The Design Blog
DIY Boho Flower Swags
Be sure to save this if you are looking for ideas to decorate your upcoming wedding! Download the Free PDF Guide complete with sizes and types of dried grasses/flowers used. You can watch all behind the scenes leading up to the big day on YouTube.
This will be a small series showcasing wedding decor that I have helped with as well as some DIY options you can do to create the perfect day!
First, I want to mention at the end of the blog is a link to my video showing more behind the scenes leading up to the big day! I love having the video option so that you can see how everything came together, and see how the professional pictures turned out. —
In this blog, I will go over how we did the archway and boho flower swags. So stay tuned for the macrame backdrop! If you sign up for our newsletter, you will receive a free downloadable PDF plan with step-by-step directions so you can recreate the project yourself. Let me know in the comments if there was something you wanted to know more about. :)
DISCLAIMER: **I do make a small commission on everything that I have linked.**
Mountain Arch & Boho Flower Swags
A boho wedding is one of the easiest and most aesthetic directions to go for a mountain wedding in the Fall! The colors and textures will contrast well against the deep forest green backdrop and the other natural elements. Other style directions to go for a mountain wedding destination would be: rustic, country, classic and traditional styles.
Creating a mood board to begin planning your wedding is a great way to start! Click to read more about the mood board created for this beautiful Fall mountain wedding. :) From the ideas you gather on your board, you will be able to determine 1. Where you want to get married, 2. The types of venues to tour and will choose from for your wedding, 3. Overall color scheme to help choose wedding attire, floral color selection and tablecloth selection, 4. Decorations you absolutely want to invest in.
Let’s jump into how you can recreate these boho swags! ✨
The Boho Swags
If you are not a boho style fan, you can use these same steps and concepts for other themed dried floral swags.
Each swag took me just over an hour to create. The first swag taking the longest amount of time making sure the look is what I wanted as I went. The second swag still took some time making sure it matched the first swag.
Pro-tip: You will want to to plan out your dried grasses, faux flowers and greenery. The best way I have found is to first gather some inspo pictures (I use Pinterest) for size, grass types, and color options. Then make a list of each type of grass you will need to create the look you want. Then place your order. Be sure to order an extra 5+ stems over to sort through since some grass stems will be bent or broken.
The goal for this wedding was very much boho style, which meant I needed to get a large variety of grasses. Mainly pampas grasses. Keep in mind there are many different sizes or stem lengths you can order. Follow to the end for the full list of grasses, faux flowers and greenery complete with links to purchase for your own swags.
The basic concept to create the perfect swags for your archway is to start with large grasses or dried leaves and work your way to smaller and different textured grass until you get to the front/center part of the swag. In the center, you will want to put greenery, flowers and fillers. In these swags I used palm leaves as my background. They helped create the shape of the swag. Once you add the large palm leaves, you won’t be able to see through the swags. It also gives that full affect.
Remember the boho style is very forgiving and you can go really any direction, even colors. The boho style is a free-spirited look that mixes different cultures and artistic expression into one eclectic style with the emphasis of using nature and organic elements. As long as you keep that in mind, you will have the look you are going for.
Tools & Supplies Used
Scissors
Needle nose plyers
Cutters
Carpenter knife
Floral tape (will use later)
Tape measure
Chicken wire*
Dry floral foam*
**I was in a time crunch and created my own floral foam with a cage. This is the one I originally planned to use:👉
Floral Foam Cage DIY
Since the floral swag design used dried grasses and faux flowers, you do not need to soak the foam in water. If you were to use live greenery and flowers, be sure to soak your foam in water. The chicken wire works similar to the cage by helping hold the stems in place and provide additional support since the swags are quite large.
TIP: For live flowers and greenery, start creating the swags at a maximum of 2 days before the big day. Your flowers will need a few days to open fully, and making the swags closer to your wedding ensures fresh looking flowers. They won’t be droopy and will look perfect for pictures!
To create your own floral cages:
Step 1: You will only need two items to build your own floral cages: a FloraCraft floral foam block with dimensions: 2.6”x3.4”x7.8” and chicken wire ribbon (I found both at our local Hobby Lobby store in the floral section or Amazon has the same thing)
NOTE: This part is slightly messy while you work with the foam; little foam particle will shave off. I would recommend working outside or in a garage.
