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House Tour: Fun, DIY Decorating

Who goes to a garage sale and leaves with a new friend?   This girl!

Last summer, I went to a garage sale and the homeowner, Sarah, had some great stuff, including a DIY headboard bench.  I told her that if the bench didn’t sell, she could consign it at The HomeShed, and a few days later, she called for me to pick it up.

Then, we worked together to build three more benches, and became good friends in the process.
Now, the family is getting ready to move.  Sarah’s husband is in the Navy, and he’s been in Central Iowa for the ROTC program at Iowa State.  But at the end of the semester, they move on.

So, Sarah’s house is for sale, and while it’s all spiffed up, I ran over to take some pictures.

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Sarah has SO many fun DIY projects in this house, and I’ll show you more of them in another post.  I wish I had known her soon so I could have photographed tutorials for the blog!

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The house has a great open floor plan and spacious living areas.

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But Sarah’s DIY projects have turned the house into a home.

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I love Sarah’s attitude – even though she knew this was a temporary home, just a stop along the way, she’s taken the time to make it really work for their family, and customized it with lots of DIY details.

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This winter, we’ve been working on projects together for BOTH of our houses, and it’s been so fun to have a friend that shares my passion for DIY décor.

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Like these chairs – I tracked down the chairs (from The Sister Act in Ellsworth, Iowa) and Sarah painted them.  She wants to paint the other 4, but I kind of like the mismatched look.

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See how they match the cabinets?

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Sarah is an Ikea addict (I don’t think she’ll mind me saying so) but you can tell the creative gene runs in her family.  Her aunt hand painted all the character signs on this side of the basement.  This is only 1/2 of the big family room downstairs. (The other half holds a pool table which was doubling as a sewing table when I was there.)

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There is also a media room in the basement, which Sarah refers to as “Josh’s Room.”

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sarah's diy decor house tour

Like I said, the house is for sale.  It backs up to an elementary school on the west side of Ames, Iowa and is listed with Hunziker. 

Stay tuned for the adorable bedrooms next week, and pin this post to keep these photos for inspiration in YOUR home!

Shared at Funky Junk Interiors

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  1. Please keep the mismatched chairs! Lovely look. Her home is beautiful.

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  2. This is a great venue. I was here for a party and there was so much food and it was all done so well! The decor and food both were amazing. Personally, I think the space for NY events is laid out really well and the size of the venue keeps pulling great parties.

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