Decor & Accessories

Laundry is the most avoided chore in our home. We don’t have a good spot to keep dirty clothes, which leads to chasing down little piles on laundry day, then scrambling to find a place to put the clean batches as each load comes out. Some very organized people have figured this out though. With their DIY sorting systems, household worths of laundry are neatly sorted before, during, and after each cycle.

While we’re not suggesting you hoard all of your glass liquor bottles—please, recycle that mountain of two buck Chuck empties—sometimes a glass bottle comes along that’s too pretty to toss. And when that happens, there are several ways you can choose to repurpose it. Here are some of our favorites: For serving water: If it’s good enough for some of my favorite restaurants, it’s good enough for me.

In my many years of living in apartments and houses that tend to include windows (ok, they have all had windows), I’ve long found myself underwhelmed by curtain rods. If I do what’s practical and just buy something affordable, the materials yield an almost hilariously flimsy product.

One of the biggest hurdles in my own fitness journey is just making it to the gym. Then, when I’m there, there’s waiting around for equipment to open up. And did I mention the high membership fees? I’ve tried a few at-home workout apps, but many of those require some kind of equipment, which can get pretty pricey pretty fast. Thankfully, some handy bloggers have found their own solutions to creating their home gyms.

Before and After transformations just never get old, especially when the results are utterly unrecognizable. Case in point: Back in 2013, we posted a project about an empty stairwell space that was transformed into something unexpectedly wonderful. Cut to five years later and it’s been viewed almost four million times. We recently went back to see just what made the project resonate so much with our readers.

Even though your brain knows the clock is about to turn back, your body doesn’t always get the memo. Some of us will sail through the time change seamlessly, and others will feel out of sorts for days. Start this week so that, before you go to sleep next Monday night — and set your clock an hour earlier — you’re already caught up.

Project by: Erin Location: Atlanta, Georgia Even in her busy family home, Erin managed to carve out a space that is completely her own style, creating the perfect in home mini-retreat. From Erin: As a busy mom of 3 boys, I really craved a space that could just ooze femininity. I thought the closet was the perfect place to go totally glam with the decor.

It’s time to take advantage of those warmer weekends by spending time on your home’s exterior, and prepping your grill for the season is a great project to get you started. You could always start with cleaning your gutters —but grilled veggies and BBQ chicken just seem like a much better reward for completely the task.

Project by: Meghan Location: Charleston, South Carolina Our bathroom floor was disgusting. Like, ten year old faux-wood rental apartment sheet vinyl disgusting. Really, the picture does not do it justice AT ALL. I toyed with the idea of putting down vinyl tiles on top (like I did in our kitchen), but the floor is super uneven and I was worried that the humidity would cause the glue to unstick. So, we made peace with it for a year and a half.

Privacy screens are like folding sculptures, both visually interesting as well as functional. In an outside space, they are a buffer between you and the neighbors, or can block out the bright sun. Inside, they divide spaces, hide clutter, or even serve as a headboard. Making a custom screen is also (surprisingly!) a quick and easy DIY.

Project by: Phil and Bowha Location: Bakersfield, California This beautiful home is located in the Southern California community of Rosedale, which was historically a country town that was founded as a colony of English farmers back in 1891.

When you don’t have all your cleaners in one place, you wind up spending more time running around the house than you do actually scrubbing it. Save yourself time and headaches with an all-in-one housekeeping helmet that keeps supplies at your fingertips. When one bottle is empty, seamlessly transition to the bottle on the other side and keep on going! Hard Hat 2 Cup Holders Vinyl Tubing Vinyl Tubing Coupler Brass Fasteners (or chewing gum) Drill with drill bits Empty spray bottle 1.

This DIY project is totally impressive if you’re a fan of the Kubus candleholder that inspired it. It’s also pretty impressive even if you’ve never seen a Kubus. For under a day and under $20 you can have a totally gift-able, beautiful candle holder. Skill Level: Easy Time Required: 24 Hours Project Cost: Under $15 From Sara: The first time I saw this candleholder I felt instantly in love with it.

