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…
A hanging leather shelving project has been on my to-do list for a while; to be honest, the biggest delay was just finding the right belts. Has anyone else discovered that thrift-shop leather belts are often unreasonably overpriced? Regardless, a little patience yielded some great finds: one super long thick black belt and a couple…
It seems I have a clutter problem. Previously it was piles of mail; this time it’s piles of magazines. Riffing on the form and function of my last post, the mail basket, I thought the same construction techniques could be used for a magazine rack. I swear to you, though, I will not use this…
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…
Spontaneous piles seem to form around my house. Mail is probably the most often piled culprit. Why worry about opening mail and filing it when you can stack it up for a week? If you feel the same but are looking for a way to appease the neat freaks in your life, why not make…
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 needing some more room for my growing record collection and all the while have been looking for the right sized vintage box. I was hoping for something somewhat military surplus, but never found the right size or condition. If I found something, it was always a one-off and typically poor shape. Here’s the…
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…
