Recent years have seen an increase in options for moving that don't include heaps of floppy cardboard boxes. Karmaboxx.com is just one, but they're new and Seattle-based, and throw a little value-added "karma" into the mix.

Finally! We've often wondered if the extravagant "outdoor living room" concept could be done on a non-extravagant budget, or at least look nice but not as fussy as the slick magazine spreads on the topic. Portland homeowners Richard Rolfe and Stephen Rutledge have accomplished just that with what they call their "fort," cobbled together from local salvage...

Finally! We've often wondered if the extravagant "outdoor living room" concept could be done on a non-extravagant budget, or at least look nice but not as fussy as the slick magazine spreads on the topic. Portland homeowners Richard Rolfe and Stephen Rutledge have accomplished just that with what they call their "fort," cobbled together from local salvage.

While perusing Canadian House and Home, we found a how-to for a very involved (for us) DIY headboard project. The instructions called for creating a frame out of two-by-fours and attaching plywood, resulting in a tall, door-like headboard. Being the carpentry-phobes we are, we thought, "how about using an old door and cutting out the middle man?" We're not the first to think of it...

While perusing Canadian House and Home, we found a how-to for a very involved (for us) DIY headboard project. The instructions called for creating a frame out of two-by-fours and attaching plywood, resulting in a tall, door-like headboard. Being the carpentry-phobes we are, we thought, "how about using an old door and cutting out the middle man?" We're not the first to think of it.

Proving that there are many folks far more resourceful than ourselves, The Oregonian featured this handy way to reuse an old croquet cart, for which the actual croquet set had long been missing pieces...

Proving that there are many folks far more resourceful than ourselves, The Oregonian featured this handy way to reuse an old croquet cart, for which the actual croquet set had long been missing pieces.

Claire had some really funky wainscoting in her bedroom. While wainscoting is often a beautiful and coveted feature, this job involved mismatched boards of different widths and thicknesses -- not necessarily the period feature of her dreams. So she ripped it out and started over...

We have a cat, whose adorable gray fur comes off of her body with not-so-adorable dander and allergens on a very regular basis. We sweep and vacuum, which usually does the trick, but with lavender season upon us and the herb popping up all over farmers markets, we thought we'd try this homemade vacuuming powder using it...

Container gardening is well-established as a way to get a measure of the beauty and, sometimes, fresh produce of a backyard garden, without the actual backyard. But Sunset shows us that the container garden has yet more potential - this time as a beachy background for our staycation.