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Fall Season Element

Advice, Design & Color Inspiration, Love the Space You're In, Uncategorized

Fall Season Element: Embracing Fire Energy

The Fall season is all about letting go. Just as leaves turn colors and fall to the ground and birds leave their nests and head for warmer weather, this time of year is our cue to let go of what no longer serves us. Whether it's through decorating…

How to Create a Home Alter

Advice, Design, Love the Space You're In

How to Create an Altar in Your Home

Altars are a great way to bring a feeling of peace and serenity to your home. They're super-easy and can serve as a gentle reminder to pause, reflect, and make space for self-care. For some, they may even be a focus for religious practices such…

Working Outside

Articles, Blogging

Working Outside has Many Health Benefits

My two-month solo journey across the United States last year gave me boundless opportunities to contemplate the natural world. There’s nothing like long drives through the most picturesque landscapes to learn what Mother Earth is capable…

Blogging, Uncategorized

The Reclamation

Smack-dab in the middle of this unimaginable human tragedy there is a transformation happening. A kind of reclamation of who we are, and how we want to show up in the world. At least that’s what’s been happening for me. I’ve spent…

Articles, Blogging

Letting Go

It’s funny, all my life I’ve loved to tell people about my mom and what a rebel she was. A long-haul truck driver who rode motorcycles and spent her short life chasing her passions and dreams. She was this almost mythical figure to me and…

A Journey in Love

As I left DC yesterday to head back to Minneapolis, I found myself filled with emotions. Bittersweet feelings of love, joy, sadness, excitement, surprise and an overall sense of gratitude for this incredibly complicated life I’m living. When…

Advice, Blogging, Feng Shui, Love the Space You're In, Uncategorized

Lake Life – Taking Cues From Nature

After a quick overnight stop in Crete IL, where I worked with clients-turned-friends on their home office, I landed for a long weekend in Madison WI with my friends Tracy and Tom. Gorgeous home, right on the lake, sunrises over the water, a…

Blogging, Feng Shui, Ideas, Love the Space You're In, Uncategorized

Navigating Life

If you read last weeks blog, you know I'm 1 week into a 3 month "zen road trip" across the country. This week I was in Mystic CT, Salem MA, Somersworth NH, Endicott NY and Toronto CA (it's been a busy week)! Yesterday, I was sitting in Collegetown…

Design, Feng Shui, Love the Space You're In, Renovation, Uncategorized

Zen Road Trip

I have to say...the looming big 50 is having a bigger effect on me than I thought it would. There’s something about knowing that my life is “half-over” that just kind of woke me up. I started looking at my work/life balance. The way…

Advice from the Pros, Helpful Remodeling Hints, Renovation, Uncategorized

Choosing the Right Partner for Your Renovation

Choosing the right contractor for your next remodeling project is a lot like choosing a mate - it’s not just about what they look like on the outside, the inside counts too! 😉 Do you mesh best with an introvert with a dry wit…

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Helpful Remodeling Hints, Renovation, Uncategorized

8 Ways to Avoid a Renovation Nightmare

If you’re like many homeowners who’ve gone through a renovation, you probably started by getting three estimates and if you liked all three, you went with the most budget friendly one (I mean who wants to spend more than they have to, right?!?). While…

Advice from the Pros, Design, Helpful Remodeling Hints, Love the Space You're In, Planning, Renovation, Uncategorized

Intentional Choices For Your Home Decor

I think most people have something that drives them. Something that propels them to do what they do and strive to make the impact they want to make. For me, I am obsessed with people loving their homes. I believe our homes hold the key to us…

Advice from the Pros, Design, Feng Shui, Love the Space You're In, Uncategorized

8 Ways to Create a Peaceful Home with a Zen-Like Vibe

I love touring model homes. I instantly feel happy and relaxed. Inevitably, when I get home I’m inspired to tweak my own decor so I can replicate that calm feeling. Here are some ways you can do it too. 1. Let There Be Light Sunlight…

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Design, Planning, Renovation, Uncategorized

#1 Key to a Successful Home Remodel

Most people planning a home remodel jump right into what flooring and countertops they want in their new space, but one of the most critical pieces to any renovation is putting together a solid “Project Scope.” This is the foundation that…

Advice from the Pros, Design, Planning, Renovation

How To Start Your Home Renovation

If you’re like most homeowners, you’ve been thinking about remodeling your home for awhile now. Whether it was out of fear, overwhelm or purely financial, you’ve cleared your hurdles and now you’re ready to get started. But before…

