7 DIY Springtime Upgrades for Maximum Curb appeal

Spring is here and if you are like me, you start to notice more of what is going on outside. The air seems clearer and the colors are more crisp. We listed our house last week for sale and in addition to getting the inside of the home ready for showing, it's important to think about how the outside of your home looks too. First impressions count, right? But if landscaping isn't in your plans (or budget), fear not because there are quite a few super easy things you can do to the outside of your home to make it look more spring time ready!

1. Wash your windows (inside and out). You'll be amazed at how big of a difference it makes!
2. Pressure wash your driveway and sidewalk. Fall and winter grime builds up and darkens your concrete. A freshly washed driveway looks awesome.

3. Spruce up those flower beds. Lay down a coat of new beauty bark and add some pretty annuals or perennials. If you have a small space, just a few bags of bark from your local home improvement store will do the trick, but also buying bark in bulk is way less expensive if you have the ability to haul a yard or two.

4. Wash your house. This is a little more tricky, but we use a ladder and a car washing wand and it quickly scrubs off the dirt on the house. Sometimes the simple task of washing a house that hasn't been painted in the last decade it will brighten up the color.

More work, but high pay off:
1. Paint your front door. I recently painted our front door to change it from a tired purple to a hot flashy firehouse red. Va-voom!

2. Paint your house! We recently did this ourselves after getting really high estimates from our local painting businesses. For our two story home we used about 10 gallons of base coat and 2 gallons of trim. This can be as simple (and honestly tedious) as rolling it on by hand, but we were very fortunate that our neighbor has a excellent sprayer that we could borrow and got it done in no time. Some home improvement stories also rent these as well. The cost of DIY is very low, but it also does require a few days of hard work and the right tools that normally aren't on hand.

3. If painting the whole house isn't something you are totally up for, a real estate trick that works almost just as well is simply painting the trim. A fresh coat of paint on your house's trim gives the house an updated look without the commitment of a full paint job. This house was our first renovation and it was a really sun bleached yellow with white trim. We kept the body color the same and gave it a high contrasting blue trim. Looked better than new!

These tips are great whether you are selling your house or just want to give it that spring time re-fresh.

How do you give your front yard a 

quick, springtime make over?

Guest Post: The Rise of Handmade and Artisan Goods in Interior Design

The Rise of Handmade and Artisan Goods in Interior Design

 Interior design is fascinating. Our surroundings have a very real emotional impact on us. I continue to be inspired by how a person’s home design and decor can shape the way they feel and, therefore, how they live their life.  The ever-changing world of interior design makes room for new designs and trends every season. One trend that has been on the rise for nearly a decade, and is at an all-time high, is the desire for handmade items.  Rugs, pillows, fabrics, baskets, vases and light fixtures are just a few of the unlimited bounty of handmade products. Many artisans are returning to the handcrafted process that defined design before the industrial revolution. And many interior designers are sourcing those very same artisan goods. Why is this? 

 First, designing with handmade pieces allows a person to express individuality. These products are unique. Who wants shelves full of manufactured knickknacks when you can have an assortment of items that possess originality and authenticity? Handmade items can add to interior design what no other items can-imperfections. I love the juxtaposition of a smooth, manufactured surface with an oddly shaped or textured handmade item gracing the top of it. These organic imperfections add a certain depth to a room’s décor.  

We can also consider that designers and consumers alike appreciate the story behind a piece. How was it made? Where was it made? And who made it? People like to know that they are supporting a particular artist or artisan and are much more dedicated to mindful spending-respecting every dollar they spend as an extension of themselves.

 

The desire for better quality products has also played a key role in this trend. It is widely believed that many mass-produced items are poorly manufactured and that handmade and artisan sourced goods are of higher quality. Consumers are thinking long-term in their purchases and are aiming for sustainability.

 

I think it is safe to call this handmade trend a long-lasting movement. With the rise in ecommerce sites like Etsy and Amazon Handmade, sourcing handmade and artisan goods, both globally and locally, is just a click away. This movement isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And I must say, as an artisan myself, I could not be more pleased!

 

 

Rebecca resides in Washington where she is a stay at home mom to her two beautiful children. She is thrilled at the continued opportunity to carve out her own future with her handcrafted home décor shop.  

“Trust not what inspires other members of society to choose a career. Trust what inspires you.”

 Shop Rebecca's handmade décor items:

**All new** Amazon Handmade

Etsy Facebook Instagram Pinterest

 

 

GIVEAWAY:

I am excited to kick off the holiday season with a giveaway from Simply Lyon! Rebecca handcrafts her beautiful woven baskets and is offering a basket to a lucky Pierogie Mama reader. This hand-woven basket will add a cozy and delicate touch to your home. A perfect place to keep towels, blankets and other items organized. Keep in a nursery or child's room to store toys or stuffed animals. Or simply display the basket itself as part of a room's décor. The options are limitless! (Dimensions: Height-8",Width-13.5")

Entry-Form

 

Disclosure: The Pierogie Mama is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

No compensation was provided for this post.

