How are you? I hope you enjoyed the last peak weekend in Upstate Ny! We had a beautiful weekend opening our home for the first time for tours at our Repurposed Idea House. We had such a blast! Thank you to everyone who came out to see us!
Here are some highlights from the day:
Pam showing off the new home office.The first of 6 – 1 hour tours of the day!Fire pit with marshmallows ready to go!One of my favorite spots in the house!Another tour group of special friends and customers.How our hearts felt after the day!
This week’s makeover shows how paint and new hardware can dramatically change a hutch. Hutches are one of my favorite furniture pieces to redo because the transformation is huge!
Here’s the hutch before:
We painted it with Benjamin Moore Cloud Nine 2144-60 and added new hardware.
This was done as a custom order so it’s not for sale, but I still wanted to share the transformation.
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.
Tips for Visiting the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum
If you’re planning a faith-based family trip or group outing, the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum are two must-see destinations in Northern Kentucky! Whether you’re going with a youth group, school, or just your family, these attractions offer a memorable and meaningful experience. My family and I traveled with a group and our time was so rich!
To make the most of your visit, consider purchasing a multi-day pass that covers both locations and includes parking. (NOTE: it is always important to double check this option and availability when you book your own trip!) The Ark Encounter and Creation Museum are about 45 minutes apart by car, so doing them on separate days allows for a more relaxed and enjoyable pace, especially if you are traveling with children – they will be able to get more out of the trip than if it’s all in one day.
Why Travel with a Group Makes a Difference
Visiting with a group—whether it’s friends, a church group, or extended family—can add so much to the experience. With over 25 people in our group, we naturally moved slower through the exhibits, which gave us more time to talk, reflect, and enjoy the journey together. If you’re going as a smaller family or couple, your pace could be quicker and you will likely cover more in shorter period of time. That in mind, I encourage you to plan for some additional nearby activities, sight-seeing, or exploration to be included in your visit.
What to Expect at the Ark Encounter
The Ark Encounter is a life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark, as described in the Bible. This amazing structure is truly awe-inspiring, both in size and detail. The interior features exhibits that explore the biblical account and provide biblical history, animal care, and life aboard the ark. It’s easy to spend several hours walking through each level, reading displays, and watching short educational videos throughout the ship.
Here are the highlights we discovered as we ‘encountered’ the ark…
Seeing the actually size of the ark in person is really impressive and awe inspiring. The petting zoo is really clean and cute. The kids loved petting the kangaroos.
If you have some people who really like to read details and plaques at museum, I’d have them start on the 3rd floor as you walk through the petting zoo. It can take a long time to read everything on the 3rd floor so I wish I had known that ahead. Small kids or friends that don’t love doing a lot of reading may feel bored after a bit on the 3rd floor of the ark. (I loved seeing the rooms for Noah and his family on the 3rd floor though.)
Seeing the 1st and 2nd floor with how they set it up to house all the animals and food was so interesting. Reading about how they got to the numbers that they did, etc, was interesting, too. We all loved the gift shops. The mom’s loved the jewelry, kids loved the toys and clothing, and dad’s loved the Christmas ornaments. lol
They also have the slowest carousel I’ve ever been on, but it’s free so go ahead and give it a go anyway! lol
Our kids loved the VR “ride” next to the carousel, too. Their iced coffee was so good and we ate lunch in the large restaurant just outside of the ark, but didn’t love it. It was buffet style and just ok in our opinion.
Harmony riding the camel. Giraffes waiting for a photo in the parking lot by where you’d purchase tickets.The whole group of friends who made this trip a delightfully soul filling experience.
After we finished at the Ark, we stopped by this Mexican restaurant (3 minutes from the ark) and they were able to fit us in with no wait. It was so delicious.
Where to Stay Between the Two Attractions
During our visit, my family stayed at the Home2 Suites by Hilton in Florence, KY (7570 Woodspoint Dr). We found this location ideal, situated about halfway between the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. Plus, it is conveniently located near casual dining spots and fast food options to oblige a variety of eating wishes and needs. The hotel was clean, family-friendly, and offered a complimentary breakfast each morning. If you are traveling with pets, the hotel is fully accommodating.
