Its so good to meet you!
Find out more about me, how I renovated my Grandparents’ 100 year old farm house and how I am a total DIY fanatic by checking out The story behind my Storyhardt Farm. Or, you might also like my weekly DIY newsletter to keep up to date on all my recent projects and tutorials.
What's been happening this week
How to Fix Your Broken Dishwasher
Dishwashers have always been a bit of a nightmare in my life. Honestly I’ve just never owned one that I liked or seemed to work well lol I took my own here at home a part at one point and omg DISGUSTING. After that I do a maintenance at least once of a month of running it through its heavy cycle with nothing in it but a bowl full of bleach. So far *crosses fingers* it seems to be working! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #184)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #184. Well, one bit of good news is that we seem to be seeing an unprecedented early spring! It’s lovely. Forty degrees and fifties in the forecast is just amazing. This time last year we were getting dumped on – getting over three feet of snow in just a couple of weeks. With what’s going on right now at least being able to get out of the house and take a walk etc. sure helps a little bit! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
Adding Tufted Upholstery to an old Coffee Table
Adding a tufted top and a new paint job to an old coffee table. I’ve been working on the refresh of my living room for awhile now. It started when I decided I hated my sofa and was ready for a new one! That worked out perfect because I really needed my old sofa to complete my seating area out in my garage. Following my old sofa to the garage was my coffee table and one of my end tables too! That left my living room pretty barren: the perfect time to do a makeover! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #183)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #183. Well as of right now all public schools here in MN have been closed along with just about everything else yesterday by 5pm. How are you guys all doing? As most of you know my Mom is currently going through chemotherapy treatments which puts her in the most vulnerable group. To say I’m a bit concerned for her is a major understatement. She is practicing hard social distancing… which, to be fair, isn’t that different than regular life here in northern MN. For people like my mom though I am doing what I can to follow the CDC guidelines and literally not going anywhere I don’t have to. I hope you all are safe and getting through this ok. Now, on to the Party! Read More »
Interrupting my regularly scheduled programming – COVID-19
As Bloggers, Influencers, etc. I feel we have at least some moral obligation to stop what we’re doing for a second and acknowledge what’s going on in the world. I also believe we absolutely have the obligation to spread this right now: DON’T PANIC! Currently, in my state of MN, schools are closed by tomorrow (or already are) and it seems pretty much everything else that is not mandatory is already closed or not far behind. Its time to go home and stay there (if you possibly can) and binge watch Netflix for a bit. Read More »
Quilt Wall Hanging – Retiring an Heirloom while Adding Color and a Shelf
Quilt wall hanging including a shelf! I have quite a bit of trouble when it comes to adding “art” to my rooms. I just get kind of stuck creatively, its just not my thing! My living room needed a makeover REALLY BADLY and also lost all of its previous artwork to the gallery walls in my entryway. With the room nearly complete I was left with two big blank walls and absolutely NO idea what I was going to put on them. Read More »
Most recent from Do It Yourself
Adding Tufted Upholstery to an old Coffee Table
Adding a tufted top and a new paint job to an old coffee table. I’ve been working on the refresh of my living room for awhile now. It started when I decided I hated my sofa and was ready for a new one! That worked out perfect because I really needed my old sofa to complete my seating area out in my garage. Following my old sofa to the garage was my coffee table and one of my end tables too! That left my living room pretty barren: the perfect time to do a makeover! Read More »
Quilt Wall Hanging – Retiring an Heirloom while Adding Color and a Shelf
Quilt wall hanging including a shelf! I have quite a bit of trouble when it comes to adding “art” to my rooms. I just get kind of stuck creatively, its just not my thing! My living room needed a makeover REALLY BADLY and also lost all of its previous artwork to the gallery walls in my entryway. With the room nearly complete I was left with two big blank walls and absolutely NO idea what I was going to put on them. Read More »
Making the BIG Material and Color Choices – My Top Tips!
