Lyndsay and Leslie’s Most Creative DIY Projects From 'Unsellable Houses' Season 4

These HGTV twins have a way of making the most of slim budgets, small spaces and unique home elements. See their best do-it-yourself home ideas here.

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November 14, 2023

By: Rebecca R. Norris

Show: Unsellable Houses

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Photo By: BRANDON MCG VISUALS

Photo By: BRANDON MCG VISUALS

The DIY Pros: Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis

Twin sisters Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis give their all to every home they refurbish together on HGTV's Unsellable Houses — especially their hardworking attitudes and creative ideas. While renovating their way through real estate in Snohomish, Washington, they've mastered the art of do-it-yourself projects. Now, they can find a cleverly-cool solution to any home design equation. Ahead, find their best DIY home projects from Season 4 of Unsellable Houses. Warning: You might just want to try some of these out at home.

Vintage-Cool Letterboard

The Feather Ballroom, Presented by Lamb and Co., is a historic wedding and event venue located in downtown Snohomish. During Season 4, the twins spruced up the property with a few DIYs — one of which was a DIY letterboard crafted by Owen Mather, the renovation director of Lamb Renovations.

How They DIYed It: The wood-slat board is handmade with slim, black-painted shelves to hold clear, store-bought block letters. The result is a warmer, more rustic take on today's traditional letter boards.

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Industrial-Style Bar Shelves

Another clever Feather Ballroom design: Simple floating shelves that evoke a speakeasy ambiance.

How They DIYed It: The team mounted unstained slabs of wood onto a deep-green-colored wall for maximum contrast. Vintage-look bottle openers hang below from rustic hooks, while a natural palette of label-less glass bottles and bold shelving brackets offer a cozy-industrial feel.

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Spice Shelf and Storage Rack

Leaning into this cottage's “micro, wild-and-free” aesthetic (as Lyndsay put it), the twins crafted a wall-mounted spice shelf and storage rack. “It’s a small space, so that’s where the micro comes in," said Lyndsay. "And then wild and free: fun colors, fun design, lots of different patterns. We want it to feel very free-spirited.”

How They DIYed It: Though similar spice racks exist online, Lyndsay and Leslie brought this one to life using slim pieces of cut-down wood affixed with nails for a fraction of the cost. They stuck to a natural finish, but the shelf could be stained to better fit any aesthetic.

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Modern-Rustic Wood Accent Fireplace

“Above the fireplace was really just kind of blah,” Lyndsay said of this downstairs living room. To update the space while maintaining its cozy-cabin feel, she and Leslie enlisted the help of team members Colby and Bryce. Together, they created a herringbone-like wooden statement piece to affix above the mantle.

How They DIYed It: The team used a nail gun to secure precisely-cut cedar wood paneling of varying wood tones.

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Statement German Schmear Fireplace

The owner of this home from Season 4 didn't love her dated fireplace. The twins got to brainstorming, but had to keep budget in mind. “In the living room, right when you walk in, we’ll update the fireplace with a new mantle, and then I want to research ways to update the stone,” Lyndsay said. To add a hint of French-country flair to the house, the team decided to try out a DIY German Schmear technique on the existing surround.

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Statement German Schmear Fireplace

How They DIYed It: “Do I know exactly what [German Schmear] is? No,” Lyndsay admitted. “Do I like what it looks like? Yes.” In the episode, German Schmear was described as “a mortar technique applied to brick or stone that creates a worn, older appearance.” After some research, the twins began hand-applying the Schmear to the fireplace, first focusing on the mortar joints. “I’m going for a really heavy, thick look,” Lyndsay said. While the initial execution created a bit of a mess, the end result was stunning.

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Wallpaper Bookshelves

Lyndsay and Leslie wanted to infuse light and color into this space without a major demo. To do so, they moved furniture around, nixed the light-blocking curtains, added a fresh coat of paint to the fireplace surround and updated the existing built-in bookshelves with bright-printed wallpaper. “This is going to be our DIY, grassroots refresh,” Lyndsay said.

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Wallpaper Bookshelves

How They DIYed It: The duo used Spoonflower's linen-textured Natural Habitat of Bees and Moths print removable wallpaper. The best part? It cost just $20! When lining the built-in with it, the twins removed the shelves, applied the paper and then put them back.

MORE WALLPAPER IDEAS: 30 Wallpaper Designs for Every Room of the House

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Hat Slack Rack

The hall tree in this home's entryway is two parts: a bench and storage. And the top half — the arms of the tree — are super unique. "When I first showed (Owen) the idea, I thought, ‘There’s no way he’s gonna set that much time aside to build this for us,'" said Lyndsay. "But he totally jumped in."

How They DIYed It: Owen hung furring strip boards from the wall vertically above the length of the bench to create the arms of "the tree." Then he cut and hinged every other strip, allowing them to fold down in various places and creating a plethora of storage “hooks.”

From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

Piano Planter

To grab buyers' attention the moment they walked through the door of this once-unsellable home, the twins created a boho planter out of the owner’s old piano. “My vision: We use it as a big, giant planter, terrarium, gorgeous — we put it up against the wall, and it’s our giant piece of artwork,” Lyndsay said in the episode. Originally, Leslie and Owen thought the project was a waste of time that wouldn’t live beyond staging, but oh how wrong they were: The eventual buyer insisted the piece stay with the house.

How They DIYed It: Lyndsay gutted the interior of the homeowner's run-down piano and filled it with slim planter boxes. She then planted a variety of vining greens inside.

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From: Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb

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