The Floors Are In!
Yesterday was a wonderful whirlwind. We were mostly kept in the dark as a team of two from Peter’s Wood Refinishing (can’t recommend them enough, and they’re woman owned!) plastic-ed off the kitchen from the rest of the home. What we saw was sneak peeks through the back door, although for most of the day, it was too dusty to see much of anything.
I shared what I could in Stories, but it was noisy work, so we left the house to catch up on errands – but really, we needed a good distraction. When we returned home, we saw the maple flooring we chose installed!
In fact, we came home just in time to see them apply a handful of stain options that we went over during the initial site visit. I will dive way into the details in a larger post once the post is complete, but our ultimate goal is to find a happy medium between the flooring we already have in our home (bottom of photo below) and the gorgeous maple that was just installed (top of photo below). Note: No sanding has been done to this point, so any marks on the floors or unevenness will be resolved when they return.
Part of me wishes we could clear coat the maple and call it done, but the other part of me knows we might never replace the flooring in the rest of the home. After going over several options with Peter’s, we knew it would be in our best interest to bridge the middle ground and find a stain that isn’t quite as orange as our whole-home flooring, but still warm enough to feel cohesive.
Maple flooring is what would commonly be found in the kitchen of a home our age – 130-years-young! – and IF our home still had its original hardwood flooring throughout, the kitchen would look slightly different than the rest of the home because of this. This gave us the confidence to move forward with maple, and as you can see, we’re leaning towards the middle option, seen above.
It feels downright luxurious to have hardwood floors in this home chosen by us, with smooth seams and a beautiful transition between rooms. Sanding, staining and sealing begin next week, and then appliance and cabinet deliveries happen soon after!
Follow along with this renovation from the beginning: why we’re renovating the kitchen | a happy surprise | choosing cabinetry | sharing the new kitchen layout | choosing backsplash tile | choosing an eat-in kitchen table (vs. an island) | the mood board | the kitchen is GONE and how we’re making it work
Links From the Week:
This wobbly kitty stole my heart this week.
Helpful responses for frustrating conversations.
Everlane is speaking to me with their bright orange hues heading into fall! I picked up these sandals and receive compliments daily. While I was at it, I added a few of these henleys to my closet. They’re so, so comfortable and not too skin-tight. (I also added this dress to my cart!) Sharing these and other favorite Everlane staples below:
I am so curious about this eyeliner tool. Have you tried it? I was getting so good at my winged eyeliner before the pandemic, and right about the time I had it perfected, the world shut down, and I stopped practicing. I’m so intrigued by this!
Sweetest and silliest proposal photo!
Tree House Airbnb fall dates are open! For fall dates, we reduce our nightly minimum to 3 nights. Fall might be my favorite time of year in this part of Michigan. Cooler temperatures, the changing leaves, bye-bye mosquitos, and the very best bonfire weather. Tree House is also very family friendly, with childproofing on cabinets, small step stools, children’s books and toys. We love sharing our home with you and hope to host you soon! Book your stay right here.
Would You Like to Take a Trip Together?
I’ve been sitting on this idea for a while now, a result of my own ego convincing me it would be a flop. But after weeks of consideration (and a little pep talk from Shavonda!), I’m throwing caution to the wind and asking you: Would you like to take a trip together?
It’s this very community that keeps us going, and we would love nothing more than to see you, hug you and get to know you – in person. Trova Trip is a platform that would allow us to travel with a group of you – all over the world! – if there’s enough interest. (More on that in a moment.) Think: beach hangouts in the mornings, arts and architecture in the afternoons, candlelit dinners by evening. Getting to know each other, forming real-life friendships and talking about anything on our hearts.
Trips would be booked through Trova Trip (I’d share a link when it’s time) in small groups of 10-20 people, and the itinerary would be handled by them, with our help, from AM to PM. Think of it as an incredible vacation with friends old and new, if(!) you don’t mind us tagging along well.
If you’re interested, it’s important that you fill out this 2 minute survey, please! It’s the first step in this process, and the survey is a way to get an idea of your travel interests and budget, and this will help inform us where we could go! Italy? Morocco? Greece? Get started right here, and let’s see if we can bring this idea to life!
Weekend Sales
- Anthropologie: 20% off the Dining Event
- Ballard Designs: 20% off + free shipping on 100s of items
- Boutique Rugs: Up to 80% off + 20% off decor items with code SCHOOL20
- Crate & Barrel: Up to 30% off entertaining essentials
- CB2: Up to 50% off outdoor furniture
- The Company Store: Up to 30% off semi-annual sale
- Equilibria CBD: 15% off for new customers with code YELLOWBRICKHOME
- Everlane: Up to 60% off sale items
- Gap: 40% off Friends and Family sale with code FRIEND
- J. Crew: 40% off kids styles with code APLUS
- J. Crew Factory: Up to 60% off everything!
- Old Navy: Up to 60% off kids styles
- Pottery Barn: Up to 70% off warehouse sale
- Sephora: Free shipping on all orders with code FREESHIP
- Rejuvenation: Up to 70% off warehouse sale
- Urban Outfitters: Up to 40% off home and furniture items!
- West Elm: Up to 70% off warehouse sale
- World Market: Members receive 10% off store pick-up
Have a Happy Weekend!
There are only two precious weekends left before Lucy heads back-to-school, and we’ve packed the full of brunches with friends, bonfires, birthday parties and a whole lot of lounging around. What are you up to this weekend?
Olaf turns four on Sunday, so we will be going on a lot of walks, getting a couple of new toys and maaaaybe even a pup cup later. He got a compliment from one of the neighbors for being such a good boy on our walk this morning, so maybe four will be the year he calms down a little! (lol, doubtful ????)
Aw, good boy, Olaf!
The idea of a group trip with strangers gives me anxiety, but wanted to let you know that if I was going to do it, that I couldn’t think of better folks to share it with than you two!
Stepping out of my own anxiety box to make it come true!
Awesome looking floors! Will those little “Hebrew character looking” marks get removed with sanding? Just wondering, how often do you post Weekenders? I know they aren’t every Friday, but I look forward to them. I’ve gone on group trips with strangers before, but they are with organizations that bind us with a common theme, and we are usually all like minded folks, so it becomes an amazing experience! I’d imagine that your group would be people I’d get along with, I think that Travo platform is a brilliant idea.
Hi Julie! Yes those will go away with sanding. I post Weekenders every other week or whenever the mood strikes! I try to not tie myself to anything that takes the fun out of it for me.