Note: This is a retroactive post I put together in December 2011 so I could compile monthly recaps for our first year in the new house. Type A tendencies, guilty as charged. Below is what we tackled in February, laid out in a playful high-school-yearbook style.
Coupon Champion: This post about how I save money by trimming coupons down to only the useful ones.
Dust-Busting Trick: We shared a simple drywall-dust containment tip—use tape cleverly to catch dust while sanding. See the details here.
Secretly Silly: While John was out for a run I couldn’t resist painting an old glass lamp shade turquoise. Confession: it was delightfully impulsive. (Read more.)
Best Photo Moment: We scored a resin ram at TJ Maxx and ended up with an unplanned, hilarious photo of Burger doing yoga behind it. You have to see it—this post shows the fun.
Biggest Surprise: We were stunned and thrilled to be named Apartment Therapy’s Best Home Design Blog of 2011. Still blushing.
Favorite $2.80 Project: With a $2.80 test can of paint and a dry-brush technique, we gray-washed the living room beam for surprisingly big impact. See the project here.
Thrift Store Find (Most Fowl): We found a quirky goose at a thrift shop—perfectly goofy and begging for a shiny paint makeover someday. Details in this post.
Magpie Moment: We flirted with metallic paint colors for the living room ceiling and debated a few shimmery options. Our metallic mood is chronicled here.
The Great Table Hunt: After a long search that deserved a saga, we finally found the right dining table. The entire drawn-out journey is described in this rundown.
Guest Room Panic: Realizing my mom and stepdad were coming at month’s end kicked us into gear—our guest room still looked like a storage cave. The chaos before the makeover is shown here.
Late-but-Cute DIY: We finally posted a tutorial for upgrading a 40-cent Goodwill platter with decorative paper—about two months late, but still worth sharing. See the step-by-step here.
Score of the Month: Two secondhand chairs for $35 each felt like a steal, especially compared to similar styles that retail much higher. Our find is featured here.
Relocated Piece: Our console table from the first house looked tiny in the new entryway, so we moved it to the hallway and started planning a large framed-photo wall. The move is documented here.
Most Welcoming: Our chunky, curvy dining table arrived and instantly felt right for hosting big family meals. We introduced it in this post.
Thrift Fearless: I’m not scared of mothballs when there are gems to be found—case in point: a $4 mirror rescued from a dusty corner. Thrify victories like this are my favorite; see more in this post.
Thrifty Haul: On a family beach trip to Rehoboth, DE, we picked up 23 items for $98—proof that fun, budget-friendly finds are everywhere. The haul is detailed here.
Burger’s Favorite Spots: We tracked all of the cozy and quirky places Burger claimed in the new house after the move—because of course he has opinions. See his map of hangouts in this post.
Extra Credit: For a quick guest-room spruce, we went the extra mile and painted the walls instead of leaving it for later. We primed first and showed the process here.
Dramatic Makeover: We painted the guest room a deep, moody teal and fell in love with the result. That post also includes a video on cutting in without painter’s tape for crisp edges—see it here.
Guest Comforts: We researched and chose a new mattress for the guest room, replaced the showerhead and toilet seat, and added a shower curtain and bath mat so visitors would feel comfortable. Read about the mattress in this post and the bathroom updates here.
Guest Room Progress: We cleared out old bedding, hung new curtains, added an old rug and leftover chairs, and tweaked the layout over a few busy days to get it ready. See the status update here.
Room Ready: The guest bedroom ended up bold, happy, and welcoming—still a work in progress, but ready for guests. We also show how we repurposed a luggage rack into a side table in this post.
Guest Bath—Functional & Friendly: It’s not perfect, but the guest bathroom is clean, functional, and stocked with essentials to make visitors feel at home. Small touches and styling choices are shared here.
Local Love: We shared a list of five favorite Richmond spots to eat, shop, thrift, and hang out—because we genuinely love our city and enjoy pointing readers to its best finds. Check out our recommendations here.
Temporary Nightstands: For a short-term fix, we swapped in two different side tables as temporary nightstands—which inevitably led to a few jokes. See the quick solution in this post.