Getting Real About the Blog and Our Homes


For the past 4.5 years we’ve shown you just about everything that we’ve done to our homes. From little projects (like organizing under the kitchen sink), to big projects (like Bridget’s office reveal)…you’ve really seen it all!Bridget and Casey, busy at work on the blog

But here’s the thing…we both live in small homes. About 1,200 square feet for each of us. And just about every nook & cranny has been touched and tweaked to get it just the way we want it. Now that doesn’t mean that there isn’t work to be done (there is always work to be done!), but that does mean that we don’t have any more rooms to reveal to you at this very moment. Are you just as sad as we are?!

What’s Next for the Blog?Home office and computer

This reality brings us to the burning question. What does this all mean for the state of this blog? Great question. It’s one we’ve been discussing in-depth for some time now, which is why we wanted to take a time-out to bring you up-to-speed on our thoughts.

House hunting and ready to celebrate a new placeWell first, we are excited to announce that Bridget is actively looking for a new house! She and Matt have been looking for something a tad bigger for a few months now, but just haven’t found “the one”… yet.

Bridget’s House Hunt

This is true Matt and I have been actively looking for a new house in our area for a few months now. We started “casually” looking late last year and have amped up our search to be more seriousย late winter/early spring. Unfortunately, we haven’t had much luck. If you guys are interested I’d be more than happy to get into all the nitty-gritty details with an entire post devoted to our search so far but this post would turn into a novel if I opened that can of worms so I’ll keep it brief for now.

Bridget's house has been good, but they're ready for an upgradeLong story short, we want to stay in the same area, but slightly upgrade the size of our home. However,ย a small upgrade in our area comes with a price tag that is extremely expensive when compared to other areas.

For example, we could build a custom-house about 30 minutes away ORย buy an OLD, run-down house in this area that is just slightly bigger than ours now but in worse shape… both for about the same price. The struggle is REAL, which makes the home buying process a slow one.

Bridget and Matt's master bedroomThe great news is that we don’t have to move anytime soon! We love our house, the size is perfect for the two of us and we love our neighborhood. We definitely don’t want to rush the process and settle for something less than we love, which is why we are going with the flow and being as patient as possible. Once “the one” comes along, you guys will be the first to know! And judging by the ones we’ve seen so far… there will be plenty of DIY projects to keep us busy for years, and years, and years to come.

Casey’s Home Status

As for Finn & I, we are planning to stay put for at least another 2 years. Our place is small, but we LOVE it because it’s so convenient to get to work and we love living in the city. Plus, with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms we think we can have a baby here (not pregnant..just planning ahead!) so that buys us some extra time!

Casey's family roomWe’ve fixed up just about every room in our Chicago condo. But if we do have a baby here, we would definitely transition the guest room into a nursery…so that would be 1 more exciting update!

Future Projects in Our Current Homes

We’ve considered re-doing our guest bathroom, specifically because Bridget & I would love to work on some of our plumbing & tiling DIY skills. However, it could be a pricey investment to make when our guest bathroom truly isn’t that bad! If Bridget still hasn’t found a home, we may add my guest bathroom to our to-do list (because we always like having a project to work on!).

Casey's master bedroomOther than that, I plan to continue to organize, decorate, and upgrade all of the small areas of our home (& blog about all of those things!). I still want to DIY crown molding in our master bedroom and add trim around the doors in our main living area. Just small things here and there that aren’t too difficult, but would make an impact!

Home officeBridget still has quite a few things she wants to do in her house too. If Bridget doesn’t find a house anytime soon, she may need to eventually turn her 3rd room (currently a catch-all from the old guest room) into a nursery. She’s not pregnant either, butย it doesn’t hurt to plan ahead…right?!

Office closet organizationShe also has small projects both inside and outside of her house that she would still love to tackle like hiding the A/C unit, adding a closet system in the office, replacing her fan, adding storage over the refrigerator, etc. Again there aren’t any room reveals or large makeovers on the horizon in this house, but definitely projects to keep us busy.

So Here’s the Deal…

So right now that’s where we (and the blog) stand. We LOVE all things DIY, but we don’t just want to keep redoing our rooms for the sake of blog content. That’s not who we are and that’s not who we want to be. We stillย hope you stick around as we continue our blog journey, even if there aren’t as many large-scale makeoversย on the agenda this summer.

Home office to work on the blogWe still have lots of little projects up our sleeves (like a large Chicago condo we’re helping decorate!) and some other funย lifestyle/travel content planned that we hope will inspire you!

Don’t worry we aren’t turning into full-time fashion bloggers (that is never gonna happen), but we are taking this time while Bridget hunts for a house (with lots of DIY potential) to become a little more well-rounded. That being said if there’s anything specific you’d like us to tackle, we’d love to hear your suggestions. You can drop these ideas/questions in the comment section below or email us at [email protected].

Thank you!Bridget and Casey- ready for the next blog adventure!

We cannot thank you enough for following along on this journey. We really do have the best readers everrrrrr. We feel so grateful to be surrounded by a community of such strong and positive people each and everyday. We may not know what room will be our next big project, but we do know that the DIY Playbook isn’t going anywhere! We love this space because of all of you and couldn’t imagine our lives any other way. Thank you for being a part of our journey.

Bridget&Casey

 

 


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.