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 »

There’s a buzz in Carlisle, England around the bold DIY makeover of its railway station, finished late last week for the filming of a Homebase TV commercial.

Painted bridge photographs by Martin Armstrong

Production designer Darrell Cooke and designer Kate McConnell created the metamorphosis of the station for the home improvement giant’s advert. Purple damask wallpaper, comfy couches and floor lamps adorn one platform, and even kitchen [...] Read more »

by Leona Gaita

Today we are joined by Leona Gaita, HomeWorkshop.com Interior Design Expert and Contributor. Leona shares with us her inspiring ideas and advice to help us enrich our homes and lives with beauty and elegance.

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If you get the urge for a fresh little warming up for your windows, but you don’t know your way around a sewing machine, here’s a very simple but elegant [...] Read more »

by Regina Garay

Today let’s talk color with our Decorative Painting and Surface Design Expert, and Contributor Regina Garay. Regina blogs about her creative work and inspiration

at Fauxology.

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You would think that since color is such a personal choice for many of us, that the yearly color trends would not make a ripple at all.  We like what we like, correct? 

However, color is a monumental business [...] 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 »

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 »

Sometimes colorful design inspiration is right in front of you. Like at your kid’s elementary school, for example. Seriously, have you seen some of the art projects that come out of fourth grade? Simple. Colorful. Whipped out with fearless abandon.

Or the cooperative creations auctioned off for school fundraisers? Splashy quilts of scanned watercolors, storage chests bedecked in original hand-painted tiles. Yummy.

Children are amazing, and elementary [...] Read more »

by Diana Durkes

Today we beautify a thrift-store find with 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.

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For last month’s makeover, I used a thrift shop resource to turn old sweaters into a throw rug. This month, I thought I’d continue the idea of giving new life to [...] Read more »

We’re back in the virtual café chatting with, and getting guidance from some of our interior designer-friends. Today we talk with:

Linda H. Bassert, of Masterworks Window Fashions & Design in Fairfax, Virginia

Barbara Miller, of Barbara Miller Design in West Linn, Oregon

Linda Merrill, of Chameleon Interiors in Duxbury, Massachusetts

Kerry Ann Dame, of Posh Living in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

HomeWorkshop: A homeowner has a free weekend coming [...] Read more »

by GraceAnn Simoni

Today let’s simplify a bit with Contributor GraceAnn Simoni, Interior Redesign and Staging Specialist and Instructor from the Chicagoland area. GraceAnn shares with us budget tips and advice for decorating with your existing furniture and accessories.

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If you’re like me and discovered that you are behind in the Holiday decorating and are starting to think, ‘Why bother for only a couple of weeks?’ Maybe [...] Read more »

I hope you are all spending some quality time relaxing and enjoying your loved ones on this Thanksgiving Day. Here’s a creative activity you might try — a little fun with words!

In celebration of Thanksgiving I jotted down a few things I am thankful for:

Today is Thanksgiving, the day we think about what we are thankful for. I am thankful for my family, [...] Read more »

Over the weekend an astonishing thing happened. Matt Groener of Oregon entered our Let’s Make Cents Challenge. His entry was a little late. About two and a half months late if we’re counting. But he could care less about the prize and I am thrilled by his entry.

You’ll recall that for the Challenge inspired by the Standard Grill’s penny-mosaic floor, I made a nice (but [...] Read more »

by Diana Durkes

Today let’s work some DIY magic with 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.

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Not that anybody asked me, but in my opinion, crafters are geniuses. They take often overlooked bits of things, parts big and small, and put them together in the most practical and [...] Read more »

Hungry for creative amusement, Design Junkies? Some juicy Challenges are ongoing and good news—these are all easy as pie.

Prize Challenges

Paint a graphic pattern on your pumpkin(s), snap a photo and share it with us. A random entrant will win a $30 Michael’s Gift Card (and who couldn’t use one of those about now?)

You can get some great inspiration over at Angelo Surmelis’s blog. And [...] Read more »

One way to add graphic punch and sparkle to a space is by creating simple grid and block patterns in glass tile, like these in bathrooms by designer Valerie Borden of Chimera Interior Design.

Recently, Valerie and I discussed how she developed the designs and how you might get a similar impact in your space.

HomeWorkshop (HW): What inspired the tile colors and design in the [...] Read more »