Category Archives: Renovation

Home Decor, Interior Design, Renovation

Small Black and White Powder Room

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The best thing I did was paint my small black and white powder room. I would say the most fun space that you can get away with is your powder room. So why not go bold and paint it black partially and add some bamboo wallpaper?

You can go with a bold color or vibrant printed wallpaper and it does not ever clash with your home aesthetic. I had leftover paint from our bedroom accent wall so I decided to paid three of 4 walls in our powder room black! At first my husband was terrified of my idea.

This is the first phase of our powder room update. The space needed some color since the original brick accent wall just faded out.

Here’s tips on not making the room feel closed in with black color paint:

  1. Paint the walls at least half and half – I decided to paint 3/4 of the wall black and then where the white paneling begins will remain white. It makes the room moody but bright at the same time. 
  2. Accent Wall – I recently updated the wall behind the vanity and mirror to a bamboo wallpaper. It gave the space such dimension and somehow made the space not feel so small.
  3. Choose brighter cabinets and counter tops – We decided to keep the counter tops and bottom cabinets consistent through out the house. It benefited us tremendously in this small black and white powder room to have lighter fixtures.
  4. Have other elements of black to tie it in – some people might disagree but having a black sink and faucet as well as black toilet tissue holder was perfect and it gave a sleek modern look that I was looking for. It brought so much balance to the space.
  5. Greenery & simple decor – I loved that I went with brown floating shelves and green plants. It gave the room enough texture against the black paint.

So go dramatic with your powder rooms and don’t make them predictable! What is the most dramatic thing you have done to your space?

Shop the look from my space below! Also linking paint color, Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black SW6258

XO,

Jessi Morgan

Before-After, Organizing Tips, Renovation

Our contemporary kitchen pantry

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Our contemporary kitchen pantry is one of my favorite renovation projects so far. It has evolved let me tell you, but it is beautiful and functional for our family. 

Backstory: Our home was built in 1976, and the previous owner lived here for 28 years but failed to update anything but the floors. Yes, so you know there is work to be done.

Check out the space originally and then after we took out the wall

Anyways, last year in 2021 we tackled the pantry area of the kitchen. We lacked space and for re-sell purposes that would hurt us tremendously. In the long run, we decided to revamp it with the help of California Closets. We love our contemporary kitchen pantry so much, and it has turned out to be extremely functional for our family. Here are the ends and outs of our pantry:

  • Small fridge & Pantry = less home value – Originally the space had a small pantry with wired shelving and an old folding door. You couldn’t fit anything in there. If we try to sell right now, we potentially can discourage buyers due to the lack of space in the kitchen. 
  • We originally were just going to replace the fridge, but when it arrived it did not fit! We decided to move it to the other side of the kitchen and expand the pantry. 
  • Expand Expand when you can! – We knocked out the little wall and made one huge space to install the open pantry. It has made such a difference in being able to hold all our food and seeing what we have. 
  • Power cord hidden – That is a must have in a pantry always. My coffee machine to my tea kettle all work!
  • Add design to your pantry when you can – Simple peel & stick wallpaper was the trick for me. I wanted some excitement on the walls before the unit was installed. It now looks like a stunning contemporary kitchen pantry.
After the wallpaper was installed. Details of wallpaper at the end of this post
  • Used simple white bins from the container store at different sizes to “contain” everything in the pantry. 
  • Used “The Home Edit” labels –  but to make them stand out more, I bought a simple white label and drew with black marker then finally placed the Home Edit label. Check out my reel with this process
  • Cereal dispenser – They are great! If you can afford them, get them. Better way to hold a lot with less space. No more baulky cereal boxes. 
  • Separate your pantry by categories that work for you – We split our bins into the following categories:
    1. Cooking – all cooking recipes and canned food used to cook
    2. Snacks – we love our snacks, sorry!
    3. Spreads – We use a lot of peanut butter, almond butter and more
    4. Grains
    5. Condiments
    6. Coffee
    7. Pasta
    8. Sweetner
    9. Juices
    10. Cookies

Shop dupes and everything I used below!

XO,

Jessi Morgan

Before-After, Home Decor, Renovation

Mudroom Transformation

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So I created a mudroom! Yes I did! I had a closet at the entrance of our home that I hated. It was not organized or appealing at all, so…we changed it! I am so excited with how it turned out and I wanted to share how we executed this amazing project. Check it out below!

