How it all began The story of my potting shed actually began earlier. A few years ago, we wanted to try keeping chickens. We built them a lovely coop from leftover pieces of old wood. Even back then,...

Hosting people is quite personal. You invite others into your home and into your life, and they trust you with their comfort and well-being. On one hand, this is a big responsibility, but on the other,...

The Original Vision Maybe you remember that from the very beginning of building our house, I had a clear vision for the downstairs powder room. I wanted it to feel moody, dark and cozy, but also have...

I had been dreaming about this kitchen for a very long time. The planning actually started together with the design of the house itself. From the beginning my goal was to create a timeless kitchen that...

I am absolutely overflowing with happiness. Our kitchen is finally finished. In my previous post I wrote about how we were about to move in and would have to live with a temporary kitchen for a while....

A very lovely project has just come to an end. A tiny powder room that had been planned for expansion for quite a long time has finally been rebuilt and completed. I want to share the story behind it with...

We rarely stop to notice when something works perfectly. We usually only think about spaces when something feels off. The same goes for interior design. A well-planned room supports everything that happens...

Things in the house have progressed so far that moving in finally feels real. All the walls are painted and the last rooms now have parquet flooring installed. For the first time, it truly feels like a...

One big problem I have noticed in large, modern homes is that they echo. I do not know about you, but for me it is a very unpleasant side effect of large open spaces. If your house echoes, the issue...

Empty walls often make a room feel unfinished. Filling them is not about adding things just for the sake of it. A wall does not need decoration simply because it is empty. What it needs is intention. When...

I went to France looking for interior design inspiration and ended up with some surprising observations of my own. I have always been drawn to old architecture where symmetry is central. Architecture...

Hiring an interior designer can feel intimidating. On one hand, you want help turning your ideas into something real. On the other, you do not want to lose control. What if the designer only does what...

When a client first came to me with the idea of flipping an apartment and renting it out fully furnished, I was genuinely excited. I love projects with a clear goal and a real challenge. The budget,...

From chickens to flowers Did you know that we used to have chickens? Real, egg laying chickens, for which we built a very fancy chicken coop. But winters are quite harsh where we live, and without heating...

One day I started thinking about what the principles or simple tricks are that interior designers use in every project without thinking about them. I realized that there are quite a lot of things that...

In my life, I have lived in several homes where space was not an asset. Living in tight spaces with my husband and even up to three kids taught me many important lessons about how to make small spaces...

The garage is often one of the most functional spaces in a home, yet it is also one of the most overlooked. It stores cars, bikes, tools, and sometimes hosts hobbies or laundry. It also takes heavy use...

Designing a kids’ room is always a balancing act. It needs to support sleep, play, learning, and calm, and it needs to survive spills, climbing, drawing, and constant change. I have four kids, and over...

When thinking about where to splurge and where to save in the bathroom, the same principle applies as elsewhere in the house. Invest in what is permanent, structural, and difficult to replace. Save on...

The kitchen is one of the most expensive decisions in the entire home, and also one of the hardest spaces to change later. It combines structure, function, technology, and daily wear in a way no other...

When designing or updating a bedroom, it is easy to start with furniture, colors, or decor. But a bedroom that truly works well is never created by accident. It is built intentionally, starting with the...

When designing a living room, it helps to think in layers, just as if you were building a house from scratch. Some elements are permanent or costly to change later, while others are flexible and can...

I have always dreamed of having a pantry. Where I live, pantries are not common in modern townhouses. They are actually quite rare. Traditionally, pantries belonged to old farmhouses. They were dark,...

Walls do not have to stay flat to feel finished. Very often, what is missing is not color or furniture, but structure. Wall moulding and trim shape how a room feels long before decor comes into play. They...

Plain walls can feel safe… but also a little boring. Wallpaper is beautiful, but it can be expensive, hard to remove, and sometimes scary to commit to especially in kids’ rooms where tastes change fast....

Have you ever bought a rug just because it was on sale or looked good, and then realized it does not look right anywhere in your house? I have, and I have learned from it. I try not to buy anything unless...

Have you ever walked into a room and felt that something is off, but you cannot put your finger on it? When your room feels off, nothing may look obviously wrong, yet the space does not feel comfortable...

The fun part starts Spring is finally starting to make its way here. The weather has still been rather cold, but honestly, that has worked in our favor. Cold days are perfect for staying indoors and...

Two Months Later and a Whole New House Two months have gone by and even though I have not managed to pull myself together and write a single post, there has actually been a lot of progress with the house....

The Weeks That Slipped By Over the past three weeks so much has happened that it’s hard to decide where to begin. With our family welcoming its fifth member, I haven’t been able to spend much time on-site...

During the past week and a half our construction site has been lively. Two hardworking builders have been moving through tasks at an impressive pace and the list of completed work is long, even if only...

Curtains are one of my favorite design tools. They can soften a room, add height, improve acoustics, and instantly make a space feel calmer and more finished. Drapes also absorb sound, which reduces echo...

A simple, friendly guide to getting that designer look — without the designer price. Perfectly hemmed curtains are one of those little designer secrets that instantly make a room feel more...

