I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! We enjoyed the day and were able to spend the weekend in the Electric City shopping at local shops, going to Proctor’s for the Charlie Brown Christmas Musical, and ended the night staying in this Airbnb! I did the design work for this Airbnb over the last year, and it was an absolute joy to be able to stay in it and relax in a space that I put so much time and heart into designing. Huge thanks to Adnan and Carissa for their hospitality!
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Let me show you the building the first day I went to go see it:
Here’s the design boards I created before the project started:
Could your home or airbnb use design help? I’d love to be a part of the project! Please message me today to set up a consult and get the project started!
Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations.
We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you, again, for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do.
How was your weekend? We recently had a blast in Rockbridge, Ohio! What is there to do in Ohio? That’s a very good questions and the first thing that came out of my mouth when we were invited to stay in our friend Beth’s airbnb for the weekend. We had so much fun as a family in this area so I thought I’d share about the experience with all of you in case you’d be up for a long weekend trip or if you’re passing through Ohio!
First… let’s start with the airbnb! We LOVED this adorable A-frame cottage on a little lake. It was just the right size for our family with the loft (with two separate queen beds so my teens won’t fight about sharing a bed) and a bedroom downstairs for John and me. We, of course, noticed the sage green kitchen cabinets, spiral staircase, and propane fireplace that all added to adorableness, but our favorite part was the location. I woke up and said to the kids, “Do you hear that?” and they said we don’t hear anything. Exactly… so much quiet and tranquility. I don’t know how all of you feel, but I could use more of those moments in my life!
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It also had a hot tub on the back porch (that we were in every day), a row boat, fishing, and the sunrise was over the water. Could. not. love it more! If you’d like to book the cabin we stayed in or see one of their other lake houses, click here. Message them before booking and use promo code “BlackFriday20” to get 20% off your stay between 12/1/2023 and 2/29/2024!
Did you know that the Hocking Hills State Park gets more visitors every year than Yellowstone National Park? Can I prove that? Nope! But it’s what all the locals tell me so I believe it! :) Based on the people we saw on the hike, it’s easy to believe.
We started the weekend with a hike into Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve! The rock formations were huge and you could climb inside a cave. We all loved it!
We went to Crosstown Creamery Diner for breakfast both days, and were really happy with it. It was rustic and cute, the service was great, and the food was delicious. They even had gluten free options for Harmony.
We also went antiquing for the first time in a long time, and found the best buys! I don’t know about you, but I’ve found it hard to find reasonable antiques in upstate NY. Every single family member found goodies they loved.
We went to the Hocking Hills Market and spent almost a full day here! There are 5 different antique malls, a huge barn, vendors outside, and even an adorable diner in the middle where we had lunch.
The kids love music, and didn’t want to leave the Zinn Music Shop just down the road. We also went to the Logan Antique Mall and bought the best deals there. Like a vintage nativity set, and antique silverware set that I can’t wait to use for Thanksgiving!
There are plenty of hikes to fill a whole weekend, but we wanted to mix it up with delicious restaurants, and fun shopping. Here are some restaurants you might enjoy, too:
If you’ve been to the Hocking Hills area, and have a place or experience you’ve enjoyed, please share it in the comments! I hope you this helps you have some fresh new ideas if you’re looking for a long weekend trip from upstate Ny!
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How was your week? We had a wonderful week playing catch up on normal life, and also going away for the long weekend to Jean Stoffer’s Open House! It was such a fun experience! I loved seeing her home in real life, and getting to talk with her, her designers, family, and friends!
Here are a couple highlights from the trip:
Sarah Trop and Jean StofferThe MadisonJohn and Sarah Trop at the Madison
For this week’s makeover, I’m thrilled to share one of my favorite room makeovers in our Historic Trolley House Flip. The bathroom was a major project because it needed almost everything replaced. We replaced the subfloor, window, installed all new plumbing and electric, and then all of the finishes of course.
One big mistake was the style shower I chose and the placement. Because I went with a corner unit in this tight space, the only slider door that would work on this shower cost almost $2,000! It’s a thing of beautiful, but not in the budget we had in mind.
Here’s the bathroom before:
Ready for the after photos?
