I can do DIY projects?!

How did this happen?!

I am just as surprised and impressed as you are when I see the end result of some of the DIY projects I have planned and completed in our home so far. And let me tell you, this has been SO MUCH FUN.

Really a series of things led me to this point of becoming a DIY person. I suppose it all began as we were building our new construction home. We would be in meeting with the builder or subcontractor and they would start talking about adding something or how we wanted a certain design to be and I would say to Josh, "it's fine, I can just build that later." But keep in mind the only power tool I ever used prior to this was a drill gun. LOL!!! So I was saying this for over a year during the build and my thought process was fueled by a few things:

• Wanting to stay on budget probably was the #1 motivator
• Not knowing how I wanted spaces to function when we hadn't even used the space yet
• Not having the vision/plan for styling each individual space yet

So atlas, we moved into our house in early 2023 and got settled in with the moving boxes and furniture. Some of the areas that we left intentionally blank for the reasons above were ready to get some attention. So I got to planning and researching (Thank you Youtube University!!) and I started to just go for it. I bought a nail gun and a miter saw to go along with my drill for my first project.

The Drop Zone

The first project I attempted was our drop zone right as you enter from the garage. The area for collecting shoes, coats, backpacks, purses, hats etc. It started with just a bench and I added the wood paneling, trim pieces, and hooks. A very "easy" first DIY attempt and I love how it turned out.

Now you might be asking how I have time to do this--I plan a lot of the technical things during the week. Getting measurements. Making a supply list. Watching how to videos from actual professionals on how to use a particular tool. I work 4 days a week and have Fridays off so this is my big time to knock out the bulk of the project. Then I catch up on the smaller details of the project during nap time on the weekends or in the evenings during the week. Some projects have taken a weekend to complete. Some have taken a month to complete. The glorious thing about this is that there is no deadline--I am only on my own timeline which is refreshing.

Bedroom Accent Wall

This was probably the "easiest" project to do because I was now comfortable using a few of the new tools I purchased. And this is a popular type of design with the board and batten look so there's plenty of other DIY-ers whose accounts I could refer to. This project adds zero function but makes a huge impact in the space. It is simply MDF 1x4s that I secured into place with 2" brad nails, filled the nail holes, sanded, caulked the edges, and painted. I used SW Peppercorn for the wall color which is grey with blue/green undertones. I also bought some new pillow covers to pull it together a bit more. This was a quick weekend project that really gave me confidence to try something a bit more ambitious!

Laundry Room Makeover

Our laundry room was a complete blank slate. We opted to not even put in wire shelves during the build because I knew I would want to tear them down and build something else. Again, I have never built anything before this which is what makes this so comical! But after living in our home for about 6 months, I began to understand what we needed for this space. Functionally there needed to be storage. I went back and forth on open shelving or cabinets and ended up doing my own thing with a mixture of both. I LOVE this design!!!!! There are the cabinets to conceal all the things you don't need on display and the open shelf to show the more aesthetically pleasing laundry necessities. Look good, fold good, right?! HA.

For the behind the scenes how to: I bought and hung three 30" stock cabinets. This seemed intimidating at first but it ended up being the most straightforward part of the design. Prior to installation of the cabinets, I drilled a 2x4" into the studs at the correct height to rest the cabinets on while I drilled them into place. Once the cabinets were up, I removed the 2x4". I added crown molding and hardware. Then I built the floating shelf using 1/2" select pine plywood supported by 2x2" brackets I made using a Kreg Jig. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet for how to do this and it honestly really wasn't that hard....other than the fact I found out that a 2x2" is not actually 2x2"--it is 1.5x1.5".....WHATTTTT?! Then discovered that all lumber was cut this way. Down the rabbit hole I went, but it was definitely critical to have the height of the shelf correct so the front select pine 1x3" (which is actually 0.75x2.5") was flush with the top and bottom of the shelf. ANYWAY, the shelf ended up being the perfect fit thanks to my revelation on lumber measurements. After wood filling the seams and nail holes, I sanded the shelf down with an orbital sander then stained and sealed it to give the white oak look I was aiming for. Then I wallpapered! Which I've also never done before but was actually fairly simple once I got the hang of it. I'm lovinggggg the outcome here. Definitely not a wallpaper to do a whole room in but great for a small statement. The space is beautiful and functional--everything came out exactly how I pictured it!

What's next?

My current mindset is that there likely will not be a room that I do not touch LOL. I have this DIY bug and it has been so fun to design and personalize spaces to make them exactly what our family needs and make spaces that give some character to an otherwise blank space. The icing on the top is that I get to photograph the "after photos" which really makes this come full circle.

Honestly, I was nervous when I stopped taking on clients to photograph during a demanding time in my life (raising a baby and a toddler, building a house, and working full time as a PA in surgical dermatology) that I wouldn't have a creative outlet anymore--and boy oh boy was I wrong. I thought I would just be photographing the day to day things in my life--which is also worth documenting--but this has been a whole new level of creativity and fulfillment that I never even dreamed was imaginable. All because I just went for it and I haven't looked back. Photography has been the backbone of my creative self and adding DIY projects gives me a whole other world to explore! Excited to keep creating and sharing what I learn along the way!

Thanks for reading,

Kristen