Easy and inexpensive Mother’s Day Gift Ideas to make yourself! I love to make and receive thoughtful handmade gifts… especially when they’re stylish and useful too! Here are a few of my favorites for Mother’s Day, with links to the full tutorials. Many of these are great for the kids to help with too. Enjoy!…
Learn how to paint a mural on a wall with this simple step-by-step tutorial. One of the things I love most about blogging and working on my own home is that I can push the limits and take bold design risks that I probably wouldn’t take in a client’s home (unless they wanted me to…
Transform your backyard or balcony with these outdoor string lights ideas! Outdoor string lights are wildly popular, and for good reason! They feel magical and bring a warm, intimate ambiance to any party or outdoor living space. Inexpensive, simple for the average person to DIY, relatively easy to put up and take down with the…
Recreate one of these modern home office ideas for yourself with inexpensive products from your favorite online stores! Are you ready for a new home office? Or maybe just a refresh? What if you could have your workspace designed by a professional, and all you had to do was order a few things online and…
These modern small home office ideas are perfect for apartments, small corners, and even closet offices. Recreate these shoppable designs at home! Do you need to squeeze your workspace into a small corner of your living room or even a closet? These brilliant small home office ideas were created using only inexpensive products available online,…
Modern Boho pillow covers are an easy and inexpensive way to change up your living room decor. Pillow Cover Features It’s no secret that I’m a throw pillow cover superfan. I love them because they’re cheap (at least these ones are!) and they take up almost no storage space when not in use. Which means…
Learn how to make wax melts smell stronger with these common fragrance mistakes and their simple fixes! So you made your first batch of homemade wax melts and excitedly set up the wax warmer. And you waited patiently for them to melt. And you waited, and…. nothing. You can hardly smell them, right? I’ve been…
Make your home smell like Fall with these quick & easy DIY mason jar soy candles. They make fabulous gifts too! Pumpkin spice, anyone??? It’s time to make your home smell like Fall, and these quick & easy mason jar soy candles are the way to do it! You can use any size mason jars…
These Ikea Alex desk ideas will inspire you for your own home office. From corner desks to closet offices, to long desks with multiple workstations. What Is The Ikea Alex Drawer Unit? Ikea Alex drawer units are probably my all-time favorite Ikea products. I can’t even tell you how many home office designs I’ve used…
Confession time. As a designer I’ve always turned my nose up at recliners. The very word conjures up an image of a guy with a potbelly hanging out of a shirt that’s a bit too short hollering for someone to bring him another beer. One time a design client excitedly showed me the brand new…
Today I’m partnering with xTool to make custom engraved wood coasters. I’m planning to surprise my sister with these for her birthday. Shhhhh! xTool F1 xTool F1 is a portable tabletop laser engraving & cutting machine. It’s ideal for beginners and anyone who wants to customize products on site at craft fairs, farmers markets, etc….
Learn how easy it is to engrave metal candle jar lids for your small business with xTool F1! Today I’m partnering with xTool to show you how easy it is to engrave your logo or any other custom design on your metal candle jar lids (you can see my wood lid tutorial here). This is…
Learn how to engrave wood candle lids with your own logo using the xTool F1! I’ve been making candles for years, and today I’m excited to partner with xTool to show you how to engrave your wood candle jar lids to give them an ultra-professional look. If you’re interested in engraving metal lids, check out…
These modern outdoor poufs and ottomans are perfect for any outdoor living space, and they won’t break the bank! Beige Outdoor Poufs I got my sister this beige outdoor pouf to go with her new Boho deck seating area (B below). A. Unstuffed Boho Pouf Ottoman Cover in Taupe, from Walmart B. Round Braided Indoor…
A beautiful Boho area rug can really update and add style to a living room, bedroom, office or dining room. I’ve scoured the web for the best deals on stylish modern and Boho rugs, so you’re sure to find one that’s perfect for your space. The best part? They’re all under $200 for at least…
Living room rug placement, plus choosing the right size and shape of area rug for your space is easy with this design guide! Today let’s talk about living room rug placement. Choosing a living room rug can be a tricky business. I see a lot of folks just freeze up when it comes time to…
These small laundry room ideas make the most out of small spaces, from stacked washers and dryers, to laundry closets, to pegboards.