We repurposed this vanity by repainting it, and adding new hardware!
Here’s what the vanity looked like before:
We painted it with Benjamin Moore Black and added a protective clear coat for durability in the bathroom.
Here’s the product list for what we used in the bathroom: Shower tile Shower kit Floor tile Vanity – repurposed Shiplap – repurposed from an old 1920’s cabin Mirrors and Sconces – purchased wholesale at High Point Market Show Board and Batten ceiling – salvaged from home before demo and repurposed on ceiling Wallpaper Shower Fixture Towel and Toilet Paper Holder Wall color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Isn’t it just the sweetest space? Filled with patterns, history, and contrast!
Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations.
We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you, again, for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I’m giddy, excited to share with you all about the kitchen makeover in our Trolley House Flip. It might just knock your socks off! As you may know by now, we purchased an old trolley stop in 2022, and completely remodeled it before putting it on the market at the end of October.
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Here’s what the kitchen part of the trolley house looked like the day we bought it:
This was the most damaged section of the house! John actually fell through the floor after we closed on it. We ended up ripping this whole section off, adding a foundation and all new framing. My favorite part about this design is that we also peaked the ceiling to match the roof line of the rest of the house. The roof before wasn’t even 6′ tall on the door side.
Check out this ceiling!!! We installed shiplap on the ceiling and a large beam to add visual interest.
Next, we worked on the flooring. I knew I wanted rectangular tile that wouldn’t show dirt easily since it’s the main access area to the house. I really wanted to do a herringbone pattern with the tile which is not a great return on investment since a 1-2 day project turned into over a 4 day project. I was so happy with how it came out though!
I went back and forth about the color of the cabinets. I know white sells quickly, but I really wanted to do something with a custom feel. So we asked our FunCycled fan’s on social media and they voted! It was almost a 50/50 vote so I went with my gut and painted them green.
We repurposed most of the kitchen cabinets by buying them on a local online marketplace, then we bought a few extra to make the whole configuration match.
John reminded me that we had strips of copper from a project that we could use in this space if I wanted. I LOVED that idea because I love how copper and dark green go together! We custom built the hood vent; adding the copper strip at the bottom. We also added all copper hardware. This is a good example of how mixed metals work together well in one space. We have gold, black, and copper, and it looks so high end.
The cabinets are painted a Behr color Black Evergreen MQ6-44. I love how in some lighting it looks black, other lighting it’s almost evergreen, and then in others it’s almost teal. This picture is a good example of the way lighting affects this color.
On the right side of the front are, we create a small eat in nook and laundry room!
We purchased a huge, old door for the Historic Albany Foundation, and it completely makes this space.
We also found a hutch in the house when we bought it. We completely redid it and added it to the laundry room. One of my favorite parts about the trolley house when we came to look at it was the stairs. They were so tiny and adorable:
But would you look at them now!!
We also installed beautiful subway tile with dark gray grout, picked Quartz counters, and a black faucet.
Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations.
We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you, again, for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do.
The historic trolley stop on the Troy and New England Railway that we purchased last year is totally redone and on the market! The trolley ran from Albia in Troy to Averill Park from 1895-1925 to help encourage people to move to Averill Park while still being able to access the modern amenities, shops, and colleges in Troy. When we purchased it, we were told we should just burn it because it was in such disrepair, but we simply wouldn’t. We wanted to bring this piece of Wynantskill’s history back to life!
The house is 957 square feet, but the back porch is 750 square feet! That’s because it needed to be large for people to wait on that porch for trolley. I LOVE the porch on this house! It’s an absolute show stopper. It has one bedroom, a loft/office space, completely remodeled kitchen, laundry room, dining room, living room, and bathroom. We had a brand new septic installed and connected it to town water. All new electrical, plumbing, new roof, and windows. Have a house that feels brand new, but also has historic charm!! It’s a hard combination to find on the market!
In the coming week’s I’ll be going into more details about the flip! For this week’s post I’m sharing the overall before and after photos, and I also wanted to let you know it’s on the market!!! You can view the Zillow listing here. Please let Contact Us to set up a showing if you’re in the market to purchase this home. Bank Pre-approval letter requested to book a showing.
