A Beginner's Guide to a DIY Bathroom Update

You know how everyone on those TV house hunting shows is looking for an open concept home? You know, one that has flow and doesn't feel boxed in with small rooms breaking everything up? Well, those are great. But when it comes time to remodel or replace something, you often have to replace all the things since one thing flows to the other. That was the case when we recently remodeled our kitchen. 
We had a half bathroom downstairs that needed updating and it was shockingly easier {and less expensive!} to DIY than we thought. In fact, I took over the majority of the DIY on my own to save money. This isn't the first time I've updated a bathroom. In fact, they are pretty darn easy spaces if you are just getting your feet wet in DIY. I've got a full beginner's guide on how to update your space without breaking the bank. Even if you aren't touching the rest of the home, this will give you a quick refresh that will help you gauge the level of your abilities if you want to progress on in DIY projects. Are you ready?

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Everything You Need to Know to Bleach Furniture to Get the Raw Wood Look

Last year, we remodeled the whole downstairs of our home. We updated the orange wood tones that were all over the house with a much more neutral look. If you've ever done a home remodel, you know that you are basically just bleeding money for months on end. And when our remodel stalled and we had to fire our contractor, we weren't sure how we were going to move forward with a new plan and how much that was going to cost us. Being on the frugal side of things anyway, I like to buy cheap and save the difference. But I was willing to splurge on a few things, a new table being one of them! After searching around and not being able to stomach the many thousands of dollars a new table was going to cost, I started looking into some DIY options. I came full circle, and while it took me buying and refinishing about five tables, I finally settled on two that I absolutely love for our dining room and kitchen nook. And in the process, I learned a lot of lessons on how to bleach furniture to get the coveted raw wood look that's so hot right now. Here is what I learned.

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Dark and Moody Navy Blue Dining Room Reveal

I'm not sure if it's just because I painted my dining room navy blue, but now I'm noticing navy blue rooms everywhere. And I'm not sad about it! I actually think I love the deep dark tones and texture, which is funny because normally I'm all about light and bright. I think I've finally finished up making most of the changes in my dining room after painting the walls with Sherwin Williams Naval, and I wanted to take a second to reveal some of those changes. I didn't do much, but the whole space feels totally different and I didn't even replace a single piece of furniture! I'm sure I'll be searching for some more accessories for the room {because I love my accessories!}, but for now, I'm excited to show you the big reveal of my navy blue dining room.

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7 Timeless Kitchen Design Trends

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Sears Home Services. All opinions are 100% my own.
They say that the kitchen is the heart of the home. It's true don't you think? We have many private rooms in our home, but few are shared and used by the whole family on a regular basis the way that the kitchen is. It doesn't matter that each of our kids has their own rooms with desks, they do their homework on the kitchen table. We eat together, cook together, play games together and enjoy each other in our kitchen. It's probably the one room of the home that I spend the most time in.

When I was 22, we bought our first house. We brought home kid number two and kid number three in that home and enjoyed our space until we were bursting at the seams. We had a lot to learn as first time home buyers, but we also made some pretty good choices too. 
One of the updates that we made was probably the smartest thing we could have done. 

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Washi tape box update

I know I'm not the only one that loves pretty packages.  I love seeing them under the Christmas tree, I love receiving them, and I love giving them. However, I'm not always that good about making all of my packages pretty.  I usually get the gift I'm giving wrapped but can't seem to take the time to finish off the package...to add that pretty final step to wrapping the gift, but it makes all the difference don't you think?

This year, I received an order of plain white boxes from Jam Paper and decided to use washi tape that I had on hand to give those plain white boxes a little umph.

I really like the contrast of the grey and white and love how easy it was to take these boxes from drab to fab. What is your favorite way to wrap a package?

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Stenciled $10 rug update

I not only write a blog, I am also an avid blog reader. I see tutorials all the time and love the finished project but I constantly wonder how those projects have held up over time.  Especially ones that get used often. Over two years ago I stenciled a Big Lots rug that I got for $10 and shared the tutorial with you. I used regular paint can paint that I had on hand that I had gotten for free and even I was concerned at how well the paint would hold up over time. This is a picture of the rug from March 2012

I'm happy to report that while the rug has faded, it has held up remarkably well.

The room that the rug is in receives the most light and is one of the highest traffic spots in the whole house.

The stenciled rug is by far one of my favorite projects to date.

So go ahead, use leftover wall paint on a low pile rug and paint away. You will have a custom rug at a fraction of the cost in no time!

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Updating the kitchen for under $25!

For Christmas I got a little present from my hubby.

I thought we would play a little game and see if you could spot the update.

The picture on the left is the before {taken three years ago}

and the picture on the right is the after.

I can't believe how in the past three years not much has changed in my kitchen!

It's a little crazy.

If you noticed the new drum shade pendants as the update you would be right!

I shared a kitchen tour with you all a few years ago when we first moved in.

Not much has changed!

Seriously, it's a little trippy.

I really love my kitchen.

It's huge and is well laid out, but one of those things I have never liked were the pendants.

I wasn't a big fan of the bell shade, so when I saw that Lowe's had pendant light shades for $10, I sent my hubby a text and asked for them for Christmas.

It took Mike less than 10 minutes to install both new shades.

I think they made a huge difference and update the space right away.

Totally worth the $22 investment!

One final angle to see how the new pendant shades look over my island.

Do you have any good cheap ways that you update your living space? I would love to hear your tips!

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Master Bedroom makeover

Do you all remember when I entered this contest and came in first loser ? Well, Mandi just finished the winner's bedroom makeover and I am dying at all the cool stuff she did. Go check it out here . And I must say, I am super happy for Jessica and totally got over my jealousy. So congratulations Jessica! Enjoy your new room, it's amazing!

After the contest, I knew for sure I wanted to paint my furniture. I thought for sure that would help update my room. So let me show you some before pictures to refresh your memory.

Here's the entry to our bedroom before.

And our bedroom furniture

We didn't do much to the chair in the corner. We did hang our Kari Michael print and changed out the lamp and shade. Both from a garage sale.

And here's our bedroom furniture. I think it makes a huge difference!

I had my husband sand all of the furniture and then I primed and painted it with Krylon spray paint. I used the black primer and then a zillion and a half cans of the Krylon leather spray paint on the furniture.

I found that spray painting the furniture was so much faster and easier, but not more economical. I spent a TON on spray paint!

Here is what we did to the room to update it:

Not quite sure why this image is so small, but you get the idea of the huge before and after change. So what do you think? I know there is still more work to be done, but this was a great, cheap easy fix for us!

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