Brighten up your kitchen with these stylish pendant lights! Adding pendant lights over your kitchen island can add both style and function. These wood pendants give a warm/natural touch to any home decor. 

This project has been on our to-do list way BEFORE we even moved into this house. A little back story as to why I knew we needed this locker/storage unit. At our previous home in Wisconsin, we had a mini version of just the lockers (see picture below) it was designed by myself and built by Evan (my husband). It 100% helped with all the storage for the kids however, the downside was the space it was in. Our only option back in WI was the laundry room and we had limited space to work with.  

Fast forward to today in our new house. We knew the new updated version would need to be bigger, we needed to add shoe storage, and we had to maximize all the storage in this space that we could! We started with a sketch and literally went to @homedepot! All the pictures you'll see below are the progress photos I took along the way. This whole unit was built piece by piece and customized to the space. Not only function but how it looked was very important to me. 

These are the last two storage cabinets will complete the unit. Additional shelving will be added to the first cabinet once we find out what works best and the last cabinet is perfect. It will he holding lots of Evan's tools to the left and the right - brooms, blower, and long handled supplies.  

After many coats of paint, staining of the bench seat was completed. I kept the paint and stain consistent with what we have inside our home. Next, was installing our beautiful lights and hooks! 

To finish off this project, the doors were next. Evan has never built anything like this before, so this was really learn as you go for him. The plan was "shaker" style doors, as we have throughout our home. He used a router, router table, and a handy little tool by Kreg called a Concealed Hinge Jig. 

The doors were all painted (three coats to be exact), hinges added, along with knobs/pulls. Theses are the same knobs and pulls inside our home so everything is very consistent throughout. The extra storage these cabinets have are AMAZING, and the fact I can hide everything behind closed doors is PERFECT! The kids are loving having their own hook/shoe storage, and I love that everything has a home :)

The front porch is one of your first impressions of your home. It’s almost like an introduction as to what’s to come inside your home! The first thing I purchased for our new home’s front porch, were some comfortable rocking chairs. The hubby and I love to sit out here and watch the kiddos play. Also, over the summer break I caught more than one child taking a seat here to cool off! I love having this extra space to get out of the sun, relax, have a great conversation, glass of wine, and of course another space to decorate. I love changing up and adding to my front porch with the seasons. The picture above is my “summer” front porch look!

​If your in the market for some Wicker Rocking Chairs, here are some great finds to get your started.

Every time I walked through the backdoor, I knew this hallway was missing something! All I knew is less would be best, but how? If you’ve kept up with my Instagram (if not, follow me here!) you will know my Modern Traditional Farmhouse has white walls with added pops of color (and when I say color, I mean BLACK ) along with lots of millwork! 

​These before/after pictures are AMAZING ... 

For my Modern Farmhouse Hallway, I started with painting the ceiling black. Black Magic by Sherwin-Williams. I knew in the end trim would be placed around the edges, so this was the easy part. No precise trim-painting skills are needed here.

The DIY wood beams were created by my talented husband. He bought the pine boards from @homedepot and constructed these "beams" the night before install, along with sanding and staining. 

Finally, the lights! These LED ceiling lights are great for being BRIGHT .. however, I was creating a "mood" and these needed to-go. I ended up re-using my old kitchen pendant lights (see picture of them in my kitchen). These square, black, wrought-iron looking pendants were prefect for my hallway. We ended up replacing the down rod to a smaller one and bam, they had a new home!

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From the moment I seen this wall (way back in the building phase) I knew it HAD to make a statement. My mind right away went to SHIPLAP!  I love the way it adds texture to a wall and THIS space was the perfect spot to try it out!

This weekend we headed out to our second home (HomeDepot)  and picked up some shiplap! They actually have several different options available in store. These planks come in a variety of different sizes and widths. I ended up selecting an 8 inch width board however, they also come in 6 inches. My suggestion is whatever width you select, you continue throughout your home.

A great tip before you get started is to paint the edge of the wall where your installing! Having to go back and paint between a small space is very time consuming and hard to do, so make it easy for yourself! Unfortunately, I learned the hard way!!  

