We purchased our first home three years ago. Three years of on-a-budget updates with my boho-modern aesthetic cumulated in a home that is comfortable and colorful. It makes me happy when I walk into it. And, of course, now we are also saying goodbye to it! We have decided to sell our home and, if all goes well, pack our bags and paintbrushes for a new adventure.
I have shared a couple of my projects on here, such as my DIY flooring experience and Home Gym. I’ve shared even more over on my Instagram page, such as my mural work and DIY Fire Pit area. As I am wrapping things up for selling my home I thought I’d share some more of my on-a-budget, DIYer home owner journey.
Boho Modern Home Decor On a Budget
I’m starting my series of posts at the end with this very speedy walk through of our home at the cleanest it has ever been! We didn’t have much time to prep for the sale of our home so, though I’ve read all the advice columns on it, I decided to leave the murals up. It is just paint, after all. It would have been heart breaking to paint over them, so I am glad the market is hot enough that I am not too worried that it will detract buyers.
Check back in again soon to get a more in-depth look at our DIY projects and home on a budget tips.
Let’s caution this post with a big ole: I’m Not a Pro! Heck, I’m not even a home DIY blogger. I’m an entertaining, food, and lifestyle blogger. However, if you are wanting to read a true beginner experience of DIY flooring, then read on! I’ll share what I felt went well and where I will hopefully do better next time.
Our first foray into flooring was in our home gym space that resides in a mudroom area. The space measures 16X9 and houses our gym equipment, a secondary office space, and laundry area. We have not finished out the laundry area as of yet because there is a lot more work to do there. We did get the whole gym/mudroom space ready for use!
Looks pretty swell, right?
Our First Foray Into Flooring
Out of all the projects in our house flooring was the one I was the most scared of doing. After talking a bit with my friend Suzannah from Create/Enjoy, I decided to give DIY flooring a try. The mudroom worked perfectly for my first DIY flooring project because I didn’t want the same flooring throughout the rest of my house. That way, I didn’t need to buy more product than that was needed for this one project.
I went back and forth on what type of flooring to get but went with Luxury Vinyl Tile that was water-resistant and peel-and-stick. If you would have asked me a year ago I would have said that I’d never put that in my home. But, I’m really happy with the quality and felt like it was a good beginner flooring project.
Disclosure: The below links are affiliate links that will allow me to make a small amount of money with any purchase at no cost to the buyer. Thank you for helping to support this blog!
Removing the tacking strips was no fun and damaged part of the concrete.
Our DIY Flooring Experience
Prepping the floor: Pulling up our carpet was fairly straightforward. We just pulled it up and took out the tacking strips. The concrete got a little damaged as we were taking out the strips, so I had to fill those spots with a concrete patcher. We then prepped the flooring by sweeping well, washing it, and then put on a few coats of primer.
Primer helps with the stick!
Planning out the placement: I wasn’t entirely sure how I wanted the flooring to look in this space. Do I go horizontal, or would that make the space look cut off? Do I go verticle? Perhaps herringbone? I laid out my options and took photos of the space and walked around a lot to try to figure out what I liked. In the end, we decided on a herringbone pattern that was lined up with the walls rather than at an angle. This made cuts just a tad easier.
One of many placements I considered.
The Hardest Part: The most difficult part of this whole project (for me) was making sure that the placement was level in the room. I used a chalk line to try to find the center of the room and a spirit level to make sure that it was straight. I was not perfect in doing this, but I thankfully wasn’t too far off. We did end up getting chalk all over us!
Laying the Tile: Setting the tile wasn’t super hard. The most difficult part was trying to make sure we got it spaced correctly with spacers. For the most part, the peel and stick had a GREAT hold. We know because we made a mistake after the first five tiles and had to pull them up. Let’s just say it was near impossible! We utilized the flooring adhesive in addition to the peel-and-stick adhesive in a few areas where the floor wasn’t as even. Big tip: Wear kneepads! This was killer on our backs and knees. Finally, apply a lot of pressure when pressing the tiles with the extension handle roller. This will get them good and stuck.
Edges: Cutting the tiles for the edges did not go super smoothly. If you were to look at our flooring job closely, you would see most of our beginner mistakes revolved around this task. We used an LTV tile knife to cut the tile, but if I ever do it again I’ll invest in a more robust tool.
Ready made grout was a huge timesaver.
Grouting: The tiles are able to be done with grout so we also purchased a grey ready-made grout. Grouting again was not hard, just time-consuming and hard on the body. Once it was complete though, it really made the floor look great!
While not perfect, this is 1000% better than the carpet that was here before!
How To Resources:
I hope my experience helped with sourcing products and potential pitfalls for a home DIY flooring project. Below are some of the resources I used while learning how to do this project in my own home.
If you like the step-by-step instructions with photos that you can just print off, check out the Better Homes and Garden’s article, “Installing Self-Stick Vinyl Tile.”
Looking to lay a different style of flooring? My friend Suzannah has a couple of handy posts over flooring projects including a how-to for laying sheet vinyl, tile, and laminate flooring.
Do you think you’ll be jumping into a DIY flooring project anytime soon? I’d love to see how you do! Share it with me on Instagram by tagging or messaging @JenniBost!
