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Like most of you I’m sure, we had been lusting over this TV for well over a year. But with a perfectly functioning TV hanging on our wall we just couldn’t justify the investment…and it is an investment. That all changed when we decided to renovate our Living Room as part of the One Room Challenge. When we locked in the design of the new space we decided to pull the trigger on The Samsung The Frame. Two major features sold us – the art mode and the no gap mount. We created this post to show you exactly how you can accomplish a true no gap mount with the Samsung The Frame TV, because we have seen it done incorrectly. We plan a future post on how to create your own custom “no gap frame” for your existing TV, but until then here we go.

Measure Your Space 

You want to make sure you have the appropriate room to center and hang your No Gap Mount. MORE IMPORTANTLY you want to make sure you have a stud at either side of your center point. Use a stud finder to locate each of those studs. Those 2 studs will each receive 2 lag bolts to attach the mount – more on that later. 

Mark Your Height 

Once you confirm you have the appropriate space to install, you want to mark the height of your TV. Height will vary on many components, such as what type of room you are placing it in, and what type of seating area you have. If you have a low profile couch you’re more than likely going to want the TV mounted lower than you would with a traditional height sofa. We recommend 2 – 3 people for this step.

During this step you also want to mark where the top of that no gap mount will rest on the wall. Temporarily place the no gap mount on the back of the TV while it is safely on the ground, or a covered flat surface, then measure from the top of the TV to the top of the no gap mount. Then mark that line on the wall. You want to take a level and mark a long horizontal line for the top of that no gap mount. This will help ensure a flush and level installation. 

Next you want to take a level and mark vertical lines for each of your studs, then hold up your mount and mark where each of the 4 lag bolts will be installed on the studs. Take a drill bit smaller than the included lag bots, I recommend a 5/32 bit, and drill pilot holes for each of your lag bolts. Two things will happen here – first, you’ll know whether or not your stud finder was accurate and you actually hit a stud. If this is the case you are golden, otherwise you need to locate two real studs prior to moving forward. Second, you know exactly where your lag bolts go when it comes time to place the no goal mount. Win win. 

Locate Optical Feed Placements

From my experience this is the most essential piece to determine – where your optical cable will be placed. Whether you’re roughing this into a new wall like we did, or you’re adding an old work box to an existing wall, you need to make sure the box is installed flush with the drywall and has no plate cover on it behind the TV. Any additional spacing will take away from achieving the no gap look, which is against the point of hanging The Frame, right?

To find the appropriate box placement, measure from the line you marked that represents the top of the TV and measure down to where the optical cable feeds out of the TV, about 2 inches or so up from the bottom of the TV. That measurement will give you the center mark for your box to be installed. 

The 2nd box, which is where the optical cable will come out and plug into your One Connect Box (the command center so to speak), can now be placed. We had the luxury of creating a completely new space, so ours happens to be placed in a built-in cabinet to the left of the mantle.

BEFORE YOU SECURE EITHER BOX IN PLACE you will need to trim out the back of the box in order to fit the ends of the optical cable. Using a utility knife will work, but an oscillating tool with a carbide tip blade would be even better. 

Feed Your Optical Cable

Before you attempt to hang the no gap mount you want to make sure you feed the optical cable through the wall. This has to be done extremely cautiously, as the optical cable is sensitive and when bent, it can shatter. Once it is shattered it will not work, and they are not cheap to replace. It is a general rule of thumb to be gentle with any electrical components and wiring, so this should come as no surprise. 

We installed ours through the wall prior to drywall, but that is a rare scenario. I recommend using a fish tape to feed the cable in one box and down and out of the next. Simply attach the optical cable to the fish using electrical tape and begin feeding the wire through. Another job I recommend having 2 people for – one to fish and the other to feed. 

Install The No Gap Mount To Your Wall

With the optical cable is run it is finally time to install the no gap mount to the wall. Remember earlier when I had you mark the top of your TV and top of where the no gap mount would fall? Bet you’re glad it is there now because it is time to install the no gap mount! Using your lag bolts and a drill, begin installing the no gap mount. Get all 4 lag bolts loosely in (say 80% or so) and then throw your level on the top as you slowly fasten each one.

Hang Your TV

It is getting real now…it is time to hang The Frame TV! Again with some help, lift up your TV and insert the bracket on the back of the TV to the no gap mount on the wall. Then plug in the optical cable into the TV and slowly tilt the TV back into a flush position against the wall. Place your level on the bottom and shift if necessary to level it out – the no gap mount has some flexibility to level it out, so rest assured you’re good.

Plug the other end of the optical cable to your One Connect box and turn that baby on! 

Attach Your Frame Kit

If you purchased a frame kit it is time to install it. Super easy to do as it is magnetic! Start with each side, then the top and finally bottom. It should all align seamlessly. 