Affiliate links are used in this article

Here is the original closet

I hate those old fashion folding doors and the wired shelves I just needed to switch out.

Here are the steps and great tips to execute a mudroom transformation

  1. Have a vision & measure! Ensure your measurements are accurate so you can purchase everything correctly.
  2. To have some great contrast either use paint or wallpaper. I prefer wallpaper to give it some more excitement. Also I used peel & stick wallpaper for this project.
I wanted uplifting quotes on the back wall and it also stuck to the color story of teal blue and gold.

3. To have seamless wallpaper application ensure you overlap the seams just a bit so it flows smoothly on the wall.

4. Ensure you have a wallpaper smoothing kit while you apply the wallpaper. It is a lifesaver!

5. At Home Depot we made sure the measure the inside and outside of the doorway in order for us to purchase the correct amount of moulding. I wanted to make sure to frame the door so it will have an amazing finish that matches the rest of the doorway.

6. Finishing nails need to be your best friend! We literally put up the moulding with finishing nails and afterwards we repainting over the nails so it camouflage perfectly.

7. I wanted to add shelving to the space for storage as well as a nice home decor display. I bought the shelf and brackets from Home Depot. The space inside the closet is 34 inches so we decided to purchase a 70+ inch shelf and cut it in half. We did this based on issues with supply and demand. I also wanted to have the shelf be at least 12 inches wide.

8. I then basically created my own bench with purchasing the Target cube storage system. I placed the unit right under the shelf that was hanging. It gives the illusion there is a bench of some sort. I love it because I now have picked up more storage space.

9. To finish off the space I added a gold curtain rod as well as gold hooks for hanging needs. I loved using gold with teal blue wallpaper, it gave the space an elegance.

10. We also added cool baskets to the space for a cool storage feel too. Last, we purchases two of these battery operated light switches. This is a great avenue if you do not have electrical that close.

So there you have it! What transformation have you done recently that was rewarding? Shop the collage below for all the materials used.

xoxo,

Jessi

Before-After, Organizing Tips, Renovation

The Container Store Rolling Racks

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Well these rolling racks changed my kitchen’s life!

We were having a very hard time getting our pots and pans in and out of the drawers and cabinets in our kitchen. I decided to get the chrome rolling rack system that is from the Container’s Store.

Here is step by step how we got organized:

This is where I started! Pull everything out!
  1. Measure! Measure! That was the key for me. I measured the depth, width and height of my cabinets to ensure the rolling racks I shopped for what would fit. *Another tip – if you purchase the 20″ inches rolling rack, ensure your cabinet width is at least 23″ inches wide. You need a little wiggle room so that your doors still close etc.
  2. Took everything out to see what I had. I also gave away older cookware etc.
  3. Whichever rack you purchase make sure the unit is 2″ inches away from the tip of where the cabinets begins.
  4. I purchased contact paper to go down on the bottom of the cabinet but you can also use simple grip prints.
  5. After lay your rack inside the cabinet and pull the rack completely out. There are holes visible where the screws will go.
  6. Ensure you use a black marker and put a dot within the hole where the screw will go into.
  7. After that use an electric screwdriver to install the 4 screw to install the rolling rack.
  8. And you are done! Literally. done.

See my finished product below!

It has made such a difference…Shop my cabinets below:

Happy Organizing!

Xoxo,

Jessi Morgan

Lifestyle, Renovation

Lessons and experiences when buying a first home

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I wanted to sit back and reflect on the last 9 months and how we went from renting an extremely small townhouse to living in a 2400 square foot home with a screened in pool.

As we all know 2020 was a tough year for many people and that included us. At the time in April 2020 my husband and I both worked for Macys in different roles. By April 2020 we were both furloughed without knowing what our next step would be.

Thankfully my husband was called back in 2 weeks so at least we had one income coming in. I went on unemployment, focused on my parents, dove into my social media, started my LLC and my blog.

