Easy DIY Home Projects for a Fresh, Minimal Look

Hi friends, and welcome to Friday Favourites. Today I thought we could chat about one of my favourite things to do during my summer break. That is, tackling little DIY home projects. Think redecorating, painting, reorganising and a bit of declutter.

I know, I know. Some of my friends and my husband think I am a bit mad. After working full-time during the year, you would think I would want to completely switch off and take a proper break. But I really enjoy these kinds of projects, and they don’t feel like ‘work’. Of course, I love a good do-nothing day or three. But those days come after I finish my projects.

Why I Love Easy DIY Home Projects for a Fresh, Minimal Look

I love making spaces feel good to be in and want rooms to feel calm, welcoming, and lived in. The kind of places you actually want to spend time in. I get such a kick out of seeing how even the smallest change can make a big difference. A fresh coat of paint, moving furniture around, clearing a cluttered corner, or even adding a hook, it all adds up and it just makes me happy. I guess you could even call them DIY home projects, as self-care. Ha, why not ay?

Podcasts, Audiobooks, and Background Noise

While I’m DIYing,  I like to have something playing in the background, like a podcast or audiobook. This time around, I couldn’t find one that hooked me in, so I was skipping around a lot. Lately, I’ve also been listening to political commentators, which probably sounds like an odd choice for someone who gets major anxiety about world events. Strangely, though, I am okay with it these days. I don’t get as worked up as I used to, even though there is plenty going on in the world to get stressed about.

When all of this got too heavy, I switched over to Doc Martin. I have watched it so many times that I can visualise the scenes, so I just listened to all the hilarious things that went on while enjoying that soothing show.

Small Projects, Big Joy

I love how these little DIY home projects make such a difference. I can’t fix the world, but I can paint a wall, sort a space, or tidy up a corner. Doing these small things makes me feel calm and in control, and that’s exactly the kind of break I needed.

Where It All Began

Okay, so let’s go back to where it all began. Ikea, of course! It’s always my source of inspiration because all the displays look so welcoming and cozy. I’ve heard that if you have more than a couple of Ikea pieces in your living room, it makes it look cheap. Oops, I have way more than a couple, so that’s too bad, haha.

I went to Ikea with a friend for the free gingerbread house-making event, and we had a wander around while we were there. The curtains in my living room were starting to look tired, and some even had tears where the cats had tried to claw their way onto the windowsill. Silly girls. So, I ended up buying some new curtains. The thing I love about Ikea is that almost everything is pretty affordable.

One Thing Always Leads to Another

When I got home, I decided that if I was going to hang new curtains, I’d better take down the Christmas tree, wash the sofa covers, the mat under the coffee table, and give the whole area a deep clean.

A few days later, everything looked tidy, except for the awful pile of papers on my husband’s small desk in the living room. He needed a new desk, or maybe I did, because I was sick of looking at the stacks of papers on his ugly brown desk.

The Desk Solution

So I made another trip to Ikea, which, lucky for me, is only a 10 to 15-minute drive from my house. I picked up a white Micke desk and a Råskog trolley, which would solve the problem of those piles of papers. Before I went,  I measured everything carefully to make sure it would fit in the small area where the original desk had been.

Here’s the original clunky desk, which I managed to sell in a day on Facebook Marketplace for $20. What a win!

Ikea now has step-by-step instructions on YouTube. Still no words, but it made putting everything together so much easier.

One Small Problem

The new desk looked great, but I noticed that the wall where it stood had some marks from me hanging pictures a zillion years ago, and a tiny patch of paint had chipped away. Ugh.

The Room I Kept Avoiding

Truth be told, the living room was the only room I hadn’t gotten around to painting white like the rest of the house. I started about two and a half years ago with the goal of painting all the rooms white. They had previously been a sandy colour called Grand Piano in half strength. But I stopped and never got to the living room. Honestly, I had no desire to paint it, even though I kept saying I would.

