Posts in home
How To Decorate As A Couple (Without Fighting)
How To Decorate As A Couple (Without Fighting)

Is it just me, or is decorating with your husband or partner a seemingly impossible task? If you’ve ever felt discouraged or experienced the familiar, all-consuming urge to throw breakable things during a conversation with your partner about decorating your place, this post is for you.

I’m writing this post from the very same boat, because my husband Brett and I have spent the past 13 years building quite an extensive resume of decor-related arguments. It’s not so much that we don’t like the same things - what’s crazy is that we actually do for the most part. There’s just something about trying to decorate as a couple and put your house together with someone else that can, at times, get tense.

Today I’m sharing my 4 best tips for how to decorate as a couple without fighting!

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home, lifeKate Voegeledecor, life tips, designComment
Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

Craving something sweet with your morning coffee? Try our recipe for whole wheat chocolate chip banana bread. There are three types of breakfast people: Team Sweet, Team Savory, and Team I Don’t Have Time.

As a former chronic alarm snoozer, I used to be Team I Don’t Have Time — but, I’ve recently realized how much more energy I have when I make time to eat breakfast in the morning. With that said, I definitely find myself on Team Sweet more often than savory.

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home, foodCourtney Voegelerecipe, breakfast, bakingComment
Easy DIY Wallpaper Art or Headboard
Easy DIY Wallpaper Art or Headboard

There’s nothing I love more than an easy DIY project that packs a big punch, and this wallpaper art in my music studio is a perfect example!

I installed this wallpaper art as a feature wall behind my music desk to ground it in the space, but you could also use this exact technique to make a really easy DIY wallpaper headboard (which I kind of want to do in another room now!) This wallpaper feature wall was one of the quickest and easiest DIY projects I’ve done in this house, but it makes a huge impact and I really love how it turned out.

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home, artKate VoegeleDIY, wallpaper, wall decor, kateComment
Halloween Royal Icing Sugar Cookies
Halloween Royal Icing Sugar Cookies

of all the wonderful things the fall season brings, the sweets are one of my favorites!

a few years back, I got really interested in royal icing and cookie decorating, and started to watch tutorials so I could do it myself.

it allows me to explore two of my passions at once: baking and art. oh, and also eating.

i have nowhere near perfected the art of cookie decorating, but they sure do taste good.

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food, homeCourtney Voegelerecipe, easy recipes, halloween, dessert, bakingComment
5 Tips for Decorating Small Apartments
5 Tips for Decorating Small Apartments

Whenever the seasons change, do you ever feel compelled to reevaluate your space? Whether I swap out a giant painting for a simple wall hanging or purge my under-the-bed clothing bins in efforts to “Mari Kondo” my life, it feels good to refresh and rearrange every once and awhile.

Courtney here — and today I’m talking about the tips and tricks I’ve learned to make a small space a little bit more livable.

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homeCourtney Voegeledecor, design, home decor, CourtneyComment
5 Tips For Moving In Together
5 Tips For Moving In Together

it’s kind of crazy to be saying this, but it’s coming up on the 10 year anniversary of me and my husband Brett living together. if I’m being real, we met about this time ten years ago and moved into a tiny apartment together three months later (!). though I’m well aware that’s a pretty fast track move compared to how most people do it, it’s been awesome and we wouldn’t have done it any differently.

looking back on the past decade, I wanted to share some of my favorite tips for moving in together and living together in general that we’ve learned over the years. we’re definitely not experts and we’re learning every day, but read on for the advice that worked best for us when we took the moving-in-together plunge!

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life, homeKate Voegelerelationships, moving, life tipsComment
Homemade Banana Oat Granola Bars
Homemade Banana Oat Granola Bars

Hey, everyone — Courtney here! Raise your hand if you promise yourself that you’ll give yourself enough time to eat a solid breakfast in the morning and then actually never do.

I definitely do this, and always end up snagging a granola bar on my way out the door. 

Since most of my favorite granola bars either taste like chocolate candy or cost $3 per bar, I decided to start making my own.

Lightly sweetened with mashed banana and honey, these whole wheat banana oat bars are the perfect on-the-go breakfast. My fiancé and I have actually been eating them for dessert, too :)

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food, homeCourtney Voegelerecipe, healthy recipe, breakfast, snacksComment
Pineapple Serrano Margaritas Two Ways
Pineapple Serrano Margaritas Two Ways

I think it’s safe to say these days that all of us could use a stiff cocktail, no?

