Hi! There have been a few site updates around here lately that I wanted to clue you in on in case you haven’t noticed! The first one is the big one, I changed the blog’s name (yes again). What was once upon a long time ago, Smitten Studio, changed simply to “Stories” a few years ago, which was great until Instagram came along and added the “stories” feature. So when I shared anything on Instagram and wanted to say, oh, read more about it on “Stories” that quickly got very confusing. As it was, I ended up not even posting much on here as Instagram kind of took that place. However, you can only share so much on Instagram, and I find myself wanting to come back to the blog format more and more. So here we are now with… The SSS Edit.

The other day while Rupe and I were installing all the trim in our guest bedroom, covering up old 80’s faux wood paneling, I got that incredibly satisfying feeling of being able to make a big difference in my home with my own two hands. It is what I used to talk so much about on the blog, and while I haven’t stopped doing it, I haven’t had the time to share in long-form here, which brings me to the next update. I have brought on a contributing editor, Anastasia (she is the one you heard from in the book club posts), and will be helping to get all my content up and on here and sharing some stories of her own.

That is her on the left; we have no fun at all. Anyway, Anastasia just bought her first home (more on that soon), and she has never picked up a drill or even gone to a hardware store for anything other than paint in her whole life!! So one weekend, a few weeks ago, Rupe and I went to her new home to help her with her first DIY project in her new home. I can’t wait to share about it, but I gave her the project instructions, she and her husband gathered all the materials, and we went over and tackled the project altogether. After we finished, that satisfying feeling was multiplied tenfold because I was able to help and empower Anastasia and her husband to do something in their own home that they are SO proud of and would have never tackled without just a little encouragement from me. It brought me back to what I loved most about the blog: being able to empower people to make their houses into their homes and that it doesn’t have to cost a zillion dollars to make a huge impact.

Another change is you will find a link at the top to “book a consult,” where you can book a one-on-one consultation with me for either 55 mins or a mini session for 25 mins. Through the genius platform called The Expert, you can get access to top designers that you may not be able to afford for a full project but can pick their brain for an hour to give insight on all things design. Say you are about to take on a renovation and have plans in hand but want to get an expert second opinion, it is perfect for that. Or you have a funky floorplan layout, and you need help with space planning? I can help with that. Or sourcing questions like which dining table goes with this table or what rug will anchor the room? I have had so much fun being able to help out with even more of your projects through this platform so if you need someone on one design advice, holler at me here.

And the final change to the left menu bar is a “Browse by Category” section so you can more easily navigate the kind of content you are looking for.

I hope you enjoy following along as we reinvigorate things around here.

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