Polka dots are always hot, and for Day #9 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments our dots are warm enough for winter.

Colorful, textural, and playful, our Hot Dots DIY Ornament Balls are quick to craft too. Choose traditional holiday colors, or whatever scheme moves you!

Materials and Tools:

Clear Glass Ornament Balls

(I found these at the craft store)

Glass cleaner

Assorted yarns in your color scheme,

and [...] Read more »

For Day #8 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments we have fun with a popular current motif in home decor — Owls! We’ve been seeing owl motifs on pillows, pottery, wallpaper, you name it.

When I told our 10-year-old daughter I needed to draw an owl, she grabbed a pad and started sketching. She whipped out a flock of loose and whimsical owl sketches [...] Read more »

Welcome to Day #7 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments, and time for some family fun!

Today we add a personalized touch and more splash to our trees. We layer family members’ handprints in beautiful, metallic colors to create an ornament that is your family’s alone. Layers of Love Ornaments are simple and fun to make!

Materials and Tools:

Willing family members

Paper and pencil

Access to [...] Read more »

It’s Day #6 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments, and we’re glad to have you here!

Have you heard of Suzanis? If you follow interior design trends, I know you have. These vibrant tribal textiles from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries are all the rage in home decor.

Suzanis are richly embroidered pieces crafted in stunning color combinations. The designs have a [...] Read more »

Happy to have you here for Day #5 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, or at least it was the other day when I took my two-year-old for a walk in the jogging stroller (hmmm, maybe I should have jogged.)

Anyway, we brought the camera along and tried something that my friend Melissa Michaels at The Inspired [...] Read more »

Welcome to Day #4 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments.

Today’s creation is a snap and an excellent project to do with the with the kids or grandkids. It’s a good reuse of a common household item, and it’ll add glimmer to your tree. Let’s start spiraling….

Materials and Tools:

Cardboard toilet tissue tubes

White acrylic craft paint

White glue

Glitters of your choice

Scissors

“Mini” hole punch for making tiny [...] Read more »

Welcome to Day #3 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments.

Our ornament today blends trend and tradition. It’s simple to make too.

In fashion and interiors this year, ruffles and layered tiers are everywhere. And you deserve a special tree-shaped ornament, don’t you think?

My inspiration was a tiered linen lampshade created by a U.K. designer, in shades of cream and blue. I loved the random [...] Read more »

Welcome to Day #2 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments.

Today, we’re staying with the industrial look, with an Art Deco twist. So if you haven’t picked up the wire yet for yesterday’s ornament, toss a few more things in your hardware store basket.

Hardware Deco will add shine to your tree.

Hardware Deco ornaments are easy to make and I fashioned five in less than [...] Read more »

Welcome to Day #1 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments!

Let’s spring into action with a funky, fast project. Once you gather the materials, each ornament takes just 5 minutes to make!!

The secret ingredient? Plastic-coated electrical wire. Easy to find at your local hardware store, I used white wire (to match my planned color scheme).

Be sure to buy the kind that is quite [...] Read more »

Our DIY Special Event, 30 days of DIY Designer Ornaments launches today! For the next 30 days visit us each day for a new, easy ornament project.

We’re not talking candy canes and snowmen here –

but simply stylish confections to deck your tree in design.

Your tree will have it all:

Texture

Color

Sparkle

Spunk

We’ll look to current design trends and we’ll include a healthy dose of sentiment. Some [...] Read more »

Our Contributors here at HomeWorkshop.com are a talented tribe of design doers, and I am amazed daily at their creations. Excitement abounds today as I announce that our maven of makeovers and wrangler of reuse has published her first Ebook!!

Diana Durkes put her sandpaper, paintbrush, camera and keyboard into overdrive, and Secondhand Shabby, her 90-page downloadable Ebook is here!! Inside, Diana demonstrates how to:

“Give new [...] Read more »

Today I want your gut reaction to a design. This time, its Gan-Rugs’ Long Sleeves Rug. From the Mangas carpet collection designed by Patricia Urquiola. Long Sleeves and its sister rugs shown here feature stripes of varied texture and color.

Click on images to see more detail.

Do the rugs make you feel warm and cozy all over? Tell us what you think. Read more »

by Susan Serra, CKD

Yesterday we learned the basics of How to Set a Table. Today its right brain time, when our Kitchen Design Expert and Contributor, Susan Serra, CKD shares some fantastic tabletop decor. Known to many as “The Kitchen Designer” for her popular blog, Susan is an award-winning Certified Kitchen Designer, with a national clientele.

—

While a kitchen designer may not be the best one [...] Read more »

The Rules, Straight from the Source

It’s a dirty little secret for many of us. Thanksgiving morning—roast-turkey scent wafting throughout the ground-floor, guests wheels up and on the way—we’re bothered by a nagging uncertainty – the voice in our heads murmering,

Where exactly does the salad fork go?

Mom or Grandma may have clued you in years ago, but the details—mixed with that early glass of merlot—are foggy [...] Read more »

Right In Your Own Backyard

by Mari Robeson

Let’s hit the design road again with Mari Robeson, as she helps a client find the right artwork for her decor. Mari—Interior Design expert and Contributor—takes us inside the world of design, and helps us bring beauty and color to the places we call home.

I love fall, not only because it’s a beautiful weather time on the Central Coast, [...] Read more »