Sunday, July 30, 2017

5 great tips for saving your sanity while living through a DIY renovation


check out my top 5 great tips to help you keep your sanity through your DIY renovation

It truly is amazing the power that white paint has...I have chosen to use para paints melamine paint for our trim in Simply white... it is a nice neutral white in our space...this room has truly transformed over the last week, it all has just come together...it feels light and airy and fresh and happy...I am loving it...the painting is about 95% complete...I see the finish line in sight. Isn't it amazing how many coats of white it can take though...


                                                                           before

Although I am not totally in love with the creamy paint on the cabinets painting all the trim out white and the island huronia by para it seems much more livable for the mean time.

{GREAT TIP #1: it's ok to make small changes that are part of the overall design plan ahead of a full blown makeover...like here how I went ahead and clad the most visible side of this island, although I will wait to paint the rest of the island when I tackle painting the perimeter cabinets, this has made me happy to see a little bit of my vision come to life.}

I fell in love with this tile from home depot and I am planning to use it in our laundry room...but for now I felt compelled to turn it into a trivet...I am now wanting to use this patterned tile on the risers of our stairs...won't that be beautiful...?
                                    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/174092341828513350/


{GREAT TIP #2 : don't rush right into making big changes, it's always best to live in a new home for a while before making big changes as you will find out so much about your space only after living in it for a while...so slow down and don't rush in.}
I was able to find a great local manufacturer to work with for me to design to my specs these steel brackets inspired by many Fixer Upper makeovers...I'm thrilled with how they turned out but its obvious I need a third shelf...which means I am off to order more brackets, I will be offering them for sale through my White Wood Studio facebook page.

after removing the wall hung cabinet, that we will relocate, I sourced some matching tile because I really do love this white tile...it was a nice quick install to add a few more rows.





                                                                     kitchen before
As you can see I have yet to install the beautiful baseboards but I am waiting to complete the tile in the entry before I get to the painting and install of the baseboards, I am excited to have them in place.
{GREAT TIP #3: don't pressure yourself to finish every little detail within a tight timeline, celebrate the victories along the way...it will motivate you to keep going.}

I love how this Metrie panel trim I added under the chair rail looks, it seems like it has always been there...




I just love these lamps I found at Lowes, I like how I was able to choose the shades that suited my design style, so many options. link here to the lamps  and shades 


I added a few extra hooks in the entry just for a little bit of extra black visual interest...these will be available for company.
 Recently I installed the corbel table I had been planning for many months...this pushed me to finally get my husband on board to install and extend the tile in the entry.


excuse all the computer modems in the entry...it's all moving very soon.


my poor husband... I got all the supplies...but somehow I bought the rapid set thin set...not what you want for a first time diy tile job.... so lets just say it didn't go so well...after a few days some of the tiles were popping up...it was a bit crushing, so we decided to go with the pre-mixed tile adhesive for flooring...for our second attempt...we will stay off the area extra long and hope all goes well this time...


                                                         sad sad...set backs are for learning
 { GREAT TIP #4: when things don't go as planned stop and figure out how to solve the problem before calling defeat...no one's DIY journey is without challenges...problem solving is a big part of the diy journey...progress not perfection...}

{GREAT TIP #5: try to enjoy the process...and your accomplishments and take time to step away and enjoy some time away from your diy projects...sometimes we can get sucked into this rabbit hole of home improvements...get out of the house it's good for the soul and the body...}

so to recap...the entry is in limbo but getting there, I'm hoping by next weekend it will be fully functional...and that I can get this pew out of my dining area...
the kitchen has some more tile and some open shelving...oh yeah...
the living area painting is mostly complete and looking lovely and light....

it's a marathon not a sprint over here...learning much patience...

1 comment:

Isadora Guidoni said...

Awesome tips!! Number 4 is one I definitely needed to hear/read! Thanks for sharing!