My name is Tarah and its really great to meet you!
Around here we really do it all: refinish old furniture, re-purpose old pieces or build it from scratch. Lodi and I have some serious plans for this old farm. For the first time I have a real partner! I can't wait to see what the two of us can do together - this is gonna be so much fun!
BEFORE AND AFTERS
DO IT YOURSELF
THE BLOG
HOME TOURWhat's been happening this week
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #194)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #194. Lodi and I accomplished quite a bit this last weekend. We got our little bathroom finally painted out and complete. Our garden is sprouting – so exciting! My Grandma’s peonies, tiger lilies and lily of the valley are all up and looking so darned pretty. Isn’t spring wonderful!? We knocked one planting bucket list item off of my list too by planting an asparagus bed as well. I hope you all had a great weekend! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
Key Areas Of Looking After The Exterior Of Your Home
Maintaining the outside of our homes, whether it be the roof, the windows or the siding, is mandatory when it comes to maintenance. It was one of the top things on my to do list last summer and I was scrambling to finish it last fall. The rock my ex had put up on the house was falling off and I knew it was only a matter of time before I saw serious water damage. It wasn’t not the funnest of jobs but knowing my home is dry and safe now is the the biggest relief! Read More »
May 2020 – Flowers to be Planted, Spring is Here, Life Goes On
May 2020 was a far less freaky month for me than April was – I guess I “adapted” to the pace of quarantine. Disinfecting my entire day job became thoughtless habit, avoiding people at the store became second nature (not that it wasn’t already for this introvert…) and emotionally freaking out about the craziness became impossible to keep up. Saying we “got used” to living in a world in the midst of a global pandemic sounds insane but bills still needed to be paid. Gardens still needed to be planted. Life still deserved to be lived. Life does always, somehow, keep going on. Read More »
Transforming Your Garage Into An Extra Bedroom
So many of the older homes here have an “addition” that is very clearly an attached garage that was converted into an extra bedroom or living space. Oftentimes a new garage is added to the property to replace the one that was absorbed by the home. Especially if its an attached garage converting it into an extra bedroom can be a really cost effective way of adding more square footage and value to a home. Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #193)
Link party #193. To Grandma’s House We Go! Its been an odd, hazy, gloomy, not-sunny-at-all, we-need-rain-so-bad, couple of weeks. Not complaining, its still been over 70 every day, but it is a bit odd. Its starting to feel like I’m just going to have a permanent fire danger warning on my phone forever… Lodi and I are getting a lot done now that spring is here. It feels sensational to be outside again and to enjoy our big deck and to plant something and get dirty! Hope you’ve all had some warm weather to enjoy as well! Read More »
2020 Summer To Do List and Plans for Next Fall and Winter too
At the end of 2019 I tackled my Winter to do list and completed a total overhaul of my living room and a makeover for my guest bedroom too. (More about the bedroom coming soon!) Those two spaces were my two biggest items so I’m happy with what I completed – but its time to start thinking about summer already! Which means its time to make some new lists and put a couple of things on the back burner for next winter. Read More »
Most recent from Do It Yourself
Windows: Upcycling to make Farmhouse artwork for the living room!
I just knew some day keeping all of those old windows would pay off! After painting out the room and getting some things complete one glaring issue was my one totally empty wall above my sofa. I have a confession to make, I literally STOLE the prints out of almost every single room in my entire house to complete the gallery walls of my new entryway when I redid it last year. No regrets at all but it literally left me with nothing on the walls of my living room! Read More »
Unisex Guest Bedroom – Picking out a Grown up Paint Color
Teaming up with Chas in our DIY blog hop this month with projects for bedrooms! (Make sure and check out all of our bedroom projects following this post and feel free to join in!) Redesigning my guest bedroom in a more unisex design aesthetic. I was so totally in love with my guest bedroom when I redid it after throwing my ex out three years ago. (It was the beginning of the reclaiming of all of my spaces after my divorce.) It looked like me when I was a tom boy, country girl because that’s exactly how I designed it to be! One room that said ME and absolutely NO ONE else. Read More »
Serving Tray – Old Window Upcycle for the Living Room!
How to create a serving tray out of an old window! With the living room remodel under way one thing I knew we would ABSOLUTELY NEED was a tray for the newly upholstered coffee table to set drinks on etc. Fortunately I still have a stash of old windows in the garage that I pulled out of the house during the renovation. I was concerned they would all be too big but when I brought the smallest one in and checked it out it actually seemed about perfect. Read More »
Living Room Area Rug – Picking One Out: My Total Nightmare
My trying to pick a living room area rug seems logistically like it should not be the worst job in my entire living room remodel. It is though. It is my nightmare. I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, using-what-I-have-to-make-it-work, do-it-your-selfer that just hopes for the best. When people ask me how I feel about how any of my rooms turn out my general reply is: “Well its WAY better than it was!” I am not an interior designer! Read More »
Adding a Drying and Hanging Rack to my Laundry Room!
