DIY Pallet Wall
This family completely transformed a room in their house by using pallets to decorate a bare wall. Chris at Just a Girl and her husband undertook this project to add a new look to their son’s room. The best part? Most businesses are willing to give away their used pallets for free, and will be grateful if you take them off your hands. They removed the planks one by one, grouped them by size, and attached them in rows by staggering them to their son’s wall. There were some imperfections; some bits stuck out, and some pieces even had paint on them– but I think it went well with the look they were going for. The only obstacles were: prepping the wood by sanding, vacuuming, and brushing all of it, as well as laying the planks around the wall outlet. The end result is worth it though. Look how gorgeous it turned out!
DIY Master Bathroom
Check out this amazing remodeled master bathroom from Hometalk! It was all done on a $7,000 budget and was mostly DIY, and the result is very high end looking. They removed a dividing wall to open the space up and installed a beautiful, classic look pedestal tub. By purchasing inexpensive décor and furnishings from Home Depot and Lowes, and doing all installations themselves, they saved bundles of cash on the renovation– and it couldn’t look any more fabulous.
Going to renovate a room in your house soon? Consider opting for the DIY path to save money.
Solar Shingles On Roof
Solar power is a great way to make your house more eco-friendly and to cut back on the electricity bill. A type of solar panel, solar “shingles” actually look like asphalt shingles and blend in with them, rather than the standard bolt on solar panels, but have usually been more expensive. Recently though, solar shingles have gotten more competitive with pricing and have risen in popularity. They also come with the added bonus of functioning as durable, weatherproof shingles.
So, if you’re going to be re-shingling this summer anyway, solar shingles would be a great investment.
Photo Credit: Saginaw Furniture
“Clark+Kensington Paint+Primer in One”
Ace Hardware recently contacted us at Shak asking us to give a review of their paint, Clark+Kensington™. It is a new premium line of paint+primer in one, available exclusively at Ace Hardware. As my 2 girls were clamoring for room makeovers for months I accepted the offer to try the paint and report the results.
This new line of paint eliminates the need to prime and paint surfaces separately for the vast majority of paint projects. Recently, this brand was rated #1 by Consumer Reports, It was cited as being, “impressive at hiding and leaving a smooth finish that resisted stains.” I liked how this paint has low VOC (volatile organic compounds) levels, which causes minimal odor and has environmentally safe ingredients.
Closet Conversion to Mini Office
At my home, closet space is premium, so the idea of losing a place to put my coats just won’t happen under my roof. However if closet space is plentiful and you need a great place to put a kid’s computer or mini-work station, this closet conversion is fantastic!
From Whimages, take a look at this beautiful space,
This is the little sitting area off to the side. The kids use it to pile in and look over each other shoulders when they are all on the computer. I curl up here and hubby and I look at ideas for our next project! We haven’t decided if we are going to put shelves in the “built in in a built in” yet there on the side. I often have a tall pitcher of fresh flowers in it but these are from the wedding we just went to.
This really is stunning! Well done!
Living Room in Process
How I admire people who take on remodeling projects – whether it’s a table, a room, or an entire house! My projects are things like scrapbooking or making homemade Christmas cards. Having the ability to take a blank room and make it beautiful is applaudable!
The family of A Moving Tale gladly share their progress on renovating an old farm house – room by room. They’ve run into one snag in their living room and I feel for them,
Plus side? We’ve paid this guy NOTHING for his work so far (who knows how much it even costs?…) We asked for the sum of work completed to-date, and never received it. So on Sunday we decided to ‘fire’ him (pardon the pun … ie, not pursue him anymore), and find someone else. Bad part? We feel like our bill is ‘unsettled’ – and we should pay him for what he’s done, but we have no idea what that is, nor was it ever provided to us in a quote, like we asked.
I’m glad to see the family will pay when they get their itemized bill, but I do understand their frustrations. Read the whole experience here!
Zombie Proofing Your Home
Ready for a do-it-yourself home project? You can zombie proof your house! It may cost a pretty penny – what for the mechanics of pulling down the steel doors, stocking the roof with the proper defense, and (what was left out of this house) a court yard for raising your own food, but if the zombies come it would be well worth the investment!
So how safe is this house? Well, for starters, you can seal off the entire first floor from outside entrance using some heavy-looking movable block walls and metal security doors. The only permanent entrance to the house is on the second floor, and that is protected by a removable drawbridge/gangplank type of thing that folds up perfectly into the profile of the house for maximum protection.
Here’s the before:
Zombie after:
Thanks, guys!
Why Remodel? Here Are Ten Reasons
If I could rate the need of rooms to remodel, it would be the kitchen, bathrooms, and then the living room. In my kitchen I want new counters (give me granite, please), new flooring, and a new design for my pantry. I want roll out shelves rather than lazy-susan-type shelving.
For my bathroom, I would get rid of my jetted tub that has only been used twice and install a big, luxurious shower. I’d also re-tile and seal with a grout that doesn’t show when it gets dirty! For the living room, I’d be happy with hardwood flooring, new paint, and figure out how to lower my fireplace mantle which is about nine inches too high.
Catherine of A Dog and Her Girl is getting to remodel her kitchen. Here are some of her reasons why,
The laminate floor is peeling up at the seams.
The appliances are old, some of them likely originals from 1957.
The lights over the stove and sink shorted out.
The fan over the stove shorted out as well.
Sometimes the main kitchen light (flourescent) doesn’t turn on and it flickers when it does.
Lucky girl!
Find Your Momentum
My bathtub is still sitting upstairs in its uncaulked glory. My husband lost his momentum about two years ago to fix it. Like my loving spouse, rudimentarian has also delayed starting on his kitchen project … a 10 year delay.
Yes, over a decade after I removed the doors, the cabinets were still hanging up, and the same flickering lights were still in place overhead. Lacking confidence in my ability to make a more meaningful repair without screwing something up, I’d grown accustomed to looking at the doorless cabinets and lost all my will to fix them.
From this, I learned that home improvements have a kind of momentum: fixing something leads to other ideas, and builds the confidence to try new things.
I’m not sure if a lack of confidence is to blame for my own bathtub. I think it’s more of a case of husband having too many other projects going on right now. Will keep you posted!