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September 4, 2012 ·

Transform Builder Grade Drab into Custom Made Fab

bead board· Before/After· Board and Batten· DIY· paint· Painted cabinets

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Slowly I’ve been tackling room by room trying to bring a customized look to the basic builder grade features. Many newer homes come with boring beige walls, subpar cabinetry and fixtures. Thankfully there are many ways to achieve a custom look and do it affordably. I want to share a few Tips to Transform Builder Grade Drab into Custom Made Fab!

tips collage 1
 

TRANSFORM THE WALLS WITH PAINT

The most basic tip in creating a custom look is of course to add color with paint. Painting a room can transform the entire mood and feel of a space for very little expense. I like to add interest to a painted room by adding stripes and additional colors that complement each other. If adding additional colors is a bit too bold for you, consider painting a room first in a flat or egg shell sheen and then painting horizontal or vertical stripes in the exact same color, but in a gloss sheen. You’ll have created a subtle and sophisticated effect. Click to read my tutorial Painting Stripes Made Easy like you see in the “before and after” pictures below.

bathroom before (533x800)bathroom painted  (533x800)

TRANSFORM YOUR HARDWARE & FIXTURES

The next way to get that custom look is to transform your fixtures and hardware. You do not have to spend money on changing out your hardware for new ones though! You can paint it. I have fallen in love with Rustoleum’s Universal spray paints. They are primer and paint in one, will cover any surface, and come in several metallic finishes. Look at how I transformed this ugly plastic and ceramic towel bar into a pretty oil rubbed bronze bar. Click HERE to see all the different types of hardware you can spray paint.

towel rack ORB towel bar (800x533)

TRANSFORM YOUR MIRRORS

Most of us have these gigantic plain mirrors in our home, lacking any type of originality. Paying a company to add a custom frame to you mirror is expensive! My tutorial How to Frame a Mirror demonstrates how to create a gorgeous, lightweight frame made from PVC/vinyl moldings for under $30. Once you make your first mirror frame, you will be framing every mirror in your home! It’s that crazy easy!

builder grade mirror
Framed Mirror

TRANSFORM YOUR BATHROOM WITH TILE

Now I really can’t complain about my master bath. It’s “bones” are gorgeous but it lacked any kind of special personality. I decided to Add Glass & Stone Tile Border right above the top edge of my tub and my shower surround. If you’ve never tiled anything in your life, I promise you, that you will be able to do this! Just look at the difference the tile makes in the before and after pictures below.

Before
after (800x533)

TRANSFORM YOUR KITCHEN

I love my island. I get used more than any part of the kitchen,  and it is also the focal point of the kitchen. The problem was that it looked like a plain box. The cabinet fronts are maple but the ends are thin fiberboard with a “maple looking” veneer. I transformed the island by adding bead board and newel posts to the ends and then painting the entire island a new contrasting color. This project requires the use of power tools but the overall results are amazing. You can save several hundred dollars by doing this project yourself vs. hiring it out. Click here to read how to do a Kitchen Island Makeover. 
 
Kitchen Island Before
Kitchen Island Makeover

TRANSFORM WALLS WITH BEAD BOARD & TRIM


Adding bead board to a wall gives a room a ton of character. If you are just starting out I recommend trying bead board below a chair rail. For our daughters’ bathroom we added bead board to a wall that reached 3/4 of the way up and installed a picture ledge. 
 
builder grade bathroom and cabinets

Power tools are a girl’s best friend!

Installing Beadboard

In the post Bead Board Bathroom Reveal you will learn how we installed each part of the bead board wall as well as links to other projects you might see in this bathroom. 
 
Bead Board Bathroom

 
TRANSFORM YOUR CABINETS

Our maple cabinets are getting an orange hue that seems to intensify with each passing year. I don’t like it. I wanted rich espresso brown cabinets but replacing them seemed ridiculous because they are still in wonderful condition. Rustoleum has make a Cabinet Transformation kit that you custom color to what you like. This kit allows you to paint with out priming even. There are steps you must do to prepare the cabinets for paint but it does not involve sanding!  In my tutorial Painted Cabinets I walk you through how to paint, distress, glaze, and protect the cabinets. Your will love the custom look of your painted cabinets when you are done!

bathroom cabinets before
painted cabinets[2]
 
If you are willing to put some effort in and apply some of these tips, then I know you’ll be just as addicted to transforming your builder grade drab into custom made fab.
 
