Tour a Design and DIY Blogger's Trendy, Upcycled North Carolina Home

DIYer Ursula Carmona is the creative mind and blogger behind Home Made by Carmona. Her husband, Orlando, and their three daughters now share a renovated, picture-perfect home filled from top to bottom with upcycled treasures — but it wasn’t always a work of art. “When we first saw this property, it was kind of a disaster,” Ursula says. “It had been left un-lived in for at least a year, but I saw it and thought, ‘This is the space.' It needed some remodeling, but not so much that I couldn't do it myself."

As a DIY blogger, Ursula's home is her canvas. "I get to do whatever I want in it," she laughs. And that means creating a unique design aesthetic. "I like to describe my style as classic traditional, but with a glam twist to it. For me, that means taking something that’s a timeless style, but then infusing it with moody colors.”

“One of the first things people see when they come into my home is my kitchen,” Ursula says. “It's got all these dark cabinets with a beautiful quartz top [on the island], but then you see these beautiful gold pendants that stand out immediately.”

“There used to be a big wall of cabinets [in the kitchen] and when I got rid of those, I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose any of the storage that we had,” Ursula explains. “So I added a ton of storage via this island and a lot of extra storage [in] the pantry."

When it comes to renovating, Ursula is big on pre-planning. “Sitting down and charting out all of those little details before actually deciding what pieces to buy for any space makes a big difference," Ursula shares.

“I love the dining room; it opens up to the kitchen,” Ursula says. “I like the idea of adding a little bit of a formal touch in here, like the chandelier. You have touches of things that are traditional, yet there’s still something very contemporary about the space.”

Ursula's living room is filled with lots of handmade designs created especially for family nights. “One of the first projects I tackled in this house was the living area,” Ursula says. “And I built a wonderful little coffee table for us to play our games on. It’s got all these pull-outs and built-ins to house all [of] our games, books [and] collections.”

“A lot of people think that if [a space] is functional it has to be functional — that pretty is pretty and functional is functional — but I don’t think that’s true,” Ursula says. “I think it’s really important to understand that those two things marry well.”

“Any space that I get light into my house becomes a 'houseplant-topia,'" Ursula says with a smile. "And I will jam as many houseplants as I can into that space."

“This is where I say the DIY magic really happens,” Ursula explains. “I joke that this is my woman’s workshop because this is the space that I do all my DIY projects, and I like it to be as pretty as it is functional."

Creative storage and organization options are a must in Ursula's DIY den. “I need a lot of space to store all my wood,” Ursula says. “So besides a wood cart to help do that, I also wanted to make really good use of all the vertical space."

"Having an attractive space that you can store all your things and keep track of where everything is makes a world of difference," Ursula explains. "Because, trust me, it doesn’t stay clean for long in here.”

“The family room is a little bit of a formal space,” Ursula says. "The fireplace was a natural stone color to start with and I decided [to paint it] all white and add my eclectic touches."

Ursula's contemporary, gold metallic coffee table continues a purposeful theme in the family sitting room. “I love using rich jewel tones and, of course, a pop of gold — that’s one of my favorite little features to add to any space,” Ursula says.

Ursula’s home is full of surprises. “One of my favorite spots in the home [is this] little closet that I wasn’t sure what to do with,” she explains. “It didn’t seem to have a real purpose to it, but then I realized we needed an office. And the beautiful thing about [it] is you can close [it] off or open it up into my family sitting room."

Ursula adds, “The little desk — it’s actually just a piece of plywood that has been stained and put on top of two kitchen cabinets that I found on the side of the road one day. We were driving past, screeched to a halt, backed up and I said, ‘Hello, babies! You’re coming with momma!’”

Ursula's crisp, white contemporary bathroom features sconce lighting, classic marble floors and, of course, gold accents. "I like the idea that something can be timeless, but [have] a little bit of eclecticism in the space," Ursula says. "Something that’s just a little bit of your own personality in the space."

Ursula’s upcycled, custom closet has a secret. “The [built-ins] are really just a bunch of pieces of plywood that have been painted out,” Ursula shares. “You would never know that this is just raw plywood.”

“To add some charm in the space, I also added this amazing wallpaper,” Ursula says. “And if you ask my husband how he feels about the chandelier ... well, he tolerates it.”

"A lot of the reason that I choose to upcycle is, of course, the budget-friendly aspect of it,” Ursula says. “But it also adds a little bit more character. I think that every space needs something that has a little bit more something-something to it — a little history.”

Ursula flexes her DIY skills and green thumb outside, too. “I’ve done a lot of DIY projects,” she shares. “But I’d have to say the one I’m most proud of is probably the greenhouse — it’s the one that stretched my skills to their limit.”

“We had some reclaimed windows and I was sure I could make a go at it,” Ursula says. “I’m so happy that it turned out the way it did ... I get a head start in my garden and I can actually grow crops year-round."

"[The greenhouse] is like a little office, a little extra space set aside just for me to get away,” Ursula says. “It’s also fun because it gives my kids [an] opportunity to learn a little bit of responsibility caring for something that’s living.”