Who doesn't love to walk up to their house each day to find a unique decor addition bringing life and charm to that boring spot of your exterior all while knowing that YOU created it over a weekend by using a few simple materials, tools and the power of DIY.
I am only just starting to work on the exterior and landscaping of my charming little 1935 home which I purchased 2 years ago this month. I have plans to redo it's front, back and side yards, rebuild the front and side porches, rebuild the existing carport, paint the vinyl siding and trim and so much more my brain can't even compartmentalize. We all have desires to bring our home visions to life, but we don't all the time, money or even the stamina to do it all. What we can achieve with limited funds and time, is simply additions of decor to bring the feeling of "new" to your space, and here I am sharing my 3 diy's to increase curb appeal.
Exterior decor is an excellent way to guide your homes' image closer to your final vision, and can be done very frugally if you put some time and creativity into it! I am a firm believer everyone has a DIY bone in them and DIY does not have to be expensive. If you can take the time to be resourceful and seek out materials that may be on the way to a landfill for example, you can create a lot of great decor items on a very low budget.
Spend a Sunday afternoon visiting garage sales, estate sales, or perhaps even a friend who is tearing down an old fence. You may be able to obtain loads of useful material for pennies on the dollar, plus save it from the landfill. Another great place to look for budget material is your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which is a donation center for home building supplies plus more who will resell their inventory for a much lower cost than big box stores. Of course, you may need to really hunt for it in a place like this, but in my experience, I find what I am looking for almost everytime I go look, for a fraction of the cost.
If you think you may want to begin a hobby in DIY projects, I also recommend building your collection of basic tools, stain and paint products as soon as possible. It can get costly to purchase every tool needed for a project in one shop, so when you see that set of screwdrivers, or brad nailer, or clamps on a great discount, GET THEM, because you will find so many uses for them in the world of DIY. I also think it's a great idea to have a can of wood stain as well as a can of polyurethane on hand. Find a color that you can imagine using of multiple projects such as a DIY wood shelf or refinishing a wooden chair.
For me, this stain color is " Early American" by Varathane because it is a warm yet neutral color, and I have the option of adding a warmer stain over top of it if I am looking for more richness. It plays very well with other stain tones and I have used it on many different wood species and am never disappointed. I also always make sure to have a can of polyurethane on hand in both satin and high gloss finish depending on what I am using a top coat for.
As for tools, you can spend a ton of money on them, or you can spend very little. To be honest, a lot of my beginner tools were from the tool aisle in Dollarama because I was not able to afford places like Home Depot back then, plus, I wasn't sure how much I would actually use them. Little did I know I would go full blown into DIY projects, woodworking and home renovations, so I have slowly built up my collection to good quality brands for the past 5 years or so. I'll mention the Habitat for humanity ReStore again as there are bins and bins of tools to choose from which are all priced very low. I have purchased quite a few tools from the ReStore that have been perfectly well to use to this day, and I only paid a fraction of the cost for them.
Some tools you should start with
measuring tape
speed square
hammer
level
variety of clamps
screwdriver set
hand block for sandpaper
jigsaw
hand saw
Some tools you should invest in once possible
power drill and driver set
brad nailer
miter saw
palm sander
circular saw
In a previous BLOG, I share step by step how I DIY'd this modern, chevron pattern address sign by utilizing free materials which I pulled out of a garbage dumpster. I call projects similar to this, a "Dumpster DIY" which I have dedicated a whole page on my website to display and share step by step on how I achieved them.
If you are interested in reading about this address sign DIY or any of my other projects, please visit olbettiediy.com where you will find my collections of DIY.
3 DIY's to increase curb appeal
I am a sucker for anything with wood details, especially when it is designed in a wood slat pattern, chevron pattern, herringbone pattern, I love it all! I wanted to bring that inspiration outside and onto the front of my house as well as on my welcome porch.
As explained earlier, I was able to create a modern chevron pattern wood address sign with free materials, tools and products I already owned and a $57 Amazon purchase for the 5 black metal numbers. I wanted any other decor item for the exterior to match, so I also madeover a plain black metal mailbox with the same chevron details. I purchased the mailbox for $8 at my cities ReStore, while the other materials used, I already owned.
