Blogger Feature: Involving Color and Involving Home

Hi everyone! I’m back with another blogger feature! I just love sharing all the wonderful bloggy goodness out there (especially when I know these lovely ladies). I’ve already featured Jackie from Teal & Lime and Megan from Two Live Colorfully. Now I’m back with Jena who hosts two incredible blogs: Involving Color and Involving Home.

I also met Jena at Haven, albeit the last day but I’m glad I did. We’ve also stayed in touch, and I’m glad to have her on the blog today. Let’s learn a little bit more about Jena!Could you tell me about what inspired you to begin your blogs Involving Color and Involving Home?

After we bought our home in 2009, I was spending tons of time researching paint colors. It was an obsession, really! I kept wishing there was a better resource out there that focused on paint color inspiration. While sitting in traffic on my way home from work one day, I thought, hey, why don’t I do that? So Involving Color was born and I started posting rooms from bloggers and readers along with their paint colors and organizing them in an easy to browse format. I also started posting my own home projects on there as well, and eventually created a second blog, Involving Home, to share all of my home projects, recipes, and tips.

I came up with Involving Color first. I was brainstorming blog name ideas in the shower (isn’t that where all the best ideas are born?) and the name Involving Color hit me. I liked that it was descriptive of a color blog, but left it open to explore more than paint color someday. I came up with Involving Home second as a spin off of my first blog.

That’s a tough one. I think there are two that are tied. Our kitchen because we DIYed the whole thing on a super tight budget, and I’m really proud of all of the work we put into it. The second is our hallway bath because I spent SO much time planning it and choosing materials. The kitchen was a more labor intensive project DIY-wise, but the bathroom, while small, was much harder for me to design. I’m happy both turned out even better than I hoped.

Patience! I find that projects always seem to take longer than expected, and there always seems to be at least one thing that doesn’t go as planned. In most cases for me, lots of things don’t go as planned. I’ve only been really DIYing for about 4 years, and I think that each project goes smoother and smoother.

What is your most read project?

By far, my no sew roman shade from a mini blind. I love roman shades, but they are expensive to have made and beyond my sewing capability. I love the no sew shade concept because anybody can do it, and it really looks great in person!

Would you mind sharing a DIY blunder? Sometimes those are the best stories. 🙂
Blunder? What? I never mess up.

Kidding!

I mess up DIYing, well, constantly. And I think it’s all part of the fun. At least I tell myself that afterward when I calm down. I actually just shared one about our half bath tile floor and how the space I left for the marble threshold was just a tad too small. I ended up sanding, yes SANDING the marble to make it fit. I was too scared to try cutting it since I feared it would chip, and it was only off by a small amount. Still, it took a lot of elbow grease, but it eventually fit. Then it got stuck when I was testing the fit and I had to pry it out with a grilling skewer, which also made me slightly chip one of the tiles. It worked out in the end, though 🙂

Where is the weirdest place you have ever blogged?

Probably from an elliptical at the gym using my phone. I do this a lot! I’ll respond to comments and social media, and I’ve even linked up to linky parties, which works surprisingly well on the phone.

I firmly believe anybody can DIY, especially ladies! I think there are still a lot of stereotypes about using tools, fixing things, and building things. I still get many looks and exclamations of surprise when I tell people I do most of the DIY work in our home including most of the assembly of things, minor electrical and plumbing, woodworking, tiling, molding, and so on. And that’s not to say my husband doesn’t do a lot around the house (he does a ton), but I do many of the things that I think are stereotypically male jobs. I am on a mission now to encourage and empower more ladies to do these things if they want to or feel like they might be good at it. So, ladies, yes you CAN do these things!

Hmm probably cleaning up all the projects I’m working on that are laying around. Or finish them! Half finished projects are practically a permanent fixture of my decor. I feel like I always have multiple half finished projects and all of their supplies and tools laying around. Guests come over and tell me our house is so clean. I just tell them to not go look in the third bedroom where I just stashed all that stuff 😉

Aside from that, I love switching up the accessories from room to room. They always look new and fresh to me in a different space.

Thanks so much for sharing all your favorite projects and wonderful tips on DIY. I think it is awesome to hear stories from a woman who does the grunt of the DIY work in the home. You go girl!

There is SO much to see when you look around her blog. Here are a few of my favorites that I have found:

No Sew Table Runner

Using a Dining Room as an Office

How to Combat Drywall Anchor Frustration