DIY In The House

 

We have been pretty busy making some cosmetic updates to our house. And when I say "we" I mean "he".  Craig has been doing an awesome job keeping busy with some house upkeep while my head has been buried in the books. We decide on ideas together and he makes it happen. 

When it comes to decorating, I am not creative. I have to look up pictures in magazines or Pinterest and then just copy it.  First, we needed to update our family room walls. They have been looking pretty boring since we bought our house in 2008! I also don't like tons and tons of pictures everywhere. I try to keep everything minimal so it has a clean look without crossing the line to a cluttered look.

 

I found this picture and just loved it.  

I looked through the frames and decor that we already had and only had to purchase a few items. I was even able to find the exact 'Family' sign at Hobby. Lobby for 50% off!  This wall...

...turned into this!

These baby pictures of the kids were taken when they were each 2 months old.

That is because Craig and I had our baby pictures taken when we were 2 months old also. Now, all of our baby pictures are hanging together.

Kaitlyn and Preston are on top, Craig and I are on the bottom.  The resemblance is uncanny! My mom even made Kaitlyn's baby dress to match the one I was wearing in the picture.

 

Hanging pictures was not too bad, but Craig got to work on building stuff out of wood. We have a new neighborhood popping up next to us which means lots of scrap wood.  Why not turn all that scrap wood into some fun projects for our house?

 

Kaitlyn is a budding artist and is constantly bringing home her masterpieces from her weekly art class. We decided to make an art gallery in an upstairs hallway to display some of it. Craig spent time cutting the wood, sanding it, staining it, and even adding a little ledge so the pieces wouldn't slip off.

 

Here is the Pinterest version:



The finished project in our home is it's own work of art.

We added some of Preston's art and other keepsakes and now the shelves are full. We can easily rotate pieces when we choose and can always admire their creations.

The next project was the boring front door. Here is a flashback to the first day of school so you can see how plain it looks.

I have always wanted a red front door and we have always had a very beige door. Craig heard my desire and obliged.

It looks fabulous and makes the outside of our house look so inviting. I especially love it right now with the Christmas wreath on the front door.

The final project was to build a blanket ladder to add to our family room similar to this picture.

 



Who doesn't love to cuddle under a cozy blanket in the cooler months? In fact, we usually wrap ourselves in a blanket all year round when we want to relax. Craig got to work using some more scrap wood and it took him no time at all. I absolutely love the end result. This best part was that it didn't cost us anything!!!

We have many more projects we (and by that I mean he) want to start working on. This was all accomplished in just the last few weeks. I think Craig has found a hobby he enjoys and I found I am good at picking projects for him to work on! :)