'F' for Freebies

Boost Your Roost $20,000 Contest

We’re fond of major before and afters around here. Brandon and I have taken on some big projects, like redoing our kitchen, making over our backyard, and fully refinishing our basement.

We’ve improved our home a lot over the years, but we’ve also improved our life at home. Do you know how nice it is to do laundry in a basement that isn’t scary? Or to cook with the kids in a kitchen that is not only cute, but that actually functions (and isn’t falling apart)? Making my home, well, lovely, makes me and my family happy. These things take some planning though, and a bit of work, and of course you need a budget to work with.

Do you have a space that needs some attention? Maybe you want to create a laundry room too, or give your kitchen a facelift. Maybe you have a bathroom that has seen better days, or you dream of a wall of windows to let the light in. What would you want to do to your home if someone were to come in and give you the budget to do it?

I’ve partnered with HouseLogic to offer homeowners a chance to win a $20,000 home renovation to “Boost Your Roost!” To enter, send me an email (boostyourroost@gmail.com) with the following information:

  • Describe the room you’d like to renovate with a $20,000 budget in 300 words or less. We want to hear about why your home improvement project is important to you! How will it help you enjoy your home? How will it impact your time with family and friends?
  • I need at least one photo (5 photos max) of the space. Your images are part of what people will be voting on if you’re a finalist, so make ‘em good! You can host your photos on free sites like flickr or post them to your blog if you have one. You can also include drawings or a link to a video if you like.
  • Include your full name, email address, phone number, and home location. (Your information will be kept private, but we’ll need it to contact you if you’re a finalist.)

I’ll be narrowing down the entries and choosing the best submission, which will go on to be one of six finalists (five from other participating bloggers). The finalists will then be voted on by the public to see who will win the $20,000 home renovation. So get creative, start dreaming, and let me know how you plan to “boost your roost!”

This post is sponsored by HouseLogic, a website for homeowners from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Entries will be accepted now through July 16 at 11:59pm (CDT), and you must be a homeowner living within the continental U.S. More details can be found at houselogic.com/boostyourroost.

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  • Mara
    June 20, 2012 at 9:43 am

    Yay Nicole!!! What an amazing contest!! I’ll be posting my pics of my atrium shortly! Thanks HouseLogic!

  • Jacqui
    June 20, 2012 at 10:14 am

    Can it be an outdoor space? My yard could use some serious love.

    • Making it Lovely
      June 20, 2012 at 12:27 pm

      An outdoor space (like adding a deck, for example) is fine!

  • Mary-My Life in Scotland
    June 20, 2012 at 10:30 am

    WOW! What an amazing contest!! I live in Scotland, but my sisters live in the USA! I’m totally telling them about this contest!

  • Tatyana
    June 20, 2012 at 11:05 am

    We are just about to close escrow on a house (Friday) and the entire place needs to be redone. So if someone could pitch in $20,000, it would be great.

  • Jillian@TheHumbleGourmet
    June 20, 2012 at 11:38 am

    Fantastic! We are just about to close on a house this week (hopefully!) so this could not be better timing :-)

  • Michelle Taylor
    June 20, 2012 at 11:59 am

    I’d love a screened in porch for the family. Right now, it’s a concrete slab that sits in full sun. Hot of little baby feet and Mommy feet too! Thanks for the opportunity! My submission has been sent!

  • Nichole C.
    June 20, 2012 at 12:18 pm

    Oh, I know just the room! This is such a great contest, thanks for sharing!

  • kelly
    June 20, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    Yes! Interested to know if an outdoor space will count.

    And can we enter more than once if we have multiple sad spaces?

    • Making it Lovely
      June 20, 2012 at 12:28 pm

      Outdoor spaces are fine, and I’ll double check about entering more than once. I’ll post here once I hear back.

      • Making it Lovely
        June 20, 2012 at 12:34 pm

        Only one entry per person will be accepted, but you can include multiple photos of spaces and make a note of that in your description.

  • Vanessa
    June 20, 2012 at 12:39 pm

    Can we submit more than once? For example I have 2 major issues, living room and no back door to my house. Should I email the once with 2 ideas? Or email twice with one suggestion per email?

    • Making it Lovely
      June 20, 2012 at 12:43 pm

      Someone just asked this question right before you too. Submit just once, but you can include photos from multiple spaces and make a note of that in your description.

  • mandy @ this girl's life
    June 20, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    Wow…what an amazing opportunity! Very exciting :)

  • MomHomeGuide.com
    June 20, 2012 at 12:50 pm

    Wonderful contest! Am looking forward to seeing the submissions.

