budget-friendly do it yourself projects…

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GET READY FOR SOME SERIOUS BEFORE SHOTS folks…it’s our illustrated “penny-pinching DIY projects punchlist” for 2015:

1. Scrooge-esque Stair Refinishing.

No new expensive hardwood or carpeting on these steps! We’re finishing these treads with good ‘ol, inexpensive PAINT! Latex porch paint, to be exact.

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2. Hit the deck! (With paint).

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Up-keep of a wood deck is expensive, no way around it…unless you rip it out and go with Trex or another composite material (which is a LOT of up-front cost). This year, we will paint our DIY deck with a solid deck stain, likely gray for the deck boards, and white on the spindles. Maybe something like this color scheme:

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Source

3. Miserly Master Bath Makeover (continues)…

We have already started our uber-cheap master bath renovation. So in 2015, we’ll keep the spirit of spending next-to-nothing alive with more in the master bath to include: building a little step to cover that 4×4 tile stair by the tub, covering the current tub tile surround with wainscoting, framing the mirror, and  DIY’ing some light fixtures.

BEFORE:

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CURRENT:

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4. Reasonably priced tile re-glaze.

Here’s a picture of our kids bathroom.

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I know. Trust me, I know. But, I also know that we can’t really go all out in here right now, so I’m going to start this year by re-glazing the current tub/shower enclosure with a Rust-Oleum Tub & Tile Refinishing Kit.

I’ve heard good things from some blogging pals, so I’m hoping to report to you guys a similar experience. (FOR TILE PAINTING UPDATE >>> CLICK HERE)

5. Frugal Flooring Facelift.

Here’s what our kitchen looked like when we moved in.

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I’ve already painted the cabinets, and changed out those recessed lights to mini-chandeliers, but I’m still not down with the cherry floors. I am well aware that a lot of people LOVE cherry, and I know that my plan to paint these floors will incite a lot of unhappiness in a lot of people, so I’m ready to feel the heat. I’m thinking of doing something like this:

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Source: This Old House

And I’ll be using a tutorial from This Old House.

The thing is, these cherry floors don’t match ANY others that were/are in this home. There’s no cohesion, which makes me feel less badly about the drastic change we’ve got planned. New floors to match the rest of the hardwoods in the house would be lovely, but unless I can find a couple hundred square feet of flooring in a dumpster dive, I think that dream can probably die here. Would LOVE to hear your opinions…positive, and even extremely negative! Leave a comment 🙂

6. Frugal Flooring Facelift Part Deux.

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This is a picture of our laundry room. We’ve done some do it yourself projects in heremalready (will post some pictures at some point this year), but that lovely linoleum remains. On one hand, linoleum is fantastic because it’s SO easy to clean. And as this room is situated between our garage and kitchen, that’s pretty clutch. On the other, it’s really old, chipping, and certainly outdated. So, our plan is to lay utility hardwood flooring, to the tune of about $.99/sq ft. It’s AWESOME.

Then, we’ll paint them to match the kitchen floors, so the two rooms will flow nicely. Right now, there are four flooring types in our home within 20 feet of each other…that’s a bit much.

So, when all is said and done, these do it yourself projects will hopefully have made some big changes for a small impact on the wallet. That’s the plan. Hope that you all have exciting plans for ringing in the New Year. We certainly do here at the Heathered Nest. They involve pajamas, lots of snacks, and a pillow and comfy bed that will be hit sometime around 12:01am.

Happy New Year friends!

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