Things I can't stop talking about--favorite blogger edition

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Happy Monday! Kicking off the week with a shout out to a few of my favorite bloggers.

I was a bit late to the blog game—I started following a hand full of bloggers for work. In my pre-kids life I had done marketing & event planning, and when the kids were tiny, I staged photoshoots for a Christmas tree company. Fast forward to 2013, and I started decorating & staging Christmas trees again, but for social media platforms.

Prior to this I was knee deep with babies and toddlers and basically trying to survive. But, now I needed to figure out the blogging and social media world, FAST! I knew traditional marketing (think print media), but this was a whole new world. What I wasn’t expecting was to find an online world full of very helpful interior decorating & design advice. And weirdly, you start to feel like you know these people. In my opinion, the best bloggers out there have a very distinct voice, create achievable, fresh projects, geared towards a variety of budgets. So without further ado… here are a few of my favorites.

Chris and Julia Marcum at ChrisLovesJulia.com

Newer to my feed, but definitely a favorite. They are a husband/wife team, and I appreciate their mix of high and low design. They’ve done $50,000 bathroom remodels (whoa!), but most recently they did a Phase 1 budge kitchen remodel very affordably. It included moving some cabinets, painting them a rich moody gray/green, and building some fun shelves — all in just two weeks!

Before:

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/chrislovesjulia/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/chrislovesjulia/

After:

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/chrislovesjulia/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/chrislovesjulia/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/chrislovesjulia/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/chrislovesjulia/

Check their blog out at https://www.chrislovesjulia.com

John and Sherry at YoungHouseLove.com

No surprise these two are perennial blog favorites. Their website is a treasure trove of DIY and affordable home improvement projects.  And while they’ve been around for over a decade (which is centuries in the blog world), they have a distinct voice and have stayed true to their original mission of making design approachable for the average person.  They often shop big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes, or even Ikea.  While some bloggers use more and more expensive products, they are still budget-conscious.  Their website is an encyclopedia of DIY resources! I also like to listen to their podcast when I’m cooking dinner!

One of my favorites is their painted brick house. Something I have been dreaming about for years, but have been too scared to take the plunge!. They completely revamped the exterior of their home by covering brick with long-lasting white paint. Amazing what some paint can do! This is something we may be tackling at our how house this fall. Will keep you posted!

Before:

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/younghouselove/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/younghouselove/

After:

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/younghouselove/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/younghouselove/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/younghouselove/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/younghouselove/

Check out more of their house remodels at https://www.younghouselove.com

Emily Henderson

I’ve been following Emily from the beginning. She’s a great mix of good interior design content as well as some real life. It’s fun watching someones life evolve from reality tv stylist to married mom of two. She is one of the real authentic voices out there, despite a pretty big rise up the ranks and partnering with big brands like Target.

I have learned a ton from her about mixing high and low design, where to shop, and blending styles.

This is one of her more recent projects—a remodel of their mountain house. Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/em_henderson/

This is one of her more recent projects—a remodel of their mountain house. Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/em_henderson/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/em_henderson/

Photo courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/em_henderson/

Photo via https://www.instagram.com/em_henderson/

Photo via https://www.instagram.com/em_henderson/

Check out Emily’s blog https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com to see the renovations she’s made on her home and the homes of others!

Jenny Komenda at JuniperStudios.com

I’ve been following Jenny for years (originally LittleGreenNotebook.com) and I appreciate her ability to take both budget and high end projects. She recently remodeled her kitchen and her Insta stories about this renovation are so great! This remodel is EXPENSIVE, but aspirational, and she does more budget remodels as well.

Jenny’s Kitchen Remodel. Photos via https://www.instagram.com/jennykomenda/

Jenny’s Kitchen Remodel. Photos via https://www.instagram.com/jennykomenda/

Check out this her blog for details about the entire renovation. Photo via https://www.instagram.com/jennykomenda/. Love the high contrast mix of dark and moody, warm woods and white.

Check out this her blog for details about the entire renovation. Photo via https://www.instagram.com/jennykomenda/. Love the high contrast mix of dark and moody, warm woods and white.

This is a flip house that she remodeled—the kitchen is beautiful but also filled budget friendly products. Photos via https://www.instagram.com/jennykomenda/, here’s a full post about this remodel.

This is a flip house that she remodeled—the kitchen is beautiful but also filled budget friendly products. Photos via https://www.instagram.com/jennykomenda/, here’s a full post about this remodel.

That’s all for now. Will be back with more favorites soon. I’m thinking along the lines of favorite interior designers, fall decor and some fall recipes. Will keep you posted. And I would love to hear from you—which bloggers and Instagram feeds do you love to follow? Have a great week!