In July 2020 I was called back to work and kept my salary which was a massive blessing. After that we realized that with the Cares Act and the low interest rates we could afford to buy a home. It was extremely stressful. Here’s what we dealt with:

  1. Competitive Market – As the rest of the country, South Florida’s real estate was hot in 2020 and still in 2021. Every house we looked at had a line backed out the door to view the home. It was extremely intense and disappointing process. Every time we went to look at a place it had a line of people going in to view it. So competitive! One time as we were looking at a space, an offer was put in and accepted. We never even made it to tour the backyard!!
  2. Ran our credit too soon – I regret going with the first mortgage broker/company so quickly and we ran our credit too soon so we really could not leave and move on to anyone else. I just did not want to go with someone else and run my credit again while trying to buy a home. LESSON – try not to run your credit so many times when you are buying…it will hurt you financially when you are trying to get a loan and it may lower my loan amount.
  3. Out of state Mortgage company – We worked with Rocket Mortgage for buying a home and I regret it. They were ok but they did not work hard to get us the best deal and did not advise us on anything. I literally had to ask and find out on my own.
  4. 401K woes – With the Cares Act we were able to withdrew funds to put towards the downpayment. This was by far the most stressful thing for me because usually you are penalized if you take 401K money out before you are like 65 years old. The good thing is, it didn’t penalize us. I just worry with everything when it comes to retirement funds.
  5. Our loan for the house was very low compared to our income – I was extremely shocked and we had decent credit. This just shows that working with a major company virtually with no emotional attachment or real engagement it did not work in our favor. The person we worked with just really did not care honestly and it showed. I knew some friends who made less than us and had decent credit almost received the same loan amount.
Our updated entrance with a ramp for my dad to go in and out easily. Family first!

Well let that all sink in a bit lol. Any moments when you purchased a home that just blew your mind?

More details to share for another blog session! Share your buying home experience?

XOXO,

Jessi Morgan

Before-After, Renovation

How we transformed our backyard

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This is by far the biggest transformation we have done with our home since we purchased it in 2020. Our original backyard had great bones but we needed to update severely. I am so excited to share with you the renovation of our pool area.

When we bought the house the backyard originally had the following:

  • Screened in patio
  • Chattahoochee flooring
  • Massive amount of potted plants
  • Much needed resurfaced pool

When we took on this backyard, we had a vision from the beginning. We wanted a mini oasis that we as a family could relax and enjoy at all times. My husband especially loves being outside and he was so excited to take on this project! I wanted more than anything to make this happened.

First, we chiseled away the chattahoochee surface. Chattahoochee is a pebble like rock that was used for deck surfaces in the 1980s & 1990s. It was extremely popular back then, the key was you had to get it resealed about every 5 years or so to keep it looking neat and safe to walk on. When we bought the home, the previous owner failed to reseal it and the pebbles/rocks were loose and you could not walk to the pool without shoes.

Next, we realized that that in order to install turf around the pool we needed to have a border surrounding the pool. The original design had the chattahoochee all the way to the tip of the pool. If you do not have a border or copping around the pool, the surface you have will mildew. See below the difference between having copping around a pool vs not having it.

Next, we decided to redo the entire pool. We replaced the tiles and resurfaced the inside of the pool. We hired an amazing company called Ivero Pools and they literally worked non-stop and completed the pool in less than 3 weeks. The pool transformed the space entirely.

After, the pool was completed we then hired a company to lay down turf grass. Turf will last close to 20 years or more and we wanted a green grass feel to surround the pool. Since turf is expensive and based on square footage if we laid turf in the entire backyard it would have cost over $5500 and counting. Our backyard was 850 sq feet and vs us covering the entire backyard we left about 280 open to lower the cost.

Here is the breakdown of what we did:

  • Having 850 square foot backyard equaled to the turf costing over $5500. To remain on budget we decided not to turf the entire area.
  • We took 280 sq ft and decided to make it our dining space.
  • To give the backyard some contrast we decided to lay deck wood tiles in the space that we did not lay the turf. We absolutely loved it.
  • We are using the same patio furniture that we had before.

I feel so blessed that we could do such an amazing transformation. We cannot wait to host people in our beautiful backyard. Just this past weekend we sat outside and enjoyed the start of the NBA playoffs.

This renovation of the backyard made me realize that I can do anything if I believe and plan. Because of this backyard I am working on returning to school to study interior design. What project have you worked on that inspired you to do bigger and better things?

Shop some dupes and looks from my backyard!

XOXO,

Jessi Morgan

Lifestyle, Renovation

Tips on fixing up a Fixer Upper Home

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We were so excited when we bought our very first home that is a fixer upper. As many people know in the last 10 years “fixer upper” homes have been very popular but at times people underestimate how much it really costs to fix it up.

