What Is a Flex Room?
Andrea Vowels is a passionate interior home décor enthusiast with an eye for chic, minimalist farmhouse design. Andrea, her husband, and their adorable dog purchased their M/I Home in the Dallas / Fort Worth area in 2018, and they haven’t stopped dreaming up new DIY projects since!
Getting a new house is so exciting! When my husband and I purchased our first home I could not wait to start making our home filled with everything we love! I had so many ideas of what I wanted to add to every room, but I knew I had to wait until we were in the space to start adding to it.
PRO TIP: When you first buy your home, it is helpful to wait until you're in the house before you start buying any furniture and decor. Once you can see each of the spaces you have, you can start looking for all of your new decor and begin to budget and decide what is necessary for your new home.
After we got our house, about a month later we started looking into doing some DIY projects to make some spaces in our home feel more like a home. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite DIY projects we have worked on, and we absolutely love all of them!
Keep in mind my husband and I are not experts by any means, and all the projects we have worked on together have been DIYs that can easily be done by anyone.
Guest Bathroom
The guest bathroom was the first project we tackled in our new home, and we were so excited to change our bathroom into one that fit our style. Just by changing a few things, we were able to accomplish a whole new look.
Before:
We first decided on a shiplap wallpaper, then we changed out the light fixture and added a new mirror, and finally we added some shelving above the toilet to add extra storage. Simple things make such a huge difference!
To achieve the farmhouse look that we were going for, we started by taking the old mirror off the wall and taking down the light fixture that came with the house. Once we had that ready to go, we were able to add the shiplap wallpaper quickly and easily.
Since this was our first home project, we decided to use wallpaper rather than real shiplap.
After adding the shiplap we added the new farmhouse light fixture. Changing those out made such a big difference already.
The last two steps were attaching the new mirror, and shelving and then my favorite part...decor!
After:
Now:
Hallway Gallery Wall
Adding a gallery wall to your house is a great way to showcase your favorite family pictures. We decided to pick a large space in our house where we could add this without making it feel crowded. The hallway was our perfect spot! You can also add a gallery wall to a living room or bedroom.
Before:
PRO TIP: Measure the space so you can have an idea of how many frames will fit in your space. After measuring I got some old wrapping paper and I cut out frames in the size I was thinking and taped them to the wall. That helped me visualize what the space would look like!
When it was time for the lighting, we knew we did not want to hardwire anything on the wall, so we got some command strips and puck lights and added them to the bottom of each sconce.
That was such a game changer! When we put the sconces up we hid the wiring and they turned out perfect.
After:
I love decorating this hallway, especially for Christmas!
Laundry Room
Giving our laundry room a makeover was a must because now we enjoy doing laundry more than before! We changed this room and made it visually appealing and functional for our needs. Laundry rooms come in so many different sizes, so focusing on what you need is the most effective so you are able to utilize it.
We added shelving and cabinets where we can store all our soaps and cleaning supplies. That made it so much more useful. Check out our makeover below!
Before:
We did not like how we could see all the cleaning supplies on the metal shelf that was in our laundry room before. We knew we definitely had to add some cabinets, and they needed to be lower so I would be able to reach them. After planning our makeover, we got supplies and started our laundry room project.
During:
We took the metal shelving down and then started by adding both cabinets. After leveling the cabinets we added shiplap to the walls and painted it white. We could already see such a huge difference!
We then added some shelving in the middle and right above the washer and dryer.
Lastly, we added all the decor which was my favorite part! Check out the final reveal below. It is practical, cute, and useful! I also love decorating it for all the seasons.
After:
Bathroom Shelving
Water closets can be a little boring, especially if you have a separated one from your shower. Adding shelving or a cabinet is the best way to make it look one hundred times better!
Our owner's suite water closet is separated from the rest of our bathroom, and it is very small, so we decided to add some DIY shelving to change the look.
Before:
We picked up some wood from Lowes and got it cut with the measurements needed for the space. We also got some piping to hold the shelves in place. I painted the shelves white to make them stand out. I wanted it to have an industrial-farmhouse look, and it worked perfectly!
During:
Just like other rooms of the house, I love to decorate our bathroom for every season. It definitely makes us smile!
After:
I hope you enjoyed reading about my favorite DIY projects! It has been so much fun working together with my husband as we settle into our M/I Home and complete small projects together.
Be sure to check out my Instagram account to see more decor inspiration and other projects!
I love when I get messages with photos of spaces that have been recreated using our home inspiration. I cannot wait to see what you change in your home!
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