  • Julia at Home on 129 Acres
    June 20, 2012 at 12:55 pm

    What a great contest! Too bad I’m in Canada, or you’d be getting a picture of my indoor pool (here it is anyways: http://homeon129acres.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/house-wish-list/). It was decommissioned by previous owners, but it’s just been sitting there, a huge hole taking up major square footage in the house. I have visions for a gorgeous mudroom and a craft/laundry room… oh, and adding on an attached garage. $20,000 would help a lot!

  • Cheltz
    June 20, 2012 at 1:24 pm

    Dang! Hard not to get my hopes up, but it will be tough to win out of a million-trillion entries … I might as well give it a shot though. Thanks, Nicole!

  • Kristin
    June 20, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    We have been renovating our shotgun house for SEVEN YEARS. We are out of money and out of energy with one room left: the bathroom. But this would be totally amazing! I am taking pictures tonight!

  • Megan
    June 20, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    Hi Nicole,
    Would you consider a rented space? Although not my own, it is so important to me to personalize and respect my space. My strategy in painting, furnishing and decorating this space is to select items that can be moved once I purchase a home, but this is requiring a lot of creativity that I don’t have!

    What do you think?

    • Making it Lovely
      June 20, 2012 at 2:27 pm

      It’s open to homeowners only, since the prize money is to be used on a renovation to improve the home itself. You can talk to your landlord though — maybe he or she will want to enter!

  • Amber
    June 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    Nicole- Whatever happened to Heather’s Social Space makeover project? I know you came up with some great ideas for them- did they ever send any photos or updates?

    • Making it Lovely
      June 20, 2012 at 3:36 pm

      They did a lot of work to the exterior of their house and wrote a blog post about it called “the big reveal”, but they also said they were going to furnish it and really finish the space, but I don’t think they did.

  • Evelyn
    June 20, 2012 at 4:07 pm

    Nicole, does the video have to be just of the space itself? Can it be a little presentation?

    So great you’re sharing this with us! Already excited for the future winner. Such an awesome freebie.

    • Making it Lovely
      June 20, 2012 at 9:47 pm

      You can be creative, as long as I can still see the space!

  • Evelyn
    June 20, 2012 at 4:07 pm

    And what is the deadline? July 16?

    • Making it Lovely
      June 20, 2012 at 9:47 pm

      Yes, July 16. I’ll post a follow-up reminder before then.

  • Lindsey
    June 20, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    Hi Nicole!

    I’m a big fan of your blog and just read about this contest! What a great opportunity! What is the email address to send all the information to?

    We are so excited about this contest!

    Cheers,
    Lindseey

  • amy good house
    June 21, 2012 at 8:54 am

    I am so excited about this contest, I sent you photos last night of my sorry kitchen.

    Thank you for providing this opportunity and good luck to all the contestants :)

  • erin rosenow
    June 21, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    hi nicole,

    i know that house logic is accepting entries until july 16th but what is your cut off date for entries? thanks so much for this awesome contest!!!

  • erin rosenow
    June 21, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    nevermind, just read through all of the comments. ;)

  • Sarah S
    June 21, 2012 at 2:40 pm

    Yay! I entered. I honestly feel better even just talking about how much I don’t like my kitchen. ;)

  • beth r
    June 21, 2012 at 6:02 pm

    Yeah! I’m just moving into a house and the kitchen is an eyesore in an otherwise gorgeous home! I’ll be sending pics to you shortly :D

  • Heather B.
    June 21, 2012 at 9:20 pm

    Don’t be frightened by what I just sent you… I am slightly embarrassed.. Okay, a lot embarrassed… Thanks for the opportunity.

  • Jillean
    June 22, 2012 at 9:18 am

    We bought an older home and have spent 5 years, and millions of tears fixing it up. However, it has one full bath!! Its the size of a shoe box and their is five of us!!! THAT 20,000 would seriously help our mood in the morning!!! lol

  • Kara
    June 22, 2012 at 1:20 pm

    This is a fun contest—
    I just had to find your basement posts again and go gaga over your laundry sink!! I just found a vintage farmhouse sink {in my dad’s barn haha} and am having it re glazed for our laundry room sink!

    Kara

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  • Su@TheIntentionalHome
    June 23, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    coming over here because I just read about you in Ladies Home Journal! My first time here. . can’t wait to look all around. Question about this contest: it looks like that we can enter at each of the bloggers. So we can submit one entry at each blogger. I am assuming it has to be a diiferent project submitted. Is this correct?? Just wondering because this would up our chances of making it to the final rounds :)

  • LeAnn
    June 28, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    Would you consider re-doing a classroom?

    • Making it Lovely
      June 28, 2012 at 8:16 pm

      That would be fun, but this particular contest is for homeowners.