Highlights from the Creation Museum
Day 2 was our visit to the Creation Museum. We were hopeful to explore the botanical gardens on the property; however, the rain kept our exploration mostly indoors. Fortunately, the museum itself is packed with engaging exhibits, from life-size biblical displays to planetarium shows, and more. Our time was still wonderful and full, and thankfully, I was able to snag a quick picture before the rain took over!
Gardens at the Creation Museum
I enjoyed the live teaching and reptile show the most because so much of the museum was reading plaques. John enjoyed reading through everything though. They did have a cool area inside with a creation display that I liked.
A couple of things to note:
This museum is geared more toward teens and adults than it is toward younger children, so be sure to plan your travels with that in mind.
Final Thoughts on Visiting the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum
Whether you’re traveling as a family or with a larger group, making this visit is well worth it, and I highly recommend going on this trip at least once! We found it beautifully inspiring and accordingly educational. I am so glad my family and I had the opportunity to go!
Design Inspiration: A Kid’s Room with a Biblical Adventure Theme
I love to be inspired by the places I visit. My creativity goes into overdrive! From this visit, I am dreaming up designs for a child’s room that echo the wonder of the Ark Encounter. Think gentle animal prints, wood textures, sets of two, and soft blues and neutrals to evoke the feel of the ark. A hand-painted mural or wallpaper could make a bold statement and faith-filled touches could delicately adorn the room!
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 at the top of this page.
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 have exciting news! We want to personally invite y’all to join us for Fall Tours of our Repurposed Idea House. We will talk you through the history of our home, give you a tour of the projects we have completed so far, our new home office, and we’ll have a pop up shop of some furniture and home decor available to purchase if you’re interested in that as well!
If you want to see some of the projects online before your visit, head to our website to check them out here.
It’s a completely free event, but tickets are required. Please go here to select the time slot you’d like and reserve your tickets. We are about half way sold out so please reserve yours sooner than later.
We look forward to seeing you all soon!! It’s going to be a fun day!!
How was your weekend! Autumn in NY is my favorite and the leaves are just starting to change. I went on a ladies retreat in the Adirondacks last weekend, and to say it was beautiful is an under statement. The evening sky turned orange, yellow, pink and even purple over the lake and the time spent conversing with friends filled my heart to the brim.
For this week’s makeover, I’m giddy excited to share this kitchen makeover. I designed it for Jen and Mike’s new house. The house was already nice, but they wanted it to become a house that would make them want it to be their forever home. Last week, I shared their dining room makeover and that was such a beautiful transformation, but the kitchen is my absolute favorite part of their home redesigns.
They had a medium sized kitchen and a dining room side by side.
Kitchen BeforeKitchen Before Dining Room Before (back are of photo)
The old fridge wall was removed to make the room bigger. The whole renovation was done by their contractor, Jon VanSlyck, who did an amazing job. He truly took every idea I had and brought it to life!
Here are the after photos:
Kitchen AfterThe island and table lighting are stunning.Added all new beams on the ceiling to add character and bring the two spaces together.Shiplap gray island.Quartz counter and huge gray island.My favorite part. The kitchen nook for extra eating space.
I tried to describe each section under each photo, but all the cabinets, flooring, counters, lighting, and tile are new. It’s the largest island that could go in and keep the countertop all as one slab. So beautiful! Then the corner table provides extra room for guests or a table for homeschooling the kids.
The beams and the corner table area are my favorite part, but adding the tiling all the way to the ceiling is also a really close second favorite.
Isn’t it so beautiful?!?
Would you like help redesigning your home? Let me help you with the design! Check out more details about our Interior Design Services.
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 had a great weekend! We enjoyed a weekend with some church and fall festivities and, of course, enjoyed our new puppy, June!
For this week’s makeover, I wanted to share a dining room design that I did for a whole house remodel recently. Our clients, Jen and Mike, were so wonderful to work with. They bought a house, but didn’t love how outdated it was. Jen loves a farmhouse feel and wanted the house to feel brand new.
The section that used to be a dining room was going to be converted into a larger kitchen so we wanted to convert the sitting room into a dining room.
This is the first room you see as you walk into the house so we wanted to keep it clean, simple, and beautiful.
Here’s the room before:
Sitting Room Before[Sitting Room Before
I started by creating a design board for the space so Jen could see how everything worked together in the room:
Farmhouse Dining Room Design Board
If you hire me for a design consult, these boards come with a link to click on and oder each project.
