This Fearlessly Decorated Farmhouse by DIY Danie is Seriously Amazing

With her red-lipped smirk and lavender locks, Danie is no shrinking violet. And her home isn’t, either. This is her colourful creative studio where she films videos. Danie, a former digital producer, has since 2019 focussed full-time on her YouTube channel. “I was always creative my entire life. I knew I had to do this,” she says. “My dream is to promote creativity – I hope people pick up a tool and feel inspired.” Who cares if you make a mistake? “There’s no such thing as a perfect DIY!”

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Twin tractor seats – relics Danie scooped up secondhand – pay homage to the fun farmhouse vibe Danie was going for. The playful composition sets the tone in the foyer. The original floors were ugly grey vinyl. “I stencilled them for a budget-friendly solution,” she says. Psst…you can see all of her projects on her channel.

When Danie and Geoffrey bought the farmhouse in 2020, they embarked on a mission to return it to its original style. “I couldn’t imagine bringing a very modern look into this home – that story wouldn’t make sense,” she says. She added the gleaming copper pendants that are a motif in the home, but admits the cabinets and countertops don’t jibe with her style. She’s tackling them next. But nothing too slick, natch!

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A bird’s-nest light fixture from Primitive Designs in Port Hope, Ont., hovers above the dining table. “I thought it was unique and funky,” says Danie. From the peg rail to the leaning artwork and cutting boards and lots of plants, the space exudes cozy farmhouse style.

Danie painted the trim in Century Sage by Behr. “I love it – it’s a soft, beautiful colour,” she says. She used it to paint the trim, including the peg rail where she displays meaningful items like the red clogs that speak to Danie’s Dutch heritage.

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Divided by antique French doors, Danie’s office off the kitchen is filled with cool creative gestures including on-trend arched bookcase nooks.

Stunning pink avian-patterned wallpaper from Anewwall Decor offers a sublime vantage point from the dining area. “I love supporting local businesses,” says Danie, of the Etsy seller. To add character, the DIYer went to town on the ceiling. “We opened it up to expose the joists and beams. There was icky flat drywall before.”

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Danie did an IKEA hack on the bookshelf to create the Moorish arches. “Arches are everywhere. The reason I went with cathedral tops is to give the trend a twist,” she says. “Unique shapes make it more personalized.”

Charmingly stuffed, Danie’s creative studio has treasures she’s picked up secondhand and are just fun to look at. Spot the Batman collection. All that’s missing is a red Batphone for Alfred’s calls.

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Danie painted the portrait of the woman with flowers in her hair and is humble about calling herself an artist. We think it’s fabulous! The corkboard above the vintage teal cabinet is a perfect spot to pin up sketches.

Danie tore down the ceiling in the living room to expose the farmhouse’s rustic joists. The ceilings used to make the room feel low and confining and now the room is inviting and cozy.

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One of Danie’s favourite elements in the room is this texturally rich curved DIY sideboard that duplicates a high-end version for half the cost. “It adds personality to the space,” says Danie.

Danie created this calming art piece by painting rocks and gluing them onto canvas. “The rocks are from the shores in my area but you can also do this with river rocks,” she says.

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To make her home singularly hers, Danie filled it with meaningful treasures. This intricate Dutch Friesen cuckoo clock is a heirloom from her grandmother.

Who doesn’t love a peg rail? They’re everywhere in Danie’s house. The functional pieces can hold an apron, a plant, even a strange bit of ephemera picked up at a flea market.

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Ugly carpet has no place in Danie’s amazing home. She ripped it out, then modernized the staircase by painting it black. A trailing pothos beautifully dangles into the void.

Striking plumbing fixtures give the bathroom a modern feel. The factory-style pannelled door swings out. Of course, Danie created it herself! It has the effect of industrial metal, but it’s actually painted wood.

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“I am a plant person. I welcome all plant life. It give my space life,” says Danie, who strung up Eucalyptus in the shower. When it gets wet, it transforms into an incredible aromatic.

Danie’s home is full of surprises. Open up this wooden cabinet with its DIY star and you’ll see its raspberry pink interior. “I love when you think it’s one thing and then there’s a sweet surprise,” she says. The cabinet hides office staples such as paper and a printer. Danie’s mom gave her the framed silk Japanese handkerchief above.

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Just off the living room is this vivid green wall bursting with fun. Danie likes the element of surprise it brings. She pulled it together by painting the mural herself, adding a handmade floating shelf and idiosyncratic pieces such as the portrait and the old-fashioned phone (the tiny drawer holds dog treats for the couple’s pooch!).

The principal bedroom is deliberately calm. “I think it’s important that a bedroom makes you exhale,” says Danie. Slanted ceilings – they’re in every bedroom – offer a quaint architectural touch. The warm and serene bedroom is filled with antique pieces. And there’s a peg rack, of course. “Every room gets one!” laughs Danie.

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Heirlooms make for a warm, inviting bedroom. The vanity was made in Canada and Danie left it as is to let its beauty shine. Not every piece of furniture needs to be decoupaged! The light fixture is another one of her DIY creations.

“We ripped out a teeny tiny closet and added IKEA built-ins that have changed my life,” says Danie. The seven-foot-tall cabinets are a storage powerhouse. Slim, low-profile basket above hold seasonal socks, hats and scarves.

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Cozy, quaint and cocooning, the dark bedroom is totally different from Danie’s light one. “It’s for guests and has a B&B feel,” she says. The room embraces the low ceiling and accentuates it with dark paint. A functioning fireplace and vintage wallpaper on the lower half of the wall adds to that B&B vibe.

The old bathroom was lilac purple, “just like my hair,” laughs Danie! She tore everything out, and went to town on the blank canvas. She painted the original wood floors black and brought in an antique buffet to hold towels and baskets of bathroom essentials.

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Danie calls the bathroom a labour of love. She did loads of work to the space to give a warm farmhouse-modern vibe, including adding the wainscotting and modern vanity with with gold brass hardware. “It feels both vintage and modern,” she says. The mirror is a thrifted heirloom find.

A peek into the third bedroom shows a calming farmhouse view, white curtains, basket and all. The leaning artwork on the dresser draws the eye into the space.

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