easy craft idea {driftwood fish}

Who’s planning to spend some time at the beach this summer? Would you believe it if I told you that we moved to Key West in January and I haven’t been to the beach once?  True story. That could have something to do with the fact that we moved here from a Caribbean island with the most beautiful water on earth. Or, more accurately, that I’m not really the lay on the beach type … I’m more of a scour-the-beach-for-seaglass-and-driftwood girl so I can whip them into easy craft ideas.

how to install board and batten {and what’s next for the living room}

OK, where did we leave off?  Oh right, we have a high board and batten wall!!! Have I mentioned we love it?!?  Yes, it is the only finished wall in this place, but we are still in love. To get all of the background on this wall and how we learned that part of it used to be a hallway and how this board and batten (some call it wainscoting) is the perfect solution to cover up all her imperfection go here. This is going to be a full rundown of how you, too, can design and create your own accent wall that can serve the purpose to cover up an unsightly wall.

how to remove a drop ceiling {drop it like it’s hot}

We’ve definitely transitioned from a few small pieces of molding on the floor to a full-scale demolition in our lining room (you know that room, the living / dining room combo room).  Here’s the full house tour video {before} for a glimpse into where we started. It was so fun to hear from those of you who watched the video … we’re excited to see the transformation, too!! Knock on wood … because there is an abundance of it around here … but we’re pretty happy that we haven’t had to take any walls all the way down to the studs … yet.  We’ve uncovered Dade County Pine on every surface (walls and ceilings) so far. Luckily we love the wood slat look.  :) Now, we aren’t necessarily the ‘define a plan’ and ‘follow the plan in order’ kind of DIYers. Especially when it comes to these older homes.  We’ve learned to never get our heart set on one idea, because you just never know what you’re going to find when you start uncovering the changes the previous owners have made over the years. Hello old front doorway hidden under paneling. So when we first brainstormed ideas for this combo room transition I was in love with the idea of vaulted ceilings.  We have high ceilings in most of the house, but this weird shorter ceiling in the very front, where you enter. This front 5 feet of house was the original porch.  And we love the added square footage the previous owners created by enclosing that porch and then adding a new porch to the front of that.  But we don’t like this weird ceiling line it created. And that it is so short right when you walk in we think it makes the whole room feel smaller, even though the … continue reading

one of the easiest pallet projects ever

Do you remember the last time you moved?  When you unpacked your things in your new house and all these old memories flooded back of those same things on your old space? I’ve been relishing the nostalgia of it all for about a week.  With every new box I opened I would uncover some of my favorite upcycling ideas or pallet projects.  The palm frond pumpkin made it pretty much unscathed!  And all of the pallet art projects need to find a new home here. And then when I found the diy door trough, one of the easiest pallet projects ever, I thought the tutorial was worth resharing.  This little gem might just happens to be one of the first bits of pretty around here. After I shared this tutorial I also shared how to reverse image and text in Word and make an easy little Welcome sign for your pallet projects.

how to get rid of mold {for $2 or less} no scrubbing required

Now, that title doesn’t really leave much to the imagination.  I was trying to come up with something fun and came up with squat.  :/ Because seriously, when I think of mold it’s hard to be all fun and jokey and hahaha.  That stuff sucks!  There’s really no two ways about it. But lucky for us (I’m not sure in what world this situation constitutes lucky exactly) we’ve actually had to deal with mold on more than one occasion.  So I’m going to give you a little play-by-play of what has worked really well for us in the how to get rid of mold category of DIY. I’ll start by saying that we’ve never had to deal with mold inside.  So, in that arena we are lucky.  And that means that everything you are about to see is specific to how to get rid of mold on the exterior. A not really interesting point of reference is that I have pretty severe asthma.  As in have been hospitalized a few times … once I was in the hospital at the same time as my 96-year-old great-grandmother and my situation was so bad she was the one who had to come visit my room.  So I’m pretty sensitive to breathing concerns, and you might know I’m a huge fan of upcycling ideas, so I’m always looking for ways to stay green.  With all that said, sometimes you just have to go with what works.  

newspaper as a {creative wall covering}

Hello, hello!!  If you happen to follow along on Instagram you saw a little sneak peek of a creative wall covering idea I worked on with my bff at one of our rental houses in Maryland. I’m going to start by saying that I am seriously in love with how this little experiment turned out.  A $6 upcycling idea that I worked on for 2 hours with my bff and had no idea what to expect for a result … when something like that works out in the end what’s not to love, right?!?!

upcycling ideas {20 perfect pallet projects}

You know, I’ve never really been much of a magazine girl.  I don’t subscribe to any, they were just never my go to for inspiration. But let me tell you … that is a changin’.  I find myself engrossed in any kind of magazine these days just looking at the pictures and gleaning inspiration for our soon to be house renovation / remodel projects. And it’s no secret that I’m a fan of pallet projects.  And I’m finding myself drawn to all things pallet wood, or reclaimed wood, or barn wood.  The pictures just pop right out of the magazine and are just drooling with character and depth.  Pallet projects seem like such a great way to create a unique focal point in any room. Here are 20 of my favorite pallet projects I’ve seen around lately.