Besides the “How do you know how to do it?” and the “How do you get motivated and accomplish it?” The other question I get asked very often is how I make the BIG design choices in my home. I always say everything is fixable and though that is TRUE, not everything is cheap or easy to change or fix. (Certainly not everything is just a different color of paint on the wall when that mauve turned out to be a terrible decision.) So, how do I make my own design choices here at Grandma’s House DIY? Read More »
Three Legged Stool Makeover: Paint and stain combo with dipped legs
Teaming up with Chas in our DIY blog hop this month with projects for our bathrooms! (Make sure and check out all of the bathroom projects following this post and feel free to join in!) This little stool has a fun story behind it. My Grandparents’ were wood workers and made and sold lots of these along with many other pieces of furniture. One of my neighbors is an avid follower of my blog and felt she simply had to return it to me so this milking stool came home after being gone for over 30 years! Read More »
Blanket Storage Shelves out of my Grandpa’s Old Wooden Ladder
This is not my first rodeo when it comes to turning ladders into blanket racks. My first attempt was my Grandpa’s HUGE old ladder that hung off the side of the old garage for decades. I’m using that one in my master closet holding all my high heals, throws and scarves. I have just a silly amount of blankets in my living room and I won’t give up a single one of them so just a hanging rack wasn’t going to do, in fact, I needed storage shelves! Read More »
Projects – How I get them DONE – My Top Tips!
How I get the small and even the giant sized home projects completed from beginning to end. One of my most asked questions here at Grandma’s House DIY is not how I know how to do the things I do (google is my very good friend) but how I motivate myself and get moving. House projects can be paralyzing and intimidating and leave all of us totally stuck. In the end you either get on it or it won’t get done. Its that simple and that really helps me. But that’s not the key to my motivation. Read More »
Most recent from Before and After
Adding Tufted Upholstery to an old Coffee Table
Adding a tufted top and a new paint job to an old coffee table. I’ve been working on the refresh of my living room for awhile now. It started when I decided I hated my sofa and was ready for a new one! That worked out perfect because I really needed my old sofa to complete my seating area out in my garage. Following my old sofa to the garage was my coffee table and one of my end tables too! That left my living room pretty barren: the perfect time to do a makeover! Read More »
Three Legged Stool Makeover: Paint and stain combo with dipped legs
Teaming up with Chas in our DIY blog hop this month with projects for our bathrooms! (Make sure and check out all of the bathroom projects following this post and feel free to join in!) This little stool has a fun story behind it. My Grandparents’ were wood workers and made and sold lots of these along with many other pieces of furniture. One of my neighbors is an avid follower of my blog and felt she simply had to return it to me so this milking stool came home after being gone for over 30 years! Read More »
Lace Doily Upcycling on my Radio Stand Kitchen Island
Lace doily upcycling across the front of my kitchen island that I made out of my great grandpa’s radio stand. This piece remains one of my ALL TIME favorite transformations that I’ve created. Some projects just work! It was like this old radio stand had been waiting 100 years to be made into a kitchen island. It looks great from the front and the shelves in the back house all my recipe books too. During my recent kitchen remodel I did some surgery on it to work even better for me. Read More »
DIY Farmhouse Kitchen Reveal! A Bigger Closet and a Bigger Kitchen!
DIY Farmhouse Kitchen Reveal, somehow I took space AWAY from my kitchen and yet I ended up with MORE storage and a bigger feeling space! In this kitchen I will always think of my amazing Grandma Charlotte who lived in this home for over fifty years before me. I was thrilled that this old farmhouse could become mine and ecstatic at the notion of creating my very own farmhouse kitchen. This space was a VERY long time coming for me. I had no idea it would take me from early spring of 2014 until right now, to finally create and finish the kitchen of my dreams. But, ya know what? It was worth it! Read More »
A Farmhouse Entryway, Office and Dining Room Reveal
I should have posted a reveal of my entry way back when I first “completed” it in 2016. But, honestly, it never felt truly “done” until now. The wood stove happened and the entire room needed to be repainted because of smoke damage and then, because I had it cleared out I went ahead and gave my floors some TLC too. Finally though I was able to take my time and put it all back together again! Read More »
Thrift Store Lamp gets a Country Makeover with the Farmhouse Hens
So, a few months ago, I went to my local thrift store to get myself a sweater to make mug koozies for my Christmas in a Jar post. I left the thrift store with two sweaters, some shop rags, a mirror tray and a lamp! To be fair I still only spent $8 and no one really believed I was just gonna be able to get one sweater right? Read More »
Most recent from The Blog
Interrupting my regularly scheduled programming – COVID-19
