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…
The air is turning brisk, the leaves are changing colors and the sleeping bags are ready to be packed! Fall is here, and I can’t wait to sit around a campfire, roasting dinner and dessert with family and friends. When I grew up, we stretched out metal hangers for our camping skewers. They worked pretty…
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…
These honeycomb shelves came our way at a perfect time — not only do they satisfy my need for cheerful spring colors, but they also provide a great storage solution to alleviate spring-cleaning woes. Sarah and Josh, the creative husband-and-wife photographers behind Arrow & Apple, whipped up these pretty hexagonal shelves for free using salvaged…
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…
A good girlfriend of mine has an amazing vintage arrow collection. She displays them all in her home on the wall and bunched together in containers. This February, I decided to whip up a Valentine’s Day DIY inspired by her collection. The big day of love is only five days away, but luckily that’s plenty…
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…
Hex signs are a form of traditional Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. They have been painted on the sides of barns to ward off evil spirits, offer good fortune or wish happiness for hundreds of years. These sentiments are perfect for the harvest season! Here is a colorful interpretation for your Thanksgiving table to wish all…
Fall is by far my favorite time of year. The colors and textures of the materials that come with the season never cease to inspire new project ideas for me, and I find myself returning to those materials again and again. These wooden acorns are a quick no-frills project. They might come in handy for…
in an attempt at minimalism, i decided to sell off my poorly treated, disorganized collection of cds, receiving a mere fraction of what i paid originally. apparently, nobody needs a scratched copy of depeche mode’s violator with a cracked jewel case and SO many memories and feelings attached to it…okay i’ll keep that one! but…
i know ottomans aren’t the most indispensable piece of furniture in the house, but is it criminal to say they bring me the most joy? i think upholstery maven shelly (aka ModHomeEcTeacher) would agree with me; she’s made a whole collection of smart looking ottomans using a range of found fabrics and materials. i am…
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’ve always wanted to live in a loft, not only for their airy spacious qualities, but also because i love industrial style furniture, and hard as i try, i cannot seem to make it work in my 1920′s apartment (blast those crooked lines and over abundant molding!). i love tae’s cup holder coffee table because…
sometimes all we need to make a room seem completely new is a quick change: moving pillows from one room to the next, switching up wall art, or perhaps adding a small display to a bare wall. this easy log shelf project seems like the perfect addition to a room if you’re looking for a…
