Welcome to February, and a month of Home Hacks: Smart How Tos for Great Homes. We're going to be focusing on How To all month. What do you want to learn this month? What would you like to get done around the home, and how can we help?
We would love your input on tutorials and How To posts. When it comes to decor, remodeling, and creating a happier, healthier home, is there anything you would like learn? Small or big, simple or complex, tell us here, and we'll do our best to give you great tutorials on those topics this month.
If you have an excellent How To tutorial that you've done yourself and would like to share, then feel free to send that along as well!
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Easy Pitcher Cocktail Recipe: Strawberry Basil Margaritas
Comments (55)
Hi! The link is giving me a SQL error. Thanks.
I'd really like to learn to make concrete countertops for my kitchen.
Tile a backsplash.
How to repair holes in drywall.
how to remove a baseboard heater.
how to mount a flat panel television on the wall
how to properly paint a bathroom
This might sounds silly... but I need to know how to figure out what type of walls I have and then what anchors to use to hang heavy stuff.
A lot of my walls are concrete (I think) and I have no idea how to hang anything on them.
@gallupgirrl: YES! Me too!
I would love to have a tutorial about how to outfit a linen closet with MDF shelves. I just bought my first circular saw, and I want to use that beast!
Install a good-looking sliding door in a room door frame (not wardrobe)
Fix a ceiling light
How to paint a room! I feel like it's easy to throw color up onto my walls but hard to get it to look great.
How to hang window treatments would be nice too. Ooh, and how to change out a light fixture.
i second the tiling a backsplash/cut glass tile- that will be one of our tax refund projects :)
and the how to on concrete countertops good too.
A complete "how to" refinish/repaint/alter furniture.
I bought a lovely old desk that needs TLC and mabye a new appearance via paint.
I guess this means no more Jumpstart contest.
here are a few i need to know how to do to have my projects done by spring.
*how to properly hang something from a drywall ceiling w/o it falling down.
*how to make your own grow lights using fluorescent desk lamps, NOT BUYING THE $100 ones. this way, you could have plants in a dark apt, but you won't have ugly lamps all over the place.
*how to install a vanity light in the bathroom.
1. I second "how to make your own grow lights."
2. I also second "how to change out a light fixture." Specifically, I'd like to know how to replace a regular ceiling fixture with a chandelier.
3. I'd also like ideas for making old windows energy efficient WITHOUT completely replacing them. I like the look of the old windows, but they're too drafty.
How to properly prep and spray paint furniture. Not some people's bag - but something can transform a thrift store find into something usable for your home - on a budget.
Maybe I'm impatient, but I have a hard time doing thin coats and always end up drips. Help! :)
How to do woodworking INDOORS, or at the very least in a very small/public outdoor area without a full woodshop. What tools can get you by on basic projects (cut board in half, put a hole in this, etc.)? What tools should I buy beyond the basics? (That can be used by someone who's really only ever used a drill...) What should I rent, or consider buying because though it's intimidating, it's so useful! Etc. etc.
PLEASE cover this, it would make my reading of DIY ideas 10X better!! Too many of them scare me away with any mention of woodworking beyond screws & nails :)
the best window treatments for rentals and large windows.
How about helping me with my room project? I need to know how can I update the look of my wardrobe and cabinets that are covered with contact paper. Should I paint (how?) or should I cover up with another layer of contact sheet?
Would be glad to see this here! :)
1. How to wire an apartment for sound, TV or data - including wireless options! Or is that Technology and not the mothership?
2. Improving interior doors: How to replace or better yet, refinish, hollow core doors - even "fancy" ones.
3. Can hardwood floors be repaired at all?
I second the how-to on woodworking. I've been very inspired with the Knock of Wood blog you featured here recently but I'm too intimidated to try!
Also, wiring an apartment for sound would be very useful.
How to insulate sliding glass doors & large windows.
I need to re-caulk areas around my ceiling molding where it is is now cracking and there are gaps between the caulking, the molding and the wall.
Do I caulk over what's already there or do I strip the caulking?
Any help would be great!
Concrete counters.
I would love to see affordable updates to ceiling light fixtures in rentals- something industrial and modern that adds some subtle interest to the ceiling. I am especially interested in incorporating wire light guards like this: http://www.rejuvenation.com/fixshow175/templates/selection.phtml.
Re-grout the bathroom, paint over a linoleum floor, please!
I second the ceiling lights with the added issue of no lights there now. And related to that, what can we do with the open beam ceiling in our 1955 Eichler wannabe? It's been whitewashed & like I said: no ceiling lights other than kitchen/dining area similar to this: www.inmagine.com/iops001/iops001063-photo.
How to incorporate modern architectural or design elements into a pre war apartment (on a budget).
How to add electrical outlets.
How to clean the inside of shoes without runing the shoe.
The best way to organize/keep shoes neatly in a small space.
How to install click flooring.
How to paint over existing tile or to paint the outside of a claw foot tub.
How to install a dishwasher.
How to do a modern/fresh arrangement of plants in a living room (preferably out of the way of the cats).