As Bloggers, Influencers, etc. I feel we have at least some moral obligation to stop what we’re doing for a second and acknowledge what’s going on in the world. I also believe we absolutely have the obligation to spread this right now: DON’T PANIC! Currently, in my state of MN, schools are closed by tomorrow (or already are) and it seems pretty much everything else that is not mandatory is already closed or not far behind. Its time to go home and stay there (if you possibly can) and binge watch Netflix for a bit. Read More »
Birthday in the Icy Tundra and Getting Through a Frightening Diagnosis
Lodi and I both have terrible birthday dates for where we live in north country. His late January birthday and my late February birthday means that NO ONE (including us) wants to do a damned thing because its either a blizzard going on outside OR, maybe even worse, dangerously cold out. My family has always done all they can to rally for me and throw something resembling a party but, this year, I accepted defeat. For both birthdays we kept it low key then everyone returned to their respective hibernating. Read More »
5 Different Types of Metal Gates to Suit Your Style and Needs
Metal gates are just so pretty in my opinion though very pricey and have been beyond my budget for a while now. However, I don’t think that’s going to be the case forever and I’ve been eyeing a double swing metal gate to replace the one I built for the East staircase of my deck (pictured below). The wooden gates I built are just fine but, like with wood in any outdoor application, eventually they start to warp and rot. Metal, of course, will never do that so I really look forward to having them someday! Read More »
2019 Recap – The Year that Broke My Barn and I Found My Heart
2019 Recap, starting with a record-breakingly-awful winter that went way beyond driving us all out of our minds. When I wrote my first blog post in January of 2019 I was feeling pretty good actually! My pellet stove was keeping up, I had a warm and wonderful home, and, at least compared to the winter before it, things were going just fine in my life. I bought myself some ridiculously awesome jammie pants and, for the first time EVER, stayed in them and did nothing. I know, it sounds silly, but I’m usually dressed and in my shoes within 15 minutes of getting out of bed. A conversation at a family gathering enlightened me that its genetic. Read More »
Dreaming of Gardening! A few of my Favorite Xmas Gifts!
A few of my Favorite gifts I received this Christmas! It probably won’t surprise anyone to hear that my Amazon wishlist is pretty much full of VERY practical items. My cousin was like, “You’re no fun, add something fun!” BUT I LOVE PRACTICAL AND USEFUL. Still though the majority of it might be practical but its many things that I won’t buy for myself because they still feel like something I don’t ABSOLUTELY NEED. (Miss frugal here, its a sickness…) Which means, every Xmas, I feel utterly and totally spoiled! Here are a few of my favorite gifts from this years holiday! Read More »
Happy Thankful Holidays and the 2019 Winter Photo Gallery
Happy Bird Day, Xmas and New Year from my little spot here in Grandma’s House! Weather report is short and brutal. We saw record breaking lows at the end of October/early November and, honestly, though it did “warm” up to average temps – it just kind of set the tone. Winter started then on the weekend after Thanksgiving and dumped our entire state with everyone seeing AT LEAST 8 inches of snow and nobody was happy about it. Speaking of Bird Day I just realized I didn’t wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving last month! I hope you had a wonderful day and, of course, had something to be thankful for. Read More »
Most recent from Home Tour
DIY Farmhouse Kitchen Reveal! A Bigger Closet and a Bigger Kitchen!
DIY Farmhouse Kitchen Reveal, somehow I took space AWAY from my kitchen and yet I ended up with MORE storage and a bigger feeling space! In this kitchen I will always think of my amazing Grandma Charlotte who lived in this home for over fifty years before me. I was thrilled that this old farmhouse could become mine and ecstatic at the notion of creating my very own farmhouse kitchen. This space was a VERY long time coming for me. I had no idea it would take me from early spring of 2014 until right now, to finally create and finish the kitchen of my dreams. But, ya know what? It was worth it! Read More »
A Farmhouse Entryway, Office and Dining Room Reveal
I should have posted a reveal of my entry way back when I first “completed” it in 2016. But, honestly, it never felt truly “done” until now. The wood stove happened and the entire room needed to be repainted because of smoke damage and then, because I had it cleared out I went ahead and gave my floors some TLC too. Finally though I was able to take my time and put it all back together again! Read More »
My Laundry Room Reveal – How one gorgeous table cloth started it all!
Finally we have come to the reveal of my new laundry room! Yep, I am no longer calling it a closet – I believe this space deserves to be labeled a real room now. First I tackled the heavy lifting, recycling my old kitchen pantry here in several places, building custom shelves, trimming it all out and painting the whole room. From there I added some color and then, finally, I was able to put it all together with some serious organization. Read More »
My New Workshop Reveal – Fancy, Fun and Organized!