That was a lot to get out, but I feel confident that you have all of the knowledge and preparation required for a seamless installation of you Samsung The Frame TV. Any questions, please leave a comment and we will be there to help you. 

-much love

We are geeked to announce we are going to start answering questions from all of you! This week’s question came in from several different readers. How do I make my rental feel like home? Do you have tips for renters with design? How do I update my apartment when I don’t own it? What are in-expensive ways to decorate an apartment I rent? 

How to make a rental feel like home

The first 10 years of our relationship we lived in rental condos and apartments throughout different neighborhoods in Chicago. We moved 8 times and had the chance to transform each space to feel like home. Today we are sharing 10 ways to make a rental feel like home. 

Paint

This is the easiest and relatively inexpensive way to make a major impact on any space. Every rental we lived in allowed us to paint. Some rentals required us to paint it back to the original color prior to moving out, however, most didn’t and almost all loved our paint selections. Not sure how to go about painting, don’t sweat it. We’ve got our full breakdown on how to pick paint and the steps to painting for you!

Wall Art

One of the very first things we did with every move was put art up right away. There is something about having wall art on display to make your home feel cozy. If you’re looking for some art options, check out a few of our favorites: Juniper Print Shop, Anthropologie, Minted, Etsy. 

Lighting

Having the right lighting is key to making a space feel like home. Light fixtures are pretty easy to swap out. The only downfall in a rental is you’ve got to store the original one to put it back up prior to moving out. If switching light fixtures just isn’t in the cards for you, swap out light bulbs to make sure you’ve got the right kelvins (light temperature) for your space. If you’re not sure what kelvins are, here’s a quick guide. Use 3000k for any light in the ceiling and 2700k for table lamps. 

Dimmer Switches

Having dimmable lights is a complete game changer. If your unit doesn’t have some we highly recommend either switching them out yourself or asking your landlord if they would. It’s the perfect way to set the vibe in a space.

Textiles

Pillows and throws are the perfect addition to make home feel like you for a ridiculously reasonable cost. Hello, target pillow section for the come up on this one! Etsy is another great place for unique pillow covers! 

Shelving

Adding shelving is another great way to add character to a rental. Shelves provide you with additional storage options and a place to display all the things in your life you love. Looking for super easy shelving to install, check these ones!

Rugs

Whether you’ve got carpet, tile or wood flooring rugs are always a good idea! They immediately add warmth to any space. A few go to places for affordable rugs are: Rugs USA, Overstock, Wayfair, All Modern, Home Depot, Birch Lane.

Bedding

Make your bedroom a real retreat. Invest in bedding you love! We both believe this is so important to truly making a home feel like you. It might even make you want to make your bed everyday too! West Elm continues to be a favorite for bedding with Target coming in at a close second! 

Organization 

Invest in true organization for your rental. Each bathroom vanity is going to be unique to the space, and no closet or kitchen space is going to be the exact same. You want to make sure you can get the fullest potential out of the space while you’re there. Nobody likes hunting for things they could easily find. 

Bathroom Accessories 

Rental bathrooms can be tricky as you can’t go and switch out tile or paint it either. But a few accessories can go a long way. 

Furniture

Invest in pieces you love. If your budget doesn’t go far, Facebook marketplace has some killer deals if you keep your eyes peeled. Target, Ikea, Home Goods and Wayfair are all solid options for solid pieces that can fit into most budgets! 

Removable Wallpaper

Want to make a bold statement? Wallpaper it! There are so many solid removable wallpaper options out there now and it’s a great way to make a major impact on any rental space. While the price tag can be a little hefty it’s an investment that could completely transform your home to feel just like you! Here’s a few go to favorites! Etsy, Wayfair, Home Depot, Removable Wallpaper.

So there you have it, our 12 ways to make a rental feel like home.

-much love 

When it comes to new tools and technology I’ve been known to nerd out a bit. Throughout my advertising career I was always on the hunt for new and “innovative” ways to drive efficiencies and productivity for myself and my team. So when we started our own business I knew a few tools we could leverage to get a jump start on our process. And over time those tools have evolved into a system that allows us to do all of the things. You know we do a lot of things, right?

The most important box that must be checked is adaptable eco-systems, meaning it must offer solutions across all of our devices. For us that means an iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and now the iPhone Pro. No no they don’t need to be the “Pro” line, but for accuracy I listed what we’re using. Most apps now offer cloud based solutions that sync all devices, so it’s not a huge challenge. 

By no means is our system a one size fits all solution. It has taken years of testing, trial and error for us to land on a small list of trustworthy allies that are always there for us.

