If things look different around here, it’s not just your imagination—we’ve been quite busy behind the scenes! Starting with a completely revamped blog, which I designed many months ago and have been slowly working on bringing to life.
After using the same website for nearly six years, this change was well overdue. A lot of my traffic now comes from Instagram users looking for sources and content, and there wasn’t always a clear page to direct them to. The goal was to create an easy-to-navigate layout so you can quickly find what you’re looking for. There’s now a dedicated Houses + Sources page where you can find all the information for each home:
Including a Before/After tour for each home:
And instead of digging through a blog post to find links to the sources, they’re clearly and neatly organized by room:
This new format also makes it very easy for me to update the photos and sources in real-time, which will happen frequently with so many projects going on at once around here.
My DIY Project library is fully up to date, with projects in reverse chronological order (these are still uploading to the site!)
We’ve just launched and are still working out some kinks, but I’d love your feedback if you have a moment. Special thanks to WPBarista for working so hard to bring the site to life over the last couple months!
Speaking of changes… we bought another house!
Here’s the deal—we’ve been checking the local market almost daily since moving to the area two years ago (as real estate investors, our plan has always been to accumulate properties over time). Even though our Riverside Retreat vacation rental is still undergoing renovations, that hasn’t stopped us from looking for the next home.
We love the idea of owning vacation rentals and decided to focus our search on a neighborhood closer to the beach. Having a baby slowed us down last year, but in January we realized it was time to get more aggressive, and ended up putting in offers on three different houses. We were outbid each time, but last week a new one popped up (7 minutes from the beach) that had everything we wanted. Within a few hours of the listing hitting the MLS we were touring the home, and that evening we had an accepted offer. Our closing date is March 27th.
What can you expect to see from this new project? Well, to be honest, probably not a lot right now. Every spare second we have is dedicated to finishing the Riverside Retreat, and when that house is done, we have several projects lined up to tackle at the Heights House. We purchased this new house because it was turn-key, and we wouldn’t need to spend months and tens of thousands renovating it before getting it rented. The style is not to my taste personally, but major transformations are not in the budget or timeline.
However, we will be making a few key changes like painting the kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, new backsplashes and counters, lighting, updating one of the bathrooms, and adding a large pergola to the backyard. We also have a living room, dining room, sunroom and four bedrooms to completely furnish (as inexpensively as possible!) Depending on how things go, I’ll share a few projects and updates from time to time. At the very least, there will be a Before and After house tour with all the sources (and details on how to book a stay! ?)
Eventually, I would love to take on some bigger renovations/DIY projects and share them on the blog, but that will depend on a lot of factors including time available between renters, since the house will be available to rent all year long.
We’re really excited about the possibilities with this one—and slightly overwhelmed with everything on our to-do list, to be honest! As with all of our new adventures, we’ll find a way to make it work somehow.
And that’s the big news for this week! I know some of you haven’t been following me for very long, so if you have questions about anything I’ve shared please don’t hesitate to ask! I always love talking about investing and what goes on behind the scenes, beyond the renovating/decorating stuff ?
Coming up next week: our Tropical Oasis master bedroom reveal!
Kathleen says
Congrats. I’m curious if you are more likely to get a renter in if furnished and that’s why you are furnishing it? I have no clue and just wondered , there must be some sort of info I’m not aware of that tells you . Thanks. Excited to see the progress
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Kathleen! This will actually be a short term vacation rental, so completely furnishings are necessary 🙂
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Kathleen! This will actually be a short term vacation rental, so completele furnishings are necessary 🙂
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Kathleen! This will actually be a short term vacation rental, so complete furnishings are necessary 🙂
Jill says
Exciting! Congrats to you both! I’ve been following your journey for a long time and always find your posts and IG photos very inspiring. We’re closing on a house on the same day! As a northern girl, I’m trying to figure out how to deal with all the beige tile and textured walls that seem to be everywhere in FL. I didn’t have to deal with these challenges up north. I’d love to hear about any solutions you have for modernizing a space (paint colors, rugs, etc) when ripping out the tile and skim coating the walls isn’t an option.
Teddee Grace says
I seem to have fallen off your mailing list since your upgrade.
Jenna Sue says
Sorry about that Teddee! We are no longer using Google RSS feed service since it is shutting down, so if you click on the little RSS icon in the sidebar, you can sign up again!
Moriah says
Love the new site! You are amazing! Congrats on the new home. Very excited for y’all.
Jenna Sue says
Thank you so much Moriah!
Theda says
Congratulations! You and Lucas are an amazing and talented couple!! XO Theda
Jenna Sue says
You’re so sweet, thanks Theda!
Karen Sunday says
I love all your designs and your husband has a God given talent for rehab!!! and that baby oooooh! what a doll!
Jenna Sue says
Aw thanks Karen!
Diane Taylor says
Hi Jenna Sure – this is fantastic news!!!! The blog looks so good – your hard work paid off!
The new house looks amazing, can’t wait to see you take your time and put your stamp on it. I can almost picture it :):)
Congrats to you and Lucas!!!
xxoo
Diane
Jenna Sue says
Thank you so much Diane, I’m glad you like the new site (and new house!)
Vicki Long says
Unfortunately, I am no longer receiving your posts in my email. Not in spam folder either. Wonder if this is a result of the redesigned website? Sign up again?
Jenna Sue says
Hi Vicki! I stopped using the old Google RSS service since they are shutting it down, but if you click on the new RSS icon it should allow you to sign up again. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Jackie says
Hi,
Question on your nursery crown molding. Are you happy with it now that it is up? We loved your beautiful space and think the Brightton Crown would work in our bedroom.
What do you think?
P.S. the new blog is lovely.
Jackie
Elise says
Congratulations on your new beach house! It’s very nice now but I’m excited to see what changes you and Lucas make. I’m sure it will be gorgeous!
The site looks great and is so well organized. Do you have any advice for someone who is on the verge of setting up a website? I don’t need a lot of bells and whistles right now but ideally I would like to get site design and hosting that is flexible for future growth.
Jenna Sue says
Thanks so much Elise! I’d highly recommend WordPress if you’re looking to start a blog. You can choose from their pre-made templates and get something very nice and professional looking (for free, I believe). Good luck!
Shelly says
Yay Jenna! Love all your doing can’t wait to see! ?
Christina Morey says
I’ve been a follower for years! And although I loved and devoured all the content you put out, navigating the blog always felt like a challenge, one that I was happy to take, and involved me using keywords to get to what I was looking for! Hahaha so happy for the change and extremely grateful for the new user friendly format!
Congratulations and can’t wait to see where this new project takes you (and I can copy).
Jane Flynn says
So exciting! The new blog is easy to follow and I am excited to see you add your personal touches to the new house.