When DIY Goes Wrong

In the world of DIY, not everything always goes as planned. Sometimes the masterpiece you see in your mind's eye is not so cute in real life. I've had my share of DIY blunders, that's for sure!  A lot of times, getting things right comes down to trial and error.  Here are some of my recent disasters!

Have I mentioned that I have painted my foyer twice in the two years we have lived in our house?  Before I painted the walls a nice, soothing gray, I had my heart set on stripes. White, navy, and gray stripes of varying sizes.  But once I got  it done, I hated it. It looked like a nursery.  Maybe it would've been cute in a nursery, but in my foyer, not so much!

And take a look at these beauties!  I wanted to create some fun art for the dining room using turquoise and green to pull in some color from the living room and all I got was a hot mess!  In my head, it looked really cute.  In real life, it was hideous!

Lovely paint job, right?  

The only redeeming quality of this "art" was the fabric I decoupaged to the side. I still kind of like that, so I may run with that idea and rework the rest.  At least in this trial and error I figured that out. 

I found this adorable fabric on Etsy in a shop called Sew Fine Fabrics.  I absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to make some throw pillows. And I wanted to make no-sew envelope pillow covers that I had seen on another blog.  The other blogger's pillows looked amazing and I was in love with not having to sew them.  Mine didn't turn out so well! The seams wouldn't stay, I cut the fabric too small for the inserts, and they were not straight lines. 

These "pillow covers" will now get thrown into the scrap fabric pile. I will eventually find a use for them.  

I guess the thing I have learned through all of my DIY adventures is to keep on trying.  Keep dreaming up those projects, keep using your imagination.  You learn as you go and become all the more wiser for it.  Sometimes those crazy ideas are the best ones! (My black and white foyer floors, for one. I know people thought I was crazy when I said I was going to paint them. And now it is one of my favorite areas of my home.) 

When DIY goes wrong, sometimes that is the very springboard you need to get to that next amazing idea. You learn what you did wrong and how to improve. And I think that in the end, it makes it all worth it.