I did more projects this year than any other! This was a big blank house when we moved in 2018. It was a fresh, clean slate and I’ve been busy making it our own and adding character. Here are my projects of 2019!
Dining room board and batten wall
Friends helped us close this wall in to make it a guest bedroom. It seemed like the perfect spot for another board and batten wall! I did it for around $100 and no power tools! Board and batten walls are such a great and inexpensive solution to big blank walls. The moulding gives depth and character to a boring wall. And this one I made with a shelf on top!
Entry makeover with only paint
Everyone loves a good before and after — especially when it was all done with paint! I’ll show you how I painted our french doors black and how I stenciled the floor using a large-scale stencil, all for about $100. Now love walking up to our entry way!
Boy’s bedroom
The boys room was very bland and needed some pop! I decided on a bold, teal accent wall with board and batten ($100). I added a fun detail to the ceiling by stamping it with a star in the same color ($5). I also found some affordable posters ($9) and hung them with cheap wooden dowels ($2.50) on the opposite wall. I’ve got all the tutorials for them right here!
Boys’ bathroom
Paint transformed this standard beige builder’s bathroom and gave it some needed dimension and personality! I painted stripes, added simple wainscoting (with no power tools) and even painted the door and shower accent tiles.
My daughter’s bedroom
My mom says you can do anything with four blank walls, and this room is proof she is absolutely right! Clara’s room is fairly small with no architectural detail or high ceilings, but with a vibrant framed mural it’s stunning! I asked her if she’d switch me rooms and she said no. I’ll show you how I hung the wallpaper (all by myself!), sealed it and framed it (with no power tools).
My daughter’s bathroom
Do you have ugly tile in the bathroom? You can paint it! I gave the tile in Clara’s bathroom a makeover for about $60 (including brushes). This has been by far the most asked tutorial I’ve gotten on Instagram and I finally finished it!
Because I didn’t love the existing tile and I hope to redo the bathrooms in the coming years, I decided to go bold! Bright coral and ombré pink bold! That way if I completely botched it, it wouldn’t be too bad.
Patio makeover
This space has changed dramatically over the past few months! It was once brown with blank walls, but now it feels more like our own little resort. It has quickly become my favorite place to sit, drink coffee, read my Bible and look at nature.
There are a few affordable tricks I can share that have the biggest impact —plants, curtains and twinkle lights. Let me show you. (Don’t miss the nighttime shots at the end!)
Easy hallway moulding
A piece of chair railing plus pre-made frames add instant character at an affordable price. Add some glue and a few finishing nails and it’s up!
Our house was a big blank, white box when we moved in and I’m on a mission to fix that! Moulding adds so much depth and it doesn’t have to be difficult. I added chair rail and pre-formed frames to the kids’ bathrooms and our hallway and I couldn’t be happier!
$19 stenciled backsplash
Nineteen dollars a few hours completely changed the look of this kitchen! This boring white box needed an update, but I just didn’t know what. It’s not the kitchen of my dreams, so it needed to be cheap. And a stencil did the trick!
This backsplash isn’t tiled, it’s just a regular textured wall with eggshell paint. If you want to paint existing tile, see this post: How I transformed my kitchen with paint.
$28 Doll house makeover
I saw this dollhouse by the side of the road on our way home from church and knew it must be ours … I mean Clara’s! It must be Clara’s.
I had a goal of a few hours and $20. It makes me crazy to find a freebie and then spend a bunch of money on it. That defeats the purpose! I ended up spending 5 hours on the house itself and $28 total for supplies. I may or may not have gotten a little lost with time coming up with free DIY Barbie furniture.
Dresser makeover
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to strip furniture and tips for the best results. Then comes this awesome little secret, liming wax! It’s SO easy and gives wood a bleached, white-washed finish. It’s amazing.
Clara was in desperate need of a dresser (picture clothes all over the floor), but I have been holding out for a DEAL. I happened to glance at the front of the kids consignment store as we were leaving and saw the perfect size dresser for $30!
Coming up! I’ve actually completed a few more projects than I’ve shown here, but haven’t blogged about them yet! Coming up soon: master bathroom refresh, stenciled living room and sage playroom.
You can find my DIY library from the past five years on this page!
You can always see what I’m up to on Instagram!
I share the projects as I do them in stories. Blog coming next is our sage playroom with Amazon mural! I am SO excited about this one!
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Hi Kate – First and foremost a wonderful blessed 2020 to you and all the family. This was such a lovely read, I really enjoyed all your fabulous projects. You certainly have been busy, glad to see you are enjoying your home and so much love is poured into it, it really makes a happy home. I flipped over to see the outside make-over, wow, the night photos are stunning, it looks great with all the changes! It does look most inviting for relaxing during the day, and at evening it would be just grand spending time out and be grateful for all things, I know that you are as you show appreciation for what you have. Nice to see a home that is lived in and enjoyed. God bless take care, kind regards.
Hi Elize! I wish you a very happy and healthy 2020 as well! You’re so right, being grateful and appreciating what you have is the key to most things in life. Happy New Year! xo