Pets and Home Renovations

Advice from the Pros, Renovation

5 Tips to Help Your Pet Survive A Home Renovation

Are you about to take on a home remodel, but find yourself worried sick your pet won’t be able to handle it? As owner of a home remodeling company, I’ve gotten up-close-and-personal with many pets over the years. While the thought of…

Helpful Remodeling Hints, Planning & Budget, Renovation

5 Tips For Shopping For Renovation Materials

Shopping for remodeling materials is certainly one of the more enjoyable parts of remodeling your home. While hitting the showrooms may not be your usual form of retail therapy, it's an exciting opportunity to bring your new space to…

Helpful Remodeling Hints, Planning & Budget, Renovation

How to avoid change orders when you’re remodeling your home

Forrest Gump was onto something when he said: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get." Life is unpredictable and sometimes even the best-laid plans can fall by the wayside. But if there is a time you want…

Design & Color Inspiration, Feng Shui

Why you need earth elements in your home — and how to incorporate them

Trying to pick a favorite feng shui element would be like trying to pick the best nutrient. Just like protein, carbohydrates and fat, they’re all equally important for nourishment and they balance each other out. But if there’s one of the…

perfect kitchen

Articles, Helpful Remodeling Hints, Renovation

5 steps to achieving your perfect kitchen

The kitchen is undoubtedly one of the most important areas in the home. Not only is it where you prepare and cook food, but it’s often a social hub where people gather - especially if you have a breakfast bar or open-plan kitchen adjacent…

reclaiming your space

Love the Space You're In

Reclaiming Your Space: Why it’s OK to Let Aunt Sally’s Chair Go

When it comes to decluttering your home, some things are easy to get rid of. That huge, clunky blender you used once before the Vitamix was invented. The pirate outfit you bought for a costume party ten years ago that no longer fits. Those Tupperware…

create organized spaces

Love the Space You're In

Controlling Kid Chaos: 3 Steps To Creating Organized Spaces That Teach Them for Life

If you watched Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up, you may have been struck by how the families were able to get their kids on board with decluttering. Not only did they not whine or complain, but they seem to actually enjoy getting involved in the…

feng shui

Love the Space You're In

5 Go-To Feng Shui Principles To Live By

Have you ever walked into a home and immediately picked up on the positive energy? Maybe there wasn’t anything specific about the space you could point to, it just had an overall ‘good vibe.’ On the flip side, you may have walked into…

zen zone

Love the Space You're In

How To Create A ‘Zen Zone’ In Your Home

People who know me always hear me talking about my ‘spot.’ No, not a spot on my carpet or my favorite chair but rather, a space in my home where I feel renewed and at ease. A place just for me. Where I can curl up with a good book…

marie kondo

Articles, Blogging

Here’s What Marie Kondo Can Teach Us About Home Remodeling

Marie Kondo...it’s the name on everyone’s lips right now. While Marie’s best-selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up catapulted her to fame, her Netflix series Tidying Up has cemented her status as a household name. Yes,…

Advice from the Pros, Must Reads, Planning & Budget, Uncategorized

Kitchen Renovation on a Tight Budget? Then Read This!

Tips for Remodeling on a Budget Your kitchen is a very special place. It’s the place where you get your family and loved ones together to enjoy a home cooked meal, it’s the place where everyone ends up at parties and it’s the place where…

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Design, Design & Color Inspiration, Ideas, Must Reads, Uncategorized

Tips for a New Year of Simple & Tasteful Home Design!

It happens every year: we put up the holiday decorations to hide all those trouble spots that bother us the most behind twinkling lights and festive cheer. Either that, or we dread hosting the extended family dinner because it reminds us how much we REALLY want a new kitchen.

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Must Reads, Planning & Budget

Home Insurance Updates After a Reno: What You Need To Know!

Ah, the joys of a beautiful remodel! We all love to dream of the gorgeous new countertops and up-to-the minute appliances, but there’s another facet in home remodeling that many of us just plain ignore.

Advice, Advice from the Pros

7 Reasons Why Plumbing Should be Top of Your List When Remodeling Your Home

Home remodeling can take its toll on any homeowner, especially if you take matters into your own hands. There are many facets to a home remodel, and none can be overlooked because one can impact the other’s performance or outcome.

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Uncategorized

Important Budget Friendly Fall Maintenance Projects for Your Home

On the East Coast, summer was hot, rainy and LONG. Fall arrived with a bang and before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here followed swiftly by the cold, winter months!

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Planning & Budget, Uncategorized

8 Things You Need To Know: A Home Renovation Checklist

We love giving homeowners the insider information needed to master the art of a renovation! We created the Renovation Roadmap as an online tool that helps you navigate the remodeling process when working with a general contractor

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Uncategorized

Common Problems Every Home Owner Should Know About

One of our goals at the Renovation Roadmap is to give you the tools you need to make sensible decisions about home renovations and repairs.