A small laundry room gets a big dose of function and style in this makeover that uses all the available space to great advantage! Ahh laundry… the bane of my existence! It just never ends, does it? I had a great system at my old house- you can see my previous laundry room makeover here….
Turn an inexpensive wardrobe into a chic and functional storage cabinet with this easy Ikea Brimnes wardrobe hack! After a couple of years in this house, I decided it was time for a laundry room makeover. No walls were moved, but I did rearrange things and make the space MUCH more functional. I had open…
Make these easy & fun fizzy bath salts with all natural ingredients and watch them bubble and fizz when you pour them in the tub! Fizzy Bath Salts Recipe These fizzy bath salts are similar to bath bombs, but much easier and less time-consuming to make. It’s fun to pour them into the tub and…
Make luxurious bubbling bath salts with this easy all-natural recipe and enjoy a fabulous bubble bath with the benefits of epsom salt! How to choose? A luxurious bubble bath with mounds of foamy bubbles, or a soothing soak for sore muscles? Now you can have the best of both worlds! The answer? bubbling bath salts,…
Make this quick & easy Dead Sea salt bath to relax and enjoy its many health benefits, including relieving sore muscles! I love making all-natural bath and body products for my own family and to give as gifts. This Dead Sea salt bath recipe is no exception! Benefits of Dead Sea Salt Ingredients A. unscented…
Learn how to organize a pantry with deep shelves so that you can make the most of your food storage space and recover your sanity! For years I really struggled with keeping my pantry organized. Then I finally got my act together and came up with a system that worked (pretty well) for my messy…
Complete guide to standard rug sizes for living rooms, dining rooms, entryways, bedrooms, home offices, hallways, kitchens, and more! Choosing the right sized rug for your space can be daunting if you don’t know what you’re doing. But this simple guide will take all the guess work out of it. Standard Rug Sizes As you…
Learn how to brighten a dark room using natural light right now with these easy and cheap interior designer tips! Are your spaces feeling a bit dark and gloomy? Especially during the long, dreary winter months? I have just a bit of experience with this, as I live in Seattle, where we have something like…
Today I’m going to show you how to make this super-easy white pumpkin centerpiece. It’s really just a matter of arranging some pumpkins and foliage in a tray- seriously anyone can do this! And it’s going to do double-duty. It will serve as a casual everyday centerpiece for Fall, and then we’ll dress it up…
Most small closets aren’t misused; they are just poorly organized. Typically, they have a single rod and one shelf, as if everyone owns only ten outfits and nothing more. The good news is that closet size hardly affects closet function. Some of the most effective and enjoyable closets are very small. They make use of…
A small front porch often feels like an afterthought. It’s just a concrete slab you walk over to get inside, too narrow for real furniture, and too open to decorate. It’s easy to think that a “small porch” means there isn’t a real style, leading many to leave it empty. However, how welcoming a porch…
A small kitchen often feels cramped, with cluttered counters, dark corners, and a layout that never seems complete. The good news is that size isn’t the issue. Usually, it’s the decor that needs attention. Choosing the right colors, adding layers of lighting, and paying attention to styling can make a small kitchen feel open, purposeful,…
A small balcony often gets dismissed before it’s even decorated. It feels too narrow for furniture, too exposed for privacy, and too small to be worth the effort. Many times it becomes a space for a drying rack rather than a place to enjoy coffee. But the size of the space isn’t the real issue….
Some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in the world are also among the smallest. The issue isn’t the size; it’s the lack of a plan. A small backyard isn’t a consolation prize; it’s an opportunity to design with purpose. You don’t have to deal with a large lawn to mow or an empty area…