Meet Centsational Girl
Hello and welcome to Centsational Girl! Meet Kate, a bargain hunter, design lover, and incurable DIYer. She’s a mother to three, living in Northern California’s Wine Country.
Kate loves exploration, gracious simple living, classic black and white movies, vineyards and red wine, colored glass objects, pink peonies and white hydrangeas, herringbone floors and hexagon tile. Stacks of books in quiet reading nooks, cotton pajamas, linen wrinkled or pressed, antique gold, the color blue, and anything that involves paint.
She’s a simple gal with a simple dream: transforming the drab into the fab with an arsenal of paintbrushes, primer, and power tools. In pursuit of diamond style on a dime, Kate shops thrift stores, flea markets, antique stores, and Craigslist with an eye for transforming and repurposing found objects. Her motto is ‘fabulous, for less’ and she’ll show you how to fix up your home with style and on a budget, one do-it-yourself project at a time.
Why should you subscribe to Centsational Girl? Kate always shares her tips, tricks, and tutorials whenever she transforms a space or creates something new, be sure to check out her Project Gallery and peruse the Style Files for even more advice on bringing affordable style to your home.
Kate’s a former lawyer turned home blogger who’s been passionate about design, décor, and do-it-yourself projects for over a decade. Together with her husband they’ve tackled several remodels, including acting as general contractors for their own home addition and remodel in 2006. This site is where Kate shares all of her adventures in DIY projects, interior decorating, and home improvement.
Kate’s work has been featured in DIY Magazine and on the Nate Berkus Show, and recently her home appeared in Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas Magazine as well as Holiday with Matthew Mead. You can also find her featured online and in print in Style At Home. Visit Kate’s Featured Page for even more online press, including popular sites like HGTV, Apartment Therapy and Design*Sponge.
Kate has worked closely with many home improvement brands including Lowes, Home Depot, True Value, Rust-Oleum, and Campbell Hausfeld, also home decor brands and retailers such as Waverly, HomeGoods, Cabbages & Roses, Pine Cone Hill, Annette Tatum, Donna Karan Home, Z Gallerie, Joss & Main, and American Express Rewards. Kate’s blog continues to be one of the top rated Home and Garden blogs on the web with over 1.8 million pageviews a month.
If you’re new here, you can subscribe for free to Centsational Girl by RSS feed or via email subscription (see the ‘subscribe’ tab on the Home Page).
Here is a list of a few popular articles by Centsational Girl:
Which Style Home Would You Choose?
Timeless or Trendy? Open Shelving in Kitchens
Velvet is a Diva & Double Welt Cord
Want to explore more? Check out the Project Gallery and the Style Files.
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Some FAQs answered by Kate:
Q: Will we ever learn the names of your family members ?
Unlikely. I love to share their faces but not their names. Call me a privacy *freak* ~ it just helps me sleep at night..
Q: Do you still practice law ?
Nope. I gave up my small practice in 2010 to become a full time blogger. Unlikely I’ll ever go back! I love interacting with all of you, comparing paint swatches, creating new things, and dreaming of perfecting even more spaces..
Q: Do you have a nanny ? Do you ever sleep?
No nanny, I’m raising my kids, it’s my #1 job. And yes, at least 7 hours every night. Midnight to 7 a.m. !
Q: Is there a tour of your home I can browse?
Nothing official yet (coming in 2012) but most rooms appear on the My Spaces page.
Q: Were you really on The Nate Berkus Show? What’s he like?
Yep, twice! You can view the show segments here. Read my New York experience and opinion about Nate here.
Q: Did you have to apply or interview to become a member of the True Value DIY Blog Squad ?
Nope. They found me. I’m still pinching myself..
Q: What kind of camera and photo editing software do you use?
For years I used a Nikon D60 and loved it, sadly after four years, it died on me. Must of been my carelessness in taking shots with paint on my hands? Perhaps! Just recently, I invested in a Nikon D90. Sometimes I use my Tamron 10-24 mm 3.5 lens to shoot wide angles, but most often I use the 18-55 mm 3.5 lens that came with the camera. Picasa is my go to photo editing software because it’s free and easy, I’m no expert, but I did write a post on ten basics for better interior photography. .
Q: Will you ever do videos on your site ?
I’d love to feature videos, but it always takes several hours to edit them, and that’s time I could spend with my family or working on something new. Every now and then, I create one, but not regularly. If you’d like to ‘meet’ me, watch my segments with Nate. .
Q: What is that paint color in your Office? Kitchen? Master bath?
All the colors I’ve used in my home are listed here..
Q: How can I become a sponsor or participate in a giveaway on your site ?
Thanks for considering this site! If you’d like to become a sponsor, check my rates here. My blog policies page explains all about giveaways..
Q: If I haven’t visited in awhile, how do I read older posts from the past week or two?
Click on the home page and look down to the very bottom of the site, you’ll find all articles paginated in chronological order!
Thanks so much to all of you who read this blog, you inspire me to keep writing !
…now back to the blog!
…now back to the blog! .
…now back to the b.