Advice from the Pros

The Last Thing You Might Think About During a Remodel!

By the time the first sledgehammer swings, most of us are ready for the long-anticipated home improvement to be over. There are many stages in a remodel, and a few tips and tricks can make all the difference in ensuring a smooth process and a great outcome.

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Planning

5 Ways Bad Plumbing Can Ruin Your Home Remodel

One all-too-common remodeling mistake is forgetting to think through the impact your project will have on your home’s plumbing.

How to Choose the Best Paint Colors for Your Home Remodel

Your home’s wall colors have a lot of power: the right shade of paint can make a room’s furnishings pop, make your home much more appealing to potential buyers or even help you feel more energized or relaxed.

Design, Feng Shui, Ideas, Renovation Ideas & Finished Touches

Don’t Let a Remodel Ruin Valentine’s Day!

Remodeling and romance don’t exactly go together for most people. Disruption, debris and dust are usually more likely what’s on your mind rather than roses and relaxation.

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Planning, Planning & Budget

5 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Remodel

Most homeowners think it has everything to do with the contractor they choose, but often they have just as much to say about the way the process turns out as anyone else.

Advice from the Pros, Design, Ideas, Renovation Ideas & Finished Touches

Basement Renovation Ideas: Transform Your Basement Into a Space You Love

The basement. It’s a space with a lot of potential, but most of us use the lowest level of our home as a dim, cold storage room where boxes of holiday decorations, old family photos, and hand-me-down antiques sit and collect dust.

Advice from the Pros, Renovation Ideas & Finished Touches

How to Choose Kitchen Countertops: To Granite or Not To Granite?

Planning a kitchen remodel means making decisions about big-ticket items from cabinets to appliances, but really the kitchen countertops can be the biggest design statement.

The Story Behind the Story of an “Overnight Success”

The Grammys name a Best New Artist every year, and between 1985 and 2014, 20 of the 30 winners were not “new” at all.

Design & Color Inspiration

The Science of Architecture and Discovering Hygge

Last month, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Copenhagen, Denmark to present a paper I co-wrote with Dr. Thomas Hoffman for the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (ISPSO) at their 34th Annual Meeting at the University of Copenhagen.

Design & Color Inspiration, Feng Shui

Feng Shui Starts in Your Bedroom (here’s how to make it happen):

In this over-connected, high stress world we live in, we all need a space where our mind and bodies can rest and recharge without distraction—and that place is our bedroom.

Advice, Advice from the Pros

The Blank Canvas Dilemma: Choosing Paint Colors for my New Home

Buying and moving into a new home is exciting and fun, but it can no doubt be stressful. We loved our first town home, it’s the first home we bought, got married and brought home our first puppy and our first baby.

Advice from the Pros

5 MORE Common Remodeling Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

In our first 5 remodeling mistakes post, we talked about everything from contractors to permitting to being realistic about your budget. Of course, there are other nightmares lurking.

Advice from the Pros, Design & Color Inspiration

5 Designer Tips to Help You Choose Paint Colors like a Pro

While painting isn’t a big financial investment in comparison to a major renovation, it does play a key role in shaping the look and feel of your home.

Planning & Budget

5 Remodeling Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

Homeowners make remodeling mistakes all the time, which too often means going way over budget. Whether it’s a home remodeling project or a full kitchen renovation, it's possible to learn from others’ mistakes - and set yourself up to have your dream home.

Advice, Advice from the Pros

How Your Home’s Paint Color Can Change How You Feel

Take a moment to sit down in your home, in your “special spot” if you have one, and look at the colors that surround you. How do they make you feel? What energy do they give you?

Must Reads, Planning, Planning & Budget

4 Tips to Determine Your Kitchen Remodel Budget

As a homeowner, there’s nothing more frustrating than thinking you’re going to pay X for your kitchen renovation only to end up paying 20-30 percent more than what you were told by your contractor.

Advice, Advice from the Pros, Must Reads

How Renovation Pros Cut Costs: Tile

Are you planning to renovate your home soon? Or are you currently in the midst of a kitchen or bathroom renovation and trying to figure out where to save money?

Mina Fies, Zen Spaces, Open Feng Shui Design, Remodeling specialist

Vacation at Home

You know that feeling when your heart is full? Full of love, full of gratitude, and full of life? It's almost like you're invincible. I think that's our natural state. A state of bliss. Of undefined possibility waiting to happen…