with how cold it is right now. We'll see! I was contemplating a darker, more muted shade of greenish-blue. What do you think?

I didn't hate our door before, but I really looove the way it looks now. Before, it was "meh"...now, it's actually unique and pretty! It also lets much more natural light into our entryway, which is fantastic in these dreary winter months. If you're planning to sell your house soon, it's also worth considering that curb appeal, and in particular upgrading your front door, is one of the first things realtors always tell you think about...it's the first impression buyers have of your house. Spending a little time and money on a project like this can more than pay for itself!

So, how hard was it to do? You can read Zabitat's detailed instructions here, and watch some quick and helpful videos here. But I'll also show you some photos I took during the process. Hopefully they will give you confidence that total newbies CAN complete this successfully.

If you have an existing glass insert, the first step is to remove the screw plugs and attachment screws, then pop out the inner frame surrounding the glass. Then, using a putty knife, break the caulk seal between the outer frame and the door. Now, wearing safety glasses and gloves, you should be able to carefully remove the old door glass (ours just popped right out).

The next step is to measure and carefully mark off where the new door insert will go. If you have a standard door, this will actually be fairly easy: the half-lite inserts align with the bottom edge of the middle panels, and the full-lite inserts align with the bottom edge of the bottom panels. You can also get a new insert that's the same size as your old one, if you just want a new style. Then you don't have to deal with the next few steps!

Now for the "scary" part! Remove the door, set it on sawhorses, and drill a small starter hole in each corner. Then insert a jigsaw with a short-stroke blade into the inner core of the door and cut along the marked guidelines, corner to corner. Only the very outer layers of the door are steel--the core is foam insulation--so you don't want to cut all the way through the door in one go. Instead, cut through the top layer of steel and about 1" into the foam, then flip the door over and repeat the process.

Boom! Done. All that's left is to place the new insert in the hole, place the frames on either side, and secure it all together with screws. We did this vertically with the door already in the doorframe, but it definitely took two people (one on each side). Zabitat actually recommends installing the door glass on the sawhorses, especially for the full-lite inserts. Since this part was a two-person job, I don't have any photos of it...but I'll leave you with one more pretty "after" photo!

What do you think of our front door updates? Other than the fact that we need to pressure wash? :P