my top ten favorite home diy projects

i love following myquillyn smith (@thenester) on instagram. 

out of necessity, we often use what we already have on hand to make our space functional & even beautiful. as i was putting together this cozy little space on our back porch, i was reminded of smith's "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" sentiment (see #idhtbptbb for real life home inspiration).

a window shutter & a chippy star...a worn outdoor sofa & mismatched pillows...

friends, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

& so, in the spirit of smith, i thought i'd share ten of our favorite home diy projects using what we already had on hand/thrifty finds to make our space a little more beautiful. join me!

1. pallet wall

 luke & my brother-in-law spent hours pulling apart old pallets for this wall, but it was by far worth every bit of effort. to make our wall, we measured each piece & nailed it to the wall. simple & straightforward.

2. photo garland

 using leftover pom pom yarn & mini clothespins, we display some of our favorite photos on our chalkboard in our dining room! here's the simple tutorial.

3. exterior house painting

 this was one of our more expensive projects, but it made a huge impact. we painted the old & outdated brick on our home! see here for details & instruction. 

4. rainbow outdoor chairs

 for about two years, i collected rusty metal motel chairs. my only rule - i had to purchase them for $5 or less. once i collected enough for our outdoor space, i spray painted them every color of the rainbow. this might be the happiest "room" in our home & i just love it!

5. hoosier cabinet

 we took an old hoosier cabinet & brought it back to life with a bit of elbow grease, a can of paint & some new knobs. i blogged about the before & after here. 

6. kitchen remodel

 right when we moved in, we remodeled our kitchen for about $300. one of the biggest upgrade? our painted cabinets! i blogged about it in full detail here. 

7. cheery dresser

 i found this dresser at a yard sale for $65. with two sample cans of paint & spray paint for the pulls, i turned this beaten up old dresser into a happy piece perfect for our bedroom. 

8. paper flowers

 i was originally inspired by ashley to create these paper flowers, but all good ideas are, of course, originally inspired by martha. get the full tutorial here. 

9. our mantel

 this was an empty wall when we moved in so we utilized the space a little more effectively by putting in a faux mantelpiece. luke gathered extra pallet pieces from our pallet wall & nailed them in to the bottom for added texture. this project cost us less than $200 & it's one of my favorite parts of our home. 

10. coffee bar

 we host friends & family at our home quite frequently so it's always nice to have a way to easily serve our guests. this coffee bar was pulled together on a strict budget using a lot of what we already had & i love it! here's how we created this cozy little space.

i would love for you to share your favorite home diy projects in the comments!

love,

natalie