Google Business Suite 

We are 100% dedicated to the Apple ecosystem but when it comes to business solutions Google just crushes everyone. And the two play nice together, so we play nice with both as well. A few years back we started our paid Google Business Suite account inclusive of the following apps we use everyday:

• Gmail – For email, duh.
• Google Calendar – We create calendars for each client project, as well as calendars for new business, design and build hours, content creation, podcast recording, etc.
• Google Drive – Our repository for all things related to the business.  
• Google Docs – For the longest time we used Evernote to capture our meeting recaps, create podcast outlines and to write content, but we experienced a ton of syncing issues at the most inopportune times. So we shifted to Docs and could not be happier…it actually feels really nice to fill the page again!
• Google Sheets – Spreadsheet haven for all of our expenses, client budgeting, etc. We’re also beginning to utilize for our project budget tracking as a supplemental document, as noted below.  

Cost: $50 annual per user 

Things 3

I first heard about Things years ago when it initially released as I was binging task management apps. At the time the upfront investment threw me off, so I elected for a more affordable option – one that was free. Clearly the free option didn’t work out in the long run. Fast forward to 2019 and I have re-discovered Things, which lives on all of my devices. I am now in the process of setting Danielle up with this as well, which will take some time. But it has helped me organize immensely so the shift should be a swift one.

Cost: iPhone ($10 – includes Watch app), iPad ($20) and Mac ($50)

Joist 

Unless you’re a contractor or designer this app is likely not on your radar. Joist is a one stop shop for contractors and offers solutions to create estimates, invoices, accept payments, and most importantly know when your client has opened the document! Within the app we are able to create line items for each specific step or expense of a project, and add detailed notes to communicate what is (and what is not) included within the price. We’ve been very happy with Joist thus far, and paired with a detailed project spreadsheet for our use it’s a perfect pair. 

Cost: $12 per month for a Pro Account 

QuickBooks 

I’d be lying if I said we were a fan of QuickBooks. Nope, not a fan of this app at all whatsoever. As a matter of fact we rarely login. BUT, it is an essential tool to keep track of all expenses from a business and project perspective. We have the account setup and synced with all of our banking and purchase methods, and our CPA handles all of the organization for us. A CPA is mandatory to any successful business and an expense worth every penny. If they recommend another method for capturing and categorizing your expenses, by all means follow orders. For us, QuickBooks is the jam. 

Cost: $20 per month for online account

We hope you find this helpful. Whether you own a business, have a passion project, or simply want to be more structured and purposeful with your day to day, these tools can help immensely. We also have a list of our favorite apps right now, all of which are helpful in us managing Clark + Aldine day to day. Have a favorite that we haven’t mentioned and should try? Comment below and let us know. 

-much love

Everytime a new year comes around we all hear promises of meaningful resolutions, goals and commitments. Yup, we have our own set of 2020 goals laid out too. It is easy to say, and truly motivates you when you talk about it to others (or to yourself, no judgement we do it all the time), but saying and doing are two totally different actions. You have to go all in and choose to invest in yourself…it’s something we’ve been doing, but this year we’re on a completely new level. We’re going to share with you what lead to our decision to invest in ourselves and what that looks like for us on a day to day basis. 

Our decision to go all in on Clark + Aldine was not only to have the freedom of owning and operating our own business, it was a decision to better our quality of life. Our health was dwindling due to overwhelming stress and anxiety. We acted recklessly with food, with spending, and found ourselves consuming too much toxic media. We were just in an all around bad place.

After nearly a year in business we sat down with each other. Our relationship was stronger than ever and we felt pretty happy. Our business was moving along swiftly and was profitable for us. But something was missing for both of us. We brainstormed together and identified a few key areas where we promised to invest time, money and resources in order to achieve a better life for ourselves and our family. 

MINDFULNESS

Anxiety is a bitch. There’s no other way around it. And if you choose to avoid it, you’ll be in for a rude awakening when it hits hard. That’s exactly what happened to each of us just before, and quickly following our endeavor. Together we talked about it and decided to invest the time, effort and resources into keeping our minds clear and calm. 

We started with daily meditation. Every morning we wake up, sit up, open the Calm app and meditate together in our bed. It’s a great way for us to start our day with a clear and open mind, sometimes with one or both of our little dudes laying between us…they sneak in all the time.

HEALTH + DIET 

We’ve always been conscious of what we eat, but when stress hits we tend to consume more than we should or skip meals all together…and we pay for it. So we decided to do something serious about it.  

Everyday we take a multivitamin pack, make green smoothies (seriously super delicious), have a kombucha and stick to a very healthy balanced diet. Yes, we still do pizza + movie night every Friday with the boys, and we hand make every pizza (and the cheese bread) because we believe those are special moments that matter. We just eat consciously. 