Spray Painting Lawn Furniture and relaxing with Palm Breeze!

Summer is here! And so is the heat...which is an awesome and really not awesome thing.

It's really awesome because in Western Washington most of the year is spent waiting for the glorious sun to come out. And then it becomes not so awesome when temperatures get above 75 degrees (my personal comfort level) and you don't have A/C in the house. But then it turns right back to awesome because my backyard is (cue falsetto voice) awesome!! Well, it's on it's way to being pretty awesome. My goal has been to create a comfortable entertaining space where adults can enjoy a meal and each other's company while keeping the kids in view.

To get a kick start on this dream-backyard-oasis I've been collecting lawn furniture and children's toys to make our backyard a place where we want to spend time in the afternoons and evenings.

A few months ago I was gifted a set of three quality plastic Adirondack chairs from my local Buy Nothing group. They were spray painted white a season or so ago and I decided that I'd like to try my hand at refreshing them a little bit.  I've seen tons of tutorials on how to spray paint plastic lawn furniture and figured it can't be to hard.

So I grabbed my materials:
2 cans of spray paint per chair (I chose purple, dark blue and light blue)
scrub brush
water
Soft Scrub cleaning solution
course sandpaper

This is a project that I did over the course of a week during nap times. It was perfect because most of the steps were short but required some wait time between them. 

First I cleaned the chairs as well as I could, using a hard bristled scrubber and Soft Scrub. This scrubbed some of the white paint off. I took a break and waited for it to dry.

Then I took some course sandpaper and tried to sand off (or at least scuff) the old spray paint layer. I didn't go through the trouble of sanding all of the spray paint off, but tried to thin it out at the very least. I washed it again and allowed it to dry.

When I was ready to paint I made my workspace in the gravel in our back driveway (away from everything) so that I wouldn't have to worry about overspray. Following the instructions on the can I started spraying a very light coat onto the chair, moving it around as I needed to. As the coats dried I added more layers to create a solid look. This was over the course of several days due to drying time between the layers. It took about one and a half spray paint cans per chair to get the coverage that I wanted. 

And then they were done! A celebratory drink upon my new chairs was in order.

Palm Breeze (in Ruby Red Citrus) has been my go-to drink this summer. It reminds me of a certain soda that is blood orange flavored, except that Palm Breeze is a flavored malt beverage (FMB). Which basically means it’s an alcoholic drink made with a malt base, kind of like beer. Can I just tell you about the serious yum factor of this stuff?! I've made sure that our fridge is stocked with a case of it at all times this summer. It's been the perfect drink to cool off in the backyard with. I was so pleasantly surprised because I was expecting an overly sugary drink like most other flavored malt beverages are. Nope! I enjoyed it just like my favorite blood orange soda (responsibly, of course). 

Keep an eye on the blog for more summer-time backyard oasis posts...I've still got a few more up my sleeve!

How do you relax in your backyard?

Disclosure: I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls 

and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Smiling Tree Home giveaway - Something for mom!

Welcome to the Something Special for Mom Giveaway Hop hosted by the Lindsey Blogs and Viva Veltoro. Mother’s Day will be here before you know it, which is why a group of fabulous bloggers have come together to share gifts and giveaways that are perfect for the special lady in your life - or maybe even yourself! Be sure to hop around to them all, including the TWO Grand Prizes. Viva Veltoro has an amazing gift package for one beautiful Mom featuring products from Cake Maternity, Chewbeads, and Poncho Baby and on Lindsey Blogs you'll find Gift Cards for Jamberry Nails and aka originals hand stamped jewelry.

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I'm in home-nesting-mode. The almost 2 years of living in a renovation has begun to wear on me and I would love to turn this somewhat construction zone into a homey space. Is it counter productive? Sure. Does it make me happy? Yes. So here we go.

Obviously hanging pictures is not in the cards for each room or even every wall because moulding needs to be installed here, or we have plans for that weird space over there. So I pick and choose, but this summer my interior goals are to hang curtains in the family room and kitchen, as well as make the kitchen a more welcoming space. 

My favorite pop of personality is to have truly personal items that have a use. A few months ago my MOPS group coordinated a craft where we etched our last names into a pyrex dish. Perfect! It can beautifully display my homemade lasagna or be an easy way to know where a borrowed dish should return to. 

So today I'm going to share with you the fabulous Smiling Tree Home line, which offers customized wood decor, kitchen utensils and toys! You'll be familiar with them if you've seen my reviews on their custom wood Christmas ornaments. I was so excited when I got my hands on their customized wooden bar board, which is perfect for all kinds of presentation.

