Marcel Dagenais

When my partner Ben’s sister Annie, her husband Joe, and their son Ollie recently moved back to the Midwest, we were all thrilled — not just because we’d get to see them more often, but also because they bought a house that was basically a blank canvas. The bones are great, but every room is waiting for some love. Naturally, I volunteered to kick things off with a dining room makeover (check out the YouTube video version here) to set the tone for the rest of their home.

Long live the lawn flamingo!

As with most DIY projects, there were surprises along the way.

I took the same principles around feature walls and went skyward.

Feeling comfortable using your drill to install shelves at home? This DIY isn’t too much harder, and you don’t even need any additional power tools.