Lastly, what's decor without a simple yet impactful vignette to bring it all together? Creating a corner vignette is a great way to bring life to a boring area whether it is interior or exterior. A vignette can easily change with the seasons and holidays by swapping out your summer flowers with some spooky pumpkins or perhaps a Santa Claus blow mold!
How to DIY a modern chevron address sign
For the fully explained version of how to DIY a modern chevron address sign, please visit my BLOG page on olbettiediy.com
Step 1: Cut multiple slat wood pieces to desired length with a 45 degree miter on one end of each slat. My chosen length of slat was 7 inches from the point of the miters.
The amount of wood slat pieces you need will depend on your dimensions. I kept lining up my pieces together until I reached the full length of my dimensions.
Quick tip: Measure and cut one piece to desired length, then set up a stop block on your miter saw for quick, repetitive cutting
Step 2: Arrange your slat wood pieces in a chevron pattern by pushing the 45 degree angle sides together in the middle. You should be able to have enough slat wood pieces to cover past your final dimensions in order to make a final dimension cut. Set aside.
Step 3: Make a backing board for your slat pieces to get attached to, this will also create a more sturdy piece in the long run. I used 3/4" scrap wood for my backing which I had to pocket hole a couple pieces together in order to get my full dimensions.
Step 4: On the front of your backboard, find the center point by measuring the width of your board and dividing that number by 2. Draw a pencil line at your measurement with a T square so it is perfectly straight.
Step 5: Attach your chevron design to the front of your backing board with gorilla glue or a very strong adhesive of your choice following your centered pencil line to insure everything is straight. Be careful not let pieces slide against each other making your line uneven. I found using a light hand here was helpful. One your chevron is glued down and perfectly places, allow it to dry overnight.
Step 6: It's time to cut the piece down to final dimensions. Run painters tape along where you want the edges to be so you can draw a straight pencil line along it. Painters tape will insure your wood won't split or even break off under tension as you are cutting it to size. Draw out your final dimensions along the tape then proceed to make your cuts.
Step 7: Sanding, the worst step of every woodworking project, amirite? Sand the sides and top until smooth and flush, or leave a bit of variation in heights on top for a more rustic look. I started with 80 grit sandpaper on my orbital sander, then I hand sanded smooth with 400 grit sandpaper, although I would use 220 grit if I had some.
Step 8: Measuring and marking out where your numbers will go. This was definitely the hardest and most time consuming part of this DIY project. Take your time and triple check everything before you drill holes through your piece. Knowing that my centerline was now where both halves butted up together, I used that as a reference point to lay down my numbers. These numbers thankfully come with their own paper guides that you can use to transfer the screw points to your piece.
Step 9: Drill your pilot holes through the paper guides where each screw hole will be. Again, take your time with this, don't push too hard and chance splitting your wood. Just make sure you go deep enough for your screws to set in the whole way. Make sure give the new holes a quick sand over too to avoid sharpness or chipping.
Step 10: Just as you probably suspected, yes, the frame was also accomplished using my trash sticks, haha. I simply built this frame by placing a length of wood next to each side, and making a mark where the board ends and marking it out to a 45 so I would know where to cut the ends on my miter saw. I repeated this step until I had all the frame pieces. I opted to spray paint my frame black rather than using a regular paint, mainly because I knew it would be outside 100% of the time. I also gave it 3 coats of polyurethane.
Step 11: Staining and sealing your piece! I chose my go-to stain which is "Early American" by Varathane, followed by a
coat of "Antique Walnut" to warm up the tone a bit. The antique walnut I use actually has a polyurethane built into it, so I considered that my first out of 3 coats of poly.
Step 12: You're almost there! Once my piece was dry and looking great, I assembled my frame to it using gorilla glue and some brad nails. I made sure to clamp the frame nice and tight and wiped down all the excess glue spill out before it had time to cure. I let this sit overnight although I'm sure within several hours it would have been just fine to continue.
