Before & After: An Easy, Hand-Painted DIY Made This Outdoor Space Complete — and Ready for Summer
Do you love checking out photos of home makeovers — but feel overwhelmed by the idea of actually doing them? In our DIY Makeover Issue, we offer project inspiration, instruction, and helpful tips and hacks for every DIYer, no matter your skill level or budget. We can’t wait to see what you create with your new skill set — find it all here.
Three years ago, when Danielle Guerrero and her husband bought their first house — a new construction with basic, builder-grade furnishings — she was a DIY novice. That didn’t last long: Danielle started tackling projects like adding shiplap and installing new flooring, and she hasn’t stopped. Along the way, she amassed a collection of power tools, a lot of know-how, and a community of folks eager to discover their own DIY skills.
“You don’t just pick up your tools and automatically know how to do everything,” she says. “I’ve failed so much that I’m like, ‘you know, the worst thing that happened today is I learned something new.'”
Danielle’s “DI-Try” approach has turned her blank slate into her dream home, and her most recent project added the finishing touch to her outdoor space: a hand-designed coffee table. She got everything she needed with the help of the new Ford Maverick™. The first standard hybrid truck built for urban life, the Maverick™ has a FLEXBED™ — a truck bed with customizable storage options for fitting all your power tools and 2x4s — while still being slim and sporty enough to navigate city traffic.
To make her table, Danielle started with a large planter, which she inverted to make a base. Then she cut a circle of plywood, drilled a hole for a patio umbrella, and glued it to the base with a sturdy adhesive.
After a base coat of black paint, it was on to the final flourish: hand-painted designs inspired by her heritage, borrowing from Peruvian pottery and Spanish tiles. It’s an aesthetic that echoes throughout her home: “I am Hispanic, so I like to draw from that, like the Spanish architecture with arches. I love to incorporate that into my style.”
Finding her style and helping it shine is one of Danielle’s favorite things about her DIY journey. “Being able to DIY has really allowed me to experiment with different design styles and figure out what I love for my space versus what I love online in others’ spaces,” Danielle says. What looks great on Pinterest doesn’t always mesh with your IRL look.
Another perk of DIY life? Danielle can design projects to solve specific problems. For this table, that meant making her outdoor space — which had comfy seating but no tables — much more functional. “We don’t really hang out out there, because there’s nowhere to put things,” she says. Another challenge: SoCal summers can get scorching! But the new table’s umbrella insert is a serious upgrade.
DIYing has empowered Danielle to discover solutions that meet her needs, fit her style, and represent herself — all of which boosted her confidence. “Being a DIYer has really helped me be less afraid to try new things in my life,” she says. “You really learn to accept that you’re not gonna be great at everything, but it’s a learning process.”
Wherever you are on your DIY journey, the Ford Maverick™ can help you get to the next level. The unique FLEXBED™ system is designed to support endless trips to the home-improvement store, with segmented storage, false floors, 10 tie downs, and a create-your-own bike rack. There are even vertical and horizontal slots to keep wood boards in place! With two 110V outlets, you can even turn your truck into a work station, wherever you are.