Step 2: Wrap one section around the length of the foam leaving about 3-4” out on each end. Make sure to leave one end flush with what you will use as the “bottom”. This will be how you hang/attach the swags.
Step 3: Use the cutters to snip the wire, and then use the needle nose plyers to bend back the wire you cut.
Step 4: Then you will wrap two pieces of wire around the width of the foam. Start by using the needle nose plyers to bend the raw wired edge and attach it to the back wire ribbon. Wrap the wire around the width and use the cutters to cut the wire where you can wrap the wire completely around. Then use the needle nose plyers to bend the edge and attach the wire ribbon to the other side of the first ribbon you attached. Repeat the process for the second wire.
Step 5: Bend the 3-4” wired ribbon you left out on each end to flatten the wire together. Now you can start building the swags! :)
Planning Layout and Size
First, loose-lay a few large pieces that will be the background for the swags. This included the dried palm leaves and white bamboo leaves branch. It is important to not stick any pieces in just yet. You do not want a bunch of holes in your foam before you get the look you’re going for. Some of your grasses will end up falling out and you do not want that…
This is also the moment you will want to lay out a tape measure to see what size you want your swags. Because our archway was going to be fairly large, I wanted the swags to be the best proportion compared to the height and width of the wooden mountain arch. I ended up building them 44” long x 24” wide.
Once you are happy with the size and beginning look, trim your stems down and stick them in where you were planning. Make sure the heavier grasses are at least 3/4 the way into the foam for structure. Also, remember to start in the back of your foam block and move your way forward with each section of grasses you put in the floral foam.
As I moved around each side, I tried to mirror what I did on the other side. I mirrored diagonally across. Start with the larger grasses as well. For instance, I spaced out large 40” pampas grass all the way around the swag. To add dimension, I made sure they stuck out a bit further than the palm leaves.
This is also where you will want to add some color or greenery. Therefore, I put a few eucalyptus further towards the middle to plan out where I wanted green to peak through. Then I added the large daisy flowers in the front to plan out how much depth I wanted in the swags. The daisies are going to be the focal point. You can make them with the same pattern throughout instead of adding a center focal point. Here is an example:
SourcePinterest
Start sticking different textures throughout. Here I used a mixture of bunny tail and skinny pampas grass plumes. I also started mixing in white died pampas and bunny tail to compliment the white.
Pro Tip: Try to work in bunches of 3 kinds of the same stems, grasses or flowers. Groups of three or odd numbers are pleasing to the eye.
If you want to create even more depth or roundness, consider keeping the smaller & textured grasses a little bit further away from the floral foam cage and cutting the stems longer as you go outward. Think of creating a sphere shape.
When you’re done, it is time to take your finished swag outside to fluff up. This is my favorite part!
I find it takes 3-4 hours before the pampas grass fluffs up fully in the sun.
Mountain Archway
At first we had thought the arch was going to be stacked one in front of the other (one arch smaller than the other) since they were built as two separate pieces. But then we got the idea to stagger the two arches to look like a mountain range. Something different, unexpected and emphasized the fact we were in the mountains for this wedding.
Then to ground the area for the ceremony and compliment the warm tones from the dried grasses in the swags, we added a rug in front. I love how the rug pulled the red and browns from some of the pampas grasses in the swags and in the wood grain. The rug also came in handy as something dry for the bride, groom and officiant to stand on since it had been raining for days leading up to the big day! You cannot tell in the pictures, but the ground was definitely wet under your shoes.
Final Look
It was so much fun to step outside of my regular interior design projects, and help my sister decorate for her special day!
Be sure to watch my video showing all the behind the scenes and how the pictures of the beautiful fall mountain wedding turned out here. You can download the free PDF detailing the archway project and instructions for the swags here.
Links:
If you want to read more into my life as an interior designer working in Montana, click to read more. All of your support is amazing, and I am so thankful you are here! :)I really hope this has helped you with your projects or future ideas. Please follow along for a deeper look into wedding decor how-to’s and what I’ve learned to be successful planning out your big day. Send me projects you are currently working on in the comments below!
Happy Styling! :)
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Forever + Ever | Fall Mountain Wedding
Be sure to save this if you are looking for ideas to decorate your upcoming wedding! You can watch all behind the scenes leading up to the big day on YouTube.
