Throughout the years I’ve completed many do-it-yourself projects in our home. In fact, it’s one of my favorite things to do and something I regularly share on the blog and Instagram. However, there are a few projects I’m not so proud of. So, I’m sharing 5 DIY regrets and projects I never should have done!
SPRAY PAINTING OUR SHOWER
Yep, you read that correctly. I spray-painted our shower to make it look like a black factory window. I used this popular tutorial. And spray painting showers and bath fixture seems to be a very popular DIY. The tutorial was great and the shower held up nicely for a year or so. But my advice is don’t do it! I still love the look of our shower but I just wish I had saved up some money and purchased it instead.
Years later, the paint is chipping off and it looks horrible. If I were to do it again or if you are still planing this DIY, my first suggestion is to only paint the outside. I didn’t really have that option because our shower is so open. And second, dry everything off after each use. Water collecting at the bottom of the shower and door has destroyed the paint.
USING COMMON BOARS FOR WOOD PROJECTS
Using common boards for projects is a very inexpensive way to create anything you want. However, affordability comes with a cost. Even after prime and paint, years later knots and imperfections are still showing up. I should have used primed boards instead. Our DIY paneled wall needs to be re-painted every couple of years and so does the board and batten. I also regret using common boards for all of the window and door trim in our home.
CRAFTSMAN STYLE TRIM
Speaking of the door and window trim. I regret that too. Adding all of the craftsman molding and trim is a very specific look that I have now grown tired of. Our bullnose-edged windows were just fine and I could have saved myself a lot of money and time leaving them as is. Our home is not a craftsman-style house, so it also seems a little out of place.
MDF FOR BASEBOARDS
I also regret using MDF boards for our baseboards. When we DIY’ed the flooring (more on that in a minute) I also redid the baseboards with larger MDF pieces. I wish I would have used primed wood boards again. The MDF shows every nick and scrape and isn’t easy to repair. Fixing those and repainting is definitely on the to-do list.
FLOORING
Although I still absolutely love our Pergo flooring, I wish we would have chosen an engineered hardwood and not installed them ourselves. Just like with the baseboards, the floors have taken a beating over the last few years. There are a few nicks and dents that need to be repaired. They were super easy to install, but because of all the weird angles in our home, the DIY installation isn’t that great. We also didn’t install it all at once and did rooms as we could. This caused a lot of transitions which I now don’t like.
I also regret doing my first big tiling job in our primary bath. I had never tiled before and really thought I could install a floor?! However, I will say that installing the floor in our guest bath years later was perfect because I knew what I was doing and what mistakes to watch out for. So I did learn and would feel confident installing another floor now.
Overall, I still love all the DIYs in our home. Plus, my Dad has always told me that I’m the only one that sees the imperfections because I know they are there. And he’s probably right. But I still might fix a lot of these DIY regrets in the future. And just like anything else, practice and education go a long way. The more projects I do, the more I learn, and the more comfortable I feel with DIY. And it can be the same for you!
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