It doesn’t matter if you’re using lumber and drywall, or PHP and CSS… when you’re renovating something it involves a lot of decisions, some moments of panic, and a good chunk of time where things don’t go as planned. But, if the fates are aligned you could end up with something that looks completely fabulous when you’re done.
Apparently this holds true for both bathrooms and websites.
I started blogging six and a half years ago, if you can imagine that– it was six months after I bought my first house (as a young, single female) and I had no idea how to DIY anything other than, you know, painting walls. If there’s anything that’s a testament to people being able to do whatever they set their minds to, it’s the fact that a girl who once didn’t know enough not to turn her furnace off in sub-zero temps before going away for a weekend is now a licensed contractor who built this:
Not that it’s finished, but still.
And the point of all of this nostalgia is that DIYdiva has been around since 2007, and the “look” of it has always been determined by my rudimentary programming skills and the few hours I could spare after midnight to to tinker around with it. After four years, I finally decided it was time for some professional help.
Courtney from JudithShakes Designs is the mastermind behind the new look. I can’t say enough about what a great experience it was working with her, and I think the result speaks for itself.
Over the next week or so you might notice some tweaks as we get everything on the site running just right. When I’m not moving into my actual house, that is.
If you’ll excuse me, I have to go do an awkward yet joyful happy-dance now.
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Comments
Hillary
I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but I just found you a few days ago. In that time I’ve probably read about 50 of your posts and I’ve loved every single one of them. You’re a fabulous writer. Pithy sentences, power-packed vocabulary, perfect spelling. It’s like a breath of fresh air! Or maybe it just seems that way because you’re so dang funny I keep laughing my head off.
How exciting that the excellent writing, easy-to-follow tutorials, beautiful design, and amazing construction skills are now all wrapped up in this pretty little package. Congrats on making that next move in the blog world. You totally deserve it!
kitliz
Thanks Hillary. I very rarely find time to proofread my posts so its nice to hear I’m still writing in coherent sentences. Sometimes I wonder…
Cindy @ The Flipping Couple
Love the new look! But it totally freaked me out when I first clicked over. : ) And then I was all “how the heck did she find time to do this???” Looks awesome!
kitliz
I finally had to give up the reigns and let someone else do this one, but I’m so glad I did!
Peter
Like the new site, it’s easier to get around and looks more professional. I liked the edginess of the last one with the large pictures and thought that one was pretty good too. Off-topic from your post, but what color is the green on the outside of the house? That is exactly what I have been looking for, not too dark – not too light, and I’m tired of looking like a salesman carrying swatches up to stranger’s houses. Did you go with white or off-white trim?
kitliz
Hey Peter – The siding color is Benjamin Moore Gloucester Sage. We went with an off white (yellow undertones tones) on the trim and windows. The name of the color is Niveous.
hjc
I am glad to find after reading the last few posts that I missed, that even though your blog is now candy-coated, it still has the same chocolate-y goodness on the inside! Congratulations on your new look, even if it did give me an “Oh no!” jolt when I first arrived this morning. And your bathroom is excellent amazing-ness.
kitliz
Now I’m craving something sweet, thank you!
I’m hoping the cleaned up look makes up for the bad grammar in my after-midnight writing.
Robin @ 3 Acres & 3000 sf
Love the new look! I too thought I was on the wrong page when I first clicked out of the reader. I designed some webpages for non-profit organizations in college (some are still using my design) but even I won’t touch blog design. Some things are just better left to the pros.
Erica
Been reading your blog for a while now! I love it! I look forward to each new post to see what the adventure of the hour/day/week is! The new site looks great!
Decorative Ceiling Tiles
I just found this site so I don’t know how the old one looked but this one is great. Sometimes you can’t do everything yourself.
Tape Supplier
I agree with the idea that maintaining a site is similar with the idea of maintaining a home and it would be important to consider renovations to make sure that problem with maintenance will be avoided.