When it comes to diet we suggest that everyone do what is comfortable for them. Don’t overdo it to the point that you give up. You have to get a bit uncomfortable, but have a balance. 

EXERCISE + FITNESS

This is huge for us. We hear all the time from people that they don’t have the time to workout, they work too much, or there aren’t any classes that work with their schedule. We call BS on all of that. Those are excuses, not realities. We are a husband and wife, parents of two thriving boys, own a business, manage employees and run a household and we find 30 – 90 minutes a day for exercise. It works because of our mindset – we love working out together and it is extremely important to us. 

7 days a week we exercise, together, at home or outside. Going to the gym everyday was not working for us, so we built one at home. We invested in a Peloton bike and use it for both cycling, as well as floor clases like strength training and yoga that we stream on a TV. We also run outdoors and are training for our next half marathon. 

When you go all in on fitness, your diet and mental state feel the benefits too. See how this all starts working together? 

EDUCATION 

Continued education should be a top priority for everyone. For us, we work in an industry where there are new products and innovations every single day. Not to mention the social media algorithms we must know as we invest heavily in content. So needless to say educating ourselves is essential. 

The big one for us is reading. Every day, before we go to bed, we read at least 10 pages of a business, personal development or mindset book. It gets our brains fed and moving, which sometimes creates great dialogue for ideas we have right before we call it a night. We’re so privileged to have access to the stories, successes and failures, and lessons from those who have been there and done it before us. So hop on Amazon or visit your local book store and look at the top sellers under business, or personal development, or mindfulness and grab yourself a couple hardcovers…you will not regret the small investment.

EXPERTS HELP

We can not do everything. We repeat, we can not do everything. So we’ve embraced asking for help. We’ve invested in the right experts, resources and tools to help us manage our business and operate more seamlessly. In order to make money you have to spend it, and it is really scary. But we know we are doing it right and we will make it…it will all work out and pay off ten fold. We’ve put it into the universe and the universe will respond.

So far we have invested in a solid CPA to handle all of our monthly books, taxes and growth plans, a payroll solution to eliminate the need to walk around with a checkbook, singular insurance agency to handle all of the commercial insurance needs, software to plan and manage all of our social media, and a team of talented creators and makers to help bring the Clark + Aldine vision to fruition every day. 

So there you have it. A quick why and how we’re investing in ourselves. We’re interested to know from you, our readers, how you are investing in yourself. So tell us! We’d love to know more about it and take some learnings and inspiration from you. 

-much love

Making our lives and business run more efficiently is something we work really hard at. We are constantly looking for tools to not only better us as a brand but an overall team and family unit. Today we’ve pulled together the top five apps we are using daily right now. We hope that at least one of these apps can help you achieve more efficiency in your life too! 

Streaks

We absolutely love how this app has helped keep us on track with our daily goals and has helped us ensure we’re pursuing healthy habits. It is set up so you can individually track your accomplishments and create a streak! You can create up to twelve different habits you want to keep track of, six of which fit on a single screen when you open the app. We both have ours set up to six different habits including taking vitamins, mindful minutes for meditation, water intake, reading, exercise and taking our supplements and smoothies. 

Calm

Looking for a great way to actually start meditating or having mindful minutes? Check out the Calm App. We started using this early last year when we knew we wanted to work on meditation but just didn’t know where to start or how to go about it. And we can honestly say this alone has been a game changer for us.

Slack

This is a big one for the company. Slack essentially eliminates a massive inbox while organizing all of our project communication into an easy to access channel. We’ve found this beneficial for internal communication with our team and employees, as well as with our partners on collaborations outside of the everyday client projects. It has allowed us to talk about each individual project and break the projects down by channels to help keep everything organized and easy to find.

Tailwind App

We’ve been working hard on trying to manage our time to the best of our ability. Tailwind has been a game changer when it comes to scheduling out content. For years we’ve been using tailwind for Pinterest and just this year we’ve welcomed the app with open arms to start scheduling out our Instagram accounts. Try it out using this link and get your first month for free! 

Hours Tracker

Keeping track of hours on multiple projects can be challenging. We’ve implemented the Hours Tracker app, allowing us to accurately account for every minute spent on a project. The large benefit for us is future forecasting to give us a better understanding of how much time a project will really take. The last thing any business wants to do is burn hours and profit.

Have any apps that you love to use everyday? Share them in the comments section. 

-much love

The day we closed on our home we went straight to Home Depot and made a big purchase. First, we purchased all new appliances. That was a major adult moment. Then we added a few boxes to the cart that we (well, mostly me…Danielle wasn’t as excited) had been lusting over. We purchased a Nest Thermostat and multiple Nest Protect Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors. I had been dreaming about how we would have the smartest home of anyone we knew, and so far that statement stands true. But that was just the beginning. 

