Category:

stroup mansion

plant room 2021

by Kaylah Stroup

Throughout the history of this blog, I have always loved documenting and sharing the spaces I call home. Now that I actually own and am learning to renovate a house of my own, I feel even more inclined to do so. We’ve been here just shy of a year now and already SO much has changed. I’ve shared photos of this room, my plant room, a handful of times before but it’s always changing. So, despite the fact these photos are a little over a month old, I want to give them a permanent place here on the blog. Something I can come glance back at in the future.

sources –
love seat
plant stands
arch mirror
brass hand
lamp
circle shelf (similar)
dress

For good measure, in case you’ve forgotten, here’s what the room looked like when we moved into the house! If you’d like to see more of this room check out these posts – plant room renovation + plant room update. I even made a video about it.

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floor transition mini update

by Kaylah Stroup

There are tons of tiny details around this giant old house that I want to change. For example, the floor in the living room needs a lot of love. Until I’m a bit further down my jumbo to-do list, it’s something I’m totally fine with putting off for a while. Listen, I’m already knee-deep in a giant kitchen renovation – no more starting big projects at the moment. The transition pieces between the living room and each of the other rooms off it though? I can’t stand the way they look. Beige marble. Ick. Honestly, anything beige doesn’t really fit my vibe. I’ve hated them since the first time we saw the house.

Randomly, one evening, it hit me. I’ve seen a ton of contact paper DIY projects over the years! Why not give it a try on the awful beige marble transition pieces!?

I ended up purchasing this black marble contact paper. For less than ten bucks per roll, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. (The price seems to vary a bunch but always stays cheap. Right now you can even get two for less than ten!)

It was super easy, took less than an hour, and only required the contact paper and an exacto knife. Honestly, most of that time was probably just wasted with me fiddling with my camera since I was trying to film the process.

above – before // below – after

I don’t know how long it’ll end up lasting but I’m certainly happy with it for now! Of course, eventually, I’d love to replace the beige marble with real black marble transitions. Marble isn’t exactly cheap though and we have a lot more pressing matters to take care of in this old home so who knows when it will get done. This is the perfect little hack for the time being!

A Squid approved project!

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before + after // closet door

by Kaylah Stroup

this post contains affiliate links.

Another before + after post. This time, the closet door in my bedroom! I know that doesn’t really sound wildly exciting but I am truly jazzed on this little update.

All of this started when I decided to paint my closet gold. I actually wanted to paint it three different shades of gold. I bought my three shades but after getting the first coat on, I realized they weren’t different enough. You couldn’t really tell at all. I ended up mixing them all together for the second coat. For the third coat, I chose my favorite of the three and bought a fresh gallon. I decided I liked the color so much I’d paint the back of our bedroom door with it. I LOVED it immediately.

There was a part of me that thought I should probably paint the closet door the same color but I was nervous I’d end up hating it. It’s definitely a bold color choice, and I didn’t want the gold to be overwhelming. I figured I’d just leave it white and if at any time in the future I thought it felt right to paint it, I would.

Well, it finally hit me the other night while lying in bed, the door needed to be gold. I woke up the next morning, cleaned it off, fixed some holes, and painted it! I could not be happier with how it turned out!

when we purchased the house // after removing the carpet squares and starting to repair the walls.

finished room with the white door // & now with that gorgeous gold door!!!

It’s kind of wild how much a couple coats of paint can really change the whole room! I’ve already decided on a few more spots around the house that will be getting the colorful door treatment at some point. Can’t wait to pick out more colors.

Clearly, I still need to hang things on the walls. As I mention every single time I point out my kind of naked (at least for this maximalist) home, I definitely think that finding the right pieces takes time. While I really really would like stuff on the walls right this second, I don’t want to just throw any old thing up there. Gotta find the pieces that speak to ya, you know? It’s our ‘forever’ home, there’s no rush.

Still pretty bare but a definite improvement from this, eh!?

sources
wall color – White Batten by Sherwin Williams
door color – Gothic Gold by Glidden
ceiling fan
rug
curtains
TV stand – thrifted
gold plant stand

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before + after // office corner!

by Kaylah Stroup

this post contains affiliate links.