This will be a small series showcasing wedding decor that I have helped with as well as some DIY options you can do to create the perfect day!
First, I want to point out at the end of the blog is a link to my video showing more behind the scenes leading up to the big day! I love having the video option so that you can see how everything came together, and see how the professional pictures turned out. In this section, I want to give a quick summary of all the different ways we decorated for this wedding and then will do more detailed “how-to” blogs explaining how to do the swags for the archway for example. So stay tuned and let me know in the comments if there was something you wanted to know more about. :)
Wedding Mood Board
The design style for this wedding was rustic boho. Since the wedding was going to take place in the mountains of Gallatin Valley, we wanted to compliment that in our look. If you have ever been in the mountains at the beginning of the fall/colder season in late September, you know that it is still very much green with the pine trees (pine trees are always green) and lush grass. To compliment that, we wanted to add rich fall colors using dried seasonal grasses, flowers, and wood. We also wanted specific textures to come through in the overall look: again, lots of dried grasses, greenery (mostly eucalyptus), subtle reflections like in the bubbles, and soft textures using different fabrics and linens.
I think a mood board to begin planning your wedding is a great idea to start! From the ideas you gather on your board, you will be able to determine 1. Where you want to get married, 2. The types of venues to tour and select for your wedding, 3. Overall color scheme to help choose wedding attire, floral color selection and tablecloth selection, 4. Decorations you absolutely want to invest in.
Wedding Ceremony Decorations
Personally, I love to begin the design and tone of the wedding in the ceremony area. This is where all of your important candid photos you will cherish for a lifetime are taken and special moments captured. I love all the natural elements in this look. It is so simple and does not take away from the fact you are getting married in the mountains. My favorite is the focal point of the ceremony, the archway.
The Boho Swags
I cannot wait to show you how to recreate these arch swags. If you are a boho style fan, I hope you find these to be so simple to create on your own! I will point out that even though simple to create they are time consuming… Each swag took me just over an hour to create. Mostly because I wanted the second one to almost exactly match the first one. And not to mention planning out how many grasses, greenery, and flowers needed for each swag as well as how much variety I wanted to include in the swags and the size.
The boho style is very forgiving, though. So even if you do not know how many grasses or what kinds of grasses to incorporate, no one will know either! Boho style is a free-spirited look that mixes different cultures and artistic expression into one eclectic style with the emphasis of using nature and organic elements. As long as you keep that in mind, you will have the look you are going for.
Ceremony Isle
When it comes to decorating the isle to walk down, I prefer the look of odd numbered decorations on either side or adding a decor item at each row of chairs or benches. This is more pleasing to look down and allows the eyes to follow each decor item down to the focal point of the ceremony.
Mountain Archway
At first we had thought the arch was going to be stacked one in front of the other since they were built as two separate pieces. But then we got the idea to stagger the two arches to look like a mountain range. Something different, unexpected and emphasized the fact we were in the mountains for this wedding.
Then to ground the area for the ceremony and compliment the warm tones from the dried grasses in the swags, we added a rug in front. I love how the rug pulled the red and browns from some of the pampas grasses in the swags and in the wood grain. The rug also came in handy as something dry for the bride, groom and officiant to stand on since it had been raining for days leading up to the big day! You cannot tell in the pictures, but the ground was definitely wet under your shoes.
Bridal Bouquet
The next important decoration in a wedding, the bridal bouquet. The bridal bouquet is important just because of the fact that it will be in almost every photo taken that day. You could even design the whole wedding around how you want your bouquet to look. And I won’t lie to you… this one I struggled with just due to the fact that I wanted it to look perfect and flow well with our overall theme. My biggest tip here would be to gab an element from each part of the wedding and include that in the bouquet. For instance, I used almost all of the same grasses in the bouquet that were also used in the swags, boutonnieres, corsages, gift table, etc. I also matched the groom’s bow tie with the velvet ribbon to wrap around and hang from the base of the bridal bouquet. We also used real flowers and touch more white to create a more bridal look.
My favorite part would be the velvet burnt orange ribbon with raw edging. Again we are adding more fall colors from our mood board as well as drawing out those warmer tones peeking out from the rest of the decorations. Everything the bride with stand next to for photos, will all compliment one another in bouquet.