How to paint the frame of standard ny coop windows another color from black?
How to replace molding.
I second how to add electrical outlets.
How to build a loft bed.
How to paint multiple color stripes an the same wall.
Thanks
How to use the word "Hack" properly, perhaps?
Help with adding shelves to brick wall!
How to mount bookshelves on a concrete block wall.
@ Kalypso "This might sounds silly... but I need to know how to figure out what type of walls I have and then what anchors to use to hang heavy stuff. "
Just head to your local hardware store (I prefer independent, the guys at the big box store are usually not very helpful) and they will show you exactly what type of anchors to use for certain walls. There are pamphlets and stuff too. Now if they could just come to my house and teach me how to tile a backsplash ...... :D
caulk the bathtub!!
How to choose and install track lighting.
How to screen print and/or block print fabric.
how to choose and install a kitchen countertop.
Romeo and jewels: i woudn't say I'm an expert, but I spray paint EVERYTHING!! We have a "bulk trash" day once a month in my city, so a lot of my furniture, chandeliers, picture frames, etc. are found on the side of the road and yes, spray painted. I too am impatient, but I have found that if you rub down with steel wool between coats, it makes for a much smoother finish. Try to paint surfaces horizontally, as to avoid them dripping. good luck.
LizzieD-remove old caulking first. a metal scraper or razor blade usually works. get a caulking gun and appropriate caulking for bathrooms/tubs. Soak a good size cloth, that you don't mind ruining. Slowly run a bead of caulk along the edges. Every 3 feet or so, moisten your finger and run it along the caulk. Use excess from your finger to keep caulking. Wipe your finger on wet cloth. Keep your finger wet and smooth out edges until nice and neat. Repeat until finished.
1. how to tile backsplash,
2. fix a hole in drywall,
3. take down the ugly std. plastic-covered wire shelves (with the super ugly long angled brackets) in my walk-in closet and maximize the space!!
I would love love love to know how to convert a queen- or a california-king sized four poster bed into an eastern king sized bed. I see california king sized 4 post beds all over the place on craigslist, but my mattress (which is the best mattress in the world) is an Eastern King sized bed. I would love to be able to scoop one of these up for cheap, but can't figure out the best way to expand the headboard and footboard, while replacing/shortening the side rails. Your help would be greatly appreciated!!!
I'd love to know how to figure out where to start with landscaping. I'm assuming the first step is to figure out what plants are local (aka, which ones work well in your type of environment), but I can't go to the bookstore and find a book out there like this. All the books are too general and show plants and trees that I may or may not be able to get. I might be able to find websites, but usually they don't show photos so I don't even know if the plants I'm reading about are ones I'm interested in. Then I guess I need to figure out what kind of light I get around my house? Is this the next step?
From then on I'm stumped. How do I begin to think about landscaping? There's probably a smart way to think (don't pick too many high maintenance plants? Find a filler plant to put in certain areas?) but how do I know what I should be considering? Also, how do you get to the point where you can envision something different than whatever already exists? I don't know how to bridge what I know now and what I think I need to know. Please help!
@Kalypso i would love to know how to determine what my walls are made of also and i dont think its silly at all..
I want to put a lacquer finish on some furniture (some that I am making from scratch and some that I am making over) - I would love some tips to do this easily and successfully.
Paint bathroom tiles?
How to remove a useless one foot long baseboard heater and replace it with a much needed outlet.
THX!
How to jump start a starter home? We want to remove...
- cabinets from the kitchen wall, and floor...(if possible)
- carpeting from the stairs
- balusters, railing and/ or newel post from the stairs
and, like everyone else I would love a tile backsplash lesson and tips for taking down these un-lovely ceiling fan/ lights.
A tool you might find useful tracking and compiling this reader wishlist: Google Moderator.
Thank you!
Is there any way to build a futon out of salvaged wood pallets and cheaply?
A. I would love to know how to apply fabric to panelled walls using liquid starch or how to upholster walls.
B. How to install a backsplash - preferably one that is removable - so that security deposit will be returned if I ever move (if I figure out A, that probably won't happen anytime soon)
C. How to install a dimmer switch for a ceiling fan/ light combination
D. How to make a landing strip that "hides" the clutter - I don't want people to see the recycle bin, the charging station, and all the other "stuff"
Thank you!
I would love to know how to do the simple thing of properly cleaning my bath tub and shower curtains. There are soap stains (not to mention smells) and I have tried various cleaning products but nothing seems to work.
How to remove wallpaper; how to clean a pizza stone. Thanks!
Create the appearance of natural light in a windowless room.
How do you get water stains out of fabrics.
How about how to hang things well on old plaster walls.
How about how to refinish or somehow freshen a light wood veneer? I have a great siide table but the surface looks dull, even dirty. I'm not sure how to clean it without stripping the finish (I may have already done that a bit). I can send a picture.
Stacey
alicia13z - that tip about painting horizontally is BRILLIANT. My projects have turned out much more successful since then. And I discovered wet sanding. My dining room table looks faaaannntassstic now. People can't believe it was 25 bucks at a thrift store. Thanks!