We completely revamped the entrance to our home. See below for picture before.

Our home was built in 1976 so it is over 40 years old…so yes a little dated. When we first saw the home we were overwhelmed with the size of it and we loved some of the great features like the high ceilings and the wooden beams.

Before we removed all the plants and tall grass.

As we started moving in we also paced ourselves on fixing it up. Here are the 10 pieces of advice I would share with you when it comes to renovating a fixer upper home.

  • Pay close attention to the inspection paperwork – This is so important because it gives you the key details of what needs to be fixed and the timeline needed. The electrical panel in our home had paint all in it, the previous owner painted the room and just did not even cover the panel! There was white paint all in it and in order for us to have homeowner’s insurance we had to get that fixed within the first 30 days of moving in. All that detail was in the inspection report. PAY ATTENTION TO THAT PLEASE! It will give you guidelines on what to prioritize first.
  • Appliances – Ensure your appliances work. Check it yourself with the inspector! If something does not work ensure the seller fixes it or lowers the sell price of the home. Important! This should be one of the first things you fix when you enter a new home. The dryer we had was the original one…I repeat the original one. I did not check it when we had the inspection. It took 2 cycles before the clothes were dry. It was frustrating and we had to replace as soon as we could.
  • Paint goes a long way – One of the first things we did was paint the inside and outside of the home. The house was lettuce green so in order for me to mentally be excited about the new house, I had to paint it. As soon as we did that, it felt like a new home! We painted the inside a pure white. White represents fresh and a new start, it is a great color to start with.
Painted the walls completely white to start over. In time we may warm it up but for now it was a great start to see the vision I wanted for this house.
  • Pace yourself – Do not push to get everything done at once if you cannot afford it. It is not worth renovating a kitchen if you have to finance it and struggle to make the monthly payments. Many families save for years before they update their home, it is normal. Do not feel pressured to do upgrades if you really cannot at first.
  • Work your way from the bottom up – If you hate the floors in your new fixer upper, save and get that done first. One mistake I regret is updating our bathroom vanity and not doing the floors first. What happened to us was the tile on the floor is not manufactured anymore, so it was extremely hard to find a tile that matched. So if you want to redo your kitchen and you hate your floors, do the floors first so then you can easily install everything else and your floors are consistent.
Before & After of the kitchen. We liked our floors so we didn’t need to change them.
  • Focus on one room at a time – You will feel that you got a lot done if you completely finish one room at a time when it comes to decorating. I focused first on the office/closet, then the kitchen etc. I literally went from room to room and decorated. I had a theme and I made sure it reflected from one room to the next. It becomes depressing if you do not finish an entire space at a time I feel.
On the day of our closing!

Hope you found these points helpful! Stay tuned for part 2 of my advice on updating a fixer upper! How has your fixer upper Reno going?

XOXO,

Jessi Morgan

Before-After, Home Decor, Lifestyle, Renovation

The Evolution of our Powder Room

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The famous saying that you have to crawl before you walk…well that is extremely accurate with own boho powder room. For those you are not familiar, my husband and I moved into our first home in September 2020 and it was a true fixer upper.

The challenging Space before

First, the previous owner was a nice mother & daughter who lived there for 25+ years. They decorated here and there, but you can tell the two had not updated the decor in years. So when we bought the home we had to have a vision and one of the first challenges was the powder room.

Also, I have an earlier post about the first phase of this powder room, check it out if you like!

Next, for phase 2 of powder room Reno, I was in need of filling the second wall in the space to reflect the rest of my home. I have been decorating my home to fit a boho semi-modern, semi-mid century/industrial feel and I want people to see that in every area of our home.

Here is what we did to elevate this powder room more:

  1. Add Shelving – This was not my first choice, but I came up with the idea after two floating shelves wouldn’t fit in my kitchen. So the result was to put them them in the powder room, and I love it. Since we had white walls adding dark wood floating shelves creates contrast just enough to have an amazing statement. Check out my favorite shelves below…


2. Concrete/cement pieces – in order to have a rustic/industrial feel that I do love to incorporate into my home, I wanted it to reflect in my powder room a bit more. I found some really neat pieces that were inexpensive from amazon for my decorating. See below…


3. Marble bowls & coasters for more contrast – I like mixing materials in a space to give it that boho feel a bit. Check out the bowls I purchased as well as my other favs:


