I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I build something myself. It’s original and it’s imperfections make it even more perfect; that’s why decorating our new house made this year’s bucket list. If there were no time constraints, I’d build everything myself. Since that’s not possible, the things I can build hold even more significance. We officially finished our laundry room this evening and three of the pieces were created by us. In a busy world filled with bills and house cleaning and grocery shopping, I love to fit in a few DIY projects that make me excited.
We were always throwing our jackets and sweaters on the staircase banister because we didn’t have a mud room or a closet at the door. I was tired of it until I found this cool pallet coat rack idea from Pinterest. It was easy to make and I used paint colors that matched the cushions on the bench that is also DIY.
We live in a new neighborhood and dumpster diving has become a regular weekend event. We’ve been able to make tables, chairs, benches, and artwork all from reclaimed wood found around the neighborhood. It doesn’t cost us a cent and it’s totally shabby chic.
The laundry sign is also made from reclaimed wood and a laundry rack that I found at Hobby Lobby. We painted the room with a $5 miss-matched can of paint that we found at Lowe’s. The total cost of the laundry room make-over was under $50 and it’s functional and unique.
In the last week, we finished the laundry room, painted the bathroom and the dining room, and made a console table for the family room. Next up… Darren’s office. Our goal of completing it this weekend wouldn’t fit with our crazy lifestyle if it wasn’t so unrealistic. We’ll see if we can actually do it.
What DIY projects are on your list?
Bucket List Publications 
I love your color palette!
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Art for my daughter’s room – will beat the current minimalist (read blank!) walls
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That looks great!
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I love reclaimed furniture art. Well done, they all look magnificent and are all a grey way to up cycle. Love your work.
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Love it
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I have several DIYs on mine, and decorate my own house is one of them. 🙂
Cute ideas!
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Awesomeness! (Y)
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Inspiring! Thanks for the ideas.
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Love what you have done and have found lots of creative ideas for the future on Pinterest. Right now we are in a apartment but will be looking for a house in about a year and incorporating some DIY projects.
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Reblogged this on vequinox.
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No I don’t do DIY because then I always have to pay somebody else a huge amount to fix it again.There is always huge hospital bills involved, and I have an extremely low pain threshold. Also it is not good for my marriage, and one of our cats is still missing after the last project. So no…
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We go dumpster diving in our area too – people throw away bookcases, sofas, chairs, everything, and most of it’s in good condition, so we’ve used it to furnish our patio! My next DIY project is a chicken coop…
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So refreshing to read something like this. We have friends that do similar and I’ve been trying my hand at DIY this summer and have felt a massive sense of accomplishment just doing the smallest of tasks. It’s so much more rewarding. Besides the financial savings to be made the sense of I did that myself – nothing can beat that! Pure gold 🙂
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Love the pallet coat rack! http://ohtheplaceswesee.com
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Love this. I’m the queen of the half-done project, and now I realize that it’s okay. I do the project for the project’s sake. But once in a while, I like seeing a polished sense of accomplishment, too:)
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“A man’s home is his hassle.”
“Dust is a protective covering.”
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I love utilizing reclaimed wood! It gives me even more satisfaction to make something from wood that was headed for the landfill. I absolutely have DIY projects on my bucket list! Once I move, I would love to decorate an entire room with things/art/furniture I’ve made. It is always so invigorating to see what you can build with your own two hands (and some select tools). 😉
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Not only are you saving money, but you are being Eco friendly too. Why buy new when you can reuse something. Love all of this!
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I DIY almost everything at my house. I did have a contractor finish a bathroom last year when I realized that a – I did not have the skills to finish it and b – it would have taken me 2 more years to get it done.
There is a cerain satisfaction from seeing the work produced by your own hands. Most of us use keyboards for work these days and never see a real result of our efforts. A new fence, walkway or freshly painted room are reminders that we are capable of doing things.