Just a little before and after of one corner of my office. This was the first room in the house that we tackled when we moved in. After the initial renovations, it sat mostly undecorated for quite a while. I needed to figure out the best way to set up my sewing area and computer desk. My office in our last apartment was so small I had a desk for each of those things on opposite walls and was able to roll in my chair back and forth between the two. This room would clearly call for a different set up. Aside from that, I was hesitant to put any screw holes in the beautiful walls I had just repainted and organizing my shelves never felt quite right.

Check out the original before + after video of this room on my Youtube channel.

Slowly but surely, she’s coming together and morphing into a gorgeous room. Decorated exactly my style! Yesterday, while sitting at my computer desk, I glanced over at the far corner and realized I needed to take a photo. Even if it’s not quite perfect yet, it’s come a heck of a long way!

I love it here.

sources
chair
throw
rug
side table
light fixture

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plant room update

by Kaylah Stroup

One of my last blog posts was my big reveal of this room but since then I have some new additions that are making the room even cozier. I know from past experience that I change the spaces I live in… well, basically constantly. I think I’ll be even more prone to do this now that I actually own a home (and have space to store furniture that is still loved but not needed at the moment.) That fact alone makes me want to do a better job of documenting the spaces around me. I want to be able to look back at this space in a year, or even six months, and see how much it’s changed.

So, here she is today, in all her glory!

It’s January of 2021 and this is my favorite room in the whole house. 3328 square feet and these ones are my favorite.

It’s not complete yet, I’m still hunting around for the perfect pieces of furniture (vanity, dresser, seating) to call my name. Still, this is the space I love to retreat to after a long day. Most of the time, it’s where you can find the cats. It’s such a relaxing space I’ve even started doing yoga again. Any excuse to spend time in here!

Aside from a whole bunch of new plants, my newest addition is a gorgeous Moroccan rug from Revival. I’m swooning. Revival sells one-of-a-kind, restored vintage rugs as well as limited edition rugs, designed and woven in collaboration with artisan partners. I spent well over an hour lurking their site for the perfect one.

Revival even has a ‘view in your room’ tool that is wildly fun to use. I can’t even tell you how many I viewed in this space before finally choosing this one of a kind beauty!

Sources
Rug c/o Revival (use code DAINTYSQUID10 for 10% off!)
ceiling light c/o Lights.com
side table
cicada door pull
plant stand
grow lights
Chair is vintage
Wall color is Herb Bouquet by Benjamin Moore

Check out my previous post about this room for the before photos. I even made a video about it.

Get out my room, mom!

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the writing on the wall

by Kaylah Stroup

The plan with my plant room was that it’d double as kind of a massive closet/dressing room. I mean, who doesn’t want to get ready each day surrounded by a bazillion plants!?

So far all of my folded clothes are in the room but my dresses and cardigan haven’t made their way in here yet. My main concern was just getting the room renovated. Let me just get that finished then I’ll worry about the mess that is the closet, ya know?

Last week, after finishing up the room, I realized I should probably stop putting it off and actually get the closet in order. I figured it wouldn’t be too big of a project. Just organize it, slap some paint on it and call it a day. A band-aid fix until I felt like gutting it.

I started by peeling off any wallpaper that was loose. It didn’t take long until I discovered writing on the wall.

Vila
June
Fred

I snapped a photo for my instagram stories. When I looked up from the waist height writing I was met with more writing except this time there was a date involved. I immediately Facetimed my husband and told him to rush upstairs to come see.

The writing is so faint I can only really make out ‘closet’ and the date ‘June 22, 1900’. One hundred and twenty years have passed. Layer after layer of wallpaper applied. Many folks have lived in this house since then but not a single one of them has laid eyes on that writing until me! THAT IS SO EXCITING. My eyes legit welled up over it.

The excitement of that discovery made me get out my camera so I could film any further finds. Watch below + subscribe on Youtube!

Here’s what I ended up finding after peeling back more wallpaper.

Vila Thompson Closet
June 22, 1900
Friday at 10 o’clock

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plant room renovation!

by Kaylah Stroup

We never intended to buy a seven-bedroom home. It’s just Jeff and I plus the animals with zero – I repeat, zero – plans of human children. When an opportunity as perfect as this one presents itself, though, you don’t question what you’ll do with the extra bedrooms. You just go for it and figure it all out along the way.

In the past three months, we’ve made and changed plans a ton of times regarding what each room might be. One thing has never changed though, the front bedroom upstairs, the one with the great light, would be my plant room.

