Colorful Conversations: DIY & Home Design

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Colorful Conversations, Thea and Tasha talk about how to find or create time to improve your home! Their goal is for you to learn something useful and have fun every time you listen.

If you are a new listener to Colorful Conversations, we would love to hear from you. You can find us 24/7 on Instagram @tasha.kaleidoscope and on Facebook at Kaleidoscope Living. You can also check out our YouTube channel. As a thank you for listening, we have an awesome FREE guide called “5 Easy Steps to Design A Room You Love.” Text “DESIGNTIPS” to 44222 and you will get the guide in your inbox!

In this episode:

• 0:31 - Today is a little different - We’re without Joe, as he’s at work, but Thea and Tasha are leading the way with their discussion on how to find or create time to improve your home.
• 1:00 - What’s happening on Tasha’s homefront? Tasha tells us about embarking on the demo & reno on the kitchen, hallway, foyer and dining room a few days ago - it’s honestly more like a first-floor renovation! The family is on their way to finally setting up their temporary kitchen.
• 3:26 - Because we’re Joe-less today, Tasha and Thea are taking on the Newlywed Game to test each other’s knowledge of their friendship. The question is: what is the biggest time suck in the other person’s life? Tasha guesses that Thea’s biggest time suck is loading and unloading the dishwasher. Thea admits that she fully avoids that chore, and her actual time suck activity is spending time on social media. Thea guesses that Tasha’s biggest time suck is work because it’s what she spends the most time doing! Tasha agrees, saying work is a big time suck because it’s hard for her to turn her working brain off.
• 5:50 - Just a reminder that this is not your ordinary podcast! Make sure to follow on Instagram @tasha.kaleidoscope where we announce our upcoming topics and you can submit your questions for us to answer. If we pick your question, we’ll send you some free swag!
• 6:50 - The question that Tasha gets by far the most often is How do you have all this time to work on your house? (Thea has asked this as well!) Tasha and Joe both work full time, have twin girls, and enjoy their busy work schedules. They have to make time to work on their house!
• 11:40 - Tasha shares her tips to find more time in your schedule or create the time needed to improve your home. Tip #1 is a big one: Do not begin until you have a solid plan! You need to think about what you want to change or keep, create a budget, pick color pallets and patterns, and actually plan for what you want to do before you buy any supplies.
• 14:30 - Tip #2, which can be a tricky one for some people, is once you have your plan, you have to make it a priority. This can mean that you may have to say no to other things that take up your time and money. Set a deadline to complete your project by and don’t treat it as an optional task.
• 17:00 - Tip # 3 is to shift your mindset. For Tasha and Joe, this meant that they reframed “house project time” as “fun relaxation time.” Taking on work at home has become an enjoyable way to spend quality family time together, while also making progress on their home projects. Make a great playlist to listen to while you paint (or listen to a great podcast, like this one)!
• 21:55 - Designer In A Binder Pre-Sale! To purchase Designer in a Binder, visit designerinabinder.com. And as a big thank you for listening, you can enter the code PODCAST to receive 25% off either package.
• 22:12 - Tip #4 is you need to set deadlines! You didn’t get through school without a deadline, and life works the same way. Give yourself realistic deadlines for your projects. It’s okay if you need to change it, but you have to work towards something.
• 25:20 - Tip #5 is to ask for help, which is a big struggle for Tasha! Don’t be afraid to ask others for help picking up or taking care of your kids if you’re taking on a project, or ask for extra hands if you’re taking on something big. Setting deadlines can also really help you plan for when you need to have extra help.
• 27:45 - Tip #6 is for anyone with kids--get your kids involved when you are working to improve your home! Parents often feel that big projects aren’t really kid-friendly, but there are ways to get them safely involved. Kids can help with yard work, help with smaller parts of the project, or simply be coloring in the same room, and it can be a great source of pride for children to feel like they contributed to their house. This can sometimes slow the pace down on a project, but Tasha feels that the benefits of involving the kids outweighs any inconvenience.
• 30:55 - Tip #7 is to take breaks between big projects! These types of home projects are exhaus...

In this episode, we discussed:

If you are a new listener to Colorful Conversations, we would love to hear from you. You can find us 24/7 on Instagram @tasha.kaleidoscope and Facebook at Kaleidoscope Living. You can also check out our YouTube channel. As a thank you for listening we have an awesome FREE guide called 5 Easy Steps to Design A Room You Love. Text designtips to 44222 and you will get the guide in your inbox!

• 1:00 Let’s get to know Tasha Agruso, the brainchild behind Kaleidoscope Living and the beginnings of her blogging journey.
• 5:00 First blog post - “How we transformed our laundry room for $71 out of pocket”, and how Tasha did it all while Joe was working a double shift.
• 7:00 Learn more about Joe, he explains what he brings to the DIY blog table as “his cheapness”. And learn how Joe’s career as a firefighter has lent time to their DIY projects.
• 8:50 Learn more about Thea - currently she contributes to Kaleidoscope Living as the “Content Manager” her title has changed many times as she has journeyed with Tasha.
• 10:10 Why Tasha decided Joe and Thea had to be on the podcast, and the perspectives they will bring to the podcast. Joe’s perspective is very helpful and Thea is a think tank professional #truthteller.
• 12:40 Learn about Designer In A Binder! To purchase Designer in a Binder, visit designerinabinder.com. And as a big thank you for listening, you can enter the code PODCAST to receive 25% off either package.
• 15:00 Tasha decided some changes needed to be made, starting with updating their bedroom furniture and they were shocked at the price, so Joe proclaimed “ I will build it”.
• 16:15 Joe begins his journey from never building anything in his life and started his journey with a bottom of the line circular saw and palm sander. He began building his first piece of furniture starting with two end tables and a headboard.
• 18:35 Tasha has an “aha” moment, realizing they can decorate on a budget -we can do this, create a home that is amazing. They don’t have to spend a fortune to do it and they don’t need super fancy tools to do it--it all evolved from there.
• 19:35 mins: “Your home matters so much more than you think it does, and it really does set the tone for everything else. It affects your happiness as you walk out the door to go to your job for the day, when you come home at the end of a stressful day that is where you need to recharge your batteries. If you hate parts of your house, it will negatively impact you.”
• 20:40 mins Tasha explains why the blog is called Kaleidoscope Living.
• 22.25 Links to our favorite projects below.
• 23:30 Free Guide: 5 steps to design a room you love. Text DesignTips all one word to 44222 and you will get the guide delivered to your inbox.

Let's get social...

• Instagram @tasha.kaleidoscope
• Facebook Kaleidoscope Living
• Youtube Tasha-Kaleidoscope Living

As mentioned in this episode...

As promised, we have added links to our favorite projects, so you can get a sense of how much you can accomplish without spending a ton or having extraordinary skills.

Easy & affordable DIY home projects that make a big impact (and happen to be some of our favorites):

• DIY Painted Kitchen Cabinets Without Priming or Sanding- Over 5 years ago, we painted our kitchen cabinets without sanding or priming. YES, it is possible AND durable! Our painted cabinets still look amazing!
•