We found an article listing the most popular DIY projects that people take on - and then the ones they most regret doing themselves. That of course sparked a great conversation about the DIY remodeling we've done, both what we hope to never have to do again and the things we're actually looking forward to doing in the farmhouse. Can you guess what's number one on my do-not-do list? Or Brian's? Then we have a couple of farmhouse updates to share with you, plus an Easter/Spring menu idea that will hopefully inspire you, and the cool things we've discovered recently.
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What DIY Remodeling Will We Do Again?
Here's that link to Episode 34 where we talked more about what we've learned from DIY remodeling, and where you get the most return for your dollar when you sell.
Here are some of the projects we said we'd do again because they give the best return for the dollar and they are easy - and sometimes fun - to do, along with the links to our projects:
- Interior painting of walls (here's where you can see the dramatic change paint made in our ranch-turned-cottage) and cabinets (here's our previous kitchen makeover).
- Countertops (here's the video Brian talked about cutting butcher block countertops) and installing appliances like this overhead microwave.
- Replacing toilets and vanities: here's our bathroom remodels and here's the popular tutorial on how to turn a dresser into a vanity.
- Changing out lighting: we changed out almost every light in our previous house - take the tour here to see.
- Basic electrical, basic plumbing & faucets: the kitchen remodel shows faucets and this laundry room is where we did basic plumbing (there wasn't a sink previously) and electrical (the area used to be a garage).
- Other flooring we've done: DIY tips for laying floating floors, our popular brown paper floor, and the maple plywood flooring we used in the garage conversion.
- New windows: the high window over the clawfoot tub here as well as similar windows in the offices.
- Adding shelves and built-ins: the cabinet and the shelves next to the freezer in the laundry room are a couple of examples.
- Adding woodwork- we've done this a LOT, it's such a way to make a huge difference for little money or even time investment. Here's the link to that hallway opening we added trim to that made such a difference.
And What Will We Hire Out?
- Tile! In my dreams we will not have to do this again. In the photo above you can see the tile we had to place on the diagonal (really - it looked terrible with the lines of the beadboard when laid straight). So many little triangles...
- Gutters
- Exterior painting, mainly because the farmhouse is a 2+ story house. You can see us painting our ranch-cottage here and the dramatic difference it made.
- Redoing wood floors
- Sheetrock and mudding
Farmhouse Updates
This is the subtle exhaust fan/light combo we bought for the bathroom. We're really happy about this clean-lined option compared to the clunky typical fan/lights!
HUGE NOTE: I just realized as I was putting these notes together that we paid $50 more for the fan in store versus the website!! I cannot believe there would be such a difference in price, but if you are interested in this, DO order it from the website linked above (it's free shipping). You can probably guess that I ordered one and we are taking our store-bought one back. Sheesh.
Also, our plumbing permit passed, yay!
What's Cooking
Spring/Easter Family Dinner Menu Ideas
- Roast Ham glazed with: Sweet Onion Marmalade, Spicy Honey Cherry Chutney or Rhubarb Chutney
- Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes
- Roasted Asparagus with Easy Hollandaise Sauce
- Green salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
- Lemon Berry Cake with Amazing Frosting OR Glazed Lemon Cupcakes
This is Really Cool!
Brian's: The audiobook of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. So well written, funny, great story and characters with an absolutely amazing reading on the audiobook by the author himself.
Jami's: Mrs. Wilson, PBS Masterpiece 3 part series. Here's the link to the book I mentioned that tells some of this incredible true story: Alexander Wilson: Author and Spy.
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