With the weather getting warmer and the summer quickly approaching, I can’t stop craving something refreshing, sweet, and a little spicy at the end of the day. Kate here, and today I’m excited to share my husband Brett’s recipe for Pineapple Serrano Margaritas - two ways!

We have made these almost every week during quarantine, and it’s been a fun way to do something creative and quick in the kitchen together! Plus, they are totally delicious.

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food, homeKate Voegelecocktail, recipeComment
How to Make a Simple Charcuterie Board
How to Make a Simple Charcuterie Board

Whether you’re looking for an easy appetizer or want to make a full meal, charcuterie boards provide the perfect mix of savory flavors to please just about anyone’s palate.

Courtney here — and today I’m making one of my weekend go-to dishes — charcuterie! This delicious display consists of a combination of cheeses, meats, spreads, and crackers so you can mix and match to create different flavors.

If you’re looking for a simple charcuterie recipe and setup, look no further. I’m breaking down everything I put on my board and provide tips for making it look sophisticated without spending a fortune.

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food, homeCourtney Voegelesnacks, easy recipes, crowd pleaser, appetizers, party picksComment
Sewing Supplies & Advice for Beginners
Sewing Supplies & Advice for Beginners

Throughout 2020, I picked up more hobbies than the last ten years combined. I guess that’s what happens when we’re homebound for nine months straight, right?

Hey guys — Courtney here, and today I’m talking about my recent fascination with sewing and everything I did to get started.

I have absolutely loved learning how to sew over the last few months and am excited to share my go-to beginner sewing supplies and how I got started.

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art, homeCourtney VoegeleDIY, crafting, sewing, how toComment
Kate's Backyard Patio Progress and Plans
Kate's Backyard Patio Progress and Plans

Now that we can all exhale a deep sigh of relief that we’ve officially made it to 2021, I’m getting all the January organizing and house project jitters. Kate here, and today I’m excited to share a little progress on our backyard and patio!

This stucco outdoor fireplace was hands down one of my favorite things about this place from the jump, and I’ve been so excited to dream up what we want to do with this space. I’m feeling extra grateful this winter to live in a place like LA that has that indoor/outdoor lifestyle thing going!

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homeKate Voegelekate, before, outdoorComment
5 Ideas for a Festive New Year's Eve at Home
5 Ideas for a Festive New Year's Eve at Home

On one hand, it seems totally insane that it’s already time to ring in a brand new year. On the other, it feels like it’s taken about 5 times longer to get to this point than it normally does, because…2020.

Kate and Courtney here, and today we’re sharing 5 of our favorite ideas for a festive New Year’s Eve at home! Chances are most of us will be spending New Year’s at home this year, or at least somewhere or some way that’s almost guaranteed to look different than last year.

No matter what you’d usually be doing to ring in the new year, we’ve got five ideas for five different types of NYE celebrations to send 2020 off with a big fat “SEE YOU NEVER AGAIN" :

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life, homeKate Voegelenew years, party ideasComment
Our Holiday Home Decor Tour
Our Holiday Home Decor Tour

Decorating for the holidays is one of my favorite traditions of the entire year, and this year it felt extra important for us to make our home as cozy and festive as possible.

Kate here, and today I’m sharing a quick tour of some of our holiday decor! Not sure about you guys, but I totally love seeing how other people decorate their homes decorated for the holiday season. Courtney’s also stopping by at the end of the post to share a few of her favorite festive additions to their NYC apartment this year.

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home, lifeKate Voegelehouse tour, kate, CourtneyComment
DIY Macrame Coaster Tutorial Video
DIY Macrame Coaster Tutorial Video

If you’re anything like me, the craziness of 2020 has motivated me to pick up a plethora of new hobbies. Once the pandemic started, I realized that when I got bored, I would just pick up my phone and doom scroll. I quickly learned that it was not good for my mental health, so I decided to switch up my routine and began exploring different crafts.

Courtney here — and today I’m showing you how to make macrame coasters! This DIY macrame tutorial video. Macrame coasters create the perfect, boho-inspired gift for birthdays, holidays, and even for yourself (we have like ten in our living room!). It’s so cool to me that you can start with just six pieces of string and see it turn into this amazing work of art that’s functional too. I have loved experimenting with different colors and patterns and I’m excited to show you all how to do it!.