It’s full of rich history, adorable character, on a dead end street, and with the most up to date designs! I loved designing this home! If you would like help with interior design in your home, please reach out!
Ready for some pretty amazing before and after photos?
Please share this post with anyone you think might be looking for something similar!
Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations.
We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you, again, for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do.
We have very exciting news!! Our Trolley House Flip is finished!! We will be having open house tours this Saturday, October 28th. It goes on the market soon, but we wanted to give our FunCycled fans a chance to come take a look at it in person first or purchase it ahead of the general public! If you’re in the market to buy a small home or if you just love historic homes and designs, we’d love for you to join us. Reserve your free ticket here!
If you’re having trouble viewing the photos on this post, click here.
I’ll be sharing more photos and details on our Facebook and Instagram pages this week so follow us there for more details!
This week’s makeover is of a hutch that was left in our trolley house that we knew we wanted to keep with the house so we redid it (it was a mess) and installed it in the laundry room at the trolley house!
The base was in the main part of the photo, but if you look to the left past the electric panel, the top is sitting on it’s side. Haha! What a disaster!
Here it is before:
After a lot of repair work, we painted the whole piece with Benjamin Moore’s BM Roxberry Caramel HC-42. We also distressed it and added new hardware.
Contact us to get a quote to let us redo your furniture for you!
Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations.
We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you, again, for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do.
I hope you all are doing well and that you enjoyed another beautiful, fall weekend. We had a full weekend here! We have been working after hours and all day on Saturday to wrap up the trolley house flip. It’s still not quite done, but we are hoping it will be in the next week or two, and then it will be up on the market!
If you’re having trouble viewing the photos on this post, click here.
We’ll be doing an open house for FunCycled fans on October 28th! Contact us for a link to register for the tickets. The house will be going on the market soon!
If you know of anyone looking for a small house full of history and charm, send them our way! We’ll be offering showings to FunCycled buyers only before it hits the market!
For this week’s makeover, I wanted to share a dresser that we recently did as a custom order. Here’s the dresser before:
We painted the whole piece with Benjamin Moore’s Eclipse. We also added new hardware, and did quite a bit of repair work to the drawers and slides.
This piece isn’t available to purchase, but be sure to visit our SHOP page to check out what other pieces we have available for purchase or custom order.
Or contact us to get a quote to let us redo your furniture for you!
Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations.
We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you, again, for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do.
Saturday was the day I’ve been working all year toward, I finished the 40th new experience with a full heart! The loudest voices in the media are saying, “set boundaries, say no, do less”, but this year of saying “yes”, trying new things, and getting out of my comfort zone has been wonderful!
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Ready to learn all about them? Here they are in no particular order!
1. Go on a spontaneous trip ✔️ John planned a day trip for us ,and completely surprised me! We went to Newport, RI for the cliff walk, and then to Providence Rhode Island. I loved not being the planner for the day, and going with the flow! I’m always the family trip planner so this was a new experience that I could get use to!
2. Take a class to learn a new skill (glass blowing) ✔️ This was ok… I knew pretty quickly into the session, it was nothing I’d really want to do. The owner of Prism was a nice guy though, and it was fun to do a date with John were we were also learning something new.
3. Treat myself to luxury sheets ✔️ My friend Jo Ann took care of this one for me as a birthday present and they are so soft!
4. Go to a cat cafe ✔️ The cafe was creepy and dirty, but the kitties were so cute! It was in a different state so I’d be open to going again somewhere else.
5. Go to the biodome in Montreal ✔️ This was really fun! I enjoyed that I was able to do it as part of a field trip with Harmony, too!
6. Meet with a nutritionist ✔️ I don’t have a photo for this one, but it’s been such a huge help to our whole family!
7. Go to a music festival ✔️ This was fun, but I think it’s because we stayed offsite and went back around dinner time all day. I don’t think I’d want to be there all day for 3 days. I love worship music so Soul Fest was the right kind of music festival for me!
8. Eat a new food ✔️ knish, whale, fermented shark, puffin, horse, caviar, arctic char, buffalo I loved that I stretched myself to try new food. Many of these were in Iceland, and part of a food tour or Michelin star restaurant experience.
