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,…
We have this very annoying tree right outside our apartment that blocks all light from our windows, thwarting the sun’s attempts to warm us with its golden rays of energy. Damn you, tree! Recently I begged our landlord to at least consider trimming it back, and he finally relented, which left me with both a…
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’m not usually anxious for fall weather, but the extreme heat this year has me ready to snuggle under a blanket with hot chocolate. When fall approaches, I like to get out my growing collection of vintage thermoses. The plaid designs feel very academic and seem to celebrate the start of another school year. Typically,…
In honor of this month’s outdoor theme, why don’t we build an old-fashioned camping stool? First of all, have you seen modern folding-tripod stools? They are ugly as sin, and your grandpa would be ASHAMED if you bought one. With the help of some hefty dowels, a little hardware and a piece of leather or…
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…
With the arrival of spring, I’ve been thinking that I could use some extra outdoor workspace, so I started drawing up plans for a simple table. I figured I could model it after a planting table, but I also wanted a metal surface to set my tabletop grill on for easier outdoor cooking. I used…
I’ve been doing a fair amount of home cleaning lately, and I think when it’s all over, I’d like to reward myself with one of these beautiful woven leather stools. Matt, the immensely talented craftsman behind Wood and Faulk, created this versatile little stool with simple tools and a few raw materials. I love the luxurious,…
Every once in a while, I like to try out DIY projects that are very simple, almost too simple: few materials, even fewer steps and no big requirements for effort or money. There’s a time and a place for a massive, complex DIY, but right now, when it’s rainy and everyone I know is catching…
We’ve had a lot of requests for urban/apartment friendly tree ideas. I can say from experience that lugging even the smallest of live trees into an apartment can be messy, unwieldy, and inconvenient. But that shouldn’t mean no tree, either. For those who live in a small space but would like to have a tree…
