From the Archives: Deck out your Independence Day table with flair, when you whip up a batch of our Patriotic Peeps Placemats – personalized for the family!

It’s a fun DIY project! Click here for complete instructions. Read more »

There’s still time to make Mom smile, when she sees the handmade Mother’s Day gift from you or the kids. We are lucky enough to be enjoying Mom’s company this Mother’s Day, as she has flown in for a visit with the California family.

A quick, fun reuse project is our Sweet Stands. Put some together by Saturday and you can host Mom for a beautiful [...] Read more »

by Regina Garay

Let’s dance with paint today with our Decorative Painting and Surface Design Expert, and Contributor Regina Garay. Regina blogs about her creative work and inspiration

at Fauxology.

—

My friend, Sharon Adelman, is a true DIYer.  She loves color, she loves design, she loves learning new skills…it’s the starting that’s the hard part. 

We were recently on a double date with our husbands and were talking [...] Read more »

Here’s a practical project that adds a touch of whimsy to your couch.

“Where’s the remote, Mom? Hey!! Have you seen the remote?”

The interrogation and cushion tossing begins in family rooms across the country. You’d better hope we can find the remote before the opening face-off of The Sharks game.

The solution? A Pocket Pillow to hold the remote. And this one’s extra-special, crafted from recycled denim [...] Read more »

by Diana Durkes

Don your possibilities spectacles and scour the alleys, Design Junkies! It’s DIY time with furniture and accessories makeover specialist, Contributor Diana Durkes. Diana gives “New Life to the Tossed and Found” at her blog, Fine Diving.

This cupboard deserved a second lease on life, I thought when I came upon it in the alley last month. It was in well-used but sturdy shape and [...] Read more »

by GraceAnn Simoni

Here’s a speedy DIY decor update from Contributor GraceAnn Simoni, Interior Redesign and Staging Specialist and Instructor from the Chicagoland area. GraceAnn shares budget tips and advice for decorating with your existing furniture and accessories.

—

Spring and good weather are finally here. The sun

is shining and the birds are singing outside my

office window.

This means I will again get out the spray [...] Read more »

by Regina Garay

We’re doin’ the DIY today with our Decorative Painting and Surface Design Expert, and Contributor Regina Garay. Regina blogs about her creative work and inspiration

at Fauxology.

—

As a decorative painter, I have access to many finishes and techniques that transform surfaces.  A few years ago, I discovered a beautiful lamp in a gorgeous bright lime green.  I bought it and it worked for a [...] Read more »

Here’s a real, live, high-end design for less.

We got fantastic feedback on the story about Marsh & Clark’s elegant and contemporary powder room design for the 2009 San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

I was thrilled when Stephanie Marsh Fillbrandt wrote me about another version of the room they recently completed. Here’s the new room:

Photographs by Elisabeth Fall

As you’ll recall, the original room featured an incredible stone [...] Read more »

You know that one friend you have that leaves a trail of merriment wherever she goes? You know the one who can somehow smile and laugh when she’s stuck for an hour on a stalled subway train?

I just met two of those people.

Seattle-area Interior Designers Piper Salooga and Sara Eizen have fun with what they do. At their latest Home Accessories Swap they scanned [...] Read more »

Quilts are in style.

I’m glad because truth is for me, they never went out. Quilt designs are a comforting link with our past, and today’s quilt artists are incredible. (If you ever get the chance — drop in on one of the large quilt shows like Pacific International and you’ll see what I mean — awesome artistry and craftsmanship.)

I’m especially smitten with the bold, [...] Read more »

by GraceAnn Simoni

Here’s some great home organizing advice and a dash of “how to” motivation from Contributor GraceAnn Simoni, Interior Redesign and Staging Specialist and Instructor from the Chicagoland area. GraceAnn shares budget tips and advice for decorating with your existing furniture and accessories.

—

How are those New Year’s resolutions coming along??? Like most of you I resolved to become more organized. My office is [...] Read more »

by Diana Durkes

Wahoo! It’s time again for chair sorcery from our furniture and accessories makeover specialist, Contributor Diana Durkes. Diana gives “New Life to the Tossed and Found” at her blog, Fine Diving in Chicago.

What to do with a challenging, homely chair?

Years ago, this one may have occupied pride of place in the parlor. It emulates the Eastlake style, a late 1800’s [...] Read more »

Design Expert: Jenn Sbranti

Entertaining guru Jennifer Sbranti, Editor-in-Chief of the hip party planning resource, Hostess with the Mostess®, shares with us—in her own words—how to create memorable times with those closest to us, as we Make Time for Family and Friends in the

New Year….

“The idea of “making time for family and friends” seems like something that should be a no-brainer, right? Certainly it’s a different [...] Read more »

Design Expert: Kelly Van Patter

An awarding-winning Production Designer for television shows such as Survivor and The Apprentice, Kelly Van Patter is passionate about making smart choices for our planet and our pocketbooks.

Kelly is focusing her efforts on green design for the entertainment industry, residential construction and interior design; she shares her knowledge and advice with us in Be More Green and Save Green.

Click the arrow [...] Read more »

It’s too late for these elves to help you with Christmas. But did you know that Etsy has a service called Alchemy that can expand your creative output?

With Alchemy, you dream up an item you want made. You enter a description, your ideal price, and your deadline.

Then wizards from Etsy’s artistic community bid on creating your project. You award the project to the bidder [...] Read more »