This bow is one of my favorite things to make because it keeps its shape beautifully — even in rain or snow. It won’t get soggy, floppy, or sad-looking. You can use it on wreaths, garlands, doors, porch...

Have you ever found yourself giving someone a bit of advice… and then, somehow, a few weeks later, you’re knee-deep in a full renovation project, wondering how on earth you got there?I have. More than...

People often imagine that design begins with picking pretty colors, but it actually starts much earlier, in the quiet stage where you’re simply trying to understand a space: what it wants to be, what it...

Decorating a commercial exterior is a completely different world from decorating a home. A storefront has to work harder. It needs to catch someone’s eye from down the street, look inviting to people rushing...

Staging a small apartment is all about showing its true potential. When space is limited, every choice of color, lighting, texture, and layout matters more. The goal is not to fill the rooms but to help...

There is something truly magical about a fresh greenery garland: the scent of pine, the natural texture, and the way it brings the outdoors inside. Whether you drape it across your front door, balcony...

Decorating a Christmas tree is one of the most joyful parts of the season, but it can quickly turn from festive fun to frustration if your tree ends up looking cluttered, uneven, or a little bit sad. With...

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Every year, the stores are filled with new Christmas décor and trending colors that make us feel like we...

Don’t miss the time-lapse video at the end — it shows the whole installation from start to finish. After two long but exciting days, our modular house was finally ready for the roof. This was the moment...

A Timely Start Building a house always feels like a race against time and weather anyways, but delays pushed us straight into November. The sun barely shows its face before 8 a.m. and disappears by 4...

If you adore Ralph Lauren’s timeless style, you can recreate that same warm, luxurious Christmas feel at home. This look is cozy yet elegant, combining rich textures, classic décor, and a moody traditional...

By the time our neighbors came home from work, they were stunned — a whole house had appeared where there’d only been a concrete slab that morning. Day one of our modular home build was nothing short of...

When Everything Was Finally Coming Together It finally felt like everything was falling into place — the foundation was done, the apartment sold, and the house build planned for August. What could possibly...

Who would have thought that creating a lawn from scratch is its own kind of adventure. What started as a simple plan to spread out a pile of soil and sprinkle some grass seed turned into weeks of hauling,...

Selling a home is always emotional — even more so when it’s the only one you’ve ever owned. For us, it wasn’t just about moving out; it was about closing one chapter so we could begin building another.But...

This morning was a big one — two concrete trucks arrived, and in just about two hours, the entire slab was poured, compacted, and leveled. Once the first smoothing was done, the workers brought...

Today turned out to be more of a family day on site. While Mr. Right, my brother, and my dad were busy tying up loose ends before tomorrow’s big concrete pour, I kept the kids entertained with a picnic...

Morning Surprise: Frozen Water Pipe The third day of foundation work started with an unpleasant surprise. When Mr. Right arrived on site at 7 a.m., he found that our water pipe had frozen and burst overnight....

If yesterday was all about breaking ground, then today was about precision. While I personally spent most of the day battling a stomach bug and couldn’t be on site, Mr. Right kept me in the loop with plenty...

Building Timeline: Delays and Unexpected Wins About two weeks ago, we learned that the company responsible for the house module drawings wouldn’t finish them before midsummer! That would have meant that,...

This is our little 345 sqf studio apartment. When we got married, we moved into my husband’s apartment, which at that time was unfinished and looked more like a construction site. We were both students,...

Dividing Responsibilities: Design vs. Technical Decisions From the very beginning, we agreed that all construction, energy efficiency, structural decisions, and insulation choices would be Mr. Right’s...

The Moment We Finally Got the Permit I’ve been avoiding writing about this topic here, mostly because I didn’t want to reopen old wounds. But today I finally have a reason—because we officially have...

When I got married, we were both young and still studying at university. Between full-time classes and part-time jobs, money was very tight. Sometimes so tight that we had to get creative just to put food...

Buying a plot of land is the first major step when building your own home — and it can come with surprises. In this post, I’m sharing how we found (and cleaned up!) our future home site, including a broken...

Why We Gave Up House Hunting and Decided to Build Our Own Home Ever since our first child was born, Mr. Right and I had been sniffing around the housing market. We visited plenty of houses, but it was...

Standing in the lighting aisle of a home improvement store, staring at hundreds of fixtures, can feel overwhelming. That beautiful chandelier catches your eye, but will it work in your dining room? Is...

I’ll be honest – lighting used to intimidate me. All those technical terms, the overwhelming number of options, and the fear of making expensive mistakes. But here’s what I’ve learned...

Choosing a wall color sounds simple—until you’re standing in front of a sea of paint chips, wondering why “warm beige” looks pink in your living room but perfectly neutral in your friend’s. The truth is,...

Where do I begin? What do I even like? Do I have to stick to just one style? What if I don’t like it in five years—or it goes out of fashion?If you’re renovating, building, or updating your home, you’ve...

For a long time, pantries have been seen as something only countryside homes had — cool, dark rooms used for storing a year’s worth of food. In modern city apartments, there’s rarely space for such a thing....