DIY: Let's Beautify Your Home
By Arlyn Molina
1. Starting Your DIY Journey with Paint
First of all, DIY isn’t only for pros. DIY is for everyone. You don’t need proper experience or knowledge to take the step forward to commence a project. If you’re wanting to get your feet wet, I recommend starting with paint. Paint a room, a closet, or a door. Find a color that you find beautiful but also coordinates with your vision for the room. You can ask workers at paint stores for recommendations on the type of paint needed for your project and they will help guide you. They can even recommend the rollers and other materials needed for your project. See? You don’t need to know it all. You will learn along the way. Once you’re ready, just pick a day to start the work, crank up your favorite music, and get it done. Make sure you take before and after photos so you can appreciate the work.
cr: @hearthandhoneyhomes
2. Embracing Imperfection in DIY
Perfection is unachievable. Are you human? Yes (hopefully!). Then you cannot achieve perfection. It’s impossible. Aim for pretty and tricking of the eye. Most importantly, give yourself grace if this is your first project, and KNOW that mistakes are okay! Let’s continue then. Want to know why painting is a good way to start your DIY journey? This is because it creates such a difference without needing a lot of experience. A change in color makes any space feel new. If a color doesn’t go or you just don’t love it, you can easily paint over it again and again and again. Isn’t that wonderful and liberating? Experiment until you get it right! Some good spaces to have a focal wall painted would be the wall where your bed is placed, a TV wall, or the end of a hallway. I love dark, moody colors, but light colors can also work here.
3. Personalizing Your Space with Artwork
Next on the list, get you a nice drill! Now find a beautiful piece of artwork and screw that into the wall— one screw only to get you started. (Screws tend to be a little more sturdy for hanging art than nails.) I have many clients who are so afraid to make holes in their walls that they never do it and do not allow for their spouses to touch their walls either. Your home is YOURS. Say it with me again: MY HOME IS MINE. If a hole doesn’t work out, caulk it and try again. Walking past things I personally put up makes me feel SO accomplished. In fact, there is nothing in my home I myself did not put on my walls, except possibly my living room television which was too heavy and high to mount on my own. (Know your limitations and accept them!) This makes me feel like my home is actually mine!
cr: laceandcharm.interiors
cr: @farahpro
4. Building Confidence with Basic Tools
Finally, I give you my blessing to purchase a cute toolset and toolbox for yourself. You don’t need the fanciest things out there. You basically need a Phillips screwdriver, a flathead screwdriver, a tape measure and a hammer. These are basic tools for assembling furniture you might receive in the mail, fixing minor issues around the home, or installing shelves or other items. Don’t be afraid to learn the basic tool names and take on easy tasks. When you are able to be confident in using these tools, you can decorate your home on your own. From installing curtains or roman blinds that will add a romantic element to a space, to placing a gallery wall on a hallway, to painting accent walls or even furniture, you’ve got what you need to change your home. Some easy projects to take on would be adding wainscoting to a wall, painting small pieces of furniture, or installing a simple gallery wall. Create moments in your home where someone can stop to think and compliment. We do DIY to beautify our home.
cr: @taylorinterior
5. Transforming Your Home as a Journey of Self-Discovery
The beautiful thing about our homes is they are OUR HOMES. We can update them as needed (or as wanted) and mess up as often as we need to so we can learn— how to DIY, how to mess up and fix our mess ups, and what direction we want to take our home. They are a part of our journey of self-discovery in every way possible. I encourage you to be unafraid to change your home. Nothing is permanent. The results will be a home full of character, personal touches, and YOU.
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