Having a full Apple ecosystem makes finding the right smart home products more challenging, as HomeKit is not yet as globally popular as Google and Amazon systems. It requires a lot of research. Even Nest isn’t compatible, but in my opinion it is the best smart safety suite of products and eventually will become HomeKit compatible (yes, I predict this will happen in 2020). 

Smart Home Comfort

First up in the comfort category should come as no shock – our thermostat. We replaced our 17 year old furnace that ran at 50% efficiency to a new 2 stage intelligent 96% efficiency setup. We also added 3 Nest Sensors in key rooms of the house where the average temperature is lower…you gotta love these older 1950 homes. The thermostat reads the average temps transmitted by each sensor, and automatically adjusts the temperature to a more desirable level throughout the home. 

Just prior to the furnace update we made a significant change to our home…we FINALLY added a fireplace! But not any fireplace, ours is powered via a smart switch that can be activated by Siri. This was a tough update as gas fireplaces are low voltage. We had to custom wire the unit to a relay that controls the amount of voltage from one device to a switch, therefore giving us the ability to use a smart switch. We went with a simple smart switch typically used for fan or lighting control and it is working perfectly. The only downfall – no way to adjust the level of heat. But with winter in Michigan full force is ok by us. 

Smart Home Safety – Cameras and Smoke/Carbon Detectors 

We live in a super safe, family oriented area. The crime rate is low, which is amazing, but you can never have too much trust in people nowadays. We added 2 Nest Outdoor Cameras and a Nest Doorbell, which also has a built-in HD camera. One of the outdoor cameras are mounted on the house and faces down the driveway towards the street, and the other is above the side entrance of our garage/workshop. Surprisingly enough the wifi signal is spot on!

The doorbell is a recent addition to our home as we had to have a wire and power installed to operate it. Prior to the Nest we had the Ring wifi doorbell, which served its purpose but constantly had to be charged. Quite annoying. Plus, as you may have figured out by this point we are a huge fan of singular eco-systems. 

If you want to blow through a relatively nice chunk of cash quickly we recommend you invest in smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. We have four in our house, but it gives us a serious piece of mind so it is a win. The Nest devices we have also feature the option for a night light that turns on when it senses motion…perfect for two young boys that get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom. 

Smart Home Lighting – Living Room and Master Bedroom

Smart lighting is a big hit in our house and was one of the earlier integrations we made. Every light in our living room and bedroom is operated via smart lighting tech from both Philips Hue and Lutron Caseta. This allows us to turn lights on and off when we are home or away, specify which lights (lamps, sconces or recessed) we want on and at what level we want them. 

Our plan this year is to integrate more Lutron Caseta switches throughout the home so we can maintain a singular eco-system and leverage all of the 3000k bulbs we want. Room by room this should be no issue to obtain…it just comes down to time and a little investment!

Smart Home Access – Exterior Doors and Garage Door 

With our new exterior doors came some awesome smart door hardware from Kwikset. The Kwikset Premis is a stunning modern design that blends in perfectly against our already black doors. And being Apple Homekit ready it integrates into our setup with ease, allowing us to unlock and lock our doors anywhere we are. We have one on our side entrance and the back entrance to our office, giving our team access whenever we’re not home. 

We also added a smart garage door opener this Fall when our previous opener died on us. The wifi enabled Liftmaster opener is integrated with MyQ, a module that links directly to Apple Homekit. Yes, telling Siri to open the workshop is a bit overkill but hey, why not right?

We hope you got some solid info and inspiration to bring some easy smart technologies into your home.

-much love

It’s funny to think about writing goals for our own home renovation projects in the upcoming year when we’ve got so many client and brand projects already in the works for 2020! But you guys, it wouldn’t be us if we didn’t have projects of our own we wanted to tackle for the year. Here’s a look back at what we hoped to accomplish, and what we actually succeeded at in 2019. And now without further ado here’s a full 2020 home renovation project list!

1. Mudroom/Office

This room has been a work in progress for much of 2019. We are not only trying to create a creative space for both of us to work but also our employees, as well as some much needed coat storage, additional seating and an area we can have client meetings. Talk about packing a whole lot of function and purpose into one space. I’m guessing you can clearly see why this project is top on our list! Good thing is we are 90% complete, and it will be the first one down in 2020. 

2. Home Gym

We’ve already started this space too! Just before the holiday we invested in a Peloton Bike (hello, lovely) and were fortunate enough to receive a TON of equipment for Christmas from our family…talk about amazing! We really want to add some finishing design touches to this space to make it as motivational as possible. Our major goal for 2020 is personal development, so creating a space where we can continue to work and better ourselves is only going to push us further in growth, and inspire our family and brand to push the limits! Looking forward to adding just that too this space!

