I'm Monica Mangin and I believe that
updating your home doesn't have to take
a ton of time or money. I show people how to
get Pinterest-worthy spaces that are just
right for them. Gimme one weekend
i'll give you five projects and you'll
have a completely transformed space by Monday
This weekend I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina
helping out a couple with a living room
makeover but there's a catch. The husband
got called away this weekend on business
so I'm down to one homeowner and she's a
total DIY rookie, which is super exciting
because i'll be able to teach her so much
this weekend but we also need to get a
makeover done.
I'm Marina and I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina
I live here with my husband and this
weekend we're looking to redo our living
room
I was hoping to do this with him, and I was
really excited for that, but
unfortunately he's gone so i'm going to
have to tackle this all by myself.
Our living room is really plain and boring
it's just builders-grade there's nothing
to it. We've actually lived in this space for
almost two years now and when my friends
come over they think we just moved in.
We haven't done anything to the space just
because i think just building it up in my
head that it's going to be this huge
project
it just scared me as far as home
improvement i'm a complete rookie so I
really hope Monica can teach me a few
things
So, this is our family room
Okay it's great. I mean, it's light and bright
and tons of space in here.
So what are we looking to do this weekend?
So, I definitely want to add some personality
to it. It's just so plain and boring and
just beige. I want it to feel more luxury,
more at home. Definitely just a
little pop of color, because I do like the
neutral palette, but I want it to look
more glam or sophisticated. Now, this
weekend your husband is away.
Tell me this, though: style-wise, are
you guys on the same page? You're looking
for like luxury and glam. Is he cool with
that?
Yeah, he just told me as long as I like
it he'll be ok with it. Where did you
find him? That's amazing. He'll just like as
long as I'm happy, he'll go with it.
Okay, husband, take note. My husband.
Okay? Anything I like, you should like.
Alright, since he's not here, do
you want to like, get him on the phone?
That would be great. Okay! Pull him up.
Hey babe! I'm here with Monica from
The Weekender. They're finally here. So we
are gonna go with like a very glamorous
kind of style in here. Now that's
sort of what Marina had on her Pinterest
boards. How are you feeling about glam?
Oh, I'm all about glam. I like that. That is a good husband
answer. Alright, so kind of an anything-goes
mentality this weekend? I am in full trust
in what Marina wants and I am with her the whole way.
Alright, well we have a lot of work to do, so
we'll talk to you later. I am really excited
for everything that's going on. Thank you guys so much.
Alright, we'll see you. Bye, love you.
Okay, Project 1 is all about getting rid of the builder-grade
look in this space. So, what we're
working on here is an accent wall and
we're not accenting with color.
We're actually going to accent with texture
so we are going to add ornate molding to
this entire wall, kind of like you'd see in a
really fancy hotel or a castle or
a mansion, if you will. Builder-grade homes
builders really up charge for details
like this, but it's something that we can
add in ourselves.
This is really simple. We're taking
molding that we've already cut to size, and
attaching it onto the walls in a
rectangle pattern. So you don't have to
put them into where the studs are? Nope, it'll
be sealed with caulk on either side
that's going to additionally kind of adhere it to the wall
Large on top, small on the bottom
creating the look of panels. Oh my goodness.
Alright, so you see it up on the wall now. What do you think?
Looks great. You like it?
I love it. And you can see how now like
it'll be panels going across the whole
wall, so we'll continue on the way down
Alright, looking good.
I have a little surprise for you...
They're beautiful! Aren't those awesome? I love it!
So I promised you glam & glam is what you
shall have. But we're actually gonna wait until
we have our base coat of paint on the
wall before we attach them because
cutting around these would be a nightmare.
Now that the molding is done, Matt's starting
to build another focal point in the room:
a faux fireplace. You can kind of already
see it shaping up, right?
Yeah. What do you think? I like it. So, Matt has
started building out the base, the
bones of this fireplace and mantel and
what we have, what we just got from outside is
this faux tin tile that's going to be inlaid
to the inside.
First things first, we are going to
install the mantel. Marina and I are
adding a mantel by attaching a piece of
1-by-6 with a nail gun. To take it up a
notch, we're adding molding around the
edge. Layering different pieces of
inexpensive molding is a great way to
get a high-end molding look for much
less money than buying the prefab
ornate stuff. And just with that little bit of
molding, it takes the piece of 1-by-6 into
a really great mantel. Next step is our
faux tin, which is actually plastic but
you'd never know it. You can cut it with
a pair of scissors and apply it using
construction adhesive and some black
decorative nails. It's so easy, even for a rookie,
who may or may not need a little more
practice with a hammer.
She's kinda like...
I won't quit my day job for hammering.
We're gonna keep going on this bad boy
taking it all the way up to the ceiling
and, of course, adding some more glam
factor as we go. I love faux fireplaces
because they can add so much character
where there once was none. You can build them
on any blank wall, and they'll really up the
style factor of a space. Now it's time to
get some paint on everything and that is
going to dramatically change this entire
space. Are you nervous about this?
Yes. Are you? I feel like this is one area
where not having Alex here this weekend
is going to play into it a little bit.
He trusts me and he likes whatever I like.
I mean, he probably wouldn't be okay
with like, black? Okay. So he trusts you, but to a point?
Yeah. Alright. Well, first I will show you
our wall color, okay?
Okay. Get ready for it. I like it!
Okay, good. She likes it!
So this is a light light gray. It's
called Alpaca. It's gonna change the tone
of the room. It's going to cool it down alot.
I like that. And then for an accent color for
our fireplace...you ready?
Wow. It's pink!
It's pink. It's like really pink! I think it's
subtle pink. How do you feel about it?