Then I worked with her contractor to go over the finishes. In this room, we also custom built their farmhouse table and repurposed their china cabinet.
Porch.com just recently asked us for some tips on redoing furniture. You can check that post out here.
Ready for the after photos?
Isn’t it so beautiful?!?
Would you like help redesigning your home? Let me help you with the design! Check out more details about our Interior Design Services.
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 nice weekend! I feel like the rhythms of normal life are back into full swing over here and I’m really enjoying it. I always crave travel and adventures, but I also love rhythms in life. So being back to school, back to the normal work flow, and a calmer pace has felt really nice.
If you missed it our social media pages, we just added a new puppy to our family. Everyone meet June! The cutest, 8 week old cream lab.
I can’t take all the cuteness!!!
For this week’s room makeover, I wanted to share a design that I recently finished turning a master bathroom into a dining room. It was a really weird layout, the house had no front door, no dining room, and the large master bathroom was right next to the kitchen.
Here was the bathroom before:
And here’s what it became:
It was in the corner where the dining room is now.
Isn’t it so beautiful?!?
If you’d like to see how we redesigned the kitchen in this photo, you can check that blog post out here.
Would you like help redesigning your home? Let me help you with the design! Check out more details about our Interior Design Services.
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 nice weekend! For many of us here in upstate Ny, last week was the start of the new school year. Our kids have been bounced around quite a bit from private school, to homeschooling during the pandemic, and then into public school in the middle of last year (when I decided I just can’t work full time and homeschool despite how much I love having them home). I’m hopeful for a calmer, more “normal” school year this year. That they’ll be able to go into a new setting, mask free, and see the faces of their peers, greet them with a smile, and create relationships with people from different walks of life. Our prayer is that they share with other the love and kindness that God has put inside them and make a difference.
This week’s makeover is a simple one, I was doing a design consult for Diane to redo her bird and teal kitchen when she asked for help with her dining room as well.
Here’s the dining room before:
I went to work creating a design board for her and she ordered all the items on it to give the space a makeover. Here’s the design boards (if you hire me to do a design board, each item you can click on and order for yourself, but this is just a photo so not clickable):
Here are the after photos:
The only thing she’s still waiting on is the curtains to come in.
Diane was such a joy to work with! So kind and trusting! I hope you like this transformation as much as I do!
Would you like help redesigning your home? Let me help you with the design! Check out more details about our Interior Design Services.
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.
Are you planning a trip to Grand Rapids? Maybe you love Magnolia Network’s show The Established Home or follow Jean Stoffer’s Designs online. If that is the case, I do too! We went on a trip to find some of the local favorite to share with all of you!
We kicked off the day of fun by visiting The Bradbury Cafe that Jean designed and her son started. The coffee was delicious (we had lavender lattes and a matcha) and the manager was so kind!
The Trop’s at the Danbury CafeDelicious latte’s from The Bradbury!
Once we finished our coffee, we perused through Stoffer Home which is Jean’s home decor store. It’s attached to the cafe. One of the things I love about this store is that there is is something for anyone. You can find a $6 tea egg or a $2,000 high end light fixture. As we were shopping, guess who walked in to film with her daughter Grace?? Jean Stoffer did!! I was like a giddy school girl. The kids were grabbing me and going mom, mom, mom… they are here. I said, everyone stay calmmmmmm. lol Trying to play it cool as best as I knew how, I looked at her and waved and smiled as if to hopefully say, “Can I please say hi?”. She smiled back, waved, and told the producer to give her a minute. Then walked over to me… I had played through everything I wanted to say to her “just in case” I was able to meet her one day.
I thanked her for her genuine faith on display, for the inspiring designs she creates, and for loving her family well; it’s just so clear when you watch the show. Those three things are so important to me, and I wanted to her know how much it means to watch it be displayed in such a public way. She was so kind and genuine. Exactly how I imagined her being. Then I asked Grace about what lessons she could share with me from working with her mom. Harmony has been showing interest in interior design and working with me so I thought I could learn from a mother daughter pair who have done just that. Grace was so sweet to Harmony which warmed my heart, too. Then we talked about what Enneagram numbers they were because of course we did… lol. It was just such a fun, sweet memory I know we’ll cherish for years to come.
