It’s DONE!!!!!! I am so happy I could cry. I actually almost did when Brett lit the fireplace last night and we stepped back and looked at it. Is there anything better than creating something with your own hands that you and your family will get to enjoy for years to come? The insert is even more amazing in person than I imagined!!! It runs on alcohol gel cartridges so it is clean, unlike gas! You just put the cartridges in the insert and light them! When you are done you snuff them and seal them up! Each cartridge burns for a little over 2 hours and you can get replacements for $8 each! This is a great option for us since we live in Houston and don’t need the warmth that often! But it is a game changer from our previous electric fireplace (which we loved). You just can’t beat the ambiance of a real flame. Did I mention, it crackles!!!! We went with a beautiful satin gold finish. Would you expect anything less from me!? The inside has black matte herringbone tile and white birch logs! The beautiful art in this photo was inspired by The Blooming Nest and painted by Sarah Kaitlin! If you’re interested in more of the building process, read part 1 HERE, and part 2 HERE! Scroll & Shop!

Hi!! If you missed part one of this project you can read all about that HERE. After we had the sheetrock installed, it was time to built the mantel. It took me months to finalize this fireplace design and I ended up tweaking a few things even during the building process. It turned out better than I ever imagined!! We built a structure for the base out of maple plywood. We mitered, clamped, glued and nailed the corners together for a seamless finish! We also cut out an arch opening in it! This is my favorite detail that we added last minute! Don’t you love it!? Then, Brett built the double mantel of my dreams!!! How did I get so lucky? I dream up ideas (my favorite pastime), ugly sketch them on paper and he brings them to life!!! He is self taught and I admire him so much! He added pieces of 2×4’s onto the structure and made sure they were level. This is what he nailed the mantle into so that it would be supported. So good already right!? Just wait, because it gets EVEN BETTER! We hired our favorite general contractor to come in and do the taping and floating on the sheetrock, paint the entire thing, and tile inside of the arch! They finished in about 2 days. It’s like magic when we hire out jobs because they do everything so well and clean up after themselves!!! (The hole in the wall is for future TV cords) Isn’t the tile gorgeous!? It is from Alexander James Shop, called Magma 4×4. A Blooming Nester recommended that we forgo grout when using this tile and I am so glad she mentioned that because it looks AWESOME without grout. You don’t lose any of the texture. For the finishing touch, we ripped a piece of pine really thin, soaked it and bent it so that the part around the tile would be trimmed out! All we have left to do is wait for our insert to be delivered, TOMORROW!!! Put back our baseboards and decorate!! WOOHOO!! I can’t wait to see the insert and show you and style this mantle for Fall (and then soon for Christmas!). Read Part 3 HERE!

We did it again!! We added a fireplace to our new build home where there wasn’t one to begin with! This time it is even more exciting because of the fireplace insert we are using! I’ll explain below 😉 If you were here while we were living in our previous home you may have seen our DIY shiplap fireplace. We used an electric insert on this project, which we loved! We added shiplap to the ceiling and built a custom mantel. Such a classic fireplace build and 100’s of Blooming Nest readers have recreated it since!! Previous home fireplace project This blog post isn’t going to be as detailed in measurements and instructions. But the photos will do most of the talking!! It was as easy as building the structure and covering it in sheetrock. The most difficult part of this project, for us, was that our ceilings are 18′ tall in the living room! We began by removing the baseboards! As you can see in the image below, we did a lot of sketching on the wall. we drew out the fireplace insert size and sketched roughly the size that we wanted the structure to be! I am very visual when it comes to planning projects and it helps me so much to see it drawn to scale. Rather than building scaffolding, we decided to rent a really tall ladder from Home Depot. This made the project pretty challenging, but we finished the ladder work in one day (thanks to the help of my dad!). We ripped out some sheetrock so that Brett could run a conduit to our “drive through window.” We built two boxes to secure the studs to. We made sure to center these on the wall and made sure they were level with one another. We began attaching 2×4’s to the boxes. The more you add, the stronger your structure will be! We made sure to leave an opening at the bottom so we could frame out to the exact dimensions of our fireplace insert. From the top of the point I wanted the fireplace to slightly angle in. I just eye balled the angle that I wanted 😉 it ended up being 3 degrees. The exact same angle that we did on our DIY vent hood in the kitchen! We built another box that was slightly smaller than the first two so that the sides would angle. We added more 2×4’s! Then we covered the entire structure with sheetrock! It was late at night at this point but we didn’t want to rent the ladder for more than a day so we (they) worked hard! Brett filled in the gaps in the front of the structure with additional 2 by’s so that when we go to mount a tv or mirror later it will be easy to hit a stud! Brett built shelves in the “drive through window” that we will use later for tv/cable boxes!! We covered the living room side with sheetrock! This project has yet to be finished, but on the other side we will finish out the shelves and add cabinet doors! YAY STORAGE! After adding sheetrock, we framed out exactly where we want our fireplace insert to sit! I’ll leave you hanging here for now, 😉 READ PART 2 HERE, which includes finish work, paint, mantle, and tile!! READ PART 3 HERE, all about the insert we chose and the space finished and decorated!! YAY!