We'll see. I don't know. What do you think
Alex is gonna think?
Um, I don't know. I think it'd be really fun to keep
this a secret from Alex. You think you'll be able
to do that? I'll try. Alright, I'm gonna
pour each paint and one of us can start
with the fireplace and then the other will
start with the wall.
I've never painted before. You've never
painted anything before? I mean, like art.
But never like walls.
Oh my. Alright. That's amazing!
So, are you excited to do it for the first time? Yeah.
So many new things for you this weekend.
I'm using Alpaca gray from HGTV
Home by Sherwin-Williams. It's a stain-blocking
paint-plus-primer with excellent
coverage. And normally molding stays
white, but I'm not normal. I think this is
pretty well-established. Painting the
molding the same color as the wall will
add a layer of seamless sophistication.
Using tools for the first time was very
different. At first, I was a little bit
scared, but now that I know that I can do
this is really empowering.
So, this morning I have some
small-scale projects to work on with you
but how do you feel about everything we
did yesterday? I love it. It's coming
together really nicely.
Yeah. How do you feel about the colors
now that you kind of had last night to
sleep on them? It's growing on me.
How do you think Alex is feeling about the paint?
Did you tell him last night? I told him
the fireplace is zebra print. What did he
think of that? He just laughed nervously.
I think he's hoping that I'm kidding.
Well, no zebra print happening here, but we
are kinda doing something that has a
little bit of animal influence for this.
Right in front of the fireplace that we
built yesterday, there's really nothing
there, because there's no actual fire
happening. So, I wanted to build something
that would go in front of it. Kind of
give a little visual interest, but also
be functional.
So we're building a small little
footstool ottoman. Oh awesome. Right? Cute? And I
wanted to build it ourselves because we can
customize the size to exactly how we
want it to look in front of it.
Okay, so you mentioned zebra print...
I don't have zebra print for you, but I do have
something kind of fun. Fluffy! Alright. Isn't that fun?
Yeah, I love it.
This project will literally take us
about 15 minutes. We've got a wooden
project panel board for the bench
portion of the stool and prefab legs.
So we just need to attach each leg
bracket on all four corners and hand
screw the legs into each one.
So, turn it over...super cute. Yeah. But it needs a
little glam, right? Right now, this is not
saying glam to me.
So, what we'll do: we're gonna lay this
directly over and we're going to use our
staple gun and just staple under to the underside
We made sure our material was a few
inches larger than the bench, then we're
folding the excess fabric to the bottom
side and staple-gunning it into place.
We're giving the plain wooden legs a
glamorous new life by adding a gold
metallic glaze. I love this glaze so
much that I've got big plans for it
elsewhere in the room as well.
Nothing says glam like mixed metals and
metallics, so we're gonna add a little bit
of bling to these brand-new ornate
pieces that's going to take this space
even further away from builder-grade
where we started. The cool thing about
a metallic glaze is that it can take
something that squeaky clean, brand new,
freshly painted and instantly give it
the look of an aged patina. Tiny details
go a long way when you're working within a style
that you really want to kick up some
glam. So adding a little bit of the gold
detailing on each panel of our molding
here is going to kind of mimic the look
that you'd see in like very fancy, ornate
castles, but it's not over-the-top. This is
still someone's home; we want it to feel cozy,
so we're doing just a little bit of detailing.
Open your eyes and see your new
glamorous living room.
Oh my goodness. Monica!
I love it! Oh good!
I don't know how you do it.
I knew kind of what I wanted, but like
you are in my head and you knew like way more.
Good. I'm so glad you like it, but the
biggest question is...what is Alex gonna
think of this space? I think he's going to
love it. You do? I do. Think fireplace
and all? You know, like, it's not even
that dramatic. Like, after everything is
pulled together, it doesn't seem so pink.
Looks like a real fireplace. It does.
I wouldn't even know that it's not.
Wait, is that the gold paint that we used for
the stool?
Yes. So, my little secret project for you
was embellishing the wall molding and all
the ornamental pieces with the same gold
paint that we used on the ottoman
footstool. It kind of takes it from squeaky
clean, brand-new, just painted into
looking like it's aged and it belongs here.
The gold puts it right over the edge.
I love it. So we did 5 projects and
you've seen most of them like almost all
the way down but when they come together
the whole space just feels so different
doesn't it? I feel like we're in London in
some palace or something. And before, this was a
builder-grade box. And now? It's so
incredible. So we know that you really
love the space, which is amazing, but
should we FaceTime Alex and see what he thinks?
Let's do it! Alright.
It's the moment of truth. Yeah. Get him on the phone.
After the last few days, I can do
this. I overcomplicated it in my head but
now that I realize how easy it was to makeover
the space, the rest of my house is
just going to be a piece of cake.
Alright, are you ready to see it?
1...2...3!
WHAT?! Who's house are you in? Not ours!
It looks beautiful.
Check out the fireplace.
I love it. I think it fits the living room very well.
What color do you think it is? Uh, it looks...
beige? I'm not sure, though.
That's not the color!
Tell him what it is. It's pink!
Pink? Yeah. What? I can't see that.
That is so amazing.
I'm excited. I can't wait to get home. Me too. I can't
wait for you to see it in real life. Alright, well
you guys can like kiss and have a
romantic little buh bye.
Bye! See ya.
I am in Nashville this weekend helping out a
couple with a space, but it's raining and
nasty and guess what? We're doing an
outdoor deck space. Definitely not what
you're hoping for working in an outdoor
makeover, but you know me. I don't back
away from any challenge. Rain or shine,
this deck makeover is happening.
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We have how-to videos, step-by-step guides and
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you can pin your favorite projects.
Thanks guys!