From Builder Grade to Custom Made — 20 DIY Projects You Can Tackle While Staying At Home
While some areas of the country have begun reopening and relaxing social distancing measures, some of us (myself included) are still planning on staying home for the foreseeable future. Don’t get me wrong, I am more than ready for life to get back to normal. To enjoy time outside of my 1192 sqft. box, get my nails done (oh acrylics, how I miss thee), and coach my cheerleaders in person again. I’m longing for the day I can sit down at Cheddars and hear my waiter utter those 10 magical words: “Would you like to start with any drinks or appetizers?”, but we won’t be getting any Texas-sized margaritas and Wisconsin cheese bites anytime soon in this household. More than anything, I’m totally wishing Ira and I were holed up in our new house right now! Currently, it looks like this…
She’s pretty, but she’s dirt(y). Ha! Get it? Anyways, our lot is still just fill & form boards, but progress is being made! This week they’ll be doing plumbing rough-ins and starting on the foundation. We’ve got our pre-construction meeting scheduled for early next week and then I’m hoping time will fly by from there. It’ll still be another 5-6 months before we can move in though and all I can think about is how great it would be to be able to use this time at home to tackle DIY projects. We opted to keep a lot of the standard builder options in the house to save money, so we have a very long list of things to do once we move in. We plan on totally upgrading each room in the house over time and all of this sitting still and waiting is killing me! To make matters worse, I can’t even scratch my DIY itch in our apartment because duh, we’re moving soon! It’s a total catch-22—too late to change the apartment, too soon to change the house.
So to keep me busy in the meantime—and keep my mind off that delicious combination of fried cheese and strawberry flavored Tequila—I’ve rounded up 20 awesome ways you can spruce up your own builder-grade home. Let’s face it, folks, we may be here for a while, so we might as well have something nice to look at. Go ahead and get started & don’t forget to opt for contactless delivery or curbside pickup when shopping for your materials!
Paint your Windows Black
Y’all have heard me harp on this before, but I just CAN’T get enough of the black interior window trend. Black windows add a bold accent to light spaces and draw the eye outside to the beautiful views beyond your home. Julia from Chris Loves Julia teamed up with her sisters and painted her wood window trim black in just a few hours. Or, if you prefer video walkthroughs, Jess over at Hartman Haus, Jenn at Making Pretty Spaces, and Liz at Within The Grove have all the details on how they each spray-painted their window trim on their Instagram accounts. It’s so satisfying to watch the transformation and the end result is everything! the spray painting method takes a bit more prep work, but overall it’s a faster, easier, and cleaner way to knockout this project in just a single day.
Give your hardware a facelift
Another easy spray paint DIY! Did you know you can actually use spray paint to update your doorknobs, cabinet pulls, faucet, shower fixtures…basically any type of hardware! Replacing hardware can get pretty pricey when you start to add everything up—swapping our door handles will cost us around $600!—so spray paint is a great way to make a quick change now while you save for the real replacement. Click on any of the images below to see the full tutorial!
dress up your ceiling
Kayla Simone Home
For some reason, ceilings are often overlooked when designing and decorating a room even though there are SO many ways to dress it up. You can paint it a bold color or add real or faux wood beams—we plan on doing both in our entryway! Dark, dramatic ceilings instantly make any space feel cozier by contrasting light walls. Wallpaper looks awesome on ceilings with architectural detailing like beams and soffits or there’s always shiplap! No matter what you choose to do, any of the options will give you something beautiful to look up to each day.
Organize Your Closet
Let’s be real. Most of us have way too much stuff tucked away (or strewn about) in our closet. Begin your own overdue closet makeover simply by going through and purging items you don’t need, no longer wear, or have outgrown. Set aside the items that can be donated and make a note to yourself to drop them off at your local shelter or church when you can leave the house again. After you’ve paired down your items to just the things you absolutely need and want, separate them out by season. Save space by only keeping in-season items in your closet and storing the other items in bins for later. Swap out all of your hangers to thin velvet or wire ones to save even more space and make the entire room look cohesive. If you’re looking to do a full overhaul, the IKEA Pax Wardrobe System is the best way to get a custom look for less. You can use their online planning tool to design your entire closet system and then get it shipped directly to your house. Chris Loves Julia has designed a few Pax closets over the years and has multiple posts on their blog dedicated to their favorite closet system.
paint your cabinets
A makeover so nice, I had to link it twice! Chris Loves Julia transformed their entire kitchen in just 2 weeks for only $1000. Their blog post on this phase 1 makeover goes into detail on how they used a sprayer to paint their cabinets a moody green-gray in a single weekend without sanding them first! If you don’t have a paint sprayer, try this DIY using RustOleum’s Cabinet Transformation Kit. Both results are to die for!
Create An Accent Wall
Accents walls are here and they’re here to stay people! This trend has been on the rise for the last few years and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Makeover a wall in your home by adding trim for an interesting 3D effect, or imitate the look with matte & gloss paint (this is perfect for renters!) Another super common and easy DIY is shiplap! There are so many different ways to achieve this modern farmhouse accent wall look and you can install the planks vertically, horizontally, or even diagonally to keep things interesting. A few other cool accent wall choices include stenciling or sponging, wallpaper, peel-and-stick tile, board and batten, free-hand painting…with a little creativity the possibilities are endless!
hide an ugly ceiling light
Builder-grade light fixtures. What’s there to love really? If you aren’t ready to shell out the cash to replace them right now, you can disguise those basic boob lights by covering them with a drum shade or turning them into a mini chandelier.