Teaming up with Chas in our DIY blog hop this month with projects for our laundry rooms! (Make sure and check out all of our laundry room projects following this post and feel free to join in!) I have a super small Laundry “room” that is really just a closet. I gave it a makeover around a year ago and have been totally loving it because it is at least SO much better than it used to be! And its such a pretty and happy space too! I have a unique situation (at least for an American) because I own a washer/dryer combo machine that both washes and dries my clothes in one 2 1/2 hour cycle. I totally love it but it does have a couple of draw backs… 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 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 »
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 »
Lamp gets a country girl makeover using license plates! Before and After!
My new guest bedroom and library needed a reading lamp for the bedside table so, of course, I went thrifting! I found this little dude for only $6 and then went directly to walmart and found what I decided was the perfect burlap lamp shade. From there it was time to decide just how I was going to transform this little lamp into something country and fun! Using two old MN license plates I got to work! Read More »
A little end table gets a full on adult country girl redo!
There are a lot of changes taking place here at my Grandma’s old farmhouse. You guys know now that I got divorced and that means new and very different plans for the whole house. My old office is now going to become my guest bedroom and library and it felt really important to refinish all of the furniture that will be going in there. So, I got to work! Read More »
Most recent from The Blog
May 2020 – Flowers to be Planted, Spring is Here, Life Goes On
May 2020 was a far less freaky month for me than April was – I guess I “adapted” to the pace of quarantine. Disinfecting my entire day job became thoughtless habit, avoiding people at the store became second nature (not that it wasn’t already for this introvert…) and emotionally freaking out about the craziness became impossible to keep up. Saying we “got used” to living in a world in the midst of a global pandemic sounds insane but bills still needed to be paid. Gardens still needed to be planted. Life still deserved to be lived. Life does always, somehow, keep going on. Read More »
2020 Summer To Do List and Plans for Next Fall and Winter too
At the end of 2019 I tackled my Winter to do list and completed a total overhaul of my living room and a makeover for my guest bedroom too. (More about the bedroom coming soon!) Those two spaces were my two biggest items so I’m happy with what I completed – but its time to start thinking about summer already! Which means its time to make some new lists and put a couple of things on the back burner for next winter. Read More »
April 2020, Finding Silver Linings and Ways to Keep our Sanity
I rewrote my last blog post about a thousand times because of Covid-19 changing our lives by the minute. I really regret that now because I deleted a lot of what had been going on with us before everything went to hell. These little updates I put out once a month have become a bit of a journal for me that I’ve really liked to have. So I’m going to start writing in more past tense about the whole month – so this was our month of April 2020 at Grandma’s House. Read More »
Almost Spring 2020 – Uncertain times
Almost Spring 2020 – So, as most of you know, I generally have projects/posts complete and scheduled for publication a couple of months ahead of time. I don’t mean for you guys to not see what I’m working on as its happening but deadlines kill me. It is what is. However, this doesn’t totally ring true of my personal updates/blog posts like this one. Generally I write these a couple of weeks (maybe a month) before they come out here. (That’s about as close to a deadline as my anxiety will let me get.) However… 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 »
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 »
Most recent from Home Tour
Living Room Reveal – Farm Houses can be Classy, Fun & Practical!
Farmhouse living room reveal! OMG you guys this room took me over 5 months to finish – UGH Finally though, we have arrived at the new living room. It probably seems strange and even silly but buying a new sofa meant something to me. Throughout the entire home almost every single piece of furniture here I’ve either inherited or I built. The few other pieces besides I picked up at either thrift stores or garage sales. I literally only have one “new” thing and its my dining room chairs which my mom bought for me as a gift MANY years ago! 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 »
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 »
My Outhouse Reveal! All dressed up DIY Farmhouse Style!
