That DIY thing sounds so fun....

There is something in the air lately that has me wanting to fix up my house big time. All of a sudden the little things- crumbling grout, stains in the carpet, peeling paint- are driving me crazy. I can't stop focusing on the flaws. Since I've been too busy spending money on fun things like travel and races, I don't have a lot of money to take on the big projects, like replacing my carpet with hardwood, so I decided to tackle some little things. 

I have been reading this new blog- The DIY Playbook- and they make it seem so fun and easy. I figured I'd have some fun and end up with some pretty looking bathrooms.

Project #1 was replacing the old gross mirror in my downstairs bathroom. I found a nice mirror on Craig's List and figured hanging it would be a breeze. Wrong. The built-in hangers on the mirror didn't line up with studs in my walls. My Mom's boyfriend told me I could use a molly bolt which has this fold out clip thing to secure the mirror in the dry-wall. So I drilled a much larger hole in my wall than I would have liked. And then proceeded to loose 2 molly bolts into the wall. Awesome. 2 days later and a lot of swearing the new mirror is up. It does look pretty darn good and hasn't fallen down yet. So I consider it a success.


Project # 2 is the upstairs bathroom. I hate the old tile counter-top. The grout is all nasty and it never looks clean. Plus the sink and faucet are so old school.




I am hiring a profession to install the new sink and counter, but figured I could handle the rest of the make-over myself.

Last year I decided my bathroom was super boring so I went a little crazy and sponge painted a wall bright red and yellow, which will totally clash with my new green and blue sea glass counter.
A million and a half coats of paint and it is white again. Remind me never to paint anything red again.

The final thing was to repaint the vanity and closet door blue to freshen them up and make them match the new counter. I cleaned them, sanded them, primed them, and painted them. I forgot how many steps are involved! Then I brought them back up to the bathroom. I got the cabinet doors back on with only minimal problems, but the closet door, not so much. The BF and I have both spent hours trying to get the f*ing thing back in the tracks. We can get either the top part or the bottom part in, but not both at the same time. I've smushed the heck out of my fingers, scratched the tile, and dented the door. And it's still not in. Mo fo.

I wish I was better at doing handy things, but every time I  try, I just end up frustrated.

Are you a DIYer? What is your most successful project? Or, what is your most epic fail?