Sask. bloggers share their favourite DIY home projects

This article was originally published on April 10, 2020.

For Saskatoon garden and lifestyle blogger Kristen Raney, keeping busy at home is key to feeling a sense of purpose. 

"In a situation like this, it's really easy to get anxious and depressed, especially if you already have those tendencies," said Raney, who's behind the blog Shifting Roots. "Having a project provides something to look forward to and a sense of accomplishment, which goes a long way."

Meredith Rhinas, of local blog Meredith Deanne Lifestyle, agrees, noting that much of life's busyness takes us away from home, making this a unique opportunity to pour time and energy into home projects. 

Here, the two share some of their favourite do-it-yourself home projects to keep you busy and liven up your home at the same time.

Meredith Deanne Lifestyle

1. Create a gallery wall: Find a blank wall in your home, gather photographs and frames, and have fun arranging them to create a beautiful mural. 

"This is really simple to do," Rhinas said. "Try upcycling old calendar images or artwork. Centre the gallery wall above a desk or a couch, and it will look really balanced."

2. Paint a chalk wall: "We painted a chalk wall in my daughter's room, and every season we decorate it together. It's a really interactive feature for kids," Rhinas said, noting it's affordable, too.

3. Hang up wall decals or removable wallpaper: Rhinas suggests ordering decals online, where you can find them in all shapes and sizes. 

"This is very fool-proof because if you don't like it, you can lift it off and redo it. You can also get really creative. For example, order a bunch of triangles and then arrange them in a geometric pattern," she said.

4. Painting projects: "If you're feeling ambitious, painting is relatively low cost and can be a fun project for the family." Some of Rhinas's top painting projects have included redoing an old bed frame and painting her kitchen cupboards. "I also painted my stone fireplace white, which changed the look of the room completely," she added.

Rhinas highlights how painting is relatively low-cost and can be fun for the whole family.

Shifting Roots

1. Clean out your freezer — then get baking!: If you have frozen fruit that's been forgotten, check to see if it's still good, then try out a new recipe. 

"This is great for kids to be involved in. You can make berry muffins or use frozen fruit to make jam. All you need for jam is sugar and pectin. You don't have to wait until July or August to do your canning," Raney said. 

2. Redo your front door: "When we bought our house, I bought a can of bright blue paint for the front door, and then spray painted the house numbers a matte black," she said. 

"This is one of those things you would never get to normally!"

3. Create a raised bed for an outdoor garden: "Raised bed gardening is great if you live in the city and don't have access to tons of land. With raised beds, spacing is important, because you need to make sure you don't crowd the plants," said Raney. 

"You can make a raised bed using old fence posts or old wood, as long as the wood is newer than 2003, because pressure-treated wood before 2003 contains chemicals that leach into the soil."

4. Make a spring wreath: Using real or fake flowers, try making a wreath to celebrate warmer weather. Raney uses gold rings as a base but says that you can use an embroidery hoop or anything else you have on hand. 

5. Give your flower pots a makeover: Take old plastic flower pots and update them with colourful spray paint, which is a cheap and fun project. 

"This is great for teens, and kids as young as 10 could also do this with adult supervision," Raney said.