Bridal Party: Boutonnieres and Corsages
Instead of doing traditional bridesmaid bouquets, we decided to do something different and create bridesmaid corsages. We loved how simple they were and you save a bit on buying more flowers and dried grasses. Also, this wedding had nine total bridesmaids…
Again, here we wanted to compliment the them of the ceremony swags and the bridal bouquets, but now we are adding more a new subtle color, yellow. You can see how the boutonnieres also share this same yellow flowers.
Since the boutonnieres are too small in scale to include a large white daisy flower, we wanted to bring in all the different fall colors from the mood board into the look. Plus a nice pop of color against a neutral groomsmen attire looks great in photos!
Card Table | Family History of Weddings
This table was unique and very special to showcase for the guests. It was a great opportunity to use what ever grasses, flowers, greenery we had left over and use in random vases and spread across the table. Such a cute way to include the parents, grandparents and anything sentimental to be a part of your special day.
Macrame Cake Table
This part of decorating for the wedding could arguable be my favorite! I wish I would have taken more photos right when we finished decorating the table.
Basically the macrame wall was handtied and the support arch was custom built. We also did a fun eucalyptus garland around the top and added a custom neon sign with newlyweds last name. Such a striking piece for your guests to look at and fun for your cake pictures!
Be sure to watch my video showing all the behind the scenes and how the pictures of the beautiful fall mountain wedding turned out here. In the next blog, I will break down step-by-step how I created the large swags for the mountain archway.
If you want to read more into my life as an interior designer working in Montana, click to read more. All of your support is amazing, and I am so thankful you are here! :)I really hope this has helped you with your projects or future ideas. Please follow along for a deeper look into wedding decor how-to’s and what I’ve learned to be successful planning out your big day. Send me projects you are currently working on in the comments below!
Happy Styling! :)
Front Lawn Transformation
See how we transformed this home’s front lawn from bare patches, weeds, and uneven ground to a nice lush green lawn.
If you are someone who is interested in buying investment properties to flip and then sell, or you absolutely love DIY projects for the home, then you are in the right spot! In this “Flip House” series we are going to dive right into messy DIY, Do’s and Don'ts in the fixer upper realm, the reality of flipping properties, and renovation projects that you can follow along, learn from, and hopefully get excited for your own projects!
Just like looking your best for a job interview, updating your front landscape is a best first impression to selling your home. 😊
When we started working on our first fixer upper, the yard needed a complete revamp. The overall yard had little to no grass, the ground was uneven, lots of rocks and obstacles, deficient soil, and the ground was settling near the house foundation. The yard was an eye sore.
We bought this house in the middle of the summer in 2019, so we decided to wait before we touched that project. Spring and Fall seasons are the best time to plant grass and not to mention it is time consuming. The start of our front yard project began the following Spring in 2020. It took a total of 16 days for most of the grass to germinate and mature. It took three more weeks before the grass looked super thick with most of the weeds gone.
Right before we sold the house, we had to redo the grass closest to the house on the left side between the house and the garage in the Spring of 2022. You can watch the video showing the yard transformation below to find out why.
Front Yard - 2019
Front Yard - 2019
Yard Transformation Timeline
April 19th, 2020
Prep yard
Removed large rocks and obstructions from yard
April 21st, 2020
Rented rototiller from local equipment rental store
Brake up soil and level ground with a rake and hand shovel
Filled in settling ground by the house foundation
May 10th, 2020
Went to a local ranch to get a pickup load of manure
FYI - you will have many weeds come up if you decide to go this route
Spread and level fertilizer with a rake
Used a seed spreader to plant seed
Watered ground 2-3 times a day at the point puddles would begin to form
May 14th, 2020
Weed management
Still watering frequently
May 26th, 2020
Most all of the grass has come up
June 18th, 2020
Completely new yard :)
Break Up The Ground
Since we were basically starting over, we needed to break up the soil to at least eight-twelve inches deep. To break up the ground easily we rented a large rototiller from a local equipment rental shop. By breaking up the soil in this way, we were able to level the ground by moving soil to low spots and taking away from higher areas. This was also the time we fixed the landscaping around the foundation from where it had settled.
