ML - House by the Preserve

Welcome! I’m Maria Lorena - creator of House by the Preserve. I am a former Project Analyst turned stay at home mom. About six years ago, my husband and I did something that first time home buyers don’t typically do. We bought our forever home. It’s a 2100 square foot ranch house located in Northern Florida that backs into a preserve.

I created this blog as a way to share our adventures in decoration and redecorating our builder grade house. I believe that making your house into a home shouldn’t be a difficult or expensive process but exciting and most of all fun! It isn’t about the size or location of your house, but about creating a space that's yours, that fits your budget, without sacrificing style.

If you are new here and need a place to get started, below are a few of my all-time favorite posts:

Gone are the days where you spend hours dreaming about ways to create your best home by coveting beautiful Pinterest pictures...and I am here to help you get there!

At House by the Preserve, I share home decorating ideas, DIY's, tips and tricks to create and maintain your best home. 

Thank you for reading and your continued support!

XO,

Maria Lorena

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The goal for our living room makeover was to create a space that was not only comfortable to hang out as a family but to also serve as a spot for my husband and I to reconnect after the little ones have gone to bed. By using paint, we created a spa
Hi all! It's been a little while since I posted but that doesn't mean I haven't been working on projects around here! After giving our dining room and kitchen a makeover the living room was starting to feel out of place. So I came up with a plan to g
When I couldn't find a faux tree for our family room that gets no natural light, I decided to DIY one! New ones that I loved were out of my price range so making one sounded like the best option for me. I bought an old faux ficus tree from Facebook M
Hope your week is off a great start! We had a dark and rainy weekend so I spent most of my time inside playing around with some decor. I moved this Josh Young print into our bedroom and I'm loving how this little sitting area is coming together. It h
Happy Saturday! Hope you are having a great start to your weekend. It's a dark, moody day here so I'm keeping busy by doing some painting! What are you up to this weekend? #hallwayart #hallwaydecor #hallwayinspo #hallwayideas #hallwayinspiration #ha
I struggled decorating the dining room a lot over the years. Decorating an open floor plan proved to be a little more difficult than I anticipated! I think I finally cracked it though! Our dining room completely transformed when we installed this mur
Spreading a little spring touches into the kitchen today. Too soon? I just couldn't wait! So looking forward to warmer weather and sunny days! Have you started to decorate for spring yet? #springdecor #myspringhomedecor #kitchendecor #kitchencounter
One of my favorite views of our bedroom 😍 This view didn't happen overnight, it has taken us several years of trying different styles and layouts. Finally nailing down our modern traditional style helped tremendously in getting to this point. . On
One of my favorite rooms in our house was showing off today and I just had to snap a picture. This is the room that we spend most of our time in as the playroom is just off to the right. It's been a work in progress and still is, but it's always nice
Have you been watching @cassmakeshome stories DIY a seat cushion for her girls playroom? She made it look so easy and it really inspired me to give sewing a shot. It's not a seat cushion with piping but a simple envelope cover lumbar pillow. But you
Today we did something completely out of our comfort zone. It took almost all day and tested our patience a few times but it's finally done. The mural wasn't pre-pasted so we had to apply glue to the wall and then apply the panel to the wall. As firs
My one year old has suddenly decided to wake up every hour on the hour starting at 3am and this momma is feeling it today. Send lots of coffee please! Anyone want to borrow a kid for a while?! 😂 Our entry is a space that's had a little identity cr