3. Basement

We have done almost nothing to this space. I want to type nothing but we did rip out carpet that the previous owners dog graced with their urine, remove drop ceiling tiles and quickly painted the space when we first moved in. But when it comes to looking at this space for us it truly feels unliveable! So this is going to be one MASSIVE project for us to take on while working on client projects. I broke the basement down into individual categories, seeing how each room is going to be it’s own project! 

Living Space

We want to create a living area/playroom space for our dudes to call their own. But this isn’t going to be a playroom space, we want this space to be comfortable enough for the entire family to hang out and spend time in, as well as a space for guests to enjoy when we have events at the house. That means we actually have to do that…challenge accepted.

Laundry Room

Everyone wants a space that might make them actually want to do laundry. This is a must have for our crew. Especially when your laundry room is in your basement. Big goals here would be to create a functional space to sort, fold, hang and organize all the laundry that comes down and moves back upstairs.

Personal Storage

We’ve got to have personal storage for seasonal decor items and all my pillows. Plus storage for paper products, vases and larger kitchen items we can’t store in our kitchen.

Client Storage

If 2019 taught us one thing it’s that we need storage for all our client projects and additional stock items we collect throughout the year. We need these two spaces to be separated and their own. And while we can’t add additional square footage we must get creative and make it happen.

4. Outdoor Living

One thing we love about Michigan living is the Spring and Summer. Michigan has especially amazing Summer weather with longer light hours that leave you longing for more. We want to create an outdoor space we love just as much as our indoor space. Our goal is to create an outdoor living space to use for Spring, Summer and into Fall! Great news is that we already have new pavers and an absolutely insane outdoor gas coffee table fire pit ready to be installed. Facebook Marketplace for the win!

5. Kitchen

Here she is again. Our kitchen has made our goal project list 3 years straight. We both truly want to tackle her this year. And you bet I’ve got big goals for her, yes I’ve decided we have a lovely girl kitchen.  We want to take down the wall separating our living space and kitchen to create a true open concept in our home. The goal is to design a space for conversation, entertaining and gathering. All things we love. 

These are our top five projects we hope to tackle in our own home this year. We’ve got big plans to expand the garage to a full size shop and add a studio space on top too! Not sure all this can happen in one year but we’ve learned you’ve got to dream big to make a big impact! We shall see where the year takes us!

Much Love –

Let’s talk about how to write goals. They don’t just have to be “New Years” goals. In fact, they shouldn’t be. You should not wait for that one day to come so you can make a change. Your change should start now. The reality is New Years is the time that seems to motivate people to start, and we absolutely support that. And we want you to see it through and be successful.

We truly believe there is never a perfect time to do anything. The best way is to just take the leap and let your goals lead the way. It is okay to think you’re crazy, trust us. We say it to ourselves every single day. That is how you know you’re doing something right. So here are some tips to help get you started and guide you along the way. Brace yourself…they may seem unconventional, but we wouldn’t be where we are without it. 

BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER…this is by no means “the way”. This is our way. These are the methods we’ve found work for us, and we believe they can work for you too if implemented correctly paired with the diligence to see them through. 

Work Backwards

This one will assure you a quick win when attempting to “check the box” on the to do list. Start by simply writing your goals. That is it. Get it on paper. You can’t map your course without knowing the destination. So write everything down and work from there. 

Go Big

The best way to think about it is this: if your goal is to make $150K this year, make your goal $500k. If you want to sell 1,000 of your custom made necklaces, shoot to sell 10,000. If you want to generate 10,000 monthly visitors to your site, put the work in to generate 100,000. See the idea here? Do not settle for what you want, aim for something that makes you uncomfortable. Something that immediately makes you say “no way, I can’t do that”. Then never say it again…speak the goal into existence and the universe will react! 

Speak It Into Existence

Act as if. Speak as if. As if you’ve already achieved the goals you’ve set for yourself. Don’t lie, of course, simply speak it. Embrace it. Visualize what it will feel like to have achieved that goal and the feeling of setting the next goal…visualization is a powerful tool. We ourselves need to do much more of it. For us, we do it when we run together, and sometimes when we’re laying in bed or meditating. Visualization doesn’t have to be done in the dark, so keep your eyes open sometimes. See your life, your achievements, and your future right in front of you.

Visualize Everything

This is essential. You may say you want something, but visualizing that reality can steer you in a completely different direction. The more you visualize the more you come to know yourself. Let’s say, for example, you want to live in a custom built ranch on 10 acres of private land. Visualize the home from all angles. What it feels like to walk up to that front door, grab the handle to open it and walk inside. What’s inside of your fridge, or your garage! Visualize your routine when you wake up and the same for when you go to sleep. And think about this every single day, putting in the work to achieve that visualization. That’s the power right there. 

