The kitchen is the only (and I mean, ONLY) room in this house that we haven't touched since purchasing our home 2.5 years ago. Several years before we bought this home, the kitchen had been completely remodeled with custom maple cabinets which include a nice 'cottage-y' feel with some beadboard backsplash and range hood, a neutral granite, and travertine back splash. I fell in love with the lay out of the kitchen (we have SO many cabinets and counter space), the fact that cabinets go all the way to the ceiling (no awkward gap or weird soffits!), the recessed lighting, and the paneled dishwasher and fridge. What I didn't love about the kitchen was the color of our cabinets. They were very yellow with an antique glaze and skewed our home very traditional, which just isn't our style. Here is how it looked before:

Some projects take months of finding inspiration, planning, and executing. This one, well, let's just say my husband and I get a little stir crazy when we're on parental leave after a new baby.

After staring at our four walls for several weeks, we decided that our bathroom needed a major refresh and time was of the essence to get it done before my husband went back to work and my in laws came to visit.

Prior to getting a legitimate toy storage system, I had purchased a wicker basket and threw a handful of toys in there to keep them hidden. In theory, it sounded great, but as he got older, he only played with the toys at the top, and the pieces would get missing and sunken to the bottom. Eventually, the basket started to overflow and I was forced to stare at a plastic vacuum cleaner and remote control cars.

If you're here, you're probably like me and get a weird satisfaction in reading birth stories. Let me preface this by saying, I absolutely hate childbirth, but love reading about other peoples (the outside perspective does not provide me pain!)Even though she's close to 2 months old now, I wanted to get this down in black & white on my little space of the internet before I forget all the details that I want her to know about someday.

Everyone has their own timelines/priorities when it comes to preparing for baby. Obviously, I love decorating and making my house a home, so the nursery is by far my favorite part of 'nesting'. As soon as we found out she was a girl, however, I struggled HARD with the design of this room and actually did a 180 degree shift from what I originally planned.

My son is officially sleeping in a 'big boy bed' and has been evicted from his crib pending his baby sisters arrival in a couple short months.

In true Ashley fashion, this 'big boy room' could have easily just been a new bed. But of course, any excuse to redecorate and update a space, you know I'm all in!

To be fair, this transition from nursery to a big boy room was pretty swift with minimal things we needed to purchase, however, even with the small changes, it made a BIG impact.

So here is the step by step guide on how I hacked out the Ikea Kitchen of my dreams! Jude officially has a nicer kitchen than I do.

What if I told you that I bought, sold, and renovated a home with a 6 week old baby and lived to tell the tale? What if I told you that if given the chance, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Why? Because home is important to me and my family. It’s where we’re at our best, our worst, and everything in between. To me, living somewhere that makes me feel creative, comfortable, and vulnerable is on the priority list and I will leave 'survival' mode for it.

You've made it! Hours of discussions, over-thinking, and finally executing listing your home for sale. First of all, Congratulations on making it this far! Selling real estate can be a daunting process, however, as a full time Realtor® , my job is to make you the most money with as little stress as possible.

The construction part of the attic only took about two weeks from start to finish (and that includes days in between while waiting for carpet to be installed and our electrician to make it back over for finishing touches) but the time it's taken to actually get it decorated and in order, well, that's another story. So, here we are, well over a month later, with the final reveal!

If you’re in the market for a place to call home, here are some real-life pros and cons that you may not have thought about if you’re contemplating a move in ready vs. a fixer upper.

When we purchased the home in 2013, it needed some TLC. Wall to wall carpeting, wood walls and very old wallpaper that crumbled in tiny pieces. We had a limited budget but wanted to bring the house to the 21st century and live somewhere that was aesthetically pleasing.

Sure, we could of added a roof line or an addition to the house, but not on our shoestring budget. After looking at several different options (Retractable awnings, Sun Shades, Canopies, etc.) we decided on a pergola. It added dimension at a minimal cost.

We purchased a pergola kit from Menard's and had to alter a couple of things to make it work for our house. We wanted it to attach to the house to add the dimension we were looking for. We have three large windows that overlook our backyard and we didn't want the view to be obstructed by a large structure, so it was imperative that the Pergola sit above the windows as you can see below.

It is officially Spring in Michigan! The snow is (hopefully) gone, plants are starting to sprout up through the dirt, and the sunshine is getting people excited for Summer. This is the busiest time of the year in Real Estate. People have been mulling over the idea of moving over the winter, and now that they are done hibernating in the cold temperatures, it's time to make a move!

When we found out I was pregnant, we struggled to conceptualize where the nursery would go. The layout in our house was very awkward. We had three bedrooms on the first floor, both directly off of the kitchen and living room. Our master bedroom was on the second floor. We decided to take the 2 smallest rooms, that were directly across the hall from one another, and turn them into the nursery and the playroom.