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Houzz Tour: Quirky DIY Bungalow in Canada
With a thrifty DIY mindset and a true love for their house, a couple transforms their digs from stale to sweet, one day at a time
Gemma Bonham-Carter is an avid DIYer who realized early in her home makeover that the house of her dreams would not materialize overnight. "The biggest challenge for us has been a combination of budget and space. With a tight budget, we try to do a lot ourselves, often buying things "preloved." I have to be OK with slow and steady progress," says Bonham-Carter, the DIY design blogger behind The Sweetest Digs.
Bonham-Carter has tackled her house makeover projects piecemeal. She and her husband have maximized existing furniture and decor, and are seeing how things can be reincarnated into more functional, beautiful pieces. "I'm also all about smart storage, trying not to collect too much stuff and working with what we truly need," says Bonham-Carter.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Gemma Bonham-Carter and her husband, Dan
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Size: 1,600 square feet
That's interesting: Every room benefits from Bonham-Carter's DIY projects.
Bonham-Carter has tackled her house makeover projects piecemeal. She and her husband have maximized existing furniture and decor, and are seeing how things can be reincarnated into more functional, beautiful pieces. "I'm also all about smart storage, trying not to collect too much stuff and working with what we truly need," says Bonham-Carter.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Gemma Bonham-Carter and her husband, Dan
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Size: 1,600 square feet
That's interesting: Every room benefits from Bonham-Carter's DIY projects.
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Bonham-Carter made the faux capiz chandelier in the guest room using wax paper, string and a hanging flower basket. She had been itching to tackle this project after she and her husband relocated to Canada after a year of living in England. "You just need a flat surface to work on, some time and a hot glue gun," she says. "The three nights I spent working on it were totally worth it. It cost me a total of $2.50!"
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| This lime green and white trellis pattern on the wall was made with a stencil. "I wanted to use wallpaper in this room, but after I realized that it was going to be $150 just to complete one wall in the style I liked, I started thinking about other options," says Bonham-Carter. She picked a trellis pattern that channeled design elements she and her husband had admired on a visit to Morocco. The wall complements the house's overall palette of blues, turquoises and grays, and although the stenciling made Bonham-Carter's hands cramp, she says the final result and money saved were worth it. Punch Up a Wall With a Bright, Bold Stencil Pattern |
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The rows of magazine filers and organizers show how serious Bonham-Carter is about organizing; everything has a dedicated space and is put away after use. Once every season, Bonham-Carter does a full spring cleaning to declutter even further.
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Bonham-Carter made this black and white chevron art canvas using a cardboard template. "Then it was just a matter of taping out the lines with painter’s tape and painting the space in between. The total cost was less than $20 — not bad for a big, fun piece of original artwork for your pad. And even if you don’t think you’re an artsy person, this is a totally easy-peasy project," she says.
Radio: Tivoli Radio
Radio: Tivoli Radio
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| Bonham-Carter and her husband's solution to a drab and dull kitchen: a cosmetic update of black and white vinyl tiles. "The vinyl tiles are obviously not the most glamorous of flooring options, but since we're saving for a big kitchen remodel, they are a good temporary solution and add a fun diner look to our kitchen," she says. |
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Other cosmetic makeovers in the kitchen include repainting the cabinets and replacing the hardware to a brushed silver finish.
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This well-composed vignette used to be a hidden spot in the Bonham-Carter's kitchen. "I emptied the shelves and colored the backs with a splashy lime green paint — left over from our office makeover. I took out a few of our baking items from a different shelf, jars of stuff that look good in an exposed shelf. Now these items are easily at hand and have freed up space elsewhere in our small kitchen," she says.
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A ceramic white elephant perches on a stack of favorite magazines.
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The Moroccan trellis wall stencil pattern in the home office is repeated in the curtains framing the dining area windows; the curtains add vertical height and lend an air of elegance to the room. "The paint on the fabric doesn't feel great against your skin, but it's not like you're curling up against your curtains," says Bonham-Carter.
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A vintage chandelier adds elegance to the master bedroom. The chandelier used to have what Bonham-Carter calls a "sad brass" finish, so she breathed new life into the metal with matte black spray paint.
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| Bonham-Carter describes her bungalow as having a fun and quirky charm. "I have seen some houses that have choppy little rooms, but ours is pretty open and feels like a cozy place for family and friends to congregate," she says. |
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One of Bonham-Carter's favorite pieces in the living room is the coffee table, which she "fished out" of her father-in-law's farm. She and her husband sanded and refinished the surface to restore the wood's dark veneer; black paint was also applied to the metal legs.
"I'm always tweaking things. We are currently in the midst of a bathroom remodel, and eventually we would like to put in a new kitchen," she says. "In the meantime, we take each project one day at a time."
"I'm always tweaking things. We are currently in the midst of a bathroom remodel, and eventually we would like to put in a new kitchen," she says. "In the meantime, we take each project one day at a time."
Ideabook published on April 30, 2012.
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@babyspeech2011: The jars labels were used with peel and stick chalkboard paper which I cut to size and wrote on with a white gel pen; the circle magnet containers have spices and dried herbs in them; and the zig zag artwork was done with acrylic paint (which you can find at any craft or art supply shop). Hope that helps!
@marmarmish: I agree!! Tackling some curb appeal and working on our completely bare backyard are on the "to do" list for this summer :)
If you have any other questions, feel free to visit my blog where I document all of my projects and adventures (and sometimes misadventures!) in transforming our little house: www.thesweetestdigs.com