For more DIY ideas check out the DIY Project Gallery tab.
 
Kim 
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Comments

  1. Gee Singh Newbanks says

    September 4, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    So luvly Kim. We are still soldiering on with ours.. same concept. Turning builder grade up a notch 🙂
    Ours is coming along slower than I/we’d like as we have hit a few wee bumps ( health issues) But we are getting there. Reading and seeing your pictures is giving me motivation to push on…
    Thanks for sharing.
    Cheers, Gee

    • Kim Wilson says

      September 4, 2012 at 3:04 pm

      Thanks Gee, we’ve been doing this slowly also over 4 years. It takes effort but the house looks so much better. I’m sorry to hear about your health. Hope everything is on the mend. Thanks for always being so supportive. 😉

  2. Anonymous says

    September 4, 2012 at 3:18 pm

    Love these ideas. I want to try something with my kitchen cabinets. They are solid wood ash. I thought about new but the ones from today are so often glue and sawdust particle boards. I’ve changed hardware…next step paint or stain<3 ~Denise Esterline~

  3. {Hi Sugarplum!} says

    September 4, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    such great ideas!!! it really brings such a custom look!

  4. ℳartina @ Northern Nesting says

    September 4, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    Great ideas Kim for a custom look! They all turned out fabulous!

  5. Karen says

    September 4, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    Love all your projects! A few questions……….How are your painted cabinets holding up? I am worried about nicks and touching them up. I want to do board and batten, but am afraid is very trendy right now…..thoughts? Did you frame out your windows with moulding? I would love to do mine. We have that rounded bullnose and would love to find a tutorial somewhere. Thanks!

    • Kim Wilson says

      September 4, 2012 at 7:43 pm

      Thanks so much for the nice note. The cabinets are holding up great, especially the bathroom ones that I redid with the Rustolem kit. It’s the kids’ bathroom so it takes a ton of abuse. I highly recommend it. Yes board and batten is popular but it is also considered a classic look. Our last neighborhood had homes that were 60-100 yrs old, all with board & batten and bead board. So it must have been popular back then too. So I wouldn’t worry about it going out of style anytime soon. As far as your windows go, no, I’ve never framed out the windows myself and I haven’t seen a tutorial dealing with the bullnose finish. 😉

  6. Danielle Braun says

    September 4, 2012 at 5:48 pm

    Everything looks just fabulous. Very nicely done. I’m always shocked that everyone doesn’t take a few hours to do these projects! There is nothing I like more than a blank canvas!

  7. Heidi @ Decor & More says

    September 4, 2012 at 8:03 pm

    Wonderful tips, Kim! My home is 28 years old and full of quirky, but I love seeing these simple ways I could update a thing or two. Thanks for sharing!
    xo Heidi

  8. Elizabeth (Blue Clear Sky) says

    September 5, 2012 at 12:18 am

    Great ways to give your builder basic some charm. We are {slowly} working on ours too.

  9. Danni Baird @ Silo Hill Farm says

    September 5, 2012 at 1:58 am

    Kim those are awesome tips! Everything looks so nice and you’ve given me several ideas I can use…starting with the spray paint.

  10. Bridgette says

    September 5, 2012 at 3:49 am

    Great ideas! Found you via pinterest, I will be checking out the rest of your blog too!

  11. Eclectically Vintage says

    September 6, 2012 at 4:58 am

    You are a power tool wielding diva! Everyone should do this to that boring builder mirror!
    Kelly

  12. Lauren says

    October 1, 2012 at 11:56 pm

    I would never have thought to spray paint that builders grade towel bar or add the decorative tile border- fabulous improvements! Thanks for sharing.

  13. Anonymous says

    February 25, 2013 at 6:03 pm

    These notes, however, are backed by outright “the total faith and credit with the United States Payday Loans Online there are still many unanswered questions and areas to clarify, but i want to focus here on just one single.

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Kim WilsonWelcome to Sand & Sisal: where love of home and sea meet! I share tutorials in DIY, decorating, crafts, gardening, & recipes.  [READ MORE]

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