Our Favorite Home DIY Projects
If you’re like us you’re taking on all the DIY projects during Quarantine. We were actually inspired to take on projects and recap all our favorites when we started seeing all the searches on the blog. ‘DIY’ has been our top search term for over a month. We totally understand. Being stuck at home has us evaluating all the projects we have been procrastinating on.
If you’re like us you need simple, easy DIYs. This list is just that. This list is links to each individual project to give you all the details when something catches your eye. Make sure to tag us on Instagram or comment any project you might be taking on!
DIY PROJECT 1: PAINTING TILE FLOOR
Our most popular project and blog post over all is where painting the tile in a bathroom at my mom’s house. The tile was a dated bland beige and we transformed it to a clean modern gray with the Rust-Oleum Home Floor Coating paint. This was by far the easiest project we’ve taken on. I’ve seen other blogs sharing how to paint tile and there are SO MANY steps. That is not the case with the Rust-Oleum product. The hardest part of this project is waiting for the paint to dry 😂
I receive TONS of comments and questions on this project every week and the most common is, “How is it holding up?” The answer is GREAT. With a good amount of traffic and even pups walking through it looks awesome. I don’t seen any cracks, scratches or wear at all. We plan on testing this product another level this month painting our retail booth with extremely high traffic. I can’t wait to be able to answer even more confidently how amazing this product is.
If you head the blog you’ll not only see a video of us taking on the product, but more photos and written detailed instructions on how to take the project on yourself.
DIY PROJECT 2 – PAINTING FURNITURE
Another popular projects is painting furniture! We love the idea of painting an old piece because old pieces are often more sturdy and well built than the mass produced furniture out there today. Also, they bring so much character to a home having a mixed of new pieces and old, painted and stained wood.
In the blog post my friend Mattie shares all her tips and tricks of painting furniture which she’s learned over 7 years of professionally refinishing furniture. We used Jolie Paint for this project and it’s an amazing product! This project is for those looking for instant gratification. If you choose the right piece you could see a transformation in an hour!
DIY PROJECT 3 – MODERN DOG PRINTS
Another fun project that’s been super popular is our Dog Prints in the Mudroom. We found this project from Chris Loves Julia where they made prints like this with their children. Naturally we do the same thing with the dogs 😋 It’s as simple as taking headshots of the pups against a white wall. We printed them large and grabbed modern black frames for them.
We love that they’re oversized and show each of their personalities of so well! The black and white edit on the portraits makes them look more modern. While this isn’t a traditional DIY we wanted to include it to the list because it’s a great idea if you’re looking for something to fill a blank wall whether you use the kids or the pups!
DIY PROJECT 4 – INSTALLING WALLPAPER
This was the project that scared me the most. People love to give nightmare wallpaper stories, but this was not my experience. We used Livette’s Wallpaper and the traditional kind rather than the peel and stick. What I love about Livette’s is that they print any of their designs in any color. The botanical print I chose typically comes in a green, but they printed it in a blushy taupe for me and it was just perfect for my design. I think I would have given up on wallpaper if I wouldn’t have found their customizable designs.
While this project was easy it did not come without a small fail. In the photo above you can see where there is a little extra paper hanging over the trim. This is important when hanging wallpaper to leave extra at the top and the bottom. This is so if your walls aren’t perfectly straight (which most aren’t) you design will still be even…We did not do this to the ceiling so by the time we got to the left side of the wall there was an inch of white space. It just kind of happened as we were focusing on getting the pattern to match.
Long story short we were able to fix this mistake with a little crown moulding which actually was perfect for this room. Our fail turned into a happy ending. All things are fixable my friends. If you have any DIY fails make sure to leave them in the comments.
DIY PROJECT 5 – INSTALLING PEEL AND STICK TILE
Where the wallpaper scared me, I expected this project to be super easy and it was a little bit more complicated than I anticipated. Once I got the pattern down I was able to get a rhythm and it ended up being a really great project.
If you’ve been following us for a bit you know that we converted our garage to be our master bedroom when we renovated. When we did this we had to relocate our laundry room and the best place for this was to combine to closets in the hallway. I don’t mind the laundry room being small, but I do mind it being boring. The peel and stick tile really added the pizzaz we were looking for.
I love that people don’t believe that it’s not real tile. We do plan on adding bi-pass doors on front of the laundry area, but I haven’t found the one’s yet. I’m looking for some unique vintage doors that bring out the 60’s charm of our home. This “tile” could also be used for a kitchen backsplash if you’re looking to save money or need something temporary.
DIY PROJECT 6 – PAINTING SHOWER TILE
This is definitely another favorite on my project list. Our tile in the guest bath was dated and yellowed. It had an ugly gold trim that just wasn’t doing it for me. We had the vanity and counter top replaced, but this was at the end of our renovation and it was time to get creative with the budget. Paint to the rescue!
The before and afters truly get me every time 🙊🙊🙊 This is actually not the same paint we used in the first DIY project mentioned for the tile floors. The paint we used here is by Rust-Oleum made specifically for tub and shower. I get asked everyday how it’s holding up and one year later I can tell you it looks great! No wear or tear at all showing and this is our primary shower since we haven’t completed our master bath just yet.
DIY PROJECT 7 – PAINT THE EXTERIOR OF YOUR HOME
Last but certainly not least is painting the exterior of our home with Romabio Limewash. This was more certainly the thing that transformed our home the most over the past two years. Our brick was an interest coral with a stone like texture. This old lady was crying for a makeover.
I’m regularly asked how this is holding up too and the answer is also GREAT! There’s one spot on the porch where I got wet the day we painted so it’s a little faded. I’ll touch it up soon, but everywhere else looks perfect!
This project is a little more time consuming, but the transformation is so worth it. If you have time to kill I highly recommend it.
I hope this list inspires you to see all the big changes you can make to your home yourself without being handy and without overspending. Make sure to leave your favorite DIYs in the comments. We’d also love to see any of the projects you take on from our list. It makes us so happy to see you creating a home you love! 💕
Wow, so many awesome projects and ideas. You have done a great job! Always wondered about this peel and stick tiles. Good to know! So tempted to paint our bathroom tile walls too now! Thanks for the inspiration. Take care, Julie