Let the DIY Projects Begin

Posted on July 13, 2015 by lesleycarter

We haven’t even been in our new house for a week yet and we’re already deep into DIY projects and turning our new house into a home. The kitchen, our favorite room in the house, is pretty much perfect for us already. We love the stainless steal appliances and the upgraded counter tops and backsplash. The bedrooms and the living room needed personal touches to feel lived in and reflective of our personalities. We spent the weekend making some changes.

The living room is bathed in natural light. We wanted to continue with the open and airy feel while adding color and a beach theme.

We bought a huge wave canvas print from Ikea and a sea glass mosaic lamp from TJ Maxx. I painted our coffee table blue and added a new pull. Already, I feel like it’s more “me.”

For Athena’s room, I bought two RAST dressers from Ikea that looked like this…

And changed them into this…

Her room has a Frozen theme with several shades of blue. The knobs fit perfectly with the snowy wonderland and the three shades of blue pull the room together.

I loved the knobs so much that I added them to dressers for my room as well.

I still have to add legs to complete the project but this is what it looks like so far.

We’re converting the bonus room into a bedroom, but that was a little beyond our capabilities since permits are required. I received quotes from several contractors and we’re hoping to start that process this week. Then, I’ll have a whole new room to plan.

Our backyard is small but we’ve added a BBQ, benches and a table. We’d like to string lights to make it feel more like a party, but it all takes times.

One of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday is creating a DIY project with my family. When I walk around my home, I can see the things I created and it makes me smile inside and out. It doesn’t make me want to travel less but it feels like I’m still on vacation even when I’m home, and that’s my idea of living.

34 thoughts on “Let the DIY Projects Begin”

Dani Lynn on July 13, 2015 at 8:43 am said:

Your backyard may be small as you said, but then from what I’ve seen over the past couple of years, the world is your backyard!!! 🙂 Congrats on your new home. -Dani

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- lesleycarter on July 13, 2015 at 9:59 pm said:
  
  Well said 🙂
  
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Deborah Hawkins on July 13, 2015 at 8:45 am said:

I love Ikea and what you can turn it into. Love what you’ve done with these!

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- lesleycarter on July 13, 2015 at 9:59 pm said:
  
  Thanks! I love the possibilities with Ikea and the help of Pinterest 🙂
  
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2015chronicles on July 13, 2015 at 8:53 am said:

Isn’t Ikea the best. I helped my son decorate his place with Ikea and it came out beautiful. You guys are making quite a lot of progress.
Shine On

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- lesleycarter on July 13, 2015 at 10:00 pm said:
  
  It helps that we both love DIY projects. 🙂
  
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Mary on July 13, 2015 at 9:00 am said:

Gorgeous! Those unpainted, untreated products from Ikea are definitely the best to work with–you just have to be motivated enough to transform them, like you did!

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smiller257 on July 13, 2015 at 9:02 am said:

Looks great!

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mtetar on July 13, 2015 at 9:50 am said:

Your DIY are always Awesome. Blessings Always, Mtetar

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- lesleycarter on July 13, 2015 at 10:01 pm said:
  
  Thanks! We totally love coming up with new projects.
  
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straykatstrut on July 13, 2015 at 9:56 am said:

Well done! Loving the colors in that last photo too. ^_^

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ibdesignsusa on July 13, 2015 at 10:04 am said:

What a great start, already. Loving the living room picture and also what you did with the dressers.

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- lesleycarter on July 13, 2015 at 10:01 pm said:
  
  The wave photo is a good fit for our life in SoCal 🙂
  
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  - ibdesignsusa on July 14, 2015 at 9:59 am said:
    
    I bet it is!
    
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gotmeghan on July 13, 2015 at 10:46 am said:

Awesome!! 😀

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Lisa on July 13, 2015 at 12:26 pm said:

I love your DIY ideas and your home looks beautiful sweetie! I am so happy for you!

