If you haven’t had to tackle removing popcorn ceilings, you’re lucky. It isn’t difficult. It’s just messy! In my recent reno, the property had popcorn on all the ceilings. The crew that I had subbed this out to, backed out on me and I needed to do this myself to stay on schedule. I didn’t take lots of pictures along the way, but I can share what I learned. This picture shows the popcorn in one of the bedrooms. It was the same throughout the house. (And, check out the paint color.) Since this was essentially a construction zone, I...
DIY Projects
Kitchen Reno Florida Villa
Taking down a couple walls in this kitchen had such a huge impact to the entire living space. Here is where it started. This is a 2 bedroom 2 bath villa in Florida. Originally intended to be a flip — but, I’m holding onto it for awhile. The wall between the kitchen and dining room was demoed. And the wall between the kitchen and the hallway was taken down as well. Peninsula A wall was added for the peninsula. Some detail, using scrap wood added some interest to the island. With the walls removed, there was a lot of room...
Garden decor
I just love garden decor, a good dupe and repurposing items into a new life. I was gifted some metal wall decor and found inspiration on the Grandin Road site to give it new life. These Grandin Road wall panels are $199 each and really quite pretty. I thought these would be beautiful outdoor decor outside my kitchen. Since the aim was to create garden decor, I spray painted the metal decor and hardware with Rustoleum to help with the outdoor wear. I used cedar pickets as an affordable way to frame out the metal decor. I applied outdoor sealer...
Standing Mixer Refresh
A good friend of mine moved houses and gifted me a bunch of random items and I have been creating ever since – and, in this case, this standing mixer got a refresh! I love the DIY community on Instagram. I got inspiration from Dale at Blooming DIYer and had confidence to tackle this unexpected paint project. I am a baker and love the Kitchenaide. This one is about 30 years old and in good working condition. I thought it would be fun to paint it the color of the kitchen island. It really was pretty straight forward! I removed...
Play Kitchen
This DIY play kitchen was one of my favorite projects! Using mostly salvaged and surplus materials, this was a super affordable project. These are the materials we started out with for the build. Let’s take a look at how we put it together! The Build I looked at build plans from Shanty2Chic and Ana White to get an idea of how to build the cabinet boxes. In the end, the size of the play kitchen was guided by the size of the cabinet doors. The cabinet doors were salvaged from a neighbor’s kitchen that was remodeled. The boxes were made...
DIY Dresser Hardware
Adding furniture hardware is like adding jewelry to an outfit. It can definitely add interest and sometimes “bling”! I have refinished a lot of furniture over the years and this time, I decided to fancy-up this piece with new legs, paint and, yes, hardware. I removed the feet; sanded, primed and painted! The paint is SW Emerald Urethane in a color match – Limousine Leather (color from Behr). This is my favorite paint and the finish is great. I applied with a paint sprayer. I was inspired by the hardware on this Ballard Design piece. The hardware nearly covered the...
Bifold Door Refresh
This latest investment property had several louvered doors with old dripping paint on the inside. And, since I was itching to try canning on a project, I took inspiration from Erika at Peony and Honey for this bifold refresh. I love how these turned out! I primed and painted the doors first, then removed the louvers with a jig saw by cutting through the louvers down the center. The louvers popped out easily. I attempted to file the spaces with the louvers as Peony and Honey did but found I could not get a smooth edge. In the end, I...
New Furniture Function & Design with Six Simple Changes
Ever look at a dated furniture piece and wonder how to give it new life? This piece was a handmade sideboard and needed a bit of a transformation. (I only tackled the bottom piece.) I took lots of inspiration from several intragramers and furniture manufacturers and cobbled together great features into a single piece! Reduce the Height I thought this piece would work well as a TV console. The height was reduced 8 inches to 28 inches. I also removed the panels in the small doors. Shelf I used wood from my scrap wood pile to add a bottom shelf....
DIY Stationary Bike Computer Stand
I have really enjoyed the Peloton workout since they offered the app on a 90 day trial during Covid. I have a spin bike and set my iPad on the handlebars to watch/do the workout. Unfortunately, with the iPad on the handlebars, it is difficult to stand and pedal during the workouts. This DIY stationary bike computer stand is working great! I didn’t grab photos all along the way but the feature photo offers a good idea of the PVC plumbing pieces that were used. (1) 1 inch PVC pipe (2) 1 inch flange to attach stand to platform (4)...
Anthropologie Tassle Curtain DIY
In my latest flip, I brought together disparate decor items to create a cohesive and cozy look in master bedroom. In this case, I got inspiration from these adorable tassle curtains below from Anthro. These tassles made all the difference in bringing together the various colors (blue, yellow, cream and grey) from the staging pieces I collected along with texture! I found these curtain panels on Facebook Marketplace (originally from World Market) that work well with the light gray wall color. The blue from the adjoining master bath vanity and storage cabinet needed to be carried into the master bedroom...
Cozy DIY Kitchen Ledge
For a recent kitchen renovation, I was looking for a feature that would add some warmth and interest without breaking the bank. The simple route would have been to install the quartz used for the countertop for the ledge as well. But, this would have added to the “white” in the countertop, backsplash and walls. Big box stores and the local lumber yard were either too costly or did not have 2 x 15 piece of wood. I improvised by joining 3 pieces of 2 x 6 together – similar to how one would assemble a table top. I selected...
Make Your Pantry Custom
The pantry is a key feature in a kitchen so why not make it look custom? This newly built pantry was a blank slate and needed some interest with pattern, color and dimension. The wall paint is Sherwin Williams Alabaster – one of my “go to’s” for ceilings, mouldings and walls. I had a stencil made in the same pattern as the backsplash tile and used three colors I had on hand, in an attempt to replicate the tile. (Sherwin Williams Alpaca, Alabaster, Pewter Cast) Taking a queue from the wooden ledge in the kitchen, these faux floating shelves are...