Smart and inexpensive DIY fixes can be found in every nook and cranny of the residence in San Diego, Calif.. Blogger Kristin Salazar lives here with her husband, two dogs, and 3 young sons. In a household as active as this one, organization and staying on budget are crucial. Salazar and her husband redid a great deal of the home themselves, and discovered all the products at bargain rates. It has been a labour of love.

Salazar has chronicled her clever fixes on My Rare Slice of Suburbia. Watch how, with thought and attention, her and her husband transformed this 3,000 square foot house into a cozy home with French cottage style.

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Salazar made a combination mudroom/craft area where she sews and works on her endeavors. They gave a IKEA bookshelf a built-in look with the addition of trim, wainscotting, and other details. A chandelier inherited from Salazar’s grandma gives the room a gentle light.

Hooks: Target

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

A tiny craft corner houses Salazar’s sewing supplies and a classic sewing machine she also received from her grandma. A framework with 2 wires and mini-clothes hooks functions as her inspiration board.

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

On the opposite end of this room, Salazar and her husband added cupboards to store their own children’s toys, coats, and arbitrary knickknacks. Salazar made the ruffled curtain to provide the cabinets a more seamless look.

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

The home has a very open floor plan, which will be one of Salazar’s favorite things about her home. The excellent room joins the living and dining spaces; a staircase leads to upstairs bedrooms. By orienting the table vertical to the coffee table in the living room, Salazar described the two different spaces without a physical divider.

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

The little arched doorway with a iron gate leads into a small closet used to keep wine a perfect addition to any household that loves to entertain. Salazar turned the stairwell it to a gallery wall, combining the set by painting the frames black and white.

Wall colour: Bleeker Beige, Benjamin Moore
Table and chairs: Sears
Bench: World Market Provence collection

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

For front wall near the wine cupboard, Salazar added a subtle accent with a stencil she purchased online. Employing a lighter color of beige (blended with a pearlescent colour to give it a small shimmer), she used a foam roller to paint the plan within this entire wall.

Stencil colour: Grant Beige out of Benjamin Moore, combined with Valspar’s Brushed Pearl paint

More: How to work with wall stencils

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Salazar and her husband upgraded their kitchen island with the addition of fresh legs to the finish and placing trim, wainscotting, and other details on the sides. After painting it with a satin black, the island had an entirely new and custom look.

Floors: Walnut Travertine
Isle paint colour: Onyx Black, Glidden
Countertops: Granite tile in Tropic Brown

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Much like the island, the cabinetry in the kitchen just didn’t match the Salazar’s design. Rather than spending the cash on new cabinets, they did a creative renovation of the own.

By adding trim around each door and glass in others, and painting the entire thing a white, they have exactly the same effect as purchasing a new set of cabinets.

For much more on how they re-did their kitchen chimney, have a look at this post from Salazar’s website.

Backsplash: Durango Cream tumbled Travertine
Cabinet paint: Summer White, Sherwin Williams

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

The master bedroom was created as a soothing escape from the chaos that comes with three young boys.

Salazar gave the walls a very mild, lavender-toned gray and chose a composite of all-white bedding because of their four-poster mattress.

Salazar purchased her armoire and nightstands from a secondhand store. Always on the search for a fantastic deal, she generally tries to find things online first, as it can be hard to get the time to go searching for.

“When I don’t have any chance on the internet, I surf thrift shops, garage sales, and places like Marshalls and Ross,” she states. “I never pay full price.”

Paint colour: Zircon, Sherwin Williams
Bedding: TJ Maxx
Lamps: Home Goods

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Gauzy absolute curtains from IKEA line the walls and the corners of the mattress. The seat at the foot was discovered for a sneak at Costco, but Salazar painted it white and had it recovered to blend together with her home’s palette. “Every room is well planned out,” she states. “By the time we get around to making a room over, we have countless pictures torn out from publications, files on our computer, paint chips attached to walls, and visions from our travels.”

Bed: Mor Furniture

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

This bathroom is utilized by all three of Salazar’s sons. A gentle light blue retains the room at the same colour tones because the remainder of the home, and its easy and understated beach theme will be suitable for the boys for many decades.

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

To provide the bathroom a fresh and clean look, she repainted the chimney in the same light blue additional fresh sea-glass green drawer pulls from Anthropologie.

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

The guest bedroom has the same French texture as the master bedroom. An dark ornate mirror echoes the lines from the bed frame, and Salazar topped the mattress with a white duvet and linen cushions she made. The tea set is really a gorgeous family hand-me-down given to her parents at their wedding.

More Tours:
A Sweet Southern Makeover
An Australian Cottage with a Vintage Twist
Cozy and Crocheted from the Netherlands

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