Check- In Daily 

We outlined a list of strategies to help you in your journey. The last step is checking in every single day. Did you put in the work? Did you visualize with effort? Did you give that last push of effort until you had nothing left? Keep yourself honest and on track. It is the only way to ensure you’re on the path to achieve everything you set your mind to.

TOOLS THAT HELP ALONG THE JOURNEY

You have to have the right tools at your disposal in order to be successful. Here are some things that we leverage to help us every day. 

Planner

This is a big one for us. We move from written form to digital with everything, but the power still truly lies in the written word. Find yourself a planner that goes beyond the hours of everyday for you to block your schedule. Find something that pushes you and motivates you. One that we love is The High Performance Planner. We have been using it for over a year and can’t say enough great things about it. The binding, paper quality, and adaptability to most every person setting out to achieve their own greatness is one of a kind.

Journal

We found this to be an essential part of our process, but honestly it is the one we fail to truly prioritize everyday. BUT WE WILL! We kind of have to after putting this out there, so check in with us and help keep us honest. Any journal will do but we picked up the Start Today Journal from Hollis Co. 

Notebook

We’ve tried a ton over the year and Moleskine seems to be the one that never lets us down. It is truly the gold standard in personal notebooks. Seeing as we use ours for planning and sketching, we use the grid paper design and find it extremely helpful. Check them out! 

A Good Pen 

This may sound silly to some. But we can promise you that there is power in a pen that feels right when you write. Someone words flow better. Our go to pen for the past four years has been the Muji 0.5 Gel-Ink Ballpoint pen. We have every color they make, and always have a black one on hand. Highly recommend this pen as it seems to never smear!

Power Circle 

This last one is extremely important. Form a group of people with different strengths and visions, and come together to share, discuss, debate and learn with and from each other. Start with social, or a local group of people you come across, to build your power circle. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable…you don’t have to have all of the answers and have your shit completely together. Trust us, no one really does. Be honest and willing to get critical feedback, and in turn be strong and willing to share it. We grow best together.

What are your strategies to writing and achieving your goals? We’d love to hear them and feature some in a forthcoming post. So leave a comment, shoot us an email or DM! We always love hearing from you.

-much love

Goal setting is big for us. And we believe it should be for everyone. We completely understand the time it takes to actually sit down, identify, and create a plan to work towards achieving your goals. So this year we want to take you with us on our journey of achieving both our personal and business goals. 

We will be sharing frequent updates including check ins, status updates and what we are working towards. This is to not only hold ourselves accountable but to showcase exactly how we identified, executed and achieved our goals. So let’s get started together, and go all in!

Personal Goals

We decided together that we were going to go all in on investing in us. These are the goals we set together, as life partners, parents and best friends. And together, we know we can do anything. 

• Move our bodies for 30 minutes a day, every day. This seems really easy when you think about it, but for years we;ve found every excuse not to do it. And we’re very healthy people. So to kick the year off we started #75Hard, and part of that movement is a total of 90 minutes of working out a day. What a way to kick start a goal! It’s been amazing and we can say with confidence we’re all in on this. 

• Say yes to the things that make us uncomfortable. Ok, so not like a weird uncomfortable. But those things that scare the shit out of us…the challenges we accept but have zero clue about. Yeah, those things. We’re facing them head on and refuse to back down.

• Be the positive people in the room. Vibes are everything with us and we know just one person can create a positive vibe, or destroy one really quick. We prefer to be on the positive end of the scale and dedicate ourselves to remaining positive, and true. It’s the only way we can imagine living.

• Practice daily meditation. We’ve been doing this for a little over a year now, but have given in to it too many times. Meditation is hard but practice makes perfect, or a version of it. We start every day immediately after we wake up and meditate in our bed – we simply sit up to do it. It is a great way to start the day. 

• Read daily. Another habit that we’ve held for years, but again, have allowed ourselves to fail at delivering on the goal. This year we’ve both gone all in on reading every night before bed, and most if not all reads will be a business, self help or motivational book. It’s the best way for us to continuously push and educate ourselves as we strive to be the best versions of ourselves. 

Business Goals 

• Invest in growing a strong team. So far, so good. Matt is officially a full time salary employee with Clark + Aldine! WOO HOO! We also have plans to grow our creative team, add a designer for space plans and renderings, and an assistant to help manage the day to day craziness. It’s scary, we’re not going to lie. But it’s incredibly exciting and humbling to be able to go after this…and we’re doing it! The more revenue we generate, the more we reinvest in the brand…a win win all around.

• Go all in on content. We recently read a study that argued those who do not invest in content actually cost themselves far more in the long run. And we couldn’t agree more. We’re a content company who happens to build things, but we’re on a serious struggle bus as of lately. Well, plans have changed and we’re going all in…which means more time, money and talent invested across the board. And we’re ok with that. 