Add Fertilizer
By adding fertilizer to the ground before seeding grass, it allows a perfect environment to encourage grass to grow from bare ground with the extra phosphorus. If we were seeding an already established yard, we would not need to necessarily do this step. Starter fertilizer is a great option for new yards. Instead, we decided to use manure from a local ranch and had our whole pickup box filled. Then we used a shovel to take the manure out of the pickup box into a five gallon bucket. Then we carried the manure to a spot of the yard, dumped, and then raked out the manure. Repeat.
Plant The Seed
This is the easiest step! Basically you use a seed/fertilizer spreader like this one:
Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard Broadcast Spreader
Use it to evenly distribute the seed onto the areas you want to grow grass. It has an EdgeGuard to help keep the seed from spreading onto your sidewalks or other parts of your lawn you did not plan to seed. This yard tool is great to have on hand and in sustaining a healthy lawn. You can use this to spread more seed or fertilizer down the road.
How To Use:
Set the dial on the spreader to match the dial settings on the bag of seed
Fill the spreader with seed
Turn the edge guard on
First walk along the outside edges
Turn the edge guard off
Fill in the area where you spread seed along the outside edges
Make sure to make overlapping passes
When buying the grass seed, make sure to buy seed for the area you are planting. For instance, we put grass seed mixture that worked in sunny areas since our front yard was facing South East. We purchased this seed from our local hardware store, ACE Hardware.
Each bag of seed should have the type of seeds and amounts per mixture on the back label. If you have any questions about which lawn seed mixture would work best, please consult your local lawn care experts.
Spray All Those Dang Weeds
Since we used manure as our fertilizer, we had some weeds trying to establish new homes.
A spot spray spectracide works wonders for getting rid of those pesky weeds! I would not recommend using a spray that covers the whole yard since you are trying to grow grass.
Water… Water… Water…
Seeds need the perfect environment in order to sprout into baby grass and then grow to the beautiful thick green yards we dream about.
We watered every day 2-3 times per day. This creates a humid environment needed for the seed to germinate. Make sure when you are watering to use a mist setting or shower setting on your sprayer. Then spray each area up until puddles start to form. This ensures the ground is plenty wet, but not so wet the seeds move. Or else you will not produce an even amount of grass throughout.
And Viola! We Had Grass!
You can watch the full video here:
If you want to read about the reasons we picked this home, read my first post from this series and watch the video walkthrough! All of your support is amazing, and I am so thankful you are here! :)I really hope this has helped you with your projects or future ideas. Please follow along for a deeper look into our first flip house and our journey along the way. I would love to see some of the projects you are currently working on below!
Happy Styling! :)
The Simple Kitchen Makeover
How to prep cabinets, paint cabinets and install new hardware.
If you are someone who is interested in buying investment properties to flip and then sell, or you absolutely love DIY projects for the home, then you are in the right spot! In this “Flip House” series we are going to dive right into messy DIY, Do’s and Don'ts in the fixer upper realm, the reality of flipping properties, and renovation projects that you can follow along, learn from, and hopefully get excited for your own projects!
If you are like me, you spend a decent amount of time in the kitchen. From cooking to entertaining guests, kitchens are the heart of the home. 💖 I will say I am not particularly a “chef” when it comes to cooking, but a girl’s got to eat! We also love having friends and family over when we can. So there’s a reason why most of your home’s value is stored in the kitchen. Whether your overall kitchen design follows what is on trend or showcases beautiful quality kitchen appliances.
One of the easiest ways to improve your outdated kitchen is to paint the cabinets. All new cabinets installed in a medium sized kitchen, roughly 240-360 sq. ft., can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000. And it would largely depend on the type of cabinetry and the material. Type of cabinetry is fully custom cabinets (local carpenter who builds them from scratch), semi-custom (ordering from a local cabinet store) and ready-made cabinets (what you would find at a place like Home Depot). The second easiest way to update your kitchen would be to update the cabinet doors and drawers hardware. Hardware refers to the decorative knobs, pulls and hinges. For affordable hardware, I tend to look through Amazon or Wayfair. They have decent quality for the price you pay with many sizes so you can have a custom look.
There are more ways to do it yourself when it comes to painting your kitchen cabinets that look more professional, but here I wanted to show how anyone can update their kitchen and keep it under $150.
Finished Look
Just made breakfast! I wish I had taken more pictures… The paint finish is in a satin and a 1.25” paint brush was used throughout.