New trendy fall home decor finds from marshalls.com!! Click to shop below!

I found some beautiful new arrivals from marshalls.com and decided to spruce up my Parents’ kitchen table for the new season! It only took a few small changes to make it feel more cozy. I love the selection of on trend Fall decor you can find on their site. The colors in this art piece stopped me in my tracks and it was even more beautiful when it came in the mail! It has texture and the prettiest wooden frame! I love the texture and color of this neutral vase! The table runner adds a subtle touch of Fall and the colors are right up my alley! Shop my favorite Fall finds from marshalls.com below!

Ahhhh I wallpapered the guest room yesterday and I could not love it more! The kind of paper I used is called “paste-the-wall” and it’s by far the easiest kind I have ever installed! (yes, better than peel and stick!) My number one question when I share wallpaper is… Can you apply it to textured walls? It’s your lucky day, because I have textured walls! Pictured below is what our texture looks like. I have installed all types of wallpaper on texture so I am your girl!! My favorite type by far is paste-the-wall! It is thick, so the texture doesn’t show through, and it is so simple to install! I have also used peel and stick, and while it will work on texture, yo u will be able to see the texture through it a little bit because it is a thinner paper, and sometimes the corners peel up on me so I would have to use a little bit of paste anyway. To install paste-the-wall, you apply your wallpaper paste directly to the wall using a brush or small roller, and then you just place the dry paper on top! Smooth it out, trim off the excess and you’re done!! No mess and it is quality paper! Below I will link some of my favorite wallpaper designs!!

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Source: @bestfriendsforfrosting I am determined to have a beautiful fireplace in our living room before it is time to decorate for the holiday season! “Brett! Did you hear that!?” 😉 Plans are underway and I am so excited! I haven’t finalized everything but I do know the overall shape that I want and we did order our fireplace insert a couple of weeks ago, which by the way, is the coolest insert ever!!! Source: https://petitemodernlife.com/european-inspired-fireplace-designs/ Our options for adding a fireplace to our living room were to either have a plumber come bust out sheetrock and run a gas line or do another electric insert like we did in our previous home (pictured below). Read about our previous DIY fireplace HERE. We do live in Houston, Texas so the electric insert was great for our last home! But this time I really wanted a real flame. A Blooming Nester told me to look into the brand Hearth Cabinet. My mind was blown!!! A real flame insert that runs on alcohol gel cartridges so it is completely safe to burn in your home!!!! They are pricey but it would’ve also been pricey to have a gas line run, then buy a ventless gas insert and then we would have gas fumes in our home whenever we turned it on. So I felt like it was worth the money and was the perfect solution! I can’t wait to share more about it when our insert comes in!! It will be a couple of months because everything is backordered. I went with a pearl gold color and I think it is going to be unique and beautiful! I am leaning toward the bottom of our fireplace being a beautiful tile, either something with texture or pattern. I want the bump out to go to the ceiling (2 stories), and a large wrap around mantle!! Source: https://furnishlifestyle.com/ The awesome thing is, even though we are waiting on our insert to come in, we can get started on building the structure because the insert is completely stand alone! Doesn’t even need a plug! Here are a few designs I have drawn up! I don’t think any of them are JUST right but it gives you an idea of what I am picturing!