Isn't it lovely? I can mix it up by placing my favorite soy candle or a few little treats when guests come over.

In addition to these bar boards, Smiling Tree Home has customized wooden spoons, larger cutting boards, wall hangings and of course, their beautiful wooden children's toys.

Smiling Tree Toys

handcrafted. natural. heirloom.

Enter to win your own customized mini bar board!

Entry-Form

Disclosure: I received product in exchange for my honest review. The Pierogie Mama, So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, and the Something Special for Mom participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

Window Covering Safety Month with Blinds.com

Last month I shared the progress of our sister room. I got a lot of fun feedback on some ideas for the closet space so that's been in the works! Meanwhile, I've also been working with Blinds.com to upgrade the current blinds in Penny's room to something that meets child safety standards. 

Child-proofing the Sister Room goes beyond being selective about toys and securing furniture properly. A common forgotten element is window coverings. Most rooms, especially bedrooms, have window sills that are at least 37" from the floor, but in this case this window had been replaced by the previous owners in preference for a larger one. The sill for this window is only 18" from the floor. We put in a window lock and then we started to think about reducing other risks.

When selecting child safe window coverings, here are a few points to consider:

1.       Make the switch to cordless blinds or shades. Check window coverings for exposed cords that could pose a strangulation hazard to infants and young children. Replace corded window coverings with today’s cordless safer products. Draperies, shutters and cordless cellular and roller shades are a few preferred cordless options. Shop Blinds.com’s Safer For Kids Collection to find the perfect replacement. 

2.       If you cannot install newer products, ensure that all window cords are out of sight and reach, and that they are inaccessible to young children. Order a free window cord retrofit kit from www.windowcoverings.org.

3.       Prevent Access to Cords. Move all cribs, beds, furniture and toys away from windows and window cords, preferably to another wall. These items could act as unintentional “step stools” that allow a child to reach a window or cord. 

4.       Continuous-loop pull cords on draperies and vertical blinds should be pulled tight and anchored to the floor or wall with a tension device.

5.       Be sure cord stops are properly installed and adjusted to limit movement on inner cords on blinds and shades.
All recommendations provided by Blinds.com via The Window Covering Safety Council.

Blinds.com makes choosing child safe window coverings easy because they have a blind-finder tool where you can narrow down exactly what you need, including specifications such as being child safe. But sometimes you just gotta talk to a human being, you know? So for all of the window coverings in my house, I've talked with Josh from Blinds.com (email // facebook). After a few emails back and forth with my list of requirements for the room, he sent out samples of what he thought I might like (a Blinds.com complimentary service!!) and I was able to see with my own eyes what I felt would work in the room best.

My list to Josh included:

• child safe - I want to be comfortable with my toddler playing independently in her room for a few minutes while I fix a quick snack or am nursing Ruby down.
• black out - we still use blackout curtains, but with two kids I need to capitalize on full naps and long nights!
• withstand humidity - we heat our house with a pellet stove, which dries out the air something terrible. Last winter I ran humidifiers in the bedrooms, which of course can lead to standing condensation and possible bacteria build up. I wash the windows and curtains often to help prevent any nasties, but the window covering also needed to be either washable or I can wipe it down.
• last, but not least - it's got to be cute!

Shortly after, the samples came in the mail and I was able to narrow them down to three choices. I posted them onto Facebook to see what you all thought!

And you all confirmed what I felt down deep in my gut - the  Laura Ashley Roller Shades in Chesil Print Amethyst & Cream were the best for the room!

I love the roller shades because they're completely cordless. The print is fun, but also something that both of the girls can grow into. It was less than 20 minutes between removing our Bali 2" Fauxwood blinds (which I love and are on all of our other windows) to installing and using the new roller shades. Installation is a SNAP! The quality is also awesome.

Here are some pictures showing their blackout ability. These are completely unedited for exposure so you can see how they would look in real life. I'm really impressed with how well they can darken a room. If this were a guest room I would leave them as is, but because I want the room to be completely dark and non-distracting for night & nap time, I will continue to use the curtains to block out the little bit of light that comes in around the sides.

These roller shades have met each of the requirements that I gave to Josh at the beginning of my research - they are child safe, black out very well, I can wipe them down to clean them and of course the print is very cute! Penny absolutely loved them as soon as Adam installed them. She wants it down all the time!

This giveaway is over - thanks to all for entering! 

Keep an eye out for more Pierogie Mama Giveaways.

Disclosure: Thank you Blinds.com for helping me pick out and providing the safest shades for Penny's room! All opinions are my own, though I wouldn't be sharing about this awesome company if I didn't love them already! Keep an eye out for another post showing the other Blinds.com window coverings that we have in our home.