Like a lot of the upstairs rooms, it started with carpet squares and a drop ceiling. Woof. I almost left the drop ceiling, thinking I’d just tackle it at a later date but I am so happy to have it finished. The following two photos are before I started renovating…

Underneath the drop ceiling was wallpaper! Super pretty stuff but it was badly damaged so I opted to cover it with beadboard. It was something I’d never seen done before in person but thought it could look rad in this room.

Above – My dad accessing the situation. 2x4s had to be hung so the beadboard would have something nice to hold on to since we’d be hanging it with brad nails. We had a ~wonderful time~ finding the studs.

Below – After hanging crown moulding, caulking, and painting! Then it was time to finish sanding down the floor.

Mid-sanding. LOL.

And now! The room isn’t quite finished. I’d still like to purchase some old furniture for it, specifically a vanity. It needs about 100 more plants, of course. More seating would be awesome too because I basically never want to leave the room. These things take time though. I want to find the perfect pieces and not just rush into buying stuff just to fill the room.

Pop on over to my Youtube channel to see the ‘final’ look! I have before and after video as well as side by stills in the video. There’s even a timestamp in the Youtube description if you really want to skip right to the B+A!

I’m so proud of this space. I did everything I physically could by myself. I, of course, needed help hanging the ceiling but everything else was allll me! I’ve come a long way just in these last three months. I feel like I’ve learned so much already. My confidence has skyrocketed too. I mean, did you see those floors? I DID THAT!

Slowly but surely, this house is becoming cozier and cozier! I’m so excited to see what we have done in another few months.

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stroup mansion – one month update!

by Kaylah Stroup

this post contains affiliate links.

It’s been a little over a month since we bought and moved into our dream home.* On one hand, I feel like we’ve been working nonstop on it. On the other hand, I feel like we haven’t done squat! I figured I was overdue for a house update video & blog post, so that’s what I’ve got for ya today! I’ll start with the photos and end with the video!

*Is there a word more fitting than ‘dream’ home here? Because this house is beyond our wildest dreams. When I pictured us buying a home, I never imagined we’d be able to find something like this.

First up, my office! This was the room I wanted to get finished up first. Obviously, the kitchen is super important but I need a place to work. It’s slow-moving but gosh, what a difference already! I honestly don’t think I realized how much had gotten done until I saw the photos below side by side.

Before-ish. This is after we installed new ceiling drywall, and primed but still before paint.

After! Ceiling painted. New light fixture. Painted wallpaper! Paint and more paint!

Wallpaper texture coming through! LOVE IT!

There are still a few large tasks to finish in my future office, but what a difference already!

sources
ceiling color – texas rose by Benjamin Moore
shelves + wall color – swiss coffee by Behr
medallion
chandelier

Next up, the other room with big changes, our upstairs landing area! I rushed to get a bit of work done in this room because I had some photos I needed to shoot here but didn’t want to take them on carpet squares. My goal was just to straighten up the space a little bit. I definitely did just that. Just a quick coat of paint and carpet square removal turned this room into one of my absolute favorite areas of the house. It gets such wonderful light! I can’t wait to finish up the floors, figure out what furniture goes here ‘permanently’, and fill it with plants!

Before paint + carpet square removal.

After!

Currently. Not it’s final form, obviously but a space I’m loving nonetheless.

sources
rug
hand shaped chair
eye pillow

As well as a million other tiny projects, I also built a swing! It was my very first time using the circular saw. (I’m still very proud and excited!) I used one of the original boards from the kitchen that we ripped out that first weekend. I would really like to make another one for in the kitchen when it’s finally finished.

On to the video! Watch below + subscribe on YouTube!

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decorate with me – curiosity cabinet

by Kaylah Stroup

When we bought our new home, the owner offered to leave us any pieces of furniture that we wanted. He was getting divorced and most likely moving to a much smaller home. (That’s just me assuming because this place is massive!) It kind of felt awkward going through the house and pointing out things we wanted to keep. One thing I wasn’t shy about asking for was this glass cabinet.

I’d been eyeing up a similar one (perhaps even the same one?) from Ikea for years! I just thought it would make the most perfect display cabinet for oddities. In my old apartment, I simply didn’t have the room. So when I spotted it in the bathroom of this house, I had to make sure it stayed with the house.

We ended up bringing it downstairs and as luck would have it, my living room has the perfect wall for it. I though it’d be fun to make a video of me unpacking all my oddities and figuring out how best to display them.

Watch below + subscribe on YouTube!

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