Step 1: Prepping Your Cabinets
You will want to make sure your surface areas are cleaned off and you have a space prepared to 1. deep clean 2. sand and 3. paint. The original cabinets that were in the home, shown in this picture, were inexpensive ready-made cabinets. The goal is to remove all of the grease and residue on the surfaces we will be painting.
Lay down some plastic if you need to or use the floor in your garage where it is easy to clean up when you are done.
Use your 3M painters tape to tape off the walls around your upper cabinets. I also taped where the base cabinets met the walls and around appliances. If you can remove the appliance (like your range) I would do that. This is the most time consuming part, but in the end this type of detail will make all the difference in the in the overall look of your project. Unless you are planning to paint your walls after, I would not skip this step.
At the end of these instructions, I have created a supply list of everything I used to create this look. Screenshot on your phone to save the list and use for shopping. I also have added links to all the supplies you would need to make your shopping easier. DISCLAIMER: **I do make a small commission on everything that I have linked.**
Step 2: Remove Doors And Drawers
With your screwdriver, remove all doors and drawers from your cabinet and make sure to label each one. This will help when it’s time to put the doors back. Trust me, it will save you a headache down the road. To do this use a piece of tape and a sharpie and write “B-S”. Tape the door for now and lay out them out in your work space. The shorthand translates to base sink cabinet. Or use whatever makes the most sense for you to help you remember. When you start working on them, you will then move the labels above each door & drawer.
While removing your doors and drawers, sure to save each screw from the cabinet hinges in a bag or bowl and set aside.
TIP: You can lay out your doors and drawers in the order of how your kitchen is laid out to help you remember where they go. Use your phone to take a picture so you are not traveling back and forth.
Step 3: Sand
Your doors and drawer fronts should be dry and clean before this step.
I lightly hand sanded my cabinets with 150 grit sandpaper and then 220 grit because I did not want to ruin the details of the cabinets. Depending on if you have shaker cabinets or more ornate cabinets will help you determine what would work best for your project. Use a sander for the larger areas and by hand to reach areas in the trim pieces. Be careful not to sand down the trim, use a really light hand. That is something you will notice after painting. Just remember the goal here is to remove most of the finish to create a surface that the paint will adhere to. Be aware that some inexpensive cabinets will have a veneer or thermofoil that was glued to your cabinets and you will need a heat gun to remove that before sanding.
You can also use varnish remover if you have a lot of buildup. My favorite to use is the can from Minwax. It does not strip the varnish completely off down to bare wood. You can also use Ready-Strip from Sunnyside Corp. It changes color when it is ready to remove with a scraper and/or cloth.
"Just remember the goal here is to remove most of the finish to create a surface that the paint will adhere to."
Step 5: Paint!
Once everything is sanded down, it is time to get your paint ready. First, I tested out the colors I picked out on the side of my upper cabinet. I am big believer in trying out paint colors before determining the one I love. If you want to know more about how I pick out paint, let me know in the comments. 🙃 Then once I had everything prepped, I started painting the cabinet doors and drawers first so that they could dry while I was painting the cabinet boxes. Double check with the manufacturer for dry time.
The best paint finish for cabinets in my opinion is a satin. I love how the light reflects off of a satin finish, and it is easier to clean. Kitchen messes can get crazy! Plus who wants to worry about ruining your cabinets while creating a delicious meal to feed your family?
I highly recommend painting two coats of paint to get the truest color and cover anything you might of missed in the first coat. Sometimes paint manufactures will advertise one coat, but I would still do two coats. You can also read the instructions on the paint bucket to see what the manufacturer recommends.
Once you are finished painting all of your cabinets, it is time to let them sit overnight before moving onto the next step. I know your are excited to finish! But, you will want to do this so that the paint completely dries before installing them back. If you end up installing the doors before they have had proper time to dry they will stick and your paint could chip. Even if it is dry to the touch.
If you want to see what paint is my favorite, see the shopping list below and the paint color.
In this picture I am testing out the paint color to make sure I am happy with the look. ➡️
Step 6: Install New Hardware
Now for the best part! It is time to install your new hardware!This is really easy if you are doing a project like this one because the holes are already there. We do not have to predrill holes in our cabinets, and you can accomplish this step will just a handheld screwdriver.
In the both of these pictures I purchased the round knobs from CB2, but they are no longer available. Here is a similar one I found on Amazon for just under $6 each.
