A Quick Announcement: I just heard from our friend and Senior Fobotologist, Amy Flynn, about her Annual Year-End FOBOT Sale, happening: This Monday, November 1 Starting at Noon Eastern Time At ifobot.com You’ll recall Amy’s fun and funky FOBOTS (Found Object Robots) from our Artist Profile back in May. Amy will be uploading about 50+ new bots for sale Monday at ifobot.com. Rumors are, you […] Read more »

Artist Profile — Virginia Fleck I promised you another master of recycled art, and that Virginia Fleck is. Through her artist’s eye and craftperson’s hands, the commonplace and oft-discarded becomes mesmerizing and kaleidoscopic. Visit with Virginia, and I know you’ll be inspired. Click on images to see more detail. All images used with permission of, and Copyright Virginia Fleck.   HomeWorkshop (HW): Was art important […] Read more »

by Steve & Cathy Lambert Fall is a great time to plan landscape improvements. Let’s learn about an often overlooked area, with our Garden and Landscape Design Experts and Contributors Steve and Cathy Lambert. Steve and Cathy share with us great advice for creating beautiful gardens and outdoor living spaces. Choosing the Right Hardscape Materials Photographs by Steve Lambert and copyright Garden Lights Landscape and […] Read more »

Some makeovers are pure genius. Like this pair of forlorn patio chairs that Jen at Fresh Crush transformed. Take a peek. Before: After: Is fan-tab-u-loso a word??? This project is a lesson in looking at a piece of furniture with the attitude of ‘What can it be?’ rather than focusing on ‘What is it?’ Jen looked beyond the patio persona, and made her chairs living-room […] Read more »

by Leona Gaita Today from New York, Leona Gaita—Interior Design Expert and Contributor—visits a tradition in design and fundraising. Leona shares with us her inspiring ideas and advice, to help us enrich our homes and lives with beauty and elegance. — Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2010—a fundraiser for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, and this year a fall event—is chock full of […] Read more »

A Classic Takes It We asked for your stories of the best color you ever painted something, and wouldn’t it make sense that the Challenge winner used a classic beauty? Yup. Debbie Perkins’—first furniture makeover ever, painted in a rich, punctuating black—just won the Challenge! Here’s her makeover photo and comments: “I’m new to painting, but I found some cheap end tables in the classified […] Read more »

Now that we are spending more of our days indoors, it’s time to focus on DIY projects to freshen our decor, like these quick and fun, DIY window treatments that I rounded up for you. These are simple, low-cost ideas, many featuring creative reuse or recycling. Enjoy! 1. A Beautiful Scarf—yours, your Grandma’s or one you pick up from the thrift store—can make a graceful […] Read more »

It’s time again for your gut reaction to a design. Peek through the Pasha armchair from Italy’s Pedrali, designed by Claudio Dondoli & Marco Pocci. Shades of Starck’s Louis Ghost Chair—but with a winged persona—Pasha comes in transparent, black, white, and smoked, glossy-finished polycarbonate. Both indoor and outdoor versions are offered, as is an upholstered cushion for added comfort. Does this chair work for you? […] Read more »

by Sherri Blum Today our Nursery and Kids Room Design Expert and Contributor, Sherri Blum shares her advice for readying a beautiful baby’s room, that will work for either gender. — With all of the modern medical advances available today that allow a couple to find out the sex of their baby in advance, I’ve found more and more clients deciding to wait and find […] Read more »

Artist Profile — Enno de Kroon The next two artists you’ll meet here at HomeWorkshop.com, transform recycled materials into stellar artwork. Click on images to see more detail. All images used with permission of, and Copyright Enno de Kroon. Today, it’s artist Enno de Kroon from The Netherlands, whose Eggcubism is—in a word—brilliant. By painting on the challenging canvas of recycled egg crates, he plays […] Read more »

Well-thought-out public spaces are inspiring. Even something as humble as a bench—in the hands of a good designer—can be striking and functional. This colorful, woven effect is fantastic – don’t you think? That was the idea, when The Lollipop Shop in Old Spitalfields Market, challenged top furniture designers to create innovative public benches, as part of this year’s London Design Festival. These are just a […] Read more »

by Regina Garay Let’s get the low-down on a high-style finish, with our Decorative Painting and Surface Design Expert, and Contributor Regina Garay. Regina blogs about her artistry and inspiration at Fauxology. — Venetian Plaster is a technique that has been around for hundreds of years — but there are many misconceptions about it, especially for those who are trying it on their own.  Here’s […] Read more »

by Mari Robeson Today we travel along with Mari Robeson, as she finds design inspiration at an antiques show. 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. This is not your grandmother’s antique show! One of my favorite things about being Interior Designer is that I’m always working with […] Read more »

The idea of crowdsourced design makes so much sense. What is that? It’s where a community has a say in what products a company produces and sells. It’s interactive, engaging, and a smart way to do business. And another player in the U.S. home furnishings market is now doing just that. Stylefactory is offering original designer furniture and accessories, like this Cantilever Sofa by Noah […] Read more »

Artist Profile — Sharon Cummings The moment I spied artist Sharon Cummings paintings, I needed to know her philosophy about color. “Colors are never bold enough for me…never bright enough…and there aren’t enough of them,” she said. “I go for ‘impact’. I use color to draw attention and create a ‘feeling’.” I was captivated by the lively works in her mosaic, Labor of Love series, […] Read more »