It’s no secret that I love myself a good DIY project. I think the fun of it is working with your hands and seeing something that you created come to life. I have done quite a few in the past couple of years, some of which you can see on the blog, but I thought it would be fun to share some of my must-have items if you are a DIY-lover like me!
Sander
This is my go-to tool for all things DIY. This baby has saved me tons (and I mean tons) of time. I can remember using a hand sander on a few of my first projects and it would take me hours just to sand the piece I was working with. Eli caught on and surprised me with one for my birthday one year and I will say I giggled when I opened it but it has been a life saver! I use the sander to smooth out wooden pieces before I paint them or to distress furniture after the paint has been applied. I used this technique on our coffee table (here). Sanders are actually pretty affordable in relation to most power tools. If you find yourself doing projects pretty frequently, it’s well worth the money. I use the Dewalt 5 inch Orbital Sander and found it from Home Depot. It’s my favorite!
Quality Paint
It is so so important when doing DIY project to always use quality paint. If you haven’t caught on by now I am a huge fan of milk paint. Milk paint looks amazing on wooden pieces, especially antiques because it lets a lot of the character show through the paint. It will even start to chip away as it dries to leave you with a piece that looks like it has been authentically worn with time. Swoon. My two favorite brands for milk paint are Old Barn Milk Paint and Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. Both are top notch quality products. I have used milk paint on tons of projects around our home. Our mantel (here), headboard (here), and coffee table (here) just to name a few. PS- Always always seal your projects with a top coat or sealer!
Citristrip
Have you ever seen a piece that you love and wanted to see what it looked like under all the yucky paint? Citristrip is my absolute favorite product to use to strip furniture and get it down to its bare wood. It may take a few coats and some time but it is so worth it to see what your piece looked like in its original form. I pour some of this product in a metal bucket and grab an old paint brush. I practically “paint” the piece using the Citristrip and let it sit for up to 24 hours before using a scraper (or toothbrush for small crevices) to remove the product. Sometimes I will strip an item before painting it if it has been caked with paint so that more of the grain shows through.
Basic Tools
This is where my hubby comes into play. Luckily for me, he has all of these items already in our garage so when I am working on a project I can just grab them as needed. I’m talking about a drill, level, screw driver, and hammer. These are the four main basic tools that you are guaranteed to use in most projects. I would love to get a cute “girly” tool set in the future..is that weird?! I kinda dig cute tools, what can I say?
These are the items that are absolute musts for me when it comes to all of the projects that are constantly going on at our house. I hope this is helpful if you are DIY-er like me! I love seeing the projects you guys do and being a part of the process. Share photos if you used any of these tips! Love you guys and thank you oh so much for stopping by the blog today
xo,
sarah jane
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