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art, homeCourtney VoegeleDIY, giftsComment
How To Choose What Goes on a Gallery Wall
How To Choose What Goes on a Gallery Wall

could probably write a novel-length love letter to gallery walls because let’s face it - they are kind of the blue jeans of home decor.

Kate here, and today I’m sharing my process of putting together a gallery wall that just works. You might remember from my post about decor dos and donts from all my old apartments that I’ve been a big fan of the gallery wall since day one, but admittedly I think I’ve gotten a lot better over the years at figuring out the formula that makes a great one.

Here are the main 4 rules I stick to:

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homeKate Voegeledecor, living room, wall decor, wall art, how toComment
6 Tips To Make Moving Simple and Easy
6 Tips To Make Moving Simple and Easy

Moving is one of those things that I equally love and hate. On one hand there’s the joy of dreaming up all the new memories you’re going to make in your new place and imagining how you want each room to look, and on the other lies the all too familiar dread of inevitable stress, endless boxes of mystery items, and uprooting your life for weeks.

Kate here, and as most of you know my husband and I recently moved to a new place for the 5th time in 5 years. While I definitely don’t consider myself an extreme expert on the subject, I do think I’ve done this enough times to have some hopefully helpful advice to share.

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home, lifeKate Voegelemoving, milestones, life tipsComment
Kate's New Studio: Inspiration and Plans
Kate's New Studio: Inspiration and Plans

The most fun part of the moving process for me is always designing all the rooms and making decor choices, and since we moved into our new place I’ve been super excited to figure out what I want to do with my new studio and home office! Kate here, and today I’m sharing all my inspiration and plans for this new space.

If you follow my personal iG you may have seen my stories last week all about picking the right wall color. I think I ended up bringing home a total of 14 paint samples (!), but I finally found the right one. Besides figuring out the wall color, I’ve been working on a lot of other ideas for the space- including a really fun built-in bookcase hack with IKEA Billy bookshelves! I can’t wait to share that DIY on here when it’s all done.

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homeKate Voegelekate, design plans, decor, interiorsComment
DIY Waterfall Butcher Block Washer & Dryer Counter
DIY Waterfall Butcher Block Washer & Dryer Counter

Like many of us, one of the major things that’s bringing me a lot of joy right now is working on home projects. Kate here, and today I’m really excited to share this DIY laundry room project we just completed!

I’ve always swooned over waterfall butcher block countertops on Pinterest, and when we moved into a place without a washer and dryer I knew I wanted to somehow find a way to create a cool butcher block counter to house the machines.

This was one of the first big projects we wanted to tackle in our new place, and I’m so thrilled with how it turned out!

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homeKate VoegeleDIY, laundry room, weekend project, home improvementComment
Kate's New Place: Before Photos
Kate's New Place: Before Photos

Like so many people during this crazy time, I have found myself constantly reevaluating nearly every aspect of my life recently. Kate here, and today I’m excited to share the news that I’m moving into a new place this month! As you can see from the pics in this post, we are currently living in a sea of cardboard boxes.

Today I’m sharing a few initial before photos of our new home, but soon I’ll be writing a much more in-depth post about all my best moving tips (plus the many mistakes we made!) so stay tuned for more coming soon.

Clearly you’ll notice that Nola, our rescue pup, is already making herself at home here. To be totally honest she’s pretty confused about the whole process given that we’ve only had her for about three months, but it’s been fun to introduce her to her new neighborhood and let her explore a little!

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home, lifeKate Voegelekate, moving, milestones, house tourComment
Decor Dos and Don'ts From My Past 5 Apartments
Decor Dos and Don'ts From My Past 5 Apartments

While purging a bunch of stuff from my home office last week, I came across a bunch of old hard drives with all my photos from the past decade. After diving in and wasting an entire afternoon down memory lane, I thought it might be fun to compile all the photos from all my apartments over the past 10 years to see how my style has evolved.

Once I had a chance to look through all of the ways I’ve decorated my home over the years I wanted to share a post about all the design and decor dos and don’ts that these places have taught me! I’ve definitely learned a lot along the way, but going through all of these photos makes me excited to see how my style will continue to develop and change in the future.

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homeKate Voegeledecor, design, kate, room tour, house tourComment