Building Modern on a Budget: Ep. 1 | Budget and Design Q & A

We have a new house! Well, sorta. We have the beginnings of a house. We are in the process of building a custom home ourselves in Mesa, Arizona. We are producing a YouTube video series, walking through the entire process of trying to build a modern style house on a budget

(SPOILER: it's not easy)

Have you been following along with the series?

Episode 1: Budget & Design
Episode 2: Foundation & Pad
Episode 3: Framing
Episode 4: Roofing & Windows 
Episode 5: HVAC, Electrical & Plumbing

Episode 6: Mini-Split A/C & Heat

Episode 7: Insulation, Drywall & Stucco

Episode 8: Glass Garage & Front Door + Painting

Episode 9: Concrete Floors + Fireplace & Interior Doors

We officially broke ground in January of this year and I've been sharing the progress over on my Instagram. I've received an insane amount of questions (especially about money) so I decided to kick off the series with a budget and design Q & A. So, if you ever wanted to build your own home or are just curious to see how much it costs to build a contemporary house yourself, check out the video below. To see photos, the floorplans and get more juicy details, keep scrolling.

DIY Small Space Hall Tree | Video + Plans

*This post is sponsored by DAP Products. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

How are you guys doing? Are you hanging in there during quarantine? Are you staying home and going nuts like me? I'll be honest, trying to build a new house, keeping up with work and doing my best to home school the kids is a challenge for sure.

Speaking of challenges, my best friend Sam from Diy Huntress wants to make the most of her time at home and decided to get 15 of her friends involved (including me!). She challenged me to #BuildatHome using only scrap materials I have laying around. Check out the links below to see what everyone made!

HEAVY DUTY DIY Folding Sawhorses | Video tutorial + Plans

*This video is sponsored by The Home Depot. This post contains affiliate links.

Holy cow! Things are nuts right now guys! So since we're all currently on lock-down at home, I imagine most of you are like me and trying to be productive with what you have lying around. A few weeks ago I shared my SUPER SIMPLE garage shelves if you're in an organizing mood, but what if you need more work space? 

Cheap and Easy DIY Garage Shelves | Building Plans

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

I've shared with you guys a few times that we are building a custom house this year. I'll spare you all the drama, but it has taken us WAY longer to get started than we thought it would. We sold our home back in May of 2019 and have been in a rental ever since. The lease is up on the rental and we are now getting ready to move into my in-law's guest house during construction. In the meantime, we have struggled to find a place to store all of our crap. My in-laws cleared an area for us in their RV garage, but to make the most of the space I wanted to go vertical. It's time to build some cheap and easy DIY wood shelves. 

How to Build a Modern Cable Railing Bed | Building Plans + Video

*This post is sponsored by SawStop and The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Remember a few weeks ago when I shared the waterfall edge plywood nightstands I made for my sister? (P.S. you can get the free building plans HERE) I mentioned that she was downsizing into a smaller home and needed new furniture to fit the new space. I told her I was happy to hook her up with a new bed to match her nightstands but the one catch is, she would have no say in the design. 

DIY Slide - Rule Wood Desk Calendar

 

*This post is sponsored by DAP Products and The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Like I'm assuming many of you do, I love making handmade holiday gifts for my friends and family. Last year I made several wood candy machines and the year before that was easy DIY mancala game boards. 

This year, I found some gorgeous 3/4" x 3/4" hardwood square dowels / rods at my Home Depot. They were only labeled as "hardwood" and didn't differentiate between the species of wood. A group of darker colored, redish rods caught my eye and I was pretty sure they were mahogany. 

Holiday Gift Ideas for Tool Lovers and DIY Fans

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Holy cow! How is this year going by so fast? How is it already December? I have a confession: I am a horrible procrastinator. I haven't bought a single Christmas gift yet. 

My twin boys are ten years old now and that means they are still super easy to shop for. We draw names for the extended family, so that means we only have a couple people to shop for there as well. My husband on the other hand, he's the tricky one. He's a super handy guy and possibly loves tools as much as I do. I combed through HomeDepot.com and made a list of gift ideas in every price range. Truth be told, it's really just a collection of my favorite tools and gadgets and several new items I'm itching to buy for myself. 

If you have a tool lover or DIY fan on your holiday list, keep scrolling and feel free to add those things you've been needing to the shopping cart as well.