My husband, Josh, and I were excited to become first-time home-buyers last August. Over the past several months, we’ve had a lot of fun putting our own personal touches on the house.
I have to admit, my husband has surprised me. We’ve been married ten years, and until now, I never knew about his many creative talents! When we moved into the house, he got right to work building a fireplace mantel, painting doors, and installing lights and ceiling fans.
One thing Josh wanted to try was adding decorative touches using galvanized pipes. I didn’t always see his visions as he explained them to me, but with each finished project, I loved the outcome. Our decor style is a mix of rustic, farmhouse, and modern, and the pipes have played into the look really well.
The first things Josh built for me were a couple of shelves. For the wood, he was able to use pieces from unused pallets lying around at his workplace. (Josh works for a utility company, but many stores that receive shipments have pallets that are not being used, and they can sometimes give away the wood for free.)
I don’t have my downstairs shelf decorated exactly the way I want it yet, but I am enjoying the overall look. This shelf is made of boards sitting on two galvanized pipes that are secured into the wall with floor flanges. Josh painted the pipes and flanges with a Rust-oleum paint to prevent rusting.
My favorite piece Josh has built so far is the decorative shelf in our bedroom below. I really don’t think pictures do it justice! One thing I love about this piece is that the outer hexagonal shape came from stage props from last year’s holiday youth convention. We’ll always have a piece of that conference with us!
Josh inserted 2 x 4s for the inside shelves, stained the wood, and secured the structure with galvanized pipes.
Last but not least, our home came with zero toilet paper holders! We were able to fix this problem with galvanized pipes as well.
There are so many things we’re excited about doing to our home over time, and I’m happy with how some of our little fixes have turned out. How about you? What’s your decor style? I’d love to hear about your favorite home decor ideas in the comments!