That patch on the wall didn’t look pretty, so I thought, bingo, I’ll go to Bunnings and get a sample pot of the Grand Piano colour, and nobody will ever know.

Wrong. See, the thing with paint is that even though I got the exact colour, when I painted the patch, it was way lighter than what was already there. I don’t know if it was age, the light, or the paint batch, but something wasn’t right.

Going All In

So instead of painting just a little bit, I thought, that’s okay, I’ll go all the way up further and it will all blend in. Easy peasy. I went to bed thinking positive thoughts that when I woke up, everything would look blended. Wrong again.

So I said to my husband, that’s it, I’m going to bite the bullet and just paint the living room like I’ve been saying I would. He looked at me, slightly pained, and said, no worries, I’ll go pick the basil from the pot and make pesto. I said, good, I’d rather paint a whole room than make pesto.

So off he went to the front garden, and off I went to Bunnings for paint.

First coat done on one wall, and so many more to go.

It took a whole day to paint, but I think it was all worth it. When we put everything back the next day, I loved how clean, bright and fresh everything looked. I’m not colour confident, and I really do prefer a simple, minimal look, so white just feels right to me.

It’s not just white, either. It’s Casper White in quarter strength. Hehe.

And yes, I’m keeping that little gap in the curtains for the cats so they can still climb onto the window. I’ve learned my lesson.

Even though I did all of the prep and painting, Sam and Steve helped move the furniture. And Steve made sure I ate and drank during the day. I can get carried away trying to finish projects and neglect basic needs. Yikes!

Oh, yes and here’s the new desk and the trolley for paperwork, with the wall that started everything. Can you spot something that isn’t right? Yep, it’s the wooden trim next to the wall, it’s yellowish and yuck. That’s my next project–painting the door trims and skirting boards.

A Few Other Things

I’ve also done a few other small DIY home projects. I had some photos printed at Officeworks and switched out the ones I had in the hallway from our visit to Wendy Whitely’s Secret Garden.

Now we have photos from our trip last January, Valley of Fire State Park with its fiery red rock formations, Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border, and Horseshoe Bend in Arizona. Can you believe that this week marks exactly one year since we set off on our trip?

I got a new clock that works, again from Ikea. We had an old brown one that stopped a few years ago. Ha, would you believe Steve was attached to it because it was a wedding gift? I managed to convince him to let it go. It was time to move on, and I’m sure it was bad feng shui to have a clock that was stuck in time, right?

I also bought a new plant. I’ve had my Monstera for a few years, and now I have this one called a Grey Star. The leaves open up during the day and gradually start closing in the afternoon. But I swear I’ve seen it move – spooky!

Lastly, here’s my coffee table with a white tray I bought at Kmart. Now, all the things on the coffee table don’t look like they are floating around all messy. They finally have a nice new home. In interior design speak, I’ve created a vignette to anchor my items. Pretty fancy, huh?  😂

In The Garden

When spring arrived, I raced out on the first weekend to buy some plants for the front garden. They have grown beautifully in the full sun we get every day. We’ve also been good about watering them, and the neighbours often comment on how pretty it looks whenever I see them outside.

There was a small patch at the front of our place that I never got around to dealing with, and it was full of weeds and overgrown plants. A couple of days ago, I cleared it all and planted some little flowering plants that are supposed to do well in shady spots. I can’t for the life of me remember what they’re called, but I’m sure they’ll look pretty when they grow.

Wow, that was a longer post than I intended. If you stuck it out to the end, you’re a real champ, and I appreciate you stopping by to read all about my DIY home projects. I’ve been having so much fun updating some areas of the house, and it really makes me happy to share it with you.

Having said that, I think I’m ready to hang up my brush (after I finish the skirting boards) and enjoy another week of summer holidays.

I’m excited for the weekend, especially Sunday, because it looks like my travelling cousins are coming over so we can start booking and planning our next overseas trip. I can’t wait to share everything once we’re financially committed and there’s no turning back. Don’t want to jinx anything!

Happy weekend!