Every winter, my cat, JFK, who is usually an outdoor cat, gets a little bit crankier . . . well, a lot crankier. When he’s not sleeping directly in front of the heater or scarfing food, he’s begging me for attention. On my last trip to New York, I learned a lot of great tips from…
I know the low temperatures in northern California hardly rival those of the East Coast, but we still get our fair share of bone-chilling, gloomy winter weather, and according to the news, there’s more cold and windy rain on its way. Like Max and Grace, I am a huge fan of candles: In my urban…
There’s a wonderful trend going on right now, which I predict will last from here on out: household goods made from simple, natural, organic materials. The increasing popularity of leather, wood and metal objects is wonderful news for the DIYer because all of these materials in their raw state are relatively inexpensive, easy to manipulate,…
When you collect as many things as I do, floor and table space can quickly become precious commodities. Having shelves full of plants is just not feasible in the studio, but I was not going to let that stop me from pursuing my dream of building a little greenhouse. If you have an interest in…
I used to have a problem with collecting chairs, but I quickly had to shut it down. I was running out of space for them, and honestly, it was becoming a little like my stuffed animal collection when I was a kid, meaning that I anthropomorphized each one and felt guilty letting any of them…
This is the fourth installment of Brittany Watson Jepsen’s summer DIY series. Check out her previous projects here, here and here. I love how simple and minimal these projects are, creating awesome results with only a few materials. Thanks for sharing, Brittany! — Kate For those of us lucky enough to have minimal living space, creative space planning is…
I love projects that make use of old materials, especially when they take just a few easy steps to complete. This quick and easy reclaimed-wood knife rack from Nick Ward-Bopp is something you could probably finish in a couple hours, and as he points out below, it’s a great way to make use of empty…
Around this time last year, Grace, Amy and I went to check out the “McMasterpieces” show curated by Sight Unseen as part of NY Design Week. We loved these pieces by Alissia Melka-Teichroew; they not only inspired one of our projects for last year’s summer newspaper, but they’ve been haunting me ever since. I love the…
I’ve been seeing a lot of slatted wood lately, mostly in large-scale designs like Morgan Satterfield’s lovely front porch screen or this incredible house that popped up on Desire to Inspire yesterday. I’ve never come across slatted wood as wall art, but after seeing this wall map project from Natalie Gluic, I’m thoroughly convinced that…
Finding a simple, modular piece of furniture that is reasonably priced but also well made can be hard sometimes. IKEA provides some decent options, but sometimes you just want something made out of beautiful, sturdy, solid wood. Thankfully, designer Silvia Song has created a great tutorial for a simple wood side table with a sliding…
This project couldn’t come at a better time for me; just this week, I decided to toss out my crummy old plastic cutting boards and exchange them with more durable wood ones. Kate of Centsational Girl has created a fantastic, easy tutorial for how to make your own custom cutting boards of any size and…
I canʼt deny I was a little hesitant with this monthʼs Design*Sponge theme of flowers. Sure, I have some houseplants around, but when it comes to flowers – Iʼm usually mowing over them. Though, to fully embrace Mayʼs theme, I started thinking… What would I make my Mom for Motherʼs Day in a kind of…
This project has made me so enamored of old trophies that I may have to devote an entire Treasure Hunting post to them, although I’m not sure I could top this re-purposing idea. When paired with a nicely finished piece of hard wood, the shiny metallic trophies actually look modern and . . . classy? Not…
we have an abundance of useless sconces in our apartment. they are a pain in the neck to turn on and they provide illumination for about six inches of a small hallway leading to our back door, but the kicker: they’re ugly. in fact, if i hadn’t been walking through my local salvage yard and…
i was really inspired by the faceted designs grace noticed at ICFF, so for this week’s diy project i decided to spiff up my cheapo alarm clock with a faceted wood cover. i have become very attached to the sound my basic alarm clock makes, but the plastic body of the clock is not the…
i’ve been on a mission to bring more green things into my home – growing more plants and visiting my local flower shop more often! even though it’s been a trend for a while, i still can’t get enough of science-y stuff (beakers, test tubes, etc.) in the home. so for this simple project, i…
here’s a last minute idea for your gifts- wrapping them or making them! these log slices take mere minutes to complete if you have a saw and drill handy. you could also ask your local lumberyard to cut them for you if you don’t have a saw, because it’s just a few quick slices. you…
i purchased these miniature birdhouses from the craft store about six months ago, because they were so adorable and i knew i would eventually come up with a use for them. voila! a miniature wooden village for my mantel during the holiday season. i already had some lights lying around, so i went and purchased…
designer claire terry from madame fancy pants sent in this full diy idea. the other day her mom decided to reclaim the bookcase she’d let claire borrow, so quick replacement shelving was claire’s goal. she happened to have a few wooden pallets around her house (“people always asked ‘why do you have pallets lying around’…
this fun diy project comes from berlin-based d*s reader (and molecular biologist!) morgane rouault. when she’s not busy with her job in research science, morgane like to draw, work with pottery and sew all sorts of craft projects. so i was thrilled to hear from her about this fun DIY project she recently finished- a…