frame your bathroom mirror
You won’t even believe how much of a difference this makes in your bathroom! You can make your bathroom look more finished with a few long scraps of wood and a couple of hours by building your own mirror frame to go over your existing mirror. Not up for a woodworking project? MirrorMate and Frame My Mirror have kits you can buy to make the process even simpler.
give your doors a makeover
Another easy way to give a room flair is by painting your doors to contrast the walls. Doors are no longer just fading into the background, but instead making a statement and becoming the focal point of a room. Paint your interior doors a bold color like black, or a more muted tone like light gray, to break up white walls and add a touch of character to your home. If you happen to have flat hollow core doors, you can even add your own trim to make them look more modern with multiple shaker-style panels.
paint your floor tile
Replacing tile can be both time consuming and expensive, but painting it doesn’t have to be! You can paint over old (or new) tile to make it look custom, pretty, and luxurious. We’ll be replacing our builder-grade tile floor with engineered hardwood at some point down the line, but I do plan on painting our tile almost immediately to give the space the beautiful look it deserves! Angela at Angela Rose Home painted the tile in both her laundry room and bathroom and it’s absolutely gorg!
make your pantry pretty
Show of hands—how many of y’all have stopped mid-scroll and swooned over a perfectly organized pantry on Pinterest? Everyone? Thought so. Go ahead and upgrade those flimsy wire shelves in your pantry to actual wood shelves. No more getting annoyed by small items falling through the cracks or wondering if the shelves will withstand the weight of all of your canned goods. Do yourself a favor and just go again and change them to real shelves. Or, at the very least, cover the old ones with wood framing. While you’re at it, paint the inside of your pantry a fun color or add a shiplap accent. Once you’ve got the space looking nice, don’t stop there—get it all organized! Use matching bins, containers, and jars to keep everything looking cohesive and clean. Label everything! You’ll thank yourself the next time you sneak to the kitchen for a quick afternoon snack. Finally, don’t forget about using the door for storage! If you’re lucky enough to have a walk-in pantry, know that I am uber jealous of you. But if you have a small/standard-sized pantry like I do, be sure to take advantage of the back of the door by using it to store small items like spices and seasonings!
update your kitchen island
Give your kitchen island a more finished look by adding molding, shiplap, or accent trim. The kitchen is the heart of the home, so make it pop!
Stain your grout
I was soooo close to making the mistake of getting white square tile AND white grout in our guest bathroom. At first I thought it would look cleaner, but after I sat on it a few days, I realized the entire bathroom would just be like a sea of white everywhere and switched my grout color to grey. If you’re stuck with white on white bathroom tiling, take a few hours and stain your grout whatever color you want! The stain paints right over your current grout but easily wipes off of ceramic tile making this a super easy and beginner-friendly project. The stain also seals the grout which keeps it clean and helps prevents it from wearing over time.
install window treatments
Open windows with wide, unobstructed views look gorgeous on our Pinterest boards but aren’t really so practical in real life. Our house is in a cookie-cutter suburban neighborhood so our neighbors are like, right there. Plus, not having to leave the house means that pants are optional, making window treatments mandatory. Do your home and your peace of mind a favor by installing blinds, curtains, or both! Currently, my favorite look is layering the two for a relaxed, textured feel. I absolutely love the way Jess at Hartman Haus layered woven wood blinds and simple curtains on her white walls and I actually plan on doing the same in my home. The different white tones and textures keep each piece looking distinct, while still allowing it all to fade into the background.
paint your front door
Pick a color, whip out your paintbrush, and give the outside of your house a well-deserved facelift! I’m a sucker for a black front door (black anything, really ) but this bright pink door snuck up on me and stole my heart! If you’re feeling really handy, you could even install a window in your existing door—there are no rules here! …Except for your HOA rules which are very real and should probably be given a quick once over before you go making any dramatic changes.
change out your trim & baseboards
This one is going to take some time, but it’ll be SO worth it in the end. Our builder wanted almost $2k to “upgrade” our baseboards to a simple, flat board instead of the traditional style with rolled edges…Catch me over here rolling my eyes at that. Instead, we’ll be changing them out over time on our own using this DIY tutorial. If you don’t have access to a miter saw, you can even cheat it and skip mitering the edges and no one will even be the wiser.
spray paint your shower frame
Say goodbye to your outdated brass or standard chrome shower enclosure. Spray paint that bad boy and you’ll be one step closer to your bathroom looking like all the ones on your ‘dream house’ Pinterest board.
transform your laundry room
Got a weekend? Silly question, of course you do. I’ve linked some of my favorite laundry room makeovers and wow! We’ve already covered the fact that I have a TON of clothes, which means I also end up with a ton of laundry. While there’s nothing in the world that can make laundry day fun, at least a nice laundry room will make it a little more enjoyable.
make your cabinets soft close
This is one of those sweet simple joys in life that you don’t even realize you’ll miss until it’s gone. I cannot stand cabinets that slam closed and it’s what we currently have in my apartment. The sound irks me almost as much as people leaving the cabinet doors open (ironic, huh?). If you feel the same, do yourself a favor and replace your cabinet hinges and drawer slides with soft-closing hardware. You can thank me later.
plan your next room renovation with a professional designer
A lot of us are cutting back on spending and holding off on big purchases right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan for the future! Kayla Simone Home offers full room e-design packages and a la carte design services to fit projects and budgets of all kinds, available to clients anywhere, anytime. The beauty of e-design is that it’s [ 01 ] super affordable! You can get an entire room designed for a low as $145! And [ 02 ] you can implement the new changes on your own timeline! After your design is complete, you’ll have everything you need to get started transforming your space whenever your budget and schedule allows. Best of all, the hard work will already be done so all you’ll have to do is shop, set up, and enjoy. You can contact me for a custom quote on your project!
