Looking Back (So Much Less Dust Now!) & Hamptons Style

Because it is important to glance back every now and then to see how far you’ve come. As we finish up the family room (mainly a refresh but still time consuming) and bedroom closet (more than a refresh!), we’re nearly done with the first and second floors. We will probably finish spaces in the walk-out basement too, but what a relief to pull together 11 rooms plus 4 bathrooms. It may sound silly, but I’m only now beginning to think about decorating ideas (Hamptons style feels right for a few areas) and those finishing touches that are so enjoyable and personal. While we have wallpapered and hung sconces and a little art, so much of our work has been making the home functional and erasing traces of the fussy and formal (and a whole lotta brown).

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Let’s Celebrate a Year of DIY Progress

We may reside in the landlocked Midwest, but we do love an atmosphere of laid back coastal chic. Our bedroom and bath are feeling more Hamptons-like with the changes.

Even though we’re still not done, we have been using this sitting room/sun room quite often!

Here’s where we are today with the closet progress:

We emptied it of everything, added beadboard to the back wall, painted walls SW Repose Gray and the trim white, removed the fluorescent ceiling fixture and hung an antique chandelier. It’s now ready to be customized with beautiful shelves, drawers and hanging space! (See the completed space HERE!)

I have begun to share resources to shop my home HERE, and I plan to keep adding to it as we complete this home.

A Few Hamptons Style Finds

I never tire of vintage faded denim jackets to dress down midi dresses from Anthropologie and simple statement jewelry. Here’s a great jacket:

How beautiful is this beaded bracelet which feels gorgeously summer and would go with absolutely everything!?!

If you have never worn hammered gold hoops, you are in for a delight. They will never go out of style, feel light and airy, shimmer in the light, and are 14K lovely.

The addition of silver Thai caviar beads to these hammered hoops makes them even more versatile! Wear them with gold AND silver.

This pretty layered trio has a very French look about it, and I love its subtlety and the fact it is handpainted.

Coastal Style Ideas for a Hamptons Look

What to Make for Dinner

If ever you feel stuck about what to make for dinner, do check out the online menu of your favorite eateries. After seeing this glorious caesar salad and grilled salmon, I whipped up my own last night – so easy and quick as a light dinner.

The fried chicken stack is Jo’s favorite at The Hampton Social, and this could also be your brunchy dinner made at home…why not?

Our Bath A Year Ago & Today

It wasn’t the worst looking bathroom we have ever renovated, just the most work!

It feels coastal and fresh, but not in a kitschy way. I am loving the LED lit medicine cabinets which dictated other decisions in the plan.

What’s currently inside my medicine cabinet?

Clean Beauty Finds: CLEAR LABEL

My sensitive, over 50, rosacea-prone skin is loving these luxurious potions from Shani Cohen’s CLEAR LABEL SKINCARE. I’ll never shy away from clean formulas that skip harsh chemicals and include skin repairing CBD to achieve my favorite look: dewy and fresh.

One of my favorite qualities about these products?

They provide a perfect base for my makeup routine. So many other skincare products cause pilling and just don’t play well with my favorite cosmetics.

Clear Label’s daily serum and moisturizer sink into my thirsty skin and don’t annoyingly react with the foundation, blush, and bronzer layered on top. Yay!

And can we talk about the luxe packaging? So rich and sexy. You’re not going to want to hide these skincare essentials away!

Chronic Illness & Life A Year Later

It was kind of a doozy of a year with my autoimmune issues. I’m still without an official diagnosis, but when things flare, I experience symptoms for 2 weeks to a month. Recovery has become my new normal rather than an occasional event, and I have come a long way this year in terms of coming to terms with it. That’s why I’m not creating much new content or filming videos around the house.

I fully expected to be busy with such content creation, but just getting the DIYs done takes a lot out of me. Fortunately my Raynaud’s symptoms are under control, and the warm weather helps so much. We’ll probably become snowbirds later this year, and I’ll keep you posted.

Before/After Kitchen Peeks

Here’s where we were a year ago (we had removed a built-in china cabinet from the dining room and repurposed it in our kitchen pantry):

A year ago, we had just installed our kitchen’s new farm sink and were retrofitting it with existing cabinetry:

So many changes to note in a single image! The brown trim was painted, a marble backsplash was installed after the Viatera Muse quartz counters went in, we skirted the sink base with a luxurious linen, and a Perrin & Rowe faucet heightened the timeless factor.

Renovated Entry & Dining Room

The entry and dining room have both come a long way…

Seeing is believing, and the before/afters help you grasp what I mean when I explain this home has a strong point of view and requires delicate, thoughtful attention. No entry level DIY home improvement or flip here! Rather, advanced level electrical, plumbing, carpentry and construction.

Breakfast Nook Progress Over Past Year

It took weeks to paint 16 windows in the kitchen since the process began with 4 layers of stain-blocking primer.

But well worth the weeks of work! Still haven’t added soft fabric touches in here, but that will happen eventually.

Here’s where I was at a year ago: “I am thankful for Grace, ever present as I continue to struggle, grow, and allow reality to teach me what it means to become the healing I seek. Everything within me wants things to improve and progress quickly, and this is simply not to be. The pace of chrysalis living in an upside down kingdom is slow, and things fall apart before wholeness comes.”

A year later, I still feel the ache of chyrsalis living, but I’m clinging to outcomes a little less now. I’m freer in many ways. Letting myself off the hook. Speaking more kindly to myself and not stuffing down anger or resentment.

Blogging can be an odd, frustrating profession as the platforms shift and algorithms change all the time. But I still appreciate how the work involves reflection and journaling…it’s a way to track growth and notice answered prayers. Thank you for reading with such tenderness and being patient with me as I share slow going progress from the renovation.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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