This Couple Is Transforming a Fixer Upper into a Dream Home One Colorful DIY at a Time

Name: Kathleen Kowalski and my fiancé, Brian
Location: Somerville, New Jersey
Type of home: House
Size: 1,200 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 years years, own

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: On the one year anniversary of our first date, my fiancé Brian and I bought our first home! One colorful DIY at a time, we are transforming our fixer upper into the home of our dreams. For the last year and a half, Brian and I have been renovating our home on nights and weekends but not for much longer. After 10 years as an art teacher, I am resigning to pursue interior design content creation full-time. I don’t know exactly how it will all work out but I am ready to take the leap and prioritize work that brings me joy. In fact, I’m following Brian’s lead. Brian recently changed careers from a desk job to residential carpentry. Together, we make the perfect team. So far, we’ve completed almost all of the downstairs.

Part of my identity will always be as an art teacher. Growing up, my mom was an art teacher — my art teacher! My five siblings and I were raised with a great appreciation of art. Incorporating artwork into our home is very important to me. I am always collecting art and looking for new artists to support. I also believe art is the very best souvenir you can buy. It takes you back to a happy memory and adds instant character to any space. The artwork in our home gives me an infinite color palette to work with. No color is off-limits but, like any gallery, I like to balance this color with white walls and black and gold accents.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Colorful, eclectic, thrifted, artistic, and joyful.

What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room currently is our living room. I created a large scale gallery wall with a four-foot square piece of art that says, “Ooh la la.” It’s such a fun and bold statement that I haven’t seen before. Also, I found a post-modern, blue velvet chair secondhand that brings me joy every time I look at it. I mixed this with a mustard velvet sofa we found for half the price of big brand names and a vintage coffee table. This room has a lot of personality and I think really shows off my style. Next up, we will be wallpapering a wall with a very funky irregular check paper from Bellarte Studio. I can’t wait for this!

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The last thing we bought that made the biggest impact in our home was a stencil. We recently painted and stenciled the outdated linoleum floor in our kitchen and used the Linear Stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils. It is an absolute game changer and it didn’t cost a lot. You would never know it’s a stencil! We are thrilled.

Any advice for creating a home you love? If it’s ugly, paint it! Paint is the most powerful DIY tool we have. We totally transformed our kitchen and it was mostly from paint. We painted our cabinets, floor, dishwasher, refrigerator, Wayfair pantries, and even faux marble painted our counters. I also recommend making choices that make you happy. Trends come and go, choose pieces that you love. If you want to explore a new style or color palette, start with accessories you can easily swap in and out like pillows, bedding, curtains, and small decor. For bigger choices like tile, or lighting, it’s good to err on the side of timeless or at least something you know you’ll like for many years to come.

This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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