9. Try a new drink ✔️ new york egg cream
10. Win a survival show ✔️ Is this one allowed to count? It didn’t air until my 39th year even though I did it when I was 38. So I’m counting it! :) Read all about our experience being on BYU Survivalist Show Here.
11. Get permanent jewelry ✔️ Loved this one!!! I have had it 2 months and can’t even tell it’s on. If I leave the house without putting jewelry on, it still looks cute. I want more!
12. Go to a country I’ve never been to ✔️ This wins my very favorite memory! I loved our trip to Iceland even more than I thought I would! Tara and I had so much fun. Read all about it here.
13. Swim in the blue lagoon ✔️ This was other world! I felt like I was on Mars… well, what I picture Mars feeling like. It was really cold outside (30ish) and the water was 100 degrees. The water was also not clear. When I put my hand in, I couldn’t see my hand. I could have stayed in here all day!
14. Make my own ring 💍 ✔️ This was a blast! I’d do this again and I love that Heather and Aubrey were up for trying it along with me at Sawtooth in Troy.
15. Dye my hair an unnatural color ✔️ Even though my hairdresser did a great job, I didn’t feel like this was worth it. I went with rose gold, it was really expensive, and it only lasted 2 weeks. I don’t plan tot do this again.
16. Drive a Lamborghini ✔️ This was fun, but really short! It only lasted about 5 minutes so I’m not sure I would do it again.
17. Pedal car in the Adirondacks ✔️ I loved this one, and would love to do it again! We went with our friends, the Myles, in the early morning which I would recommend because it would get hot without and shade.
18. Tour the Vanderbilt Manson ✔️ Loved this and love that it’s close to home!
19. Go to church at a different religion ✔️
20. Visit the CIA ✔️ If you’ve never done this, you should! The Culinary Institute of America has some amazing restaurants that you can have high end meals with a budget friendly price point. You can also do it on a day trip and it’s so delicious! I loved having a day trip with my friends, Tara, too!
21. Take a pizza making class ✔️ This was fun because the food was yummy and I was with my bestie MaryGrace.
22. Learn how to do latte art ✔️ This was one of my favorites because I love Jacob Alejandro, and I love making lattes. I’ve been wanting to learn how to create designs from the frothed milk.
23. Sleep in a castle ✔️ This was a pleasant surprise; close to home, inexpensive, and a fun treat! Check out more details here.
24. Sleep in a treehouse ✔️ This was our whole families favorite experience on the list. Check out all the details here.
25. Go to high point market ✔️ High Point Market is an interior designers paradise. Over 11 million square feet of designs and products to check out. It was so inspiring and I can’t wait to go back!
26. Go to an orchid exhibit ✔️ This was an originally unplanned stopped, but when the designer expo in NYC wasn’t quite what it was in other years, we skipped early, and went to an orchid exhibit at the NY Botanical Gardens.
27. Go sailing ✔️ This was so fun! Sailing out of Salem… just north of Boston with my dear friends Kori, Kristine, and Mary Grace.
28. Do a photo shoot for someone ✔️ I’ve always wanted to do a photo shoot for someone. I’m used to photographing furniture and rooms, but people… they are my favorite. I was able to capture my beautiful friend Alisha!
29. Gamble at a casino ✔️ Wouldn’t do this again, but it was fun for a one time attempt! I made a little money and didn’t stay long, but checked it off my list! lol
30. See a geyser erupt in person ✔️ While in Iceland, I watched a guyeser erupt for the first time and it was such a thing of beauty!
32. Eat at a Michelin restaurant ✔️ This was another item that was checked off in Iceland! It was so good and I’d love to try another Michelin restaurant in the state next!
33. Go to the race track ✔️ It’s crazy to me that I grew up in Saratoga, but have never been to the racetrack. So I went to the Saratoga Race Track for the first time with my friends Tanya and Aubrey.
34. See the broadway show Hamilton ✔️ My sister in law, Jessica, and I went to see the broadway musical Hamilton for the first time. Yes, it was amazing!!!
35. Fly an airplane ✔️ While I was in Atlanta, my friends Elise and Jacob (who are both pilots) recommended that I fly an airplane as one of my 40 by 40 experience. I was nervous about this one, but loved every second!