Then we snapped a picture together… my heart is full!
Harmony and Sarah Trop | Jean Stoffer and Grace Start
Harmony said this might have been the best day of her life… she got to meet Grace and she found out that Grace likes matcha just like her. Grace says they are matcha latte soul sisters! 💕
Then we drove around to check out some of the homes on different episodes of The Established Home.
430 Madison Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, MI (go on both adjoining roads if you want to see the front and the back of the house)
The Maddison – the Established HomeThe Maddison – the Established Home
Just a couple obvious things… please don’t pull onto any of these properties, try to approach the houses, or stop traffic because you’re gawking. Give people their privacy please. This is meant for a fun drive around town to check out some pretty houses!
If you’re in Grand Rapids because you like the Established Home show, that probably means you enjoy interior design, too, so I also wanted to share a couple restaurants and shops we enjoyed that had absolutely beautiful designs.
One last stop before we headed off… lunch at Social Misfits and I couldn’t love it more. The design, the coffee, and the waffles were simply outstanding!
If you end up visiting Grand Rapids and find other spots you like, drop the in the comments for other readers to see and enjoy!
Oh, and Jean or Grace, if you end up reading this. Thank you for taking time to say hi! 💕
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Happy FunCycling Friends, Sarah ;)
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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.
If you missed our prior post or are new to the FunCycled blog, we started specialty finishes on furniture inspired by old doors. This door was another door from our Paris trip and will be part of our specialty finishes posts.
Here’s the door we loved:
Door from Paris, France
I was keeping an eye out for a piece with the right color and feel to recreate this door finish and came across this beautiful on Facebook marketplace.
Dresser before
I loved the look of the maple veneer and wanted to keep as much of that showing as possible, but so much of it was damaged. So we repaired the damaged sections and painted over them and then kept the wood in good condition as is. This piece even had the original key that locks all of the drawers.
Color: Benjamin Moore Smoke Embers with a dark glazing.
Ready for the after photos?
Added hardener to the legs to give it a look like it’s concrete.
Sooooo the only problem is…. I loved it too much to sell it. This beauty is staying in our home! I hope you enjoyed the transformation! We can redo your furniture piece in the same specialty finish if you’d like us to! Contact Us today!
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 are you? I hope your week is going well! Diane reached out to me to her design her kitchen. She was very easy going and kind to work with. She wanted the kitchen design to incorporate as much teal as possible, and she wanted me to somehow add birds or nature into the design. I like a good challenge and went to work to create a kitchen that would be timeless, but also that would have the color and finishes that Diane would enjoy from day to day!
Searching to find bird tile is an interesting adventure…. many of them I didn’t like or should I say most of them I didn’t like, but I finally came across one that I loved. I worked from there to find a complimenting teal subway tile.
We wanted to go neutral but not white on the cabinets, and, I think, Classic Gray did the trick on her cabinets. Warm, neutral, but also timeless.
Here are the design boards for the products. As part of the design consult, you can just click on the links to order everything, but you’ll have to hire me for that option. :)
We did a really unique design on the back and side of the peninsula by adding custom made arches. I wanted to tie in the fact that the doors have a bit of an arch and also give a unique design feature as you walk into the room. I think this does both and I hope we’ll be able to do this in more kitchens across the Capital District!
Custom Arched Detailing Installed on Peninsula
Here are the before pictures:
We painted the kitchen main cabinets BM Classic Gray OC-23 and peninsula BM Gentleman’s Gray. We also added new hardware, crown molding (this made a huge difference in my opinion), built the custom arches for the peninsula, and sprayed everything with a protective clear coat. We also did the tile install and interior design for this project.
What an beautiful transformation!!
If you’d like to see how we paint Kitchen Cabinets, click here to check out our video on YouTube.
Ready for the after photos?
Bird Accent Tile
Could your kitchen use an update? We’d love to help!! We can help pick out colors, finishes, product and do the cabinet painting, tiling, add new hardware. You can use our Contact Us form to request our design services or a quote for painting your kitchen. Please check out other kitchen projects on our For Sale page. We’ll need to see a picture of your kitchen, a list of how many doors and drawers there are, and where you are located to email you an estimate. This change ups the value of your home and gives you a whole new look at a fraction of the cost of new kitchen cabinets!
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.