Then for all of the cabinet doors, I chose to do a modern farmhouse style pull from Amazon that are very affordable and come in a pack of 30. To pick out pulls that are the correct size, use a tape measure to measure the distance from one hole to the next. Then use that measurement to get the hole measurement you will use for shopping. For example, my cabinets had a 3 inch length from hole center to hole center. The pulls I picked are 5 inches in total length with a 3 inch hole measurement.
If you do not have holes already, you will use the same concept above when you were picking out pulls but backwards. ✨The world is your oyster!✨ You can chose if you want a longer or small pull style. Then you will use the hole measurement the company says to use when installing their hardware to mark off where you will be pre-drilling holes on your doors. Most manufacturers will have detailed instructions to help you. DON’T FORGET this measurement will be center to center. So use a pencil to mark your holes before you drill holes.
There are tools you can purchase like this Kreg installation jig mounting template from Amazon, but I don’t think you absolutely need one.
Here is the final look! 🤍🛠️
Supplies You Will Need:
Screw driver or electric screwdriver
Local store: Benjamin Moore Advance Paint for Cabinets - Finish in Satin
Color is White Dove
I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and pick a color that brings you happiness and excitement. Or do a two-toned look. An example would be painting your kitchen island a deep green or pop of turquoise blue. This is a fun time updating your kitchen! And just think, you can always paint over it if you end up hating it or changing your mind down the road. :)
If you want to read about the reasons we picked this home, read my first post from this series and watch the video walkthrough! All of your support is amazing, and I am so thankful you are here! :)Watch The First Phase Below:
I really hope this has helped you with your projects or future ideas. Please follow along for a deeper look into our first flip house and our journey along the way. I would love to see some of the projects you are currently working on below!
Happy Styling! :)
Kitchen Update Plan| Flip House
Kitchens are truly my favorite spaces and can really set the tone for the whole house. A ton happens in the kitchen, meal prep, cooking/baking, entertaining, messes, cleaning, etc. So I really wanted to do the most upgrades, including cosmetically, in this space.
If you are someone who is interested in buying investment properties to flip and then sell, or you absolutely love DIY projects for the home, then you are in the right spot! In this “Flip House” series we are going to dive right into messy DIY, Do’s and Don'ts in the fixer upper realm, the reality of flipping properties, and renovation projects that you can follow along, learn from, and hopefully get excited for your own projects!
The Kitchen:
Kitchens are truly my favorite spaces and can really set the tone for the whole house. A ton happens in the kitchen, meal prep, cooking/baking, entertaining, messes, cleaning, etc. So I really wanted to do the most upgrades, including cosmetically, in this space.
Right after we purchased our house, our goal was to do small affordable projects while living in the house to save for the larger projects that needed to be done. My husband and I also did not have a timeline planned for how long we would keep this house before selling because we did not want to feel the pressure to turn around and sell right away.
If you want to see the reasons we picked this home, read my first post from this series and watch the video walkthrough! All of your support is amazing, and I am so thankful you are here! :)
Final Look
“I knew there was a lot of life to bring into the kitchen and wanted it to be the largest selling point of the home.”
I knew there was a lot of life to bring into the kitchen and wanted it to be the largest selling point of the home. Overall, the kitchen needed the most work on the main floor. I wanted to make the kitchen feel more open with a more modern look. Then add new appliances and more lighting.
The main goals for the kitchen was 1. not to go overboard because we had a smaller budget for our first home and 2. keep it simple. When people purchase a new home, they want to be able to envision themselves living in it before they purchase. So simplicity is key as well as not to chose a look that leans too trendy when picking out finishes. Plus you still want to make enough profit when you go to sell.
When we moved in this is what the kitchen looked like:
There was sooooo much that needed to be done. 🙃 Taking on a project like this one it can seem overwhelming. Where do you even start? Even though we couldn’t do everything I had wanted to fix up this kitchen, we sure did get a lot checked off the list.
Our Kitchen Renovation Check List:
Get rid of the carpet! Wall to wall carpet installed in every room was really popular in the “shag era”, the 60s and 70s. Even though this house was built in the early 80s, carpet is usually very affordable. Although, I do not find it is not the most ideal in areas like mud rooms, laundry, kitchens, and bathrooms.