Well I finally made it – here is my finished brand new workshop reveal! This was a LONG time coming: My first post about moving my workshop out of my basement came out in MAY OF LAST YEAR. I lived in a constant state of digging through boxes, looking for one tool or another, and going absolutely bat shit crazy lol. Read More »
Master Bathroom Refresh – Bohemiam meets Farmhouse
Master bathroom refresh for a newly single gal, how I’m making myself my own luxury retreat on the second floor of my home. If you’ve ever checked out any of my Inspiration Boards then you know I am in love with the natural look and textures of bohemian interior design. With both my master bedroom, and now my bathroom, my challenge was: how could I give myself the bohemian look while still staying true to my 100 year old farmhouse? Read More »
Master Bedroom Reveal – Boho Hollywood Meets Farmhouse!
Master bedroom reveal, bohemium meets farmhouse! I drooled over this rug for MONTHS before I finally decided to spoil myself by buying it! I lived with it without a rug pad for several weeks, putting off the purchase. But then Rug Pad USA contacted me and asked if I would like to do a review of one of their rug pads and it was perfect timing! With a new rug, two “new” lamps and a new comforter it was WAY beyond time to share with you my newest refresh of my master bedroom! Read More »
Most recent from Link Party
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #184)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #184. Well, one bit of good news is that we seem to be seeing an unprecedented early spring! It’s lovely. Forty degrees and fifties in the forecast is just amazing. This time last year we were getting dumped on – getting over three feet of snow in just a couple of weeks. With what’s going on right now at least being able to get out of the house and take a walk etc. sure helps a little bit! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #183)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #183. Well as of right now all public schools here in MN have been closed along with just about everything else yesterday by 5pm. How are you guys all doing? As most of you know my Mom is currently going through chemotherapy treatments which puts her in the most vulnerable group. To say I’m a bit concerned for her is a major understatement. She is practicing hard social distancing… which, to be fair, isn’t that different than regular life here in northern MN. For people like my mom though I am doing what I can to follow the CDC guidelines and literally not going anywhere I don’t have to. I hope you all are safe and getting through this ok. Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #182)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #182. Well, its official, we’re seeing a VERY early spring. We hit nearly fifty degrees this weekend, it was crazy and it felt SO GOOD! Suddenly I’m trying to switch gears from my winter to do list to my summer to do list… Which means I need to MAKE my summer to do list lol no complaints though, we certainly deserve a long summer and early spring after the last two years! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #181)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #181. It seems to be officially spring time basically here in northern MN… pretty much unprecedented! But if there was ever a people that deserved an early spring I think all of us midwesterners can agree that after the last two VERY short summers, we deserve this! Hope you’re all seeing some sunshine and melting like we are! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #180)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #180. Well, I’m not sure what we did to deserve it but we seem to be seeing an early spring here in Minnesota *crosses fingers* let’s hope I didn’t just jinx the midwest! This last weekend it hit 42 on Saturday! I don’t remember an end of February with weather this nice ever in my life. It feels amazing! Hope your winter/spring is going well. Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #179)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #179. Well we saw some -20s here for a couple of days and some wind chills down into the negative 40s. That was brisk! Everyone weathered it fine though and so far *crosses fingers* it really looks like that is the last of our cold spells and spring is seriously on the way. I don’t think I’ve ever said that in February before! My birthday is on the 24th and I know I have NEVER seen a forecast of 30s for my birthday EVER OMG we’re all so excited! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
Most recent from Inspiration Board
OMG Pumpkins everywhere! Hometalk Fall Decor Inspiration board
Hometalk Fall Decor Inspiration board! Summer is absolutely my favorite time of the year – you will NEVER hear me complaining about the heat lol But I honestly think that’s a fact simply because fall and spring are such short seasons here in northern MN. Fall for us could truly last all of three weeks like our spring did this year! And that’s just depressing lol because that means we’re settling into at least four months of some serious cold and snow. Read More »
Hometalk’s Outdoor Projects I Can’t Wait to Build! Do it Yourself!
Inspiration Board of the Outdoor projects on Hometalk that I’ve been drooling over! I received a comment on my outdoor bench saying, “You’re SO crafty, that’s amazing!” And I admittedly got a bit offended, eventually I just laughed about it but I’m not sure how I can build a wrap around bench for my deck and still be called “crafty”. I could’t help but think that if I was a guy she certainly wouldn’t have looked at that bench and called him crafty! I am a builder at heart and I spend most of my time building things in my head or drooling over outdoor projects like these: Read More »
Let’s build some swings! Pinterest Do It Yourself Inspiration Board!
