Author Archives: melanie

About melanie

living a small and dreaming big in an airstream trailer.

One Room Challenge Week 3: Getting Down and Dirty

A Small LifeFirst, I want to say thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Domino Magazine’s Design Blog awards in the Small Spaces Category I won! I can’t believe it! Next week, I’ll be flying to Chicago to go to the awards party. Be sure to follow along on my Instagram for real-time updates.

Onto the One Room Challenge update for Week 3! We’ve had a decent amount of good weather this past week, like more than one good day (I wish I was kidding!), so I’ve been able to get a reasonable amount done on the house.  Continue reading →

One Room Challenge Week 2: Prep Work

Powerwashing

My dad helping me powerwash the house.

There are two major challenges that have made themselves apparent this week in my One Room Challenge. 1. The weather plays a huge factor in this project since it is outdoors. 2. I am not as young and spritely as I once was. Continue reading →

Home Goods that Support Native-Owned Businesses

Home goods that support native-owned businessesHappy Indigenous Peoples Day! As an Isleta Pueblo woman, I want to talk to y’all about something that is close to my heart: Inspired Native design, as opposed to, Native-inspired design. (Phrase coined by Eighth Generation.) These two phrases sound alike, but there is a big distinction. Continue reading →

One Room Challenge Week 1: A Rustic Modern Porch Makeover

Rustic Modern Porch Inspiration BoardThis year I’ve decided to take on the One Room Challenge! It’s a biannual event where designers make over one room over the course of six weeks. 20 designers take on the challenge and guests are encouraged to participate, as well.

I’m participating this year as a guest and I’ve decided to make over our porch! It’s not exactly a “room,” but it counts, y’all! We’ve done a lot of work on the exterior of the house, but I want to get a few more things done before it gets too cold, so I thought this would be the perfect kick in the pants! Continue reading →

The Bravely Budgeting Workbook Review

Bravely Budgeting Workbook Review

The main reason I DIY, live in a small home and cook dinner almost every night is because it aligns with my values. I want to have the financial means to be able to work less and actually live my life. I want to be able to make a doctor’s appointment at 9 AM on a Thursday and not ask anyone’s permission to do so. I want to be able to take a nap in the middle of the day if I need to because I am a sleepy bear-person. And I want to avoid the teeth-clenching stress of an hour commute each day.

It took a lot of trial and error to get to the positive financial state that I am in today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still working on my financial goals and I will be for a long time. But, I wish that I had a resource like The Bravely Budgeting Workbook when I first started my financial journey of saving to buy my small home.

Continue reading →

How To Keep Pets Safe While Living in a RV

How to keep pets safe while living in an RVAlthough, we no longer live in an Airstream, I still get lots of questions about how we did it. And I love it. I still love talking about it. Many of the questions can be answered by purchasing my book, available here. But one question I did not answer in the book was “How do I keep my pets safe while living in a RV?”

I’ve responded to this question many times via email, but I decided it might be a good idea to go ahead and post my infinite wisdom 😉 here, so it’s available to everyone. Here goes: Continue reading →

Vote for Me in Domino Magazine’s Blog Design Awards!

Domino Magazine Small Space Design Finalist

VERY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!!!  I’m jumping on the couch like a deranged Tom Cruise because ya girl has been named a finalist in Domino Magazine’s Design Blog awards in the small space category!  This is big y’all.

I have to admit, for the past few days I’ve been feeling like a slave to the everyday grind and I was fuggin’ grumpy about it. (Do the chores ever end?!?)  But getting this piece of recognition really made my month, maybe my year!  I obviously want you all to go vote for me. You can vote every day, once a day for the next two weeks. The link is right here (scroll all the way down): https://www.domino.com/content/design-blog-awards/

But, I also want you to take some time to recognize someone doing a good job this week.  It’s something that is easily forgotten but it means so, so much. Tell that girl she kicked ass in yoga today. Tell your mail carrier that you appreciate them being out there in the rain. ️ Tell your kid they did a good job washing the dishes.  I know our self-worth is supposed to come from within and all that Jazz, but sometimes we need to hear just a tiny bit of acknowledgement. I see you, you’re doing a good job, keep going.

Our Small Bedroom Makeover

Small BedroomMan, this bedroom makeover has been a long time coming. As you may or may not remember, we completely ripped out all of the drywall in our home and took it back to the studs a little less than 2 years ago. Since then, we’ve painted bare drywall (which is a huge pain in the a**), hung new doors, put up lighting and a fan, built new closets, built the bed, built bedside shelving, hung blinds and curtains and created art. Not to mention all the cleaning and organizing! I’m tired just thinking about it.

But today, well today is a monumental day because today, I can say we’re finally finished with out bedroom! It’s only the second room in the house that’s completely finished, so this feels like a win. Continue reading →

How to Choose Lighting for a Small Space

I believe it was the designer, Jonathan Adler that said if he was designing a room on the sun, he’d still put lighting on it. And that has stuck with me. Lighting is incredibly important to the ambiance, feel and style of the home. It’s truly the functional jewelry of your home!

I’m no Jonathan Adler, but I’ve learned a few thing about lighting a small space, ‘cuz it ain’t easy! You’d think it was no problem. A small space only needs a few lights, right? Well, yes and no. I’ve made the mistake of choosing lighting that wasn’t bright enough, was too small and was poorly made. Here’s what I’ve learned about choosing lighting for a small space. Continue reading →

Living Room and Dining Room DIY Updates

Easy DIY Record StorageGeorge’s parents came to stay with us one weekend, so we used that as a catalyst to get some much needed projects done around the house. There’s nothing like your in-laws coming into town to kick your butt into high gear.  Continue reading →