Picking paint colors, cabinets and finishings can be so hard! I love that I have been able to post some options on Facebook or Instagram and I get so much feedback from you. It has been incredibly helpful.

I wanted to share some progress on our renovation. It has been going pretty smoothly. The kitchen and the upstairs bath have not been gutted yet, but we fully moved out of the upstairs in order for the walls to be painted and the floors to be redone.

It has been intense living all on the same floor in such close quarters, but we are getting used to it. Well, kinda getting used to it if you call everyone usually staying up until 11 pm a good routine.

First up was picking the cabinets. I was thinking of doing grey, but we were able to find very high-quality affordable cabinets in white and I am feeling good about my decision. I will most likely use brass hardware.

We tried to find an old farmhouse sink that would work, but were not able to. My mother-in-law found a fantastic chef’s sink that we ordered instead.

This is the initial shock of my entire bedroom being moved into the dining room. The first night Steve and I slept downstairs we didn’t have a mattress set up so I slept on Ella’s gymnastics matt. IT WAS SO HARD. We have our mattress set up now thank goodness.

This project started moving really fast suddenly and one day I was told I had to have my paint colors picked in 24 hours. I chose the middle color for the living room mostly because of what came up when you googled it.

Who can resist deer, puppies and a perfect taupe?

I love how it turned out. The trim is Swiss Coffee in semi-gloss. In the other rooms we decided to just do Swiss Coffee on both the walls and trim to keep it simple.

Next up was refurbishing the hardwood floors. We tested the the topcoat varnish on the floor and found out that it actually had lead in it! This is something to remember when and if you ever restore old hardwood. It is very possible the varnish has lead, so test it so you can take the proper precautions.

The apartment was properly sealed and the floors were sanded. Next I had to pick the stain.

We chose the darker stain and I am in love with how it looks.

This is the floor without any varnish.

My friend Michelle Workman gave me this wallpaper two years ago and I was never quite sure whereI was going to put it until now. It will be on the first wall you see as you walk into the house. I am so excited about it. Isn’t it pretty?

The front of the house is nearly complete. The owner of the building chose the colors and I think she did such a fantastic job. The black bricks are perfection.

Last but not least I bring you the most recent decision I made just this morning. These are Mexican Beach Rocks. We ordered them today for a section of our backyard where galvanized tubs will be for our vegetable garden. I never thought I would get so excited about rocks. 1 3/4 tons are arriving in a few days. There is something so satisfying about buying a huge pile of rocks. If you are local to the Bay Area, Broadmoor Landscape Supply is amazing.

The more I do this the more I realize what an art interior design is. I am doing a mixture of thought out choices and “yeah, that should work.” rush decisions. So far everything is looking good.

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Jennifer Latch