Hi, my name is Regan and I have an obsession with checking marshalls.com every single morning to see what new arrivals they have!!! I absolutely love that I can shop online and find unique pieces at great prices! I found some beautiful items recently to cozy up my front living room for Fall! You can shop the items I picked out below, plus a few more of my faves! Click To Shop

I was walking through target the other day and saw these super cute napkin rings! I instantly pictured them on the end of curtain rods, so I decided to make my own! What You’ll Need: Curtains Large Dowel Rod (They have them in the moulding section of Home Depot. Ours happened to be out of stock so I found them on the Closet organization isle!) Leather Strips Napkin Rings I had been eyeing these curtains from Anthro for months and finally decided to order them when I saw them go on sale! I bought two packs of genuine leather from Michaels. I linked some longer strips from Amazon below which may work better, but I was ready to tackle this project so I used what my local store had! I cut the leather into strips and sewed them together to make them longer. I had never sewn leather before but my sewing machine did great with it! I waited for Brett to get home to help me hang the straps. I chose to hang them from the ceiling rather than the wall so that the curtains wouldn’t be smooshed against the wall and would hang a couple of inches away from the windows. We predrilled holes through the leather and then used drywall screws with washers so they wouldn’t pull on the leather. We did two screws per strap for extra support and stability! Then we slid the large dowel rods on, and looped the curtains on! I planned to attach the napkin rings to the ends but for now they are just sitting on there ha! I may glue them eventually but no one can reach up there to touch them anyway! I did the math and each complete curtain rod came out to $41 each. They are 6 feet long so I think this is a great deal for something unique and I just love projects that you can get done from start to finish in one day! Shop The Post! Click HERE for a tutorial on how we hung our Serena & Lily hanging chair.

Hurry!! My BFF Vanessa is coming to visit in a couple of months so I am trying to get the guest bedroom/bathroom put together for her so she will feel at home! I know she would be perfectly fine with an air mattress or couch but it’s a good excuse to get it ready anyway!! She will be our first guest and I can’t wait!! BEFORE I knew the bathroom I could makeover fairly quickly while I wait on furniture and wallpaper to arrive for the bedroom! I had been wanting to try a new paint color by Farrow and Ball called Setting Plaster so I grabbed a quart and decided to try it out on the bathroom vanity! I used Behr paint in hi-gloss! Here is a photo of the exact color code I used. I loooove the color so much! It is very “blooming nest” and matches my home and style really well. I also feel like the guest bedroom is a fun place to experiment with unique design! If you try it out, just keep in mind it dries a little darker and warmer than when you first start painting. I checked in my handy dandy decor closet for some hardware and found exactly what I needed. I don’t know how I got that lucky! I will link the handles below. The knobs that i used on the top drawer are from Hobby Lobby. We removed the mirror by slowly prying it off. Most mirrors will be glued to the wall so you have to be careful. We added a piece of beadboard paneling behind the vanity to cover up the wall damage. I decided to repurpose the vanity mirror rather than spend hundreds on a new one, since this was supposed to be a quick and budget friendly makeover. I removed the glass shades and sprayed the fixture with two coats of Rustoleum Heirloom White and one coat of bleached stone textured spray paint. I will link both below for you! I love how this turned out! It gave it a really cool stone finish. I think I will replace the shades eventually though 😉 Here is an up close photo of the texture and color! Brett installed the new faucet that we ordered from amazon (linked below)! & framed out the window with 1×4’s. These were the finishing touches that really pulled it all together. I cleaned up and did my very favorite thing EVER! Decorated the space!! After planning and ordering and painting and building it is SO rewarding to style a space and step back and look at it!! What’s your favorite part? Click to Shop!

Did you hear!? I helped design two Blooming Nest inspired signs with the amazing Joyfully Said Team!!! I was so flattered when they reached out to me for this collaboration. They are a small business and I truly love what they stand for! They let me design the signs from start to finish. It was fairly easy because I know what I like. Surprise surprise, we went with “pigeon” and floral! ha! “Always be a little kinder than necessary” A quote that I have loved for a long time. I actually had it hanging in my dorm room in college. I think it is such a great thing to live by and definitely a reminder that I like having displayed in my home. You can shop both of these signs now at Joyfullysaidsigns.com AND use code REGAN20 for 20% off any signs on their site! WOOHOO!!! Thank you so much for always sharing in my joy with all the adventures that come along on this Blooming Nest journey! Love you always! shop the post