Hi, I’m jamie

the face behind home on henning road

If you are anything like me, the simplest things can stress you out. The dishes piled up, the endless loads of laundry, the constant running and obligations, the dirt on the floors, the endless question of “What’s for dinner?”.

After reaching my mid-20’s, newly married, a new mom, a new homeowner, everything seemed to be just HARD. I couldn’t keep up. I was working a 9 to 5 I hated. Every weekend was a constant game of catchup. I needed more time – to be with my family, to enjoy my home, to find myself.

Twenty years later, I have the routines down that have helped me stay on top of my home easier and give me more time. The finding myself? That’s just now happening.

Despite whatever I always had going on, there was one thing that grounded me – being home. Updating and decorating my new place, keeping it nice for my family – was my favorite thing to do. After all these years, that hasn’t changed.

Home is at the heart of it all. It’s the only thing you can truly call yours.

i must be good at this remodeling thing. we just made $96,000….

We all know your home can increase in value with the proper care and upgrades. It became my new obsession… little did I know how big it would pay off.

Our first home was where my husband lived with his grandparents. It was built in the 1960’s: A solid brick ranch on 1/2 acre with an almost broken HVAC system, a moldy bathroom, a dated kitchen, and orange everywhere.

  • Here comes the years (and years) of DIY. We started with what was fairly easy – painting, tons of cleaning and tossing decades of stuff. We eventually touched everything with our own hands with the help of family – from lighting to flooring to chopping trees and building decks.
  • We left large projects to the professionals by way of a new kitchen, bath, heat pump, windows, doors, and my favorite – a new wrap-a-round porch complete with rockers and a swing. It was all coming together.

Our home wasn’t the biggest or the fanciest, but it was always the talk of the town. It made me so proud, and we had grown so much there, now as a family of 4. However, as we started to outgrow the 1200-square-foot ranch, we started to wonder if what we had done was enough to buy a larger house on 10 acres on our not so big budget.

Turns out we did better than we thought, and used that equity to buy our new home – on Henning Road.

AND HOME ON HENNING ROAD WAS BORN.

For the past eight years since being in our new home, we have been doing the DIY all over again, and we’re not near done. It’s a process.

People always walk in and say things like “this must have cost so much money” or “you should be an interior decorator”. Neither are true.

What’s real is this:

I believe that anyone, on any budget, can create a home that’s put together and beautiful. My home is not decorated with expensive, designer furnishings – I’m shopping at places like Target and Amazon. We are not building additions or have the perfect landscape – we are working with what we have – and it’s turning out amazing.

Here at Home on Henning Road, you’ll find:

  • Budget-friendly home decor ideas and sources
  • Simple, heartfelt DIY projects with step-by-step instructions
  • Seasonal decorating inspiration, food and entertaining ideas
  • Recipes from our from-scratch kitchen

My hope is that I can help you believe that these decor sources, DIY tips, recipes, and routines can help you feel better about your home – and your life – because home is at the center of it all.