Tour a Crafty, DIY-Decorated Home in Arizona

The Story

It’s fair to say that having itchy fingers for DIYing and decorating is a family trait for Rebecca Propes. “As a kid, I marveled at my grandma’s shaggy yarn wall hangings, the incredible metallic wallpaper in her dining room and her basement walls that were decoupaged with covers from The New Yorker,” she says. These days, Rebecca is an impressive crafter in her own right. Her 61,900 devoted Instagram followers look to her for colorful, often rainbow-inspired projects and her funky style (you can’t miss those signature oversized glasses). When the family moved to a newly built home in Gilbert, Arizona, she really had to roll up her sleeves. It needed an injection of character and personality, not to mention new everything, as the couple had sold their last home fully furnished. Rebecca put in bold wallpaper, art and rugs — “a lack of color gives me anxiety!” — for a supercool and super-friendly vibe. Of course, a dedicated DIYer can’t stop there: “Our place will continue to be an evolution,” she says. “But I know my grandma would be very proud of this eclectic home.”

Crafts Room

“I like having all my materials at hand and within sight — it’s inspiring and serves as ever-changing decor,” says master crafter Rebecca Propes. Everything pops against the white furniture and walls, which comes in handy for taking photos of her many projects.

DIYed: cool pegboard display, hand-drawn decals, caned panels on cabinet doors

Living Room

Originally, the windows on either side of the TV were trim-less and looked kind of naked. “Installing trim was easier than I expected,” says Rebecca. She warmed up the room with various shades of pink and wood finishes, including a sideboard from Living Spaces and that stunner of a rug from Anthropologie. A matte black wall adds edginess. And yes, that’s a white sectional (by Downeast Home) in a home with three boys. “We have a ‘no food outside the kitchen’ policy,” says Rebecca. “Once, my mom brought out sandwiches … and the kids tattled!”

DIYed: painted wall (Black Boudoir by Behr), new wood trim for the windows, gallery wall

Dining Room

“We are not formal dining room people, so I wanted fun and playful,” says Rebecca. She made a plain mirror look like a fab estate piece with ornate wood appliqués and Rub ’n Buff gold wax, and brought in lighthearted cow-print chairs from World Market and a globe chandelier by Mitzi. Propping up art on the sideboard makes rotating pieces a no-brainer, and also helps the space feel casual.

DIYed: Rebecca shined up a Target mirror with gold wax and revived a thrifted sideboard painted Sunset Pink by Behr. Plus, major pattern play with Hygge & West wallpaper.

Kitchen

As soon as she started on this room, Rebecca fell hard for the kaleidoscopic porcelain tile from Lowe’s. She spread that love all over the back wall, from counter to ceiling. And for a neat effect on the hood’s wood overlay, she left the bottom piece of poplar unpainted. The giant quartz-top island — it’s 10 feet by 10 feet — is where Rebecca spreads out her sewing projects. Those tawny leather counter stools are from Overstock, and the perky peacock print is from Target.

DIYed: Rebecca designed the shiplap-clad hood.

Main Bedroom

This wall is one of Rebecca’s favorite projects. She used the Anthropologie pillow shams as inspo for the colors, but the design was straight out of her imagination. “Not having a plan was the plan,” she says, and the result is perfectly imperfect. The teal curtains, coverlet and a beaded chandelier (from World Market) bring just the right amount of contrast. Rebecca placed small dressers from Living Spaces by the bed to help fill the 19-foot-by-18-foot space. “Nightstands would have looked like little dollhouse furniture,” she says.

DIYed: The accent wall was painted with a broom!

Bathroom

Sometimes you just want a room that says aaah, although if you’re Rebecca, you want oooh too. She made it airy with a mostly white palette and mod with geometric wallpaper from Graham & Brown. “It almost looks like tile,” she says ... at a fraction of the cost. The rest of the elements are low-key, from the matte black faucets by Moen to the earth-toned rug from Target.

DIYed: simple gold-toned vanity hardware

Brandt's Bedroom

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say, so when this mom couldn’t find a wallpaper whimsical enough for her eldest son’s interests, she got out her iPad and started drawing — pizza slices, science stuff, a video game controller — and had it printed by a wallpaper-maker friend. To deck out the wall behind the desk, Rebecca painted $1.50 wood slats from the hardware store; the lively colors are in the wallpaper too.

DIYed: Rebecca designed the wallpaper behind the bed.

Laundry Room

With bold wallpaper by Bari J. and a swath of shiplap that Rebecca flipped vertically and painted Black by Behr, this space makes folding clothes kinda fun.

DIYed: edgy shiplap, butcher-block countertops

Backyard

"When we moved in, the area was a giant pile of dirt,” says Rebecca, who transformed it into a modern oasis. Look closely: That’s more of the kitchen tile on the fountain base. Sandblasted marble pavers (read: not slippery when wet) and turf keep the space cool during hot Arizona summers. The scalloped umbrella is from Safavieh.

DIYed: paver and turf design

From HGTV Magazine