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I love the look – but I am about as creative as a slug. So, I tend to buy the exact same things from someone who is more creative
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I’m so impressed with people who take on and accomplish wonderful DIY projects. Your photos are beautiful and I love that mossy paint color. With rheumatoid arthritis, however, DIY (except knitting when I can) is beyond me. I’ve embraced the “less is more” philosophy (being broke and in debt helped) and minimalism (not the all white furniture and walls look–please, who lives that way without a FT maid? If you do and without a maid, I’m super duper impressed and mean no offense). I need uncluttered space to think, read, WRITE, meditate, practice yoga, etc. I guess you could say I’m my DIY project! Renovating my life.
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Oh God. Now I’m already thinking DIY. Darn you! But also, good for you. Recycling is the way to go.
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I always find some things at my apartment complex that someone is wanting to throw away, but it’s still perfectly fine like a small table. My apartment has some stuff saved from the dumpster.
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Oh my. Love the pallet coat rack. Who would have thought? I like your colours too, clean and refreshing. Outta-this-world. 😀
I moved five years ago and don’t have any DIY on the horizon. Phew!
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We just finished remodeling our kitchen. The last time we did it, our oldest daughter was two years old. She’s 42 now. The cost was a lot more than $50 but I love it. Now we plan on tackling the living room and dining room with some fresh paint.
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I like the bright colors and clean design. I love DIY projects, but never thought of them as bucket list projects. Hmmmm….thanks!
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Came out great! If you want a good giggle google pinterest fails. So many hilarious DIY’s gone wrong.
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Wow! I just spent the last hour looking at pinterest fails. I like the “nailed it” ones the most. Too funny! Thanks for a good laugh. 🙂
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These look so great! I also love dumpster diving. At my home in Canada there is a “heavy garbage pick up” season in the spring. People put out their old furniture and things that are too heavy for regular garbage during one week in the spring. It is a gold mine of dumpster diving.
My bucket list would be to make my own really big kitchen table!
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Your pallet coat rack looks great! Such fun colors and great use of upcycled materials.
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Office space for my new home based business
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I like it! I never heard of the term “shabby chic” before. Good one!
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Very nice. love the coat rack. How do you find time to do everything!!
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Hi Lesley, I haven’t heard from you in a while, and my life has been crazy, too. I love your laundry room! Good for you. You are so busy, and you had time to do this. I’m impressed. Thanks for visiting my site among all the MANY things you accomplish! 🙂 Marsha 🙂
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I love that coat rack and the bench. Very cool. 🙂 My list–finish the bathroom before I have to move to a retirement community. It is not looking good though.
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Is there any task beyond you, Lesley Carter?
Well done!
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This is amazingly well done. I love it. ^_^
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I was reading this post as my husband asked what my plans were for the day (he has meetings all day, poor guy). He may just come home to a messy DIY project this evening 😉
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I want to DIY my apartment next year. It’s a resolution.
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Neat – that is so creative. I have too many DIY projects maybe it is time I start looking through pinterest to find some ideas and get working. I think you inspired me.
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This is inspirational 🙂
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DIY is also part of my bucket lists
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i need to complete a kitchen counter change before I can tackle the DIY stuff – like painting, changing the bottoms of chairs, painting, putting together IKEA furniture. Sooooo, looking forward to it…
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Fantastic colors. Wish my laundry room looked so neat & tidy…
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DIY projects STAY on my wife’s bucket list. She’s got more of a “rolling bucket list.” Her love for DIY projects in our home, has gotten me more and more excited about doing them myself. Our entire wedding was a DIY project in the mountains of Oregon last year. Our photographer, (http://cassyberry.com/blog/) called it a “Pinterest Wedding.” Here are some of the photos I uploaded to Facebook from our wedding, all hand-crafted and “Did it herself” by my wife. http://on.fb.me/17Ucy12
Great post! Love your blog and Thanks for following my blog as well. It’s an honor.
From Our Traveling Hearts to Yours,
~Steve & Erica
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I love your laundry room DIY projects! I don’t have any on my bucket list right now, but want to mention a reuse/recycle idea we used when we moved into this home almost 6 years ago. The house was outfitted with bright brass fixtures for lights and ceiling fans, which was not to our taste or style. Some were just too awful and had to be replaced, but most were taken down, taken apart, and spray painted with antiqued-look paints from Rust-oleum. It was so simple, as no preparation is needed other than just dusting. They came out great and we have gotten 6 years of great use out of them so far!
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