Step 13: Install your awesome mid-century modern style house numbers to your piece! These numbers are very easy to instal and actually have two different ways to install. You may choose from floating, like I did, or flush to the surface. How you instal your new modern address sign is up to you!
Matching Chevron Mailbox DIY
As mentioned earlier, I picked up this brand new, never been used black, metal mailbox from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $8. As per the before photo, it did have a faux wood grain decal on the lid as a detail, so I figured why not make that detail out of real wood! I had created my chevron address sign prior to this mailbox makeover, so the inspiration did come from that DIY project.
Right away, I knew I could not utilize my free dumpster sticks for this project because they would be too thick, however, my material was still free as I had this much thinner strip of wood lying around which I got for free as a sample a while ago. It is actually a piece of wood lathe from Home Depot, in case you need similar material.
How to add a wood chevron pattern to a metal mailbox
Step 1: Create a template. The lid to my mailbox has an indented area where the previous stick on design was. I removed the faux wood sticker and laid a bunch of painters tape over it to get the dimensions of the area.
Step 2: Once covered in painters tape, take a sharp exacto knife and carefully cut along the indentation walls in order to get a template for the dimensions you will need for your chevron pattern. Carefully peel off the excess tape, and you will have your template.
Step 3: Prep your wood slats by cutting them to desired length, and on a 45 degree miter using a miter saw. Dimensions will vary project to project, so I will not include any dimensions. You can make the slat lengths a bit longer than your template so you can take the wood to final dimensions later.
Step 4: Align your slat pieces in a chevron pattern on your work table. Lay the template over it to insure you will have full coverage.
Step 5: Place the wood slats on top of the template, and glue together each slat in your chevron pattern while keeping the slats within the lines of your template. I clamped a long stick to the edge of mine to keep it in place while it dried overnight.
I am missing one little corner in this photo which I just glued to the box itself when I attached the pattern.
Step 6: The chevron pattern should come up as one piece, make sure to peel off the painters tape template from the back. Take the time now to sand down the face and edges of the chevron piece to insure it is flush and fits in the indentation of the mailbox.
Step 7: Scuff sand the area you will be attaching the wood to have better glue adhesion. I suded 80 grit sandpaper for mine. Clean up the dust, and begin to glue your chevron design to your mailbox lid. Clamp the wood down and let it dry overnight.
What an easy makeover, right!?
I have not installed my mailbox yet as I have to fix a couple things on my porch before doing so, so I unfortunately do not have a photo of it in its place yet.
Seasonal welcome vignette DIY
Now that we have a couple of matching decor items created by ourselves, let's put a space together to present our unique DIY work.
I love a seasonal decor moment whether it be Halloween, winter, fall, spring, it all brings me joy. Summer is upon me at this moment, so I wanted to display my adorable garden gnomes with some pops of flowers to brighten up my welcome porch. I adore seeing this vignette everyday when I am leaving or coming home, just look at those happy gnome faces.
I make sure that this spot allows my flowers to receive adequate sunlight throughout the day, plus I keep my water pitcher right by the door so I can easily fill it up and water my plant babies. I have used a rustic yet modern looking chair as the center point of my vignette where I house one of my annual flower pots. Adding a chair or something with height gives you another level to decorate which is pleasing to the eye as well as helps fill in the space with more proportion. I added a simple floor mat which is from Dollarama, to ground the space and the items around it. I of course have different styles of mats to go here to match the seasons.
For the fall and Halloween season, this little corner vignette will house a tall scarecrow with some pumpkins and lantern lights surrounding him. For the Christmas season a poinsettia plant will sit on the chair which is accompanied by a vintage, 4 foot high Santa Claus blow mold. The only time of the year this vignette is missing, sadly, is during the long winter months where there is just too much snow gathering around it and anything I place there will just be buried.
The one area I will continue to decorate safely throughout the winter months, is the entrance door. This is a great place to add a pop of decor no matter what the weather brings, as in most cases it will have roof coverage and will be blocked from most of the wind.
I love a seasonal wreath or a faux floral hanging of some sort to give my door a little style.
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