The Projects We’re Knocking Out in NC, A Must-Have Gadget For a Common Outlet Problem, & The Best Memorial Day Weekend Sales!

Ready for a little Memorial Day weekend randomness? It’s coming your way as a “View It, Do It, You It” post where I share something I think you’d love seeing (“View It”), a quick & easy decorating or DIY tip that you can knock out in 20 minutes or less (“Do It”), and some favorite finds for you and your home (“You It”).  Today I’m giving you a peek at the projects going on at our house in NC, a gadget that’s the most genius solution for outlets buried behind furniture, and the best Memorial Day weekend sales. Let’s get to it… (affiliate links included in post – full disclosure statement available {here})

I spent the last two weeks at our North Carolina home trying to get a few projects knocked out to pave the way for refinishing our hardwood floors next month – total domino effect going on here! While we all love a good “before” and “after”, sometimes there’s a whole lot of ugly that goes on between the two 🙈. I keep hearing from you guys that you’d like to see more of the in-between progress so thought I’d share some of that with you today. 

Project #1 was to remove four interior columns that were purely decorative a la 1990s style. It included these two columns between our living room & entry (this is a pic I snapped right after we closed on our house):

and two more between our living room and dining room. If I was ever going to have them taken down it needed to be before we refinish the floors since once they were removed,

I knew there would be squares of unfinished hardwood where the column bases once stood:

Project #2 was removing the decorative arch over the two columns that had been dividing the living and dining rooms. While I love arched openings, this one made the two spaces feel choppy and I was ready for it to hit the highway for a more open, airy look:

There’s still some patch work to do but it already feels so much more spacious:

Project #3 is the start of a fireplace makeover – I want to redesign the face of our fireplace to something a little more modern and clean-lined including lowering the mantel height so we can mount a TV above it (I’ve never been a huge fan of TVs over the fireplace but it’s really the only spot for it in this room). This is also a needed-to-be-done-before-the-floors-are-refinished project since the footprint of the new fireplace face will differ from that of the old one. Also, I wanted to remove the hearth and run the hardwoods all the way up to the fireplace (a hearth isn’t required with my gas insert) to create an easier walking path in front of it than there is now.  My contractor did an awesome job carefully peeling off the layers – that whole front panel above the mantel was just a thin wood sheet that popped right off:

So now I get to start with a new design from scratch!:

I’ve got my new design all sketched out and am anxious to get going on it but am on hold until we can get the fireplace company out to look at it (they are booked weeks out!) because I want to update the face of our fireplace insert first if we can.

And the last domino that has to fall before we refinish the floors? We’re going to have to remove the toilet and pedestal sink in our powder room before the refinishing is done so I figured that it was a good time to swap the pedestal sink out for a small vanity. Our current pedestal sink is dated and not very functional either because if you have even the skinniest soap pump on it, you can’t turn the faucet handle on and off without it being in the way:

I also knocked out some serious carpet shopping since our bedroom carpeting needs replacing pretty badly! I think I found “the one” (it’s Karastan’s Cambridge Manor in English Toffee) – here’s a sample of it laid over the worn & stained carpet that’s currently in there:

Plus I made some progress on figuring out the design for our master closet – more coming on those projects in a later post! If you’re newish here and wondering why we have this home in NC that we’re fixing up – {this post} that I wrote in 2019 after we bought it shares all the details on our plans. 

Have you ever had something plugged into an outlet behind a piece of furniture that prevented you from pushing your furniture flush against the wall? And it’s hard to access an outlet behind furniture too. I have both issues with the dresser between the two beds in my girls’ room but recently found the simplest gadget that totally solves this problem! It’s {this ultra-thin outlet cover with power strip}:

You simply plug it into your outlet and since it’s so thin, you’re able to move your furniture back so it’s almost flush against the wall. The other benefit is that we now have three outlets instead of two and they’re all easy to access! If my girls want to charge their phones or need an outlet for their laptops, they can just grab the power strip from under their dresser instead of trying to get to the difficult-to-access plug behind it:

It’s about as simple as it gets for “installation” since all you do is plug it in. So if you have the same outlet issue, just do it – you’ll be so glad you did!

Memorial Day weekend is second only to Black Friday for big sales so it’s a great time to snag things you’ve been eyeing for you or your home! Here are my favorite sale picks:

Serena & Lily has everything on sale at 20% off with code DIVEIN which they only do a few times a year. They have SO many beautiful pieces! A few of my favorites are {these lidded baskets} that I use as hampers, {this darling stool}, {these counter stools} that are both comfortable and indestructible, and {this gorgeous console table} I recently added to our foyer.

I have a full post with pictures and links to all of the Serena & Lily items in our home in {this post}. And don’t forget about their wallpaper! Check out {this post} with pics of my favorite Serena & Lily wallpapers in real spaces.

The newest version of my Sun Joe power washer is on big sale – you can buy it for about the price you’d pay to rent one twice! I’ve had mine for about four years now and use it for everything from cleaning our front walkway and porch to our outdoor furniture and cushions, garbage cans, and even my garden shoes and boots! Some people use them to clean their cars, grills, and all sorts of other things. Snag it this weekend while it’s on sale {here} and if you’re a new customer you can even take ANOTHER $20 off with code HSN2021.

If you love the T3 hair dryer like I do, you might want to snag {this compact travel version of the T3} while it’s on sale at $80 off! You can find it {here}. 

Annie Selke has 20% off most of their in-stock Dash & Albert rugs {here}. These RARELY go on sale and are some of the most beautiful and hardy rugs out there (there are lots of indoor/outdoor rug options) so now’s the time to snag one.

Memorial Day weekend is one of the best times to get good deals on appliances so I finally pulled the trigger and bought the new washer & dryer I’ve been wanting for our NC home. After quite a bit of research I went with {this washer} and {this dryer} – they get great consumer reviews are are Consumer Reports recommended. 

One Kings Lane is having one of their best ever sales this weekend with 20% off sitewide PLUS another 10% off orders of $600+ with code OKLTAKE10. They are a great source for higher end lighting including my kitchen island pendants that you can find {here} (mine are the 12.5″ size) along with {these bestsellers}.

J. Crew has an extra 50% off all sale styles {here} with code WEEKEND including {this darling gingham one-piece swimsuit}. They also have 25% off all full priced styles.

McGee & Co. has 20% off their entire site with code HELLOSUMMER – shop their sale {here} – they have the prettiest home accessories and furniture!

Horchow has 25% off their entire site – you can shop their sale {here} including {this acrylic ceiling fan} which is such a stunner:

The Company Store has up to 30% off their entire site with code MDWKD21 – I share some of my favorite Company Store bedding in {this post}. 

Ann Taylor has 40% off all full priced styles with code CELEBRATE – shop their sale {here}. 

Rifle Paper Company has 25% off everything except wallpaper with code BLOOM – the sale includes the awesome wireless charger found {here} that I keep on my nightstand (and my Air Pods case too!): 

And last but not least, {this hand vac that I have and love} is FINALLY back in stock after months of being unavailable. It’s small and sleek enough that you can get away with keeping it out in the open where it’s easy to grab and the suction is so much better than your typical dust vac. It’s not on sale (I doubt it will be for a bit since they’re obviously having a hard time keeping it stocked) but I wanted to mention it since it’s something I get asked about quite a bit

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I wish you a beautiful Memorial Day, remembering and honoring those who courageously gave their lives serving our country. I realize it’s a bittersweet day for many and my thoughts are with those of you who grieve the loss of friends or family who made such a selfless sacrifice. 💕

XO,