I am guilty of having a bad case of house envy more often than I would like to admit. Beautiful spaces make my heart happy, and more than anything, I want my home to be a beautiful oasis for my family and me to enjoy. Unfortunately, most of those gorgeous, drool-worthy homes I daydream about would cost an absolute fortune to own in reality. I’m not saying I’ll never have my dream home, but for now, I need to love the one I have.
Just five years ago, we lived in a tiny 900-square-foot bungalow in a not-so-great part of town. Since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of living by the water, and I literally spent years checking house listings every single day, trying to find waterfront property we could actually afford. One day, I found the holy grail of houses, a raised ranch in an amazing neighborhood that backed onto a tiny river for a price that seemed too good to be true. We drove to the house with our realtor that same day, and I went directly into the backyard with my husband to see this little river for myself. It was everything I had hoped for, filled with geese and ducks and dozens of their tiny babies swimming in adorable lines. It wasn’t just the baby ducks; it was the sound of birds and bugs and flowing water that made the tiny backyard feel like paradise. In that moment, I actually cried. I was determined that we needed to buy this house, no matter what it looked like inside. I was finally home.
I would love to tell you that the inside was as perfect as the little river, but it was far from my dream house. At the time, we only had Izzy and Abby, so with three bedrooms upstairs, the space was perfect. The finishes left something to be desired, though. Everything in the home, while clean and in great shape, was original 1979 décor. The biggest offender was the overabundance of golden oak; it was literally everywhere. The kitchen, the baseboards, the doors, closets, and even the windows were an orangey-golden oak. My first thought was that a little white paint can fix everything, but I kept my negative comments to myself and instead gushed over the house in an attempt to convince my husband that we needed to buy it…like right that second!
We didn’t even look at any other houses. We offered the seller asking price that very same day, and were thrilled a few hours later when they accepted it. Our joy was short-lived, though, because the following day they received multiple additional offers over asking price. We were forced to wave all of our conditions in order to secure the deal, which meant no time for a home inspection and no time to sell our current home. Our old house wasn’t even on the market yet, and now we owned this one, too!
Despite the fact that my husband and I were both nervous wrecks until our little house was sold, nothing could dampen the excitement over our new home. We ended up selling our home in just four days, and two short months later, that little backyard with the river was ours.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t live outside, and the inside of the house quickly started to make me wonder if I had made a hasty mistake. As it turns out, my husband was a fan of golden oak, and was adamant that we would, under no circumstances, ever paint the wood white. I mean, what is it with men and solid wood? Added to the crushing realization I would be permanently living with orange wood and dated bathroom tile, we had a little surprise just a few months after we purchased our home: I was expecting our third baby.
Once our son was born, our three-bedroom home felt as though it was bursting at the seams. Our girls now shared a tiny bedroom, and we had to fill the house with the giant baby-holding devices a new baby requires. Thankfully, our son Milo was the perfect addition to our family, but his arrival left me dreaming of a bigger house.
I really only had two choices at this point: remain resentful of my home, or choose to love it. I chose the second option. With very little money to spend, I decided to make it my mission to love and respect my home as best as I could. The first and most important lesson I learned was that clean is beautiful. Every day, I would give my home a “hug” just by keeping it as clean and tidy as I could. As I dusted and vacuumed and tidied my home, I felt myself loving it just a little more every day. A clean home is beautiful, no matter the décor.
I also decided to roll up my sleeves and try some inexpensive DIY projects to help make my home a little bit more my style.
Over the past five years and dozens of DIY home projects, I have learned some tips and tricks to make DIYing a success: