Slowly I’ve been tackling room by room trying to bring a customized look to the basic builder grade features. Many newer homes come with boring beige walls, subpar cabinetry and fixtures. Thankfully there are many ways to achieve a custom look and do it affordably. I want to share a few Tips to Transform Builder Grade Drab into Custom Made Fab!
TRANSFORM THE WALLS WITH PAINT
The most basic tip in creating a custom look is of course to add color with paint. Painting a room can transform the entire mood and feel of a space for very little expense. I like to add interest to a painted room by adding stripes and additional colors that complement each other. If adding additional colors is a bit too bold for you, consider painting a room first in a flat or egg shell sheen and then painting horizontal or vertical stripes in the exact same color, but in a gloss sheen. You’ll have created a subtle and sophisticated effect. Click to read my tutorial Painting Stripes Made Easy like you see in the “before and after” pictures below.
TRANSFORM YOUR HARDWARE & FIXTURES
The next way to get that custom look is to transform your fixtures and hardware. You do not have to spend money on changing out your hardware for new ones though! You can paint it. I have fallen in love with Rustoleum’s Universal spray paints. They are primer and paint in one, will cover any surface, and come in several metallic finishes. Look at how I transformed this ugly plastic and ceramic towel bar into a pretty oil rubbed bronze bar. Click HERE to see all the different types of hardware you can spray paint.
TRANSFORM YOUR MIRRORS
Most of us have these gigantic plain mirrors in our home, lacking any type of originality. Paying a company to add a custom frame to you mirror is expensive! My tutorial How to Frame a Mirror demonstrates how to create a gorgeous, lightweight frame made from PVC/vinyl moldings for under $30. Once you make your first mirror frame, you will be framing every mirror in your home! It’s that crazy easy!
TRANSFORM YOUR BATHROOM WITH TILE
Now I really can’t complain about my master bath. It’s “bones” are gorgeous but it lacked any kind of special personality. I decided to Add Glass & Stone Tile Border right above the top edge of my tub and my shower surround. If you’ve never tiled anything in your life, I promise you, that you will be able to do this! Just look at the difference the tile makes in the before and after pictures below.
TRANSFORM YOUR KITCHEN
I love my island. I get used more than any part of the kitchen, and it is also the focal point of the kitchen. The problem was that it looked like a plain box. The cabinet fronts are maple but the ends are thin fiberboard with a “maple looking” veneer. I transformed the island by adding bead board and newel posts to the ends and then painting the entire island a new contrasting color. This project requires the use of power tools but the overall results are amazing. You can save several hundred dollars by doing this project yourself vs. hiring it out. Click here to read how to do a Kitchen Island Makeover.
TRANSFORM WALLS WITH BEAD BOARD & TRIM
Adding bead board to a wall gives a room a ton of character. If you are just starting out I recommend trying bead board below a chair rail. For our daughters’ bathroom we added bead board to a wall that reached 3/4 of the way up and installed a picture ledge.
Power tools are a girl’s best friend!
In the post Bead Board Bathroom Reveal you will learn how we installed each part of the bead board wall as well as links to other projects you might see in this bathroom.
TRANSFORM YOUR CABINETS
Our maple cabinets are getting an orange hue that seems to intensify with each passing year. I don’t like it. I wanted rich espresso brown cabinets but replacing them seemed ridiculous because they are still in wonderful condition. Rustoleum has make a Cabinet Transformation kit that you custom color to what you like. This kit allows you to paint with out priming even. There are steps you must do to prepare the cabinets for paint but it does not involve sanding! In my tutorial Painted Cabinets I walk you through how to paint, distress, glaze, and protect the cabinets. Your will love the custom look of your painted cabinets when you are done!
![painted cabinets[2]](https://lh5.ggpht.com/-nj3egfZYjIo/UEYGvBRiDLI/AAAAAAAAKFk/xkQudQEhjoQ/painted%252520cabinets%25255B2%25255D%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800 "painted cabinets[2]")
If you are willing to put some effort in and apply some of these tips, then I know you’ll be just as addicted to transforming your builder grade drab into custom made fab.
For more DIY ideas check out the DIY Project Gallery tab.
Kim
So luvly Kim. We are still soldiering on with ours.. same concept. Turning builder grade up a notch 🙂
Ours is coming along slower than I/we’d like as we have hit a few wee bumps ( health issues) But we are getting there. Reading and seeing your pictures is giving me motivation to push on…
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Gee
Thanks Gee, we’ve been doing this slowly also over 4 years. It takes effort but the house looks so much better. I’m sorry to hear about your health. Hope everything is on the mend. Thanks for always being so supportive. 😉
Love these ideas. I want to try something with my kitchen cabinets. They are solid wood ash. I thought about new but the ones from today are so often glue and sawdust particle boards. I’ve changed hardware…next step paint or stain<3 ~Denise Esterline~
such great ideas!!! it really brings such a custom look!
Great ideas Kim for a custom look! They all turned out fabulous!
Love all your projects! A few questions……….How are your painted cabinets holding up? I am worried about nicks and touching them up. I want to do board and batten, but am afraid is very trendy right now…..thoughts? Did you frame out your windows with moulding? I would love to do mine. We have that rounded bullnose and would love to find a tutorial somewhere. Thanks!
Thanks so much for the nice note. The cabinets are holding up great, especially the bathroom ones that I redid with the Rustolem kit. It’s the kids’ bathroom so it takes a ton of abuse. I highly recommend it. Yes board and batten is popular but it is also considered a classic look. Our last neighborhood had homes that were 60-100 yrs old, all with board & batten and bead board. So it must have been popular back then too. So I wouldn’t worry about it going out of style anytime soon. As far as your windows go, no, I’ve never framed out the windows myself and I haven’t seen a tutorial dealing with the bullnose finish. 😉
Everything looks just fabulous. Very nicely done. I’m always shocked that everyone doesn’t take a few hours to do these projects! There is nothing I like more than a blank canvas!
Wonderful tips, Kim! My home is 28 years old and full of quirky, but I love seeing these simple ways I could update a thing or two. Thanks for sharing!
xo Heidi
Great ways to give your builder basic some charm. We are {slowly} working on ours too.
Kim those are awesome tips! Everything looks so nice and you’ve given me several ideas I can use…starting with the spray paint.
Great ideas! Found you via pinterest, I will be checking out the rest of your blog too!
You are a power tool wielding diva! Everyone should do this to that boring builder mirror!
Kelly
I would never have thought to spray paint that builders grade towel bar or add the decorative tile border- fabulous improvements! Thanks for sharing.
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