  • Cindy Rangel
    June 29, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    Nicole,

    Thanks for providing this great blog, will be tweeting about soon. So lovely! This contest sounds amazing. I know the perfect candidate, a first time home buyer.

    Thanks so much and I feel so lucky!!!

  • Cara
    July 3, 2012 at 6:55 am

    Do we need to submit contractor bids as part of our submission?

    • Making it Lovely
      July 10, 2012 at 11:40 am

      Not for the initial portion. I believe that semi-finalists do.

  • Kara
    July 5, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    sent my entry — woohoo!!!

  • Joanna
    July 6, 2012 at 8:44 am

    This wold be so fun! I sent my pics last night – please let me know you received them, so I don’t have nightmares about the spam filter.

    • Making it Lovely
      July 10, 2012 at 11:43 am

      Joanna, yes, I have your submission.

  • Linda
    July 6, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    Hi! What a lovely chance to win a new room. I want to Boost My Kitchen Roost so I have something to crow about and invite all my little peeps over for dinner. My kitchen is in great need of an update. Will you be showing entries on your site as well?

    • Making it Lovely
      July 10, 2012 at 11:44 am

      I’ll be sharing the finalist I’ve chosen, who will then go on to compete with five others for the grand prize.

  • Donna
    July 8, 2012 at 10:33 am

    I would LOVE a home renovation!!

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  • Linnea
    July 10, 2012 at 3:35 pm

    Oh, I would love to enter the contest! Unfortunately, we’re just now beginning to think about buying our first home. That $20,000 would go a very long way to a down payment! Bummer that I can’t be a part of things this time.

  • Ronda Barron
    July 12, 2012 at 7:29 pm

    I need a bathroom update in the worst possible way. The tub is rusting out and has no finish so it looks nasty all the time and ceramic tile is coming off the wall. The mirror over the vanity is rubbing off around the edges and is etched w/something as it will not clean up 100%. Plus the bottom of the vanity had a leack at some time before me so the owner just chopped out the section instead of repairing it, the facuset needs replacing and the top does not even fit the vanity correctly. I’m a single woman trying to make ny 1956 house look good but this is beyond my expertise. Please, please help

  • christine
    July 14, 2012 at 6:51 pm

    Hi! I am In DESPARATE need of this exciting opportunity! However, I am almost computer illiterate! Can I e-mail you my pictures. That would be easiest for me. I don’t know how to post them on a photo site. Thanks!

    • Making it Lovely
      July 16, 2012 at 10:51 am

      Emailing them is fine! The email address and all of the details are above, in the post.

  • Jennifer Rodgers
    July 15, 2012 at 9:47 pm

    What a great opportunity! I just sent in my submission. Fingers crossed!!

  • Christine Drumgoole
    July 16, 2012 at 8:23 am

    Good morning, Nicole! Well, since learning of this contest, my husband and I (mostly me) have cleaned out our basement of extraneous items, held a yard sale, met with a contractor to clarify our vision and confirm our worst suspicions, and worked on my blog to help with the entry submission process. It has been a long two weeks with almost no sleep. I hope that you received my submission early this morning. Good luck to everyone who entered!

  • Sherry Koone
    July 16, 2012 at 11:12 am

    I would like to renovate the front and or rear entries of my home. My mother moved in with me when my father passed away three years ago and when she moved in I had an old double wide mobile home with additions. While in this home she had a spill on the steps and broke her arm requiring surgery. Since that time we purchased a new double wide with no additions but there is still the front and rear steps which make it difficult for her to enjoy the outdoors. My mother has post polio and walks on the side of her foot almost on the ankle and is a diabetic with neuropathy. She just recently went out for a short time and due to the heat and neuropathy she was unable to feel her feet as she stood on the uncovered hot patio area and received 2nd degree burns to her feet. I would like to make a covered deck or porch area so that she can enjoy the outdoors without fear of her falling or burning her feet again. Sincerely,
    Sherry

  • Sherry M.
    July 16, 2012 at 12:13 pm

    So exciting…just sent in my submission! Thanks for the opportunity :)

  • susan wilson
    July 16, 2012 at 12:26 pm

    Hi Nicole,

    I just sent you my submission for the boost your roost contest! Just checking to make sure you received it! Thank you for the opportunity!

    Susan

  • Erin
    July 16, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    My submission is in for our kitchen! Thank you for the opportunity!

  • Libby
    July 16, 2012 at 5:55 pm

    Just submitted my entry (at the 11th hour!) My fingers are crossed!

  • KS
    July 16, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    Just submitted – Thanks for hosting this contest!

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