My hubby also marked the studs with a straight line down the wall so we knew where to nail down. Along with myself painting the top edge of each board. Once the board was up on the wall (nail gun and adhesive calk), I went back and painted the bottom edge before installing the next board. After the first few boards, we definitely got into a nice groove!  Don’t forget to fill the nail holes!!

The color I ended up using is the same black I already have in my home. It’s on our butler’s pantry cabinets and our kitchen island, so the color choice for me was a no brainier! Plus, I’ve always said my favorite color is B L A C K!!!  With all the white I have in my home, a color like black helps to ground the room. Another great tip  I went with a “flat” paint. The shiplap in itself is a statement, so I didn’t want to add any “extra” AKA – a sheen to the paint.

All our boards were cut, painted, and up on the wall at the end of Saturday. We actually ended the day with a second trip back to Home Depot to pick up our trim boards for the top, sides, and bottom baseboard. Then Sunday, we finished painting all the boards, trimmed out the whole wall, cleaned up and put everything back. 

I’m really happy on how this statement wall turned out! 
I’m already brainstorming on where and how I can use shiplap again in our new home. Although, before I start to tackle anymore walls . . . I’m going to focus on getting this dining room together. Hopefully to come will be a new rug, dining room table/chairs, buffet paint update, window treatment, and some fun decor to add to my new favorite space!  

When building our home, I had a very specific style in mind “Modern Transitional Farmhouse.” 
Unfortunately, these builder-grade exterior lights ... had to go! They 100% did NOT fit in with my style and I knew by changing them out our homes first impression would be set right. 
The picture with the circular scroll light above is what the builder put on the house. Luckily for me, it was still black in color but, honestly that was the only thing I liked. We had 5, yes FIVE of these lights on the exterior of our Modern Transitional Farmhouse! The first thing,  I started to think about when in the market to replace them was:

1. Size of the fixture
2. Number of Light-bulbs

The builder’s exterior lights only had 1 bulb in each light. They put off some light, however I knew I wanted more. Below is the PERCECT light for us! It is matte black in color, has straight (square) lines, and the glass surround allows for maximum amount of light. These lights were all purchased from @homedepot and are linked below.
 
I purchased the 27″ lights for my front porch entry to make a nice big “statement” and the 22″ lights for the garage. I love the contrast between the two on the front exterior of our home. A 11″ light was also added to our back service door off our garage.

27" Exterior Light - 4 light powder coat black
22" Exterior Light - 1 light in powder coat black
11" Exterior Light - 1 light powder coat black
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Our boys builder-grade bathroom was screaming for an upgrade!  Well not really, but that’s really what I thought every time I looked around every night as I flossed & brushed teeth before bed!! I started with having the hubby tile the whole wall behind the mirror. Sticking with my Modern Farmhouse theme and the style I already have going on in their bathroom

• white shaker cabinet
  
• black pulls/hooks
  
•  a grey stone barn-board tile on the floor
  

I knew I wanted to incorporate a flashy WOW-POP kind of statement in this space! This picket-style tile in gunmetal matte black was speaking to me! 

Next, was the builder-grade lighting! I have changed out EVERY single light fixture in my house, except for the bathrooms!!!  So, I was super excited to get my hands on one of the bathrooms. This one came from @homedepot. Called the Hampton Bay Regan 3-light, then I added my favorite Edison bulbs for that extra kick!  I LOVE the feeling these bulbs give off now, especially with the reflection I now get off the tile! 

Finishing off this space, I was on the hunt for a round mirror and a pretty good size one to fill the space. I ended up purchasing a 37″ round mirror in a Titanium finish.

The one room in which I thought long and hard about… I serious lost sleep over designing this room!
Now that we are knee deep into construction, I’m beyond thrilled with all the changes and features we picked out. Above is a picture of our kitchen in progress … The island is BLACK, one of the best decisions EVER!!! 

He's hands down the yin to my yang! Building this house has definitely had it's stressful moments but, with him by my side we can accomplish anything!