2022 and 2023 were both a bit unusual for me, in that I didn’t have active makeovers or projects going at all times. In April 2022, we decided to list our Omaha home for sale and move to Florida that fall. And since we started building a new home in the interim, we had a period of about 18 months where we didn’t really feel settled. Much of our time was spent planning, packing, etc.
All that to say, I’m really grateful for all of you that stuck around in this transition period when I didn’t have my typical content to share. I’m so excited to have all of that changing now that we moved into our new home this fall! I’m feeling more inspired than ever! Despite the chaos and transiency of the past year, it may be hard to believe, but I wrote 174 blog posts in 2023. Today I’m sharing the top 15 Life On Virginia Street blog posts of 2023! Be sure to also check out my 2023 Top 10 Best Sellers on Life On Virginia Street if you missed that post.
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In true countdown style, we’ll be starting with #15 and then working our way down to #1. I’ve included a link to each of the full articles as they’re mentioned. All sources and additional details will be contained in the original post, in case you missed it or want to dig back into the content. Let’s jump to the countdown!
#15 – Coastal Bathroom Mirror Ideas
Many of my posts over the past year related to designing our new home. With that, I was sourcing a lot of various items, one of which was Coastal Bathroom Mirror Ideas. We now own several of the mirrors featured in the post, so I need to get more bathroom photos to share them all with you this year!
#14 – Our Florida Carriage House Tour
One of my favorite projects of the year, Our Florida Carriage House Tour was the first spot in our new home that we decorated this year. With our first guests arriving two weeks after we moved in, we had to scramble to get it ready, but we loved how it turned out. I have more project ideas for this space later this year. Can you believe that in four months, we had four different sets of friends and family stay here (one set for three weeks?!). We already have family back in less than two weeks and it will pretty much be full the entire first quarter of this year. We love being able to host our friends and family in this spot and are so glad we added it!
#13 – An Easy Room Layout Planner
I continued to receive question after question about how I make room design boards after I shared so many last year. So, I wrote this quick tutorial on An Easy Room Layout Planner I used to plan furniture layout and more.
#12 – A Peek At Our New Florida Home Tour
Perhaps my favorite post of the year (our Coastal Christmas Home Tour was a close second), I loved sharing A Peek At Our New Florida Home Tour! Despite the fact that I didn’t publish it until Halloween Day when the rest of the country had moved on to full-blown fall (and even Christmas!) decor, I kept the tour summery for my favorite season. This is how I envision our home looking most of the year. Just much more finished and all the spaces finally pulled together 😉
#11 – Coastal Wall Art
My post on Coastal Wall Art was actually an older post that I updated with all new art finds. I love a good abstract in coastal shades, and there were so many great finds in this post!
#10 – Colorful Coastal Wallpaper
I’m officially declaring 2024 as the year of wallpaper for our house. I have Kurtis on board (finally!) and I’m excited to add some color and pattern to several of our spaces. This post on Colorful Coastal Wallpaper includes several prints we’re considering for our own home. There are so many good ones!
#9 – Colorful Coastal Amazon Decor
Most of us love a good Amazon find, and this post on Colorful Coastal Amazon Decor was no exception! I included a bunch of design boards in different colorways to create some designer vibes on a much smaller budget!
#8 – Designer Style Light Fixtures From Amazon
When I hit my lighting budget breaking point with the builder last spring, I had to turn to some more affordable options to finish equipping our house with fixtures. I found so many cute options on Amazon that I shared in this post on Designer Style Light Fixtures From Amazon.
#7 – How Many Stools Fit At My Kitchen Island?
When we saw our kitchen peninsula on paper, it was massive. At 165″ long, we knew it needed a lot of counter stools, but we also didn’t want it to feel crowded. So, I did a bunch of research to figure out exactly how many to order, and I shared that formula with you all in this post on How Many Stools Fit At My Kitchen Island?
#6 – Various Kitchen Countertops: Pros & Cons
I wrote this post on Various Kitchen Countertops: Pros & Cons when we were hunting for slabs for our new kitchen. Our builder switched suppliers on us last minute and we had to make a same-day decision and I went against my gut. Turns out the stone we selected has been a bit of a nightmare but we’re hoping to have all of that resolved soon. We went with a quartzite (which is what we also used in our pool house kitchen with no issues) so we’re thinking it’s either a fabrication issue or just this particular quartzite. But that’s a post for another day!
#5 – 2023 Resort Wear Favorites
I’ve written an annual resort wear post for as long as I can remember, and 2023 Resort Wear Favorites was another favorite! We’re headed on a tropical vacay (our first in three years!) in about two months, so I’ve already started sourcing items to share for this year’s post. Once a few more retailers release their collections, I’ll be sure to share more! Thankfully many of my 2023 favorites are still in stock in the meantime!
#4 – 2023 Design Trends
I feel like my 2023 Design Trend predictions were pretty spot on! And I think we’ll see many of these continue into 2024 – if not universally, then for sure in our house 😉
#3 – Walmart Patio Furniture
It’s no secret we’re big fans of Walmart Patio Furniture over here, and this post with several design boards with some of their new products in 2023 was a top favorite! I personally love creating these types of posts, so you can expect to see more from a variety of retailers over the coming year!
#2 – The Best Brown Paint Colors
Over the years, I’ve written a lot about paint colors. In fact, if you scroll to the end of this post on The Best Brown Paint Colors you’ll see all the colors I’ve dug into over the years. I have a few others I plan to dig into this year, but I think it’s pretty clear brown definitely had a moment in 2023, and I continue to see that growing in 2024. Particularly as we start to see the return of darker wood tones and moody spaces. I’ve always preferred brown tones over gray tones, so I was excited to see this warmer tone return!
#1 – Battery-Operated Wall Sconces
My post on Battery-Operated Wall Sconces kind of caught me off-guard when I saw it was #1! I knew that it was popular, but loved seeing it pop up here! Funny enough, I just bought several remote control battery-operated light bulbs to test out, so this won’t be the first time you’ll hear me talk about this subject. I still plan to add battery-operated sconces to our laundry room (and possibly more spaces) early this year so stay tuned for that!
If there’s anything specifically that you’d love to see from me in 2024, I’d love to hear in the comments! I have lots of big plans already, and am excited to embrace all the creativity I’m feeling now that we’re finally moved and much more settled. I hope it’s a great year for all of us!
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Is there a way to access the top picks for battery operated sconces in your # 1 post? It doesn’t show them on clickable grid.
Thanks so much!
Hi! They’re at the end of that post if you go here: https://lifeonvirginiastreet.com/battery-operated-wall-sconces/. If that doesn’t work for you they’re also all linked here: https://liketk.it/4s3sH. I hope that helps!
First, my condolences on the loss of Bailey, I’ll miss seeing and reading about her too. Second, Happy New Year! I live in the Kansas City area so I could relate to your older gardening posts, but I would like to read more about your gardening and outside entertaining. Even if we’re not using the same plants anymore, I use your recommendations on outdoor furniture, planters, fertilizer, etc. Thank you!