Category Archives: tutorial

when life hands you a wood slat wall {paint stripping tips included}

  By Karah | May 21, 2013 - 7:08 am | , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
3 Comments

Strip it. Then whitewash it. Then strip it again. Ok, maybe that strategy isn’t the best approach.  ;) You’ve all seen the whole mood board concept, right?!?!  Where people put pretty images all in one spot and use it as inspiration to design and decorate a room.  And then the room ends up looking eerily similar to the original mood board. I honestly have no idea how people do it. I think I have more “mood moments”.  And they can be fleeting.  :) To take you back to when we moved into this house in the beginning of April and there was paneling Ev. Ry. Where. We got busy tearing down all of the paneling only to find drywall (painted pink in spots!) so we took a leap of faith and started tearing down the drywall, knowing there was a chance we would need to just re-install new drywall.  I definitely prayed to the DIY Gods about our work not being a waste of time and money and energy and potentially my sanity. But it was the best decision ever!  Like ever ever, even. We uncovered beautiful wood slat wall after wood slat wall.  And their paint colors even made me a little giddy. I can’t even tell you how many different design places my mind has wandered with these planked walls. How fun would it be to salvage the original colors? But how cool would it be to strip a couple to expose the beautiful wood? What about a dark stain for contrast against light painted walls? Or what about a whitewash for a more nautical/beachy look? And when my mind is shifting through these ideas faster than Kim K is getting press over another questionable pregnancy outfit … I’m just sitting in the middle of the madness. Do you do … continue reading →

easy craft idea {driftwood fish}

  By Karah | May 16, 2013 - 7:08 am | , , , , , , , ,
30 Comments

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}

  By Karah | May 10, 2013 - 7:08 am | , , , , ,
20 Comments

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}

  By Karah | April 30, 2013 - 7:08 am | , , , ,
13 Comments

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

  By Karah | April 8, 2013 - 7:08 am | , , , , , , , , ,
18 Comments

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.

newspaper as a {creative wall covering}

  By Karah | March 19, 2013 - 7:08 am | , , , , , , , ,
59 Comments

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?!?!