For someone who owns a blog about entertaining—someone who feels entertaining is an integral part of her identity—the restrictions that came with this past year have been difficult. My love for entertaining and my identity are not as important as the lives of those around me, so I happily followed regulations. Plus, to be honest, working in healthcare this year has made it impossible to really even think much about hosting parties. Over the past year, following CDC and state health guidelines, I was able to do some safe entertaining and look forward to doing more as things open up a bit!
Why I’m Sharing Safe Entertaining Options After a Year of Pandemic Life
I chose not to share my safe entertaining options over the past year, because:
Seeing people’s opinions on the internet made me want to keep my thoughts to myself because I didn’t want to be ridiculed for following guidelines.
I was afraid of being judged for following safety guidelines that were less strict than other parts of the country.
Finally, I was nervous about encouraging people to get together knowing that regulations varied from county to county, across the country, and throughout the world.
But, now… things are (happily) starting to look different!
Things are starting to open up as vaccines are getting into people’s arms, mitigation efforts are working, and the weather is getting nicer. This will mean that people are going to be able to slowly start getting together even while following all health guidelines! I’m SO ready for that time. Though, unless we continue to follow guidelines, we could easily be back to lockdown if things spike again. I thought I’d share some of the things I did to help make entertaining be safe for my family as well as those of my guests.
Please note: I am not a medical specialist. I am not an expert in CDC guidelines. I do not know the rules of your state, county, city. Please use your own discretion and local health guidelines to make decisions regarding entertaining during this time. Those searching for safer ways to continue/start entertaining will find this post useful. If that is not something you are looking for, please know that I do not need to know. I’m okay with you making your own decisions.
Treats to send out in the mail for a virtual event
Coming Out of the Pandemic: Safe Entertaining Tips & Ideas
In my day job I’ve been working with marketing teams on creating safe event options that still allow them to connect with new people and create value. We’ve done everything from Virtual Happy Hours to Drive-By events where guests drive through to pick up fun items. When thinking about home entertaining you have those options as well as the potential for small gatherings as guidelines are updated. Below are my favorite safe ways to entertain.
The most important part of keeping events safe right now is communication. Communicate expectations and your own mitigation efforts. Make it easy and open to allow guests to cancel if sick or exposed to something. This is one part of the pandemic that I hope moves forward. Open communication is so important! I hope that the “us” of the future continues to make it polite to not come to an event while under the weather rather than going in fear of being rude by missing an event.
Note: Links below marked with an asterisk are affiliate links. Items purchased from affiliate links provide a small income to this blog at no cost to the purchaser.
Keep parties small:
Yes, I am ready for large events with all my friends too. I really, truly am. Until our numbers are low enough and enough people are vaccinated… we still need to keep the parties small. Local health guidelines will help guide you in how large your event can be. When allowed, I limited our outdoor engagements to people from a couple of different households. This helps to limit exposure if someone were to find out they were exposed or sick.
Entertain outdoors:
I know that it isn’t possible right now to have outdoor events in some areas in the month of March. However, we do know that it is much safer to get together with people outdoors rather than indoors. Grab a pop-up tent*, outdoor heaters*, and blankets. Make sure your chairs are 6 feet apart and serve up some warm drinks! We’ve been lucky enough to be able to host a couple of friends for book club meetings around our fire pit and a ladies night on the porch.
Don’t Spread Germs:
The days of grazing tables are over. At least they are for me. I am not sure I’ll be bringing them back into my parties for years to come. For now, I’m making it easy on myself by purchasing single-serve items from foods to drinks. Canned wine or spritzers work great for this! This is not sustainable as it is terrible for the environment. However, it is an easy way to serve guests without sharing serving utensils. Other ideas for this would include individualizing that grazing table and turning it into a single-serve charcuterie plate!
Keep supplies handy:
When we have people over outdoors we know that they may need to use our restroom. We ask that guests wear a mask inside our house, especially if someone is indoors while they go in. In case needed, we make sure we have extra masks*, plenty of sanitizers, and wipes placed in areas that are easy to grab without drawing attention. Even if no one uses them, I feel more comfortable knowing that if they wanted them they wouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable by asking.
When hosting activities, set up the supplies socially-distanced:
Hosting an outdoor baby shower or ladies’ craft night? Set up tables where guests can sit six-feet apart and have all of their supplies in front of them. I think having guests create DIY terrariums would be a perfect way to spend time with friends while safely engaged in an activity.
Go virtual!
Everyone and I mean everyone, is tired of zoom these days. I get it! However, one of the highlights of a really hard year was the fact that the few times that I did host virtual events I got to host them with some people that it would have been really hard to see in person even had there been no pandemic. My birthday party this year included my sister from Oklahoma, family from Texas, and friends living in Idaho, Portland, Spokane, and even across the street. I would have never have been able to get these people together in a non-virtual zone. Even after Covid is gone and we are back to hosting regular parties, I believe I will try to do at least one or two virtual events a year so I can keep connected to those friends that may have just been a text or Facebook message pre-pandemic.
Some specific safe-entertaining party ideas, shopping lists, and free invitations are coming to the blog over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’d love to know how you’ve been able to keep connected over this past year. What type of entertaining were you able to do? What are you looking forward to as things open up? Share in the comments or message me on Instagram!
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