• Develop more meaningful and long-standing relationships. with like-minded people, brands and products. We’ve built an incredible network over the years, but nothing like 2019. That was the year everything aligned. We’ve met amazing and incredibly talented people, and have developed relationships with brands that truly align to who we are and what we stand for. We want more of that. Like, a lot more of that. 

• Create a community that feels motivated and inspired to make change in their everyday life. We’ve got a nice thing going in the digital and social avenues of the game, but locally we know we can do more. Through conversations, outreach, workshops and collaboration we know we can seek and create great things right here at home. 

There you have it. Of course there are more specific goals on our list, but this gives you some insight into where we’re headed. Be sure to follow along to see how we’re doing. And while you’re at it, let us know how you’re doing and how we can support you! 

– Much love

Here comes the fun part. A post jam packed with all the before and afters of nearly every project we completed in 2019. So let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the transformations we made for our clients!

Auburn + Dayton

This is the space that started it all for us! Take a look at these solid before and afters. It really doesn’t look like your traditional finished basement, even if you’re looking at the exposed ceilings. To get all the details on this remodel, check out the full post here.

Woodford + Edgewood

New builds need some love too. Here we took a blank entryway and created a fully functional and purposeful mudroom. This was also the first large mudroom built-in we completed, and we did it all in 2 days! 

Deer + Shiloh

Still blown away by this master bedroom transformation. The textured wall and beam get us every single time. Check out all of the details in the full recap post here.

Auburn + Grace

YES, we even managed to finish our own bathroom. You can see the planning process here. How we tackled interior paint here, and the full reveal here with so many more before and afters! It is so nice to have an updated bathroom for all to use…only took us half a year.

Otter + Howell

Why do one space when you can do three? Our Otter + Howell project tested the limits with design, function and maximizing the space, not to mention balancing everything with the business while driving 30 minutes each way every day in one of the iciest winters Michigan had in a long time. Plus, we’re pretty sure this mudroom broke the internet (well, Pinterest at least);) We’ve got the full break down of the space here, as well as how to build a mudroom and laundry room. Still wanting more of this project and all of our sources? Check out the full reveal post here! 

Deer + Renselor

We did a quick weekend makeover on my parents bathroom. Looking to do one too? We broke down all the plans here for you to accomplish it in just one long weekend! 

Auburn + Dayton 

It’s so fun being asked to come back to a client’s home and transform another space. This sunroom went from less than functional and purposeful to a fully useable space in more than one way! We’ve got all the shoppable links in a reveal post here! 

Auburn + Grace

Our home got new doors and a whole lot of curb appeal! Thinking about purchasing new exterior doors? We’ve got a full guide on all the things you want to think about prior to purchasing here! 

Bettyhill + Anita

Love how this master bedroom went from a completely blank canvas to having a built-in reading nook with all the storage and lighting!

Auburn + Tenth

This attic master bedroom space went from a bland master bedroom smashed into an attic to a moody and glamorous master bedroom retreat. Check how we converted the attic into a master suite here and exactly how we made a dark modern moody bedroom here!

Crestwood + Mckinley

The befores on this kitchen make it hard to believe that this is the same space. After months and months of planning it was so fun to watch this project come to life. And we did it in 6 weeks flat, even with a few setbacks and travel during the process. This post is jam packed with all the good images that will leave your soul extra happy!

Deer + Shiloh

This was a quick refresh. Our clients needed their master bath to feel more in line with their master bedroom, and we delivered! Love what a little design can do for a space!

Crestwood + Jefferson

We took these two bathrooms from their original state to the 21st century. The before pictures are wild. 

Auburn + Grace

I am so obsessed with how our living room came together. We added a fireplace and a whole lot of modern design. If you missed the reveal you’re going to want to check it out here! We blogged about the entire journey as part of the Fall 2019 One Room Challenge.

EXTRA CREDIT

Aside from our client projects and some at our own home, we were busy building our brand and our team. Here are a couple of highlights from our year of building. 

Clark + Aldine YouTube

We launched an official Clark + Aldine YouTube page! And we need you to subscribe. Not because we need the massive audience (although we strive for it) but we’ve got some things coming in 2020 and want to make sure you’re notified! Shout out to big video goals for 2020 over here! 

Clark + Aldine Store

We launched our store and first capsule collection in November 2019! If you haven’t had a chance to check it out you absolutely should!

Still wanting to see more? You’re going to love our 2019 Recap video. It shows behind the scenes footage, everyday moments and life as we know it, and of course a tour of our finished projects! 

As always thank you for hanging with us. Here’s to an even bigger and better 2020!

Much Love,