How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner

February has flown by and I do believe it was my busiest month yet.  I have…

February has flown by and I do believe it was my busiest month yet.  I have been working on redoing the girls’ bedroom and also finishing up a loft space that we have in the house. 

Today I am here to show you how to make decorating easy with the DIY Home Planner. I’ll be sharing a few photos and also how I came up with the inspiration for it. Because let’s face it, the last thing I would call myself is a decorator and I certainly don’t want to lose my mind over this. 
 
Let’s take a quick look at the room before.  it was a mustard color which really did little to make any of the photography I shot in there look good.  But I digress. I don’t believe this color is flattering for anyone.  Trust me on this… it had to go!
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Before picture of bedroom, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
I originally set out to decorate the room in my usual haphazard way.  However,  as luck would have it, KariAnne Wood blogger extraordinaire of Thistlewood Farm put the call out for friends who wanted to review her new book DIY Home Planner, and you know I just jumped at the chance. 

Ever since I was a young girl I have been obsessed with floor plans, and was delighted to see that KariAnne had a whole section in the book all about how to create your own, and how to position furniture in your room without actually having to move it first. 

It also has pockets so you can store your paint chips and fabric swatches.  A portable decorating mood board, if you will.  

I also used a fun app on the internet called Roomstyler that helps you create 3D images of your rooms.  This gives you a good idea of how your furniture will look in the room. 
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The DIY Home Planner, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
The DIY Home Planner book is divided into sections such as flooring, paint colors, patterns, wall treatments, window treatments, etc.  And it takes you step by step, showing you how to create a room.  It really helped me to focus on what needed to be done and in which order to do everything. Because like I said before, I tend to be haphazard in my decorating decisions. 

​But not this time!
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Table of Contents, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
The first job was obviously the painting. With the girls input we decided to paint it white. But there are sooo many whites, so many!  How do you choose the correct one?  With much agony we chose basic brilliant white by Benjamin Moore and went with it.  We started painting and the girls were helping and working hard…

​But then something extraordinary happened. 

​They approached me about painting a wall a non-white color… for the most part.  And this was the result.
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One wall of the bedroom painted in outer space ombre blue, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
I have to be honest, I was a bit hesitant when they suggested this idea to me, but boy was I surprised when I saw the result.  You can see that the top is painted like outer space and as we come down the wall it turns into the atmosphere, with an ombre effect.
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A close up of the outerspace ombre blue wall with a white closet, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com

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Push Pin Travel Maps

​Reading KariAnne’s book was freeing for me because I felt as if it was okay to let the girls do this and not worry so much about the outcome.  After all this is our home, we should be comfortable with it and it should be designed for us. ​It should make us happy and bring joy!

Normally I would shy away from so much color, but in this space it all came together. So I trusted in KariAnne and let the girls guide me, instead of the other way around, which is usually the case!

By the way, if you have ever been to her blog, you will understand why I trust her decorating advice so much.  Her home is impeccable and warm, and sweet and so many more things all rolled into one. 
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mirror leaning against wall next to the outer space ombre blue wall, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
When the time came to go to Ikea we were ready to choose the right storage units, Billy bookcases of course.  And with the help of the Roomstyler we could even visualize the room. That made it easier to plan and pick the right pieces beforehand. 
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Image of the bedroom in 3D from Roomstyler, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
Rugs and Carpets

​Of course nothing could have prepared us for this beautiful rug that we found there.  It looked as if it was meant to be in that bedroom all along.  Notice the ombre effect here?  
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Ikea rug in blue on floor, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
After going over my budget, just a little bit, I even let the girls pick out some cute accessories. 
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succulent on windowsill, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
The girls in turn were nice enough to let me place my recent painting (my only painting) in their bedroom since it looked like it belonged there.  Oh and those lamps,  they used to look like this before. 

You can see how this whole black and white vibe is really coming together. And the blue, well, that was the unexpected surprise of the whole plan.  We went with it and have not looked back since. 
two black and white lamps with painting in the center, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
Below is the other space I’m also working on.  It’s called the loft space for lack of a better word.  Just one big space with no walls – just a few windows.  We were able to select the flooring after I had figured out the difference between hardwood, laminate and engineered wood is, thanks to the DIY Home Planner. 

I am so glad to be done with this one.  For a while there, I was dreaming gray colors… so many and all with different undertones… who even knew that was a thing!  Thank you KariAnne… now I can go back to my normally scheduled dreams. 
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walnut laminate floor and gray walls, How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
This book that has become my best friend – it even came to Ikea with me – is available now!  You can order it on Amazon.  Below is the link.  And there is even an e-course.

It is infused with lots of KariAnne stories and witticisms but most of all it is full of hard earned advice for us folks who need all the help we can get when it comes to decorating. 

If you have decorating dilemmas this is the book for you!  Now you too can decorate the easy way with the DIY Home Planner because not all of us were born decorators. 

​In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing lots more projects for these rooms that have become our new home. 
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Do you find decorating difficult and confusing? KariAnne Wood's new Book the DIY Home Planner is what you need. It will show you step by step what you need to do in order to have a stylish comfortable home that reflects your personality. #DIYHomePlanner #DecoratingmadeEasy #EasyHomePlanningguide #DecoratingBook #Thistlewoodfarm How to Make Decorating Easy with the DIY Home Planner www.theboondocksblog.com
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43 Comments

  1. Oh Mary the girls room is turning out beautifully! Love the ombre effect, I haven’t ever seen that done to a wall before. Can’t wait to see more.
    I remember seeing recently Kari Anne having a book signing here in the DFW area, and would of loved to go.

  2. This is amazing! I never realize there was a book like this! Your ombre room looks AMAZING!! I love what you did with it!

  3. I LOVE the ombre wall and that rug is perfect! The room looks wonderful. I let my kids make a lot of the decisions for their rooms and I’m so glad I did, they truly love their spaces. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty

  4. Mary, the book sounds splendid and helpful in decorating a room. The room you and your girls are decorating looks fantastic! I love that sky wall!!!!

  5. I want that room for my boys! That is so calming and energizing at the same time. Wonderful job with the ombré and all the blues once again, Mary! Will check the book out.

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