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- lesleycarter on July 13, 2015 at 10:02 pm said:
  
  Thanks Lisa! I’m deliriously happy.
  
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Capt Jill on July 13, 2015 at 3:04 pm said:

I love that wave print behind your sofa! Nice job on the decorating so far.

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- lesleycarter on July 13, 2015 at 10:04 pm said:
  
  Thank you! When I saw the wave canvas, I knew it was the perfect fit for us. I keep looking at it and I feel at home 🙂
  
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kfwilliams2015 on July 13, 2015 at 4:16 pm said:

I agree, that wave print is gorgeous!! 😀

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Jane Lurie on July 13, 2015 at 5:55 pm said:

Congrats on your new home and your creativity is impressive! 🙂

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December McIntyre on July 13, 2015 at 6:32 pm said:

Great work! I love the dressers.

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jmgoyder on July 13, 2015 at 7:23 pm said:

You are so innovative!

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letsgosomewhereblog on July 14, 2015 at 6:36 am said:

I adore your living room! That waves canvas is the best one I have seen so far. I like what you said about making your living space feel like you are still on vacation. I’ll think about that when it’s my time to create a home 😀

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Mama Cormier on July 14, 2015 at 7:08 am said:

Can I be honest with you? If you don’t like my comment you can delete it. As nice as the wave print is I don’t think it works above your couch. The problem is the placement of the two small windows that sit so high on the wall. By placing the couch below them it creates a ‘face’ (two eyes over a mouth). I don’t know if you can move the couch elsewhere but if you can you can use that wall as a feature wall with a gallery of smaller prints, photographs or paintings that go right up between the two windows. The large wave painting unfortunately is too big for the space. It looks like it is sitting right on top of the couch.

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- lesleycarter on July 14, 2015 at 10:22 am said:
  
  It’s the only spot for the couch. I totally see what you’re saying about the face and we talked about it before buying anything for the space but ultimately this is what we liked the most. Of course I’ll leave your comment. I love reading the comments of others. Not everyone has to agree with me That’s part of the fun 🙂
  
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Marisa LaValette on July 14, 2015 at 12:46 pm said:

Ahh! How fun to decorate your new space! My weekend DIYs are coming up on my blog, they are not quite as large scale as yours! Can’t wait to share.

I am so obsessed with your little outdoor area. It may be small, but I am an urban apartment in San Francisco with NO OUTDOOR SPACE. Your little patio is like a universe to me! Enjoy! : )

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JohnRH on July 14, 2015 at 4:20 pm said:

I want to dive into that wave print.

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meditatingmummy on July 14, 2015 at 6:33 pm said:

Oh my gosh, I am right where you are. Settling into our new home with that small back yard ( dirt right now, the possibilities are endless) I won’t be traveling for another year or two at least but I like walking into my home and feeling it greet me. Okay, I just did a photo wall upstairs and it drove me crazy. Will have to post later. I love your kitchen. I’m still decorating mine and btw, I love the dresser from Ikea.

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Human Soles on July 17, 2015 at 2:57 pm said:

Hey,

You are seriously living the dream I see! Ha, I am loving the posts that you have here and I wish you all the best for your new home, and a settled move into the Orange neighbourhood! I must admit, there’s nothing quite like some fun DIY, very exciting stuff indeed!

Victoria Human Soles X

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kcsaling on July 25, 2015 at 12:15 am said:

Your place is looking great! I absolutely love that wave print with the blue couch – so soothing and so energizing all at the same time!

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Bulldog Travels on July 30, 2015 at 1:50 pm said:

Have fun with it. I can’t wait to see what treasures from your travels you choose to display.

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Zezee on August 2, 2015 at 12:03 pm said:

DIY projects coming along nicely.

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After The Party on August 18, 2015 at 5:33 pm said:

Yay! you did find a place! So glad for you…I shall keep reading to find out where it is. 🙂

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