Laundry is one of those endless jobs with no real beginning or end. If you successfully go through the entire cycle of sorting, washing, folding, and putting things away, then you’re a well-oiled machine and unstoppable. But when there’s a break at any point in the chore chain, piles quickly build up and get away from you. This weekend, clear all the blockages and get things flowing again.

We’re card carrying members of the string light appreciation society and Therese’s fun and inventive DIY is a great way to add another whimsical light source to your home. Skill Level: Easy Time Required: 1 hour Project Cost: Around $10 LED Lighting Chain Metal Wire Hanger Pliers To get the frame for my cloud I bent a metal wire hanger in the cloud shape I wanted. You’ll need some strength and patience to finish this step.

I found a gorgeous mustardy yellow vintage suitcase, which I upcycled into a fabulous side table. Not only that, I added extra character to the case with some vintage luggage labels. You can download these vintage luggage labels on my blog for free. This vintage suitcase looks great either as a bedside table or a coffee table. It’s also really useful for storage of stuff like magazines.

This lovely little tray can do double duty of both helping you organize your space while jazzing it up. It’s also totally customizable, so follow Cassie’s instructions to make it your own! Skill Level: Easy Time Required: 2 hours active time, 24 hours to cure Project Cost: $50 From Cassie: I am in the middle of redecorating my bedroom, and one of the major upgrades I will be adding is a vanity area.

It’s been two years since readers gave Laura advice about increasing the curb appeal of her rental property and she’s back with an update. Her plan was to make the lawn healthier and add some shrubs. She was also considering painting the shutters or siding and asked readers to help decide what color might go nicely with the yellow. So, let’s find out how this house looks now and which advice Laura ran with!

I have to admit, I’ve never once looked at my trashcan as a design opportunity. Now, thanks to Claire, I’m so ready to bring some pattern to my kitchen. Take it away Claire! From Claire: Over the last few years wallpaper has come back in fashion and there are tons of fantastic designs out there. Wallpaper is not just for walls, you can decorate loads of things with it. As many great design houses produce their own wallpapers it can be cheap way of getting that designer look.

The Ikea Nolmyra has so much potential. Great lines, perfect scale, cool bent plywood legs. But with that stock gray mesh cover, it’s a like a sexy foot stuck in a dirty running shoe. You can easily upgrade it, though. Just toss a $12 Gurli throw into your Ikea cart, and we’ll show you how to give this cool little lounge chair a whole new look. Gurli throw (or 1.

Q: My husband and I have just purchased our first house, and we are very excited to finally have a space in our basement to dedicate to music. As a musician, he frequently brings guitars, amps, and other large equipment back and forth to gigs and rehearsals. In the past, he has rented practice spaces, which are always covered in gouges on the walls, corners, and doors—an inevitable cost of musicians constantly hauling large heavy things.

Brandon and Morgan, a couple who live in a sweet house in Asheville, North Carolina, decided to make their own curtain rods after discovering how limited the options were at their local hardware stores. They wanted an attractive, simple (and of course, cheap) curtain rod for each of the windows in their home so when Morgan came across copper plumber’s piping, she knew she had found a solution. The project can be done in an under an hour and for under $80 (that’s for 4-5 curtain rods!

Serena & Lily IKEA FJELLSE Bed (I only had space for a single, but go for the queen!) Molding of your choosing (I used two of these from Home Depot) Set of IKEA VÄSENTLIG Curtain Finials White Spray Paint Set of Table Legs (I used these from Lowe’s) 2 Tee Nuts (make sure the thread size matches your table legs) 24″ Open Cane Webbing Wood Glue Saw Hammer Clamps Staplegun 1. Spray paint all the pieces before you get started. 2.

Central air conditioning can be a lifesaver for keeping our homes cool in the summer months, but the look of the air conditioning units themselves leave much to be desired when it comes to backyard ambience. With our home being a duplex, my husband, Ken, and I had double-trouble air conditioner units located next to our backyard patio, and we needed to find a solution for hiding them in plain sight without interfering with their efficiency.