DIY Disasters: What I learned from my biggest Reno Mistakes

We all know that what we see on social media isn’t the full reality. This is very true in my experience with renos. I have definitely had my share of failures and I can now laugh at them and realize how much I learned from these experiences. So come with me down memory lane and learn about some of my DIY disasters: 

1. Bathroom Blunder: The Lumpy Wall I had to hide

One of my first projects was in our townhouse. I painted the powder room downstairs a dark gray (it was a deep red before by the previous owner!). I had to fill a bunch of holes after I removed the dated mirror that was there. I did not do a good job- I didn’t sand enough so when I painted it was all lumpy. I tried and tried to fix it, and became so frustrated that I had to walk away from the project for a day. I then decided to buy new bigger mirror and cover the mistakes. This solved the problem and next time I spent a lot more time filling and sanding before painting. 

What I learned: Prep work matters. Now I spend way more time filling, sanding, and getting the surface smooth before I ever pick up a paintbrush.

Our townhouse bathroom in 2017 from L to R Before and After

2. Basement Boo-Boo: When "Sea Foam" went to "Sea-Nope!"

When we moved into our home we needed to paint the whole house basically. I chose colors quickly. I painted our basement bedroom a sea foam blue that looked light upstairs but when I painted it downstairs it was too dark. But I was in a rush and left it as is. We ended up painting it again this fall ( 2 years later) when we made it our master bedroom. 

Lesson learned: Lighting completely changes how paint looks. Now I test paint in different spots and at different times of day before committing to a color.

Our basement master mid-reno with the much too dark seafood green paint I chose back in 2022

3. Leaky ceiling: The Night We Thought We Were Done

When we were living in our townhome I was pregnant with our first daughter and we were really working hard to complete the majority of our projects before she arrived. My husband worked hard every weekend, and was wrapping up our last project of completing the kids bathroom. He put new vinyl tile in and removed the toilet to do so. When he finished the floor, he reinstalled the toilet and we didn’t think twice. That evening we were celebrating completing our projects, and I went downstairs for a snack. And then I noticed a big leak on our powder bathroom ceiling. I called for Matt and he quickly turned off the water, and we looked at eachother and felt so defeated. The next day, he tore out the damaged ceiling and we worked to repair it. The water damage ended up being minimal but we definitely learned a hard lesson about double checking toilet connections. 

What we learned: Always, always double check toilet connections. Especially when you think you’re done!

Final Thoughts:

As frustrating as these fails were at the time, it really helped me learn new skills and from that confidence. I think it’s important to remember that mistakes are not a failure,  they mean progress.

If you’re in the middle of a project and it feels like a total mess—hang in there. The messy moments often become the best stories later on.

I’d love to hear your own DIY disaster stories! What did you mess up—and what did you learn from it? Share below so we can laugh (and learn) together.