Well now that spring has FINALLY arrived, my dreaming has turned to swings! Let’s build some! These are some of my favorites I’ve found on Pinterest and stashed away for a later time because, seriously, who doesn’t want to swing away a beautiful summer day? Contrary to popular belief, I do NOT feel that swings are for kids in any way. Many of these are very grown up swings for us “adults” lol Read More »
Nooks and Getaway Places: Pinterest Inspiration Board
Nooks, crannies, special getaway places, some of my favorite escapes via Pinterest Inspiration board. It has been a very difficult few weeks here at Grandma’s House, tailing the end of a very, very hard year. I will tell you guys why and what’s been going on when I’m able to get my feet back under me again. To say the least though I have found myself on Pinterest, looking longingly at getaway places and nooks that promise quiet and PEACE. Read More »
Inspiration Board: Six more Summer Projects I can’t wait to build!
Six more summer projects I can’t wait to build for us outside and out on our deck! Some DIYs and things just have to wait for some nice weather not only for us to enjoy them but for us to build them as well. Currently I’m sitting here in late October and we have a winter storm warning 🙁 So, hears to dreaming about next summer and all the things to look forward to building. I posted earlier this year a few summer projects I just can’t wait to build but I’ve seen so many build projects on Pinterest I had to share a few more that I can’t wait to build next summer! Read More »
Inspiration Board: Gorgeous Bedrooms to swoon over!
I spend a certain amount of time on Pinterest gazing with my mouth open at some of the gorgeous bedrooms people have. As far as Inspiration Boards go I’ve published quite a few over the years but I think this one might take the cake. I am absolutely in awe of a few of these. Considering how much time we spend in our bedrooms (albeit it is with our eyes closed) I am a firm believer that they are a VERY important part of our homes. So, without further adieu here’s some gorgeous bedrooms via Pinterest!! Read More »
Most recent from Contributed
How to Fix Your Broken Dishwasher
Dishwashers have always been a bit of a nightmare in my life. Honestly I’ve just never owned one that I liked or seemed to work well lol I took my own here at home a part at one point and omg DISGUSTING. After that I do a maintenance at least once of a month of running it through its heavy cycle with nothing in it but a bowl full of bleach. So far *crosses fingers* it seems to be working! Read More »
Why Laminate Flooring Can Be A Great Substitute for Wood Flooring
I absolutely ADORE my 100 year old hardwood floors in my home but they are absolutely not perfect nor totally low maintenance. Laminate wood flooring is an excellent choice that I actually recommend often even though I personally would never trade my real wood floors for anything. Laminate is generally less expensive and almost always A LOT more durable and can be just as pretty! Read More »
What Are The Traits Of A Great Property Lender?
Besides finding the right lender for you we also need to take note on exactly what we CAN afford on a month to month basis. A lender (or a credit card company for that matter) might look at your income and be willing to borrow you more many than you’re comfortable paying every month. Being house poor makes absolutely no sense even if you can technically “afford” it you won’t be spending any time there because you’ll be at work barely making the payments. Its generally considered your monthly mortgage payment should never be more than half of your monthly income. Read More »
The Maintenance Tasks You Shouldn’t Skip To Have A Truly Healthy Home
If you’re aiming to have a truly healthy home, there are certain maintenance tasks that should never be skipped or overlooked. It is truly amazing how much our homes affect our health not just physically but also mentally. One thing I don’t allow in my home is any sort of chemical or commercial cleaning products. I make everything here from scratch with basic ingredients I know work and I also know are non toxic! Read More »
How to Save Money on Monthly Expenses
Most of you know that I can be almost painfully frugal at times but making a few sacrifices now knowing its driving me toward being debt free makes it an easy thing to do. I found that making just about everything I possibly can helps me keep a healthier home, saves me money and, almost always, results in my having a better product in the end anyway. There is really no losing in the situation. For example: buying lunch every day instead of making almost guarantees that I’ll probably be spending more for a product that isn’t as nourishing or good for me anyway. Read More »
Three Functional Bathroom Designs That You Can Do Yourself
A functional bathroom design can vastly improve both the experience as well as the resale value of a home. I’ve been dreaming lately of ripping my fiberglass shower out. Not because it doesn’t work but because I have the room for a slightly bigger shower and simply want something better. I have dreams of subway tiled walls, a rain shower head, a teak bench and a penny tile or pebble rock floor! Read More »
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