My outhouse reveal! After building my outhouse I couldn’t wait to dress it up! To be quite frank the last thing I wanted this little outhouse to feel like was an actual outhouse. (I have nightmares of the creepy, spider-filled, half-rotted places I remember using when I was a kid. To be fair it was better than having to go in the woods – but still.) I was on a mission to make it as comfortable as any of the bathrooms in my home. Read More »
Most recent from Link Party
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #194)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #194. Lodi and I accomplished quite a bit this last weekend. We got our little bathroom finally painted out and complete. Our garden is sprouting – so exciting! My Grandma’s peonies, tiger lilies and lily of the valley are all up and looking so darned pretty. Isn’t spring wonderful!? We knocked one planting bucket list item off of my list too by planting an asparagus bed as well. I hope you all had a great weekend! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #193)
Link party #193. To Grandma’s House We Go! Its been an odd, hazy, gloomy, not-sunny-at-all, we-need-rain-so-bad, couple of weeks. Not complaining, its still been over 70 every day, but it is a bit odd. Its starting to feel like I’m just going to have a permanent fire danger warning on my phone forever… Lodi and I are getting a lot done now that spring is here. It feels sensational to be outside again and to enjoy our big deck and to plant something and get dirty! Hope you’ve all had some warm weather to enjoy as well! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #192)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #192. We finally reached the point of no return when it comes to the weather… hopefully lol it is MN after all! We planted flowers this last weekend and yesterday we planted out the garden! I’m kicking myself for not getting the garden planted a week sooner but life is just like that sometimes. We do the best we can! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #191)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #191. Well, in true Minnesota fashion, it snowed! A week ago I was really thinking we were going to get to plant this last weekend lol not so much. I got all of my peonies and other perennials covered that were popping up so everyone was safe and sound. This looks like its really finally it though and we won’t be seeing freezing again until… *crosses fingers* … maybe this fall!? This next weekend we’ll hopefully get all of our gardens planted – I totally miss the smell of dirt! Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #190)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #190. All of our green houses opened up unseasonably early and everyone was SO excited even though its still not safe to plant quite yet. We’re all still hunkered down in quarantine here in MN so just getting to go look at plants and go somewhere different was a treat! Lodi and I are getting adjusted now that we’ve moved in together here at Grandma’s house. Under such awful circumstances in the world I’m really relieved to have him here with me. Now, on to the Party! Read More »
To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #189)
Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party #189. Thank goodness for an early spring! Our weather has simply been gorgeous. Considering the current quarantine situation I know everyone is so relieved to be able to get outside to walk, run, bike, or just sit in the sun etc. Lodi and I are planning our gardens and working on our summer to do list. Still haven’t really got my feet back under me motivation-wise with everything that’s going on, but I’m working on it! 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
Key Areas Of Looking After The Exterior Of Your Home
Maintaining the outside of our homes, whether it be the roof, the windows or the siding, is mandatory when it comes to maintenance. It was one of the top things on my to do list last summer and I was scrambling to finish it last fall. The rock my ex had put up on the house was falling off and I knew it was only a matter of time before I saw serious water damage. It wasn’t not the funnest of jobs but knowing my home is dry and safe now is the the biggest relief! Read More »
Transforming Your Garage Into An Extra Bedroom
So many of the older homes here have an “addition” that is very clearly an attached garage that was converted into an extra bedroom or living space. Oftentimes a new garage is added to the property to replace the one that was absorbed by the home. Especially if its an attached garage converting it into an extra bedroom can be a really cost effective way of adding more square footage and value to a home. Read More »
The Do’s and Don’ts of Picking Out Bedroom Furniture and Decor
There are no definitive rules when it comes to decor and furniture for any room in the house. Every home, every space, and all our families are a little bit different, and we all have different needs from a space. Picking out bedroom furniture and decor is probably my favorite room to have a little fun in. Probably because a bedroom can truly JUST cater to whoever lives in it so, there really are no rules! Unlike the rest of the house that also has to cater to guests! However, a few general guidelines are always important to follow. Read More »
The New Rules For Space, Practicality & Comfort In The Home
I guess it would make sense that now that we are spending more time then ever in our home space that design ideas and goals would start to change. I do wonder how many people threw out their sofas and purchased new more comfortable ones now that they’ve spent more time on them than ever?! I’ve always been pretty practical with my spaces. They need to work for the people living in them first and foremost! Read More »
Your 8-Step Action Plan to Preventing Water Damage
From mold to rot water damage can be a serious (and sometimes invisible) problem for any homeowner. I ran into a certain amount of it myself while renovating my Grandma’s house. Its vital to keep an eye on your roof, windows, etc. as they all can eventually age to the point of letting water into a home. Read More »
Here’s what You Need to Know before you Buy an Older Property
Purchasing an older property SHOULD be daunting in its own way. Most people hugely underestimate the cost, time and effort it takes to bring an older property up to date. What I found with my grandma’s house, despite the blood sweat and the tears, is I would have had it no other way. I didn’t underestimate the cost, but I did understatement the amount of help I would have! But I wouldn’t have had it any other way, in the end, this place I got to make myself and that’s kinda amazing!
Read More »
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