36. Go to Charleston, SC ✔️ I’ve been wanting to go to Charleston since my friend Nicolle told me about how dreamy it was there so on our way to Florida we stayed overnight, and did a historic tour of the city. She was 100% correct, it was absolutely dreamy and I would love to go back for longer.
37. Drive over the Golden Gate Bridge ✔️ I went to visit my sister and soaked up the Golden Gate Bridge. What a thing of beauty!
38. Visit Alcatraz ✔️ I didn’t think I would love this, but I did!! One of the more interesting things that I’ve done on the list, and I loved being with my sister to experience it together!
39. Visit a salt room ✔️ This was a funny one because a group of us met to do the salt room together, and once we got there we were told it was a time of meditation so we couldn’t even chat. We just whispered to catch up on life. lol I still loved getting time with Brielle, Eileen, and Elise.
40. Second earring ✔️ I liked the look of a second earring, but after 3 month they were still hurting my ears so I gave up on it. I should have known. That same thing happened to my mom and to Harmony.
If you have other ideas of local experiences that could be fun for people, please comment! I’d love to keep trying new things!
I hope this inspires you to try new adventures as well! Dream big! Say yes!! We are never, ever promised tomorrow.
How are you? I hope you all had a nice weekend! I started the celebrations for my birthday this past weekend, but my birthday isn’t until the 7th so I have a few more days to fit in all the 40 by 40 experiences. It looks like we’re going to make it!
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For this week’s makeover, I’m sharing another airbnb design that I did for a VERY tight space. We had one small room and needed to fit a kitchen, small living room, and seating area into it. Believe it or not, this is the room I walked into when I was asked to design the space. It was hard to even move around to get the measurements of the walls. It also had one large wall full of windows so that made the design a little challenging, too!
Here’s the design boards I created for the space to get approval before moving ahead on anything:
Could your home or airbnb use design help? I’d love to be a part of the project! Please message me today to set up a consult and get the project started!
Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations.
We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you, again, for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do.
As you probably know already, I’ve been doing 40 new experience before I turn 40! My birthday is October 7th so it’s quickly approaching! One of the things on my list was sleeping in a tree house! I looked at tree houses all over the country and the pricing was really high! Since I’m trying to do quite a few new experiences, I had to be careful with the cost for each adventure. Then I found this tree house stay in Pattersonville, Ny!
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The pictures don’t do this tree house justice. You can tell it was created by an artist! The stonework and twigs woven throughout the staircase were beautiful. Since there was no hot water and only a composting out door toilet so we only stayed one night which was perfect. We have been pushing our energy levels a bit by pressing hard to get the CO of our trolley house, while also having company staying with us for a week, and of course normal work that pays the bills. :) We went into Friday night all feeling like we didn’t even want to go to the tree house, but the whole stay was so refreshing!
We arrived and were surrounded by creation, animals, quiet, creativity, and kindness. It was just what our family needed. We all agreed this was probably our favorite stay of the year! (And we did a lot of fun things this year.)
They also had what felt like an art installation in the woods filled with old cars, broken mirrors, and a trampoline. I couldn’t decide if it was creepy or cool. Harmony loved the trampoline!
When we woke up and started our campfire to take the chill off. We were quickly surrounded by sheep and goats who wanted to be a part of the party. While we sat there soaking it all up, the owner came out and brought us a hot breakfast. Boiled eggs, fresh hot biscuits with local jam, delicious cider in a mason jar, coffee, and fresh fruit and yogurt.
We met one of the owners, Ed, who lives in this little house (off the grid as well).
The shed next to it is for the goats to live in!
If you like the outdoors, trying something new, unique artistry, and farm animals, this is an experience I would recommend… unless you’re not nice. Ed says only nice people are welcome. :) Visit Mariaville Goat Farm for more information.
I hope you this helps you have some fresh new ideas if you’re looking for a weekend trip from upstate Ny! If you have any other spots you love in these areas, please share it in the comments below for others to enjoy!
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Happy FunCycling Friends, Sarah ;)
If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest travel tips, interior design trends, and kitchen and furniture repurposing projects.
Send us a note with if you’re interested in our design services or custom furniture using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.