Remove all the old hardware (hardware includes items like cabinet pulls, knobs and in this case hinges)
Remove wallpaper boarder
Deep clean and remove current finish on cabinet panels
Unfortunately, it was not within the budget to completely tear out and install new cabinets (even affordable cabinets at the time + lead times were crazy)
Paint cabinets
All new appliances
Pick out new modern hardware
New lighting plan
The house was up on a hill but, unfortunately, does not get as much light during the winter months.
Update trim around window
Update base trim
Install solid flooring with a wood plank look
Update electrical switches to correspond to new lighting plan
Kitchen Mood Board:
If you want to recreate or use any of the items we used to create the look, I’ve added some below. I am not affiliated with any of these companies or get a commission, but I did want to be a source for those who are interested. In the next blog I want to dive into all the steps we did to remodel the kitchen and advice from what we learned along the way.
Links:
Watch The First Phase Below:
I really hope this has helped you with your projects or future ideas. Please follow along for a deeper look into our first flip house and our journey along the way. If you guys also want a budget of our project let me know. I would love to see some of the projects you are currently working on below!
Happy Styling! :)
Our Flip House Renovation/DIY Project Plan
If you are someone who is interested in buying investment properties to flip and then sell, or you absolutely love DIY projects for the home, then you are in the right spot! In this “Flip House” series we are going to dive right into messy DIY, Do’s and Don'ts in the fixer upper realm, the reality of flipping properties, and renovation projects that you can follow along, learn from, and hopefully get excited for your own projects!
Project Beginning:
Right after we purchased our house, our goal was to do small affordable projects while living in the house to save for the larger projects that needed to be done. My husband and I also did not have a timeline planned for how long we would keep this house before selling because we did not want to feel the pressure to turn around and sell right away. As you will find out in my later posts, the bulk of this project happened 6 months prior to putting it on the market. We did not plan this, but we were needing to move across the state at the time and it was necessary the project would be wrapped up within a certain time frame. Not going to lie, it was crazy! My biggest takeaway and advice to give you would be to surround yourself with the best community and family. They are the real champions in helping us achieve our goals and a successful property revamp. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome of the project and everyone involved. So our BIGGEST THANK YOU if you are reading this!!
If you want to see the reasons we picked this home, read my first post from this series and watch the video walkthrough! All of your support is amazing and I am so thankful you are here! :)Mood Board:
For the most part, I wanted to step away from the typical “paint everything white and really brighten the place up” for selling. Since I had planned to paint the cabinets a white paint with warmer undertones, it opened up the possibility to add warmth in the walls and flooring. Also, understanding the area your house is in and the finishes people would gravitate towards really helped in the selection process. When it came to overall style, my thoughts were to keep a slight rustic style while allowing room for other design styles to play off of the house to attract several different buyers.
modern - farmhouse - industrial
Floor Plan - Main Floor
Overall, we were working with 950 sq ft on each level, first level and basement. Our main focus was making the main level as updated as possible and a few areas of the basement.
Moving Into The Project:
The very first thing was actually to get all our things moved in. The reality was we needed the home to be livable for our family while we worked on the house. But I wanted to desperately paint everything… Especially, you cannot tell from the before photos, but the house definitely did not have a fresh house smell. Paint is one of the most affordable projects you can tackle. And you do not need to be a professional painted to get the job done. In another blog post I will explain with more detail in a how-to paint your home including kitchen/bathroom cabinets, trim, walls, etc.
View the before photos below —
Project Plan:
If you are starting on a home renovation project or fixer upper home that you might be flipping, here are a few directions that will really make the biggest impact in the outcome of your project and a few extra steps we took to get this specific house to the end. Disclaimer: Please keep in mind (and I will always say), each project is different, every house is different, each set of problems are different. While our steps are helpful, they may not be the best option for your project.
Biggest Parts to Tackle:
Floor removal
New flooring
Repair walls
New wall texture
All new interior doors
All new trim
Fresh paint everywhere
New lighting & replace old lighting fixtures
Electrical - take away and move some light switches, rewire some areas of the home to incorporate new lighting
New lawn in the front yard — where my husband really shines! :)
Make the basement more livable
Install new appliances
I really hope this has helped you with your projects or future ideas. Please follow along for a deeper look into our first flip house and our journey along the way. If you guys also want a budget of our project let me know. I would love to see some of the projects you are currently working on below!
Happy styling! :)