A few weeks ago we finally updated our Frame TV frame to something that matched the gallery wall a little better. When we first got our Frame TV 3 years ago we picked the standard white bevel that Samsung offered as an option. It worked well for the gallery wall we had at the time, but over the years my style has evolved a bit. The frame just didn’t match the look that we were going for anymore.

Continue reading Easiest Custom DIY Frame TV Tutorial at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

Talking all things faux fireplaces in today’s video! We have a couple of faux fireplaces in our apartment and we have tried to make them a seamless part of our apartment but also provide a seasonal statement. The fireplace surround in our bedroom was a really lucky Facebook Marketplace find – using the search term “fireplace surround”. The other fireplace in our living room is one we bought a few years ago online and had in our previous apartment as well.

Continue reading Faux Fireplace Project | Renter Friendly at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

We’ve have a lot of empty wall space in one specific room in our apartment and, for months, I’ve been thinking about how I can add more character while keeping it reversible and something I can potentially take with us whenever we decide to no longer rent. We wanted to do something that would make a statement, but also be budget and renter friendly. First, since this is multi-purpose room/office, we set up some desks from CB2 on one side of the room.

Continue reading Removable DIY Picture Frame Moulding at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

We recently added some changes to our kitchen in our apartment and, for under $500, it feels like a totally new kitchen! We added some faux marble counter-top paper, faux backsplash subway tile, switched out the cabinet pulls for something new, and removed two of the cabinet doors to open up the space more. Watch the video above for all of the details of the process and let me know if you have any questions!

Continue reading Our Rental-Friendly Kitchen Makeover Under $500 at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

One of the last home projects that we completed before making the move to NYC was our bathroom. This was something that I wanted to do since we moved in but it was a few rooms down on the priority list. When we eventually decided to re-do our bathroom, we obviously had NO idea we would be moving anytime soon. So, I ended up only using the bathtub a few times, sadly. It was a pretty big undertaking and took a couple of long months to complete (but not as long as the kitchen!). 

Let’s first talk about the design.

Continue reading Our Master Bathroom Makeover at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

This post is was made in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All opinions are my own. 

I can’t believe we’re already so far into fall! It feels like just yesterday I was picking up flowers to plant for the spring and now I’m in that transitional mode, learning everything I can about creating a fall landscape and winter gardening. This time last year, I had zero experience with gardening and landscaping, and I feel like I’ve truly learned so much this year after reading books, taking classes, finding inspiration through travels, and just experimenting in our yard.

Continue reading A Fall Garden Project (Raised Bed Tutorial) at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

This past weekend as I was cleaning up the house in preparation of getting our Christmas decorations out, I was looking at our TV stand and the countless colorful books that filled the open shelving… a mix of TJ’s books and my own that we’ve collected over the years. While I’ve always loved the TV stand filled with books, it didn’t have a festive feel that I was hoping for and then I thought about a simple way to fix that without spending more than $20!

Continue reading Easy DIY Holiday Book Covers at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

This post was made in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All opinions are my own. 

I’m back today with another backyard update! For the last several months, we’ve been slowly but surely making some progress on our backyard landscaping ideas and I’ve been learning a ton about gardening and landscape design in general. In partnership with Chase Freedom Unlimited, a cash back credit card that allows you to earn cash back on every single purchase, I’ve documented the learning process and feel like I’ve truly gained so much knowledge.

Continue reading Landscaping Update: Building a Backyard Path at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

This post was made in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All opinions are my own.

Earlier this summer, we decided to add a swing to our front porch, but I knew the porch needed something else. Our porch is really tall and there was a big space behind the swing that I knew needed to be filled with something. After visiting a friend’s house, I noticed she had hanging planters at the end of her porch and I loved them!

Continue reading DIY Hanging Gutter Planters at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.

This post was created in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’ve shared a few landscaping updates as part of my 2019 goals, but it wasn’t until recently that I had the urge to add one more project to the mix – staining our fence! I was watering our roses one morning and noticed that something about our yard didn’t feel right and it was our fence!

Continue reading A New Landscaping Project: Staining Our Backyard Fence at Pretty in the Pines, New York City Lifestyle Blog.