4. Faux Plants & Wooden frames – To top it off and give some height to the shelves I bought some faux plants & wooden frames from Target. I wanted some earth tones and greenery in the space to finish the look. Check out some amazing duplicates from Amazon below:


Happy shopping! Visit my Liketoknow.it page to shop more of my looks. Click picture below:

www.liketoknow.it/bossinfashion

XOXO,

Jessi Morgan

Before-After, Organizing Tips, Renovation

Reno Update: The Kitchen

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As some of you know my husband and I bought our first home back in September 2020. The home is a fixer upper and does need some work. Whenever you buy an older home you have to be able to see the potential and have a bit of patience. The first thing that needed to be completely re-done was the kitchen.

This home was built in 1976 and the kitchen had the same cabinetry and sink. WOW. The wood was falling a part and I just could not move into this home and not update the kitchen. I was determined to make this happen. Check out the before & after…

When it comes to re-doing a kitchen it can be extremely expensive and we just did not have the budget for that. Here are the key lessons & decor tips when renovating a kitchen for under $8000.

Work with a family owned company

I had the opportunity to work with a family ran business and it was a lot more intimate. The communication was clear and payment was fair from the deposit to the actual work. I dealt with some contractors that wanted me to pay 90% of the money up front and then pay 10% when they start. I didn’t find that good and they could literally just walk away with your money possibly. Also, working with a Home Depot or IKEA is still solid way to go but the price will literally double because of that, so keep that in mind.

Countertops is key

Some people want to cut corners with the quality of the countertops and honestly that should not be the case. We decided to go with white quartz material because it is extremely durable and scratch free usually. White quartz is timeless and for resale purposes it’s the way to go if you ever decided to sale your house.

Cabinets

This is where you can somewhat cut a little bit of corners when it comes to the budget with the cabinets. I went with a grey for the bottom cabinets to compliment the white countertops. The the top cabinets we chose white. I like having a semi-white kitchen, it made the space look much bigger than it appeared when we finished. Last, to stay on budget we went with a simple laminate material for the cabinets vs hardwood.

Backsplash

I prefer a clean kitchen and the best thing I did was use the quartz material to be the backsplash. It actually turned out to be cheaper in cost and to me it looks more elegant. I love the look! Try it!

Go big with the sink

Never go small with your sink. It is always best if possible to purchase a double sink so you can clean and organize your dishes easily. It was one of the best purchases I ever made for the kitchen.

CLEAN COUNTERTOPS are a must

Avoid as much as possible to have a cluttered counter. Try your best to keep your countertops clear. Put everything in a cabinet if possible. It just makes your kitchen more open and it makes you appreciate the look of your kitchen more.

What have you learned when it comes to Reno in a kitchen?

Below shop my kitchen! Most of my kitchen accessories came from Macys or Amazon!



Before-After, Jess' I Love Places, Renovation

The Master Bathroom Vanity…

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This was by far one of the best transformations in our new home! I am so proud of it!

Below is the original vanity that was chocolate brown with flower shaped sinks. It was a sight! When we came for the inspection on the house we realized also that the vanity was 30 inches high. My husband is 6’8″ so a vanity being that low forced him to get on his knees to wash his face! So yes the vanity had to be replaced.

Here are the key things that went into replacing our master bathroom vanity:

  1. When we worked with our contractor he raised the new vanity to 36 inches high. This way my husband would NOT need to get on his knees to wash his face or brush his teeth lol.
  2. To save money we did not install a backsplash. We decided to cover the back wall in a beautiful light blue tinted marble contact paper. It saved a lot of money vs installing backsplash.
  3. Next we ordered the black matte faucets from Amazon. They were literally $65 each vs going to Home Depot where they would have been over $120 each!
  4. Then I wanted black accessories to match my black on black theme. I bought all of the pieces from Target, Home Goods and Amazon. I recently found all of the pieces on Amazon, check it out below.
  5. Also, the mirrors came from Lowes. They were a bit heavy to hang at first, but if you have hooks that can hold 20 lbs then you are set.
  6. Last we made sure we had clear organizer bins in the drawers in order for us to stay organized. It has worked beautifully. See Amazon options below that I really like to use.

Again we are so excited for the change in our master vanity and look forward to doing more with our new home! Do you have bathroom goals or aspirations when it comes to remodeling?

Check out my links below…

xo,

Jessi Morgan