We’ve done many home improvements over the years and want to pass our experience along to you! We’ve fully renovated our basement to include a man cave, laundry room and craft studio. You’ll find tutorials on renovating bathrooms, installing baseboards, laying engineered hardwood floors, how to hide the electrical panel and more.
Over the years we’ve slowly improved the builder grade finishes in our humble abode by renovating. However, it didn’t happen overnight! We’re making our way through each room of the house and learning as we go.
If you’re a beginner, I hope our projects will give you some ideas and help you build the confidence to try a renovation project or two in your own home!
We’ll show you storage solutions for the kitchen and laundry room. We’ll even show you how to renovate your kitchen if you’re thinking of moving.
Check out some of our most popular home improvement posts:
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A staircase makeover can really set the tone for the rest of the decor. Because a staircase is often one of the first things you see when you step into a house, we’re sharing how to refinish stairs and railings. Continue reading
If you’re planning an upcoming flooring DIY, keep these great tips handy to get you ready for a professional-looking engineered hardwood floating floor installation. Pin it for future reference and share it if you know someone who might be interested! Continue reading
Our tin can crafts project is so unique; the swing out feature allows you to store a multitude of items like jewelry, office supplies and you can even turn it into a drink station. The possibilities are endless! Continue reading
A level basement floor rose to the top of the priority list many years ago when we applied to be on one of those home reno shows. They chose to renovate our basement! – or so we thought. In the planning stages of the reno, the show’s contractor discovered that the slope of our basement floor was too steep to build on. The floor was inconsistent and out of level by over half a foot in some areas! There wouldn’t be enough time in the production schedule to fix it properly so they were going to have to take a pass on us. Continue reading
Some people are confused about engineered hardwood vs. hardwood. Are you thinking about installing flooring? Whether it’s below grade or above, an engineered wood floating floor is the way to go. Especially so if you’re planning on installing it over a concrete slab, like in a basement.
Nothing adds beauty and warmth to a home like hardwood. In this first of our series on how we installed engineered hardwood flooring in our basement, we’re exploring how to shop for it. We wondered if engineered hardwood would be as good as solid wood and were surprised to learn that neither one is better. Only by weighing the pros and cons of each can you determine which one is a better fit for your own situation. Continue reading
Water leak repair is something we all hope will never be on the to-do list. While water leaks and burst pipes can be a huge problem, we’re showing you how to tackle the repair in two parts. Today we’re showing you how to install a frost proof faucet. In part 2, we’re showing you how to prevent mold growth after water damage. Continue reading
Revamped just in time for Christmas, if you know someone with an abundance of TV remotes, a TV remote control caddy worthy of the mancave should be on your gift giving list! It has been totally re-written with better step-by-steps, a supply list, new pictures and variations on the original project. Continue reading
Our DIY man cave project was a long time coming. Hubs spent over 2 years renovating our basement in his spare time. Being that our basement is small, we split up the basement between three functions: a craft studio, laundry room and a mancave. However, I took the majority of the space for my studio. Not very magnanimous of me given that he built every single bit of it himself – single handedly (with the exception of pouring a new basement floor). Continue reading
Today we’re showing you how to turn upcycled kitchen cabinets into a unique VW desk. You know how they say that necessity is the mother of invention? This upcycle is a prime example. After we renovated our kitchen, the craft room was next on the list and I needed a storage solution, stat! Luckily we saved a bank of cabinets from our reno to create a one-of-a-kind desk for the office area.
Our decoupaged medicine cabinet DIY is the jewel in the crown in our little powder room. It’s a striking decor piece that acts like artwork. But while it adds beauty, it’s also a functional way to add more storage in a small space.
You may have seen the powder room makeover we posted last year. Today we’re focusing on how to build just one of the elements, the decoupaged medicine cabinet, right into a wall. At Birdz of a Feather, we’re all about upcycling so when it came time to renovate our small powder room, we wanted to do it as sustainably as possible. Continue reading
I didn’t think we’d ever do a laminate countertop installation because I’ve always wanted ‘real’ stone. However, installing a laminate countertop without a backsplash turns out to be the best compromise and is the finishing touch in our laundry room! Our laundry room started out like so many other builder spaces: dark, dank and in the basement.
There’s nothing much we could do about the location. Our house is too small to relocate it, but we can certainly remodel it with beautiful finishes to make it a pleasant space to do laundry in! Continue reading
This cabinet upcycle turned into the most amazing jewelry storage DIY because I found a way to keep my bling tarnish free! What’s not to love about tarnish free jewelry?
If we find something in the garbage that inspires us (or even just challenges our common sense to leave it there), we don’t hesitate to try to find another use for it. The worst that can happen is that the project is an epic fail that ends up back in the garage again. But we won’t let that happen on our watch! Continue reading
Today I’m bringing back a popular post, our Front Porch Privacy Screen, but showing you more detail of the process. Continue reading
It can be a big challenge to hide an electrical panel. Some electrical panels are perfectly fine hidden behind a metal door. But when we finished our basement and had to increase the size of our the panel even more to accommodate the electrical needs for my craft room and the man cave, it looked horrendous. Continue reading
Use this DIY couch cover idea as an interim solution when you’re cleaning IKEA’s washable slipcover. It also works as a cheap & cheerful permanent slipcover. Now that Spring has sprung, it’s time for a little spring cleaning. Upholstered couches are great, but washable slipcovers are even better! Continue reading
Our brick fireplace makeover is finally complete! There was nothing redeeming about the house I bought when I was single, and still own today, save for the walk-in closets in the bedrooms (what shoe-loving girl wouldn’t love that)! Continue reading
A bathroom vanity makeover is so budget friendly – and eco friendly too! You may recall the bathroom renovation we completed for my Mom last year. When we revealed it, we still hadn’t painted the vanity we saved from going to the landfill. Now we can show you the bathroom vanity makeover! Continue reading
If anyone were to ask me what the biggest impact was in renovating our dining room space, I’d have to say the shoji screen sliding doors. They are like barn doors on steroids. A little more upscale, a lot less rustic, but essentially just like barn doors on a sliding track. We found a high quality mechanism to hang them. Then Hubs and a friend built them from scratch. Continue reading
