NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Why decorating for fall can make your house look better year-round

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I’ve noticed something that unsettles me – people who discount (or “diss”) decorating for fall. It’s a bit of a virtual eye-roll. As though decorating a lot for fall is wasting time or money. Because obviously, instead of buying wasteful pumpkins and candy corn, you should really spend that money on something else that’s more important. Like Pumpkin […]

More Americana home decor

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I can’t leave well enough alone. I just want to American-flag all the things. (Or as Henry says, “Captain America flag” all the things.) Nothing is safe. Nothing can be un-American. Moving into the new house at the precise time that I have a valid excuse to cover everything in a layer of red, white and blue […]

Window coverings on a budget

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Because we are in the middle of nowhere, window coverings aren’t necessarily needed for privacy.  (Unless you are concerned about privacy from frogs, coons and deer. Which I’m not.) However, the light that comes through the windows during the day is so bright that something was necessary – to prevent the heat, sun damage and bright light. And we had […]

How to finish yellow pine floors (without poly)

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Our yellow pine floors (from Lumber Liquidators) are officially finished and cured, and I am fairly certain I’m in love with them. Installing and finishing hardwood floors ourselves is definitely not the easiest or quickest option when it comes to flooring. But I think they were worth the time and effort. Not only is the flooring beautiful and […]

Downstairs light fixture tour

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Choosing light fixtures for a house can be overwhelming – it can be difficult to envision them in a space and it’s not always easy to find photos of the exact fixtures in a real home. (Apparently, there are fancy professional stylists and photographers who always make catalog photos look good. Who knew?) Plus, if […]

Installing wide-plank pine flooring

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If you need me, I’ll be in the house, petting our new wood floors. That’s normal, right? If this is wrong, I just don’t want to be right. Once the walls were painted and the fireplace was concreted and stoned (those are totally verbs at the Woodwards), it was time to lay the floors. As a quick reminder, we […]