Bless'er House FAQs

First of all, I have to tell y'all: THANK YOU so much for giving me feedback on my breakfast area change ideas.  Your responses on last night's poll on Facebook helped me a ton!  I feel so driven after all of your input.  I think every gal needs support from lots and lots of friends when she's feeling lost, don't you?

While I'm gearing up to take on these new ideas, I thought it would be fun to share answers to frequently asked questions I get in my inbox fairly often.  Everything from paint colors and decor sources to how some projects are holding up.  So here we go...

1.  Has your Mason Jar Vanity Light caused any problems or been a safety concern?  Have the jars cracked?  Do your bulbs burn out really easily?

This is most definitely the #1 question that constantly comes up about my mason jar vanity light in our powder room.  (This project went viral last summer and is still my most viewed post every day. Crazy.)  We have had absolutely no problems with this light, and actually we haven't even had to replace our light bulbs in it at all yet.  It's been up since last June and still doing great.

Mason jars are typically used at boiling temperatures for canning and jellying anyway, so they're durable.  But this light is also in a room where it's only on for a short period of time.  If it's a major concern for you, you can cut the bottom of the jars using this method.

Side note: I just found out that there are now LED bulbs available that are designed to look like Edison incandescent bulbs. Yes! I want 'em.  All over my house. (You can find my mason jar vanity light tutorial here.)

2.  What paint colors do you have in your house?

Our entire downstairs is Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige.  If I had to do it all over again, I would go with a shade lighter.  I still like it, but it's a bit dark for me in the windowless areas like our hallway and kitchen.  It's a really great neutral and changes from beige to gray, depending on the light.  It's actually the paint color behind me in my headshot.  Looks like a totally different paint color than the living room shot below, doesn't it?

Our powder room and guest bathroom are Sherwin Williams Sea Salt.  I love this color if you're wanting something other than a neutral.  (I have painted the rest of our hardware in the powder room to match our light in oil rubbed bronze but still need to snap a picture of it...oopsies.)

Our office and master bathroom are Sherwin Williams Pediment.  This is by far my favorite color in our house because it's so versatile and light.  It goes with anything!

3.  Why didn't you put an electric fireplace in your faux one instead of a log stack door?

Bottom line: We wanted to do it for as cheaply as possible.  And an electric fireplace was going to cost several hundred more.  We also wanted to still have access to our outlet behind the firebox door. Since we typically have very mild winters where we live, and a very energy efficient house, a fireplace really isn't necessary for us.  (You can see the full faux fireplace tutorial starting here.)

4.  Where did you get your living room curtains?

They're from Kirkland's called Taupe Gatehill Curtains; I bought the longer ones.  They're really great quality too with a nice, thick fabric and priced right.  I love that they add interest by incorporating some pattern without overpowering the room.

5.  I love your ceiling fans!  Can you tell me where you got them?

Our living room ceiling fan is called Twin Breeze by Harbor Breeze.  And, no, the entire fan doesn't rotate like a helicopter or anything.  It'd be pretty crazy if it did though!  Even though it has little fan blades, it works really well...this coming from someone who endures sweltering hot Carolina summers.

Our master bedroom ceiling fan is called Angora by Harbor Breeze.  It works really well too.  As much as I love the look of a gorgeous chandelier in a bedroom, there is no way the hubby and I could sleep without our ceiling fan.


6.  You're always making things look "old" and wanting to give your house "character".  Why didn't you just buy an older house and fix it up?

I could write an entire post about this, but really it came down to price, location, and the extra work.  We didn't want our first house to be a fixer upper.  I mean, we're newbies figuring out this home improvement thing day-by-day, so a house that needed some TLC would have been too much for us, especially since we have a toddler in the mix.

Our neighborhood was perfect for both of our commutes (when I was still teaching last year); our area has great schools; and it is close to the city but still has a rural feel around our neighborhood.

This new house is much more energy efficient and everything is up to date and up to code, so we only have to worry about cosmetic changes as we want to make them.  No guessing if the foundation is good or if we're dealing with shoddy electrical work.  The fewer surprises, the better.  By building a house with everything builder grade basic, we could really make it our own over time for the cheapest price possible.


7.  Can you share any photography tips?

Sure! I'm no pro and am still learning, but I love sharing what I can.  Here's a post about my photography tips.

8.  I'm just starting my own blog.  Do you have any advice?

First of all, yay!  Good for you!  Be patient, and know that it is a time commitment, but it is extremely rewarding.  Do it because you're passionate about your subject matter, not because you want popularity or to make money or anything.  If you put your whole heart into it and find a good balance between blogging and "real life", you will be rewarded ten times over.

And most importantly of anything I think, remain true to yourself.  Reach deep down and find your voice.  Be vulnerable sometimes.  Anyone can boast about what they do well, but it's always refreshing for me as a reader to see when a blogger can admit defeat and embrace mistakes, so I try to do the same.  Be authentic...because if you're not being the real you, you're missing out on one incredible journey.


If you have other questions, let me know in the comments or on Facebook!  And if you read through this entire post, I think you deserve a cupcake...a big one.

Blessings,

Follow me on

Bloglovin

Or find me on 

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Google+ | Instagram