Newsletters

Erin Roberts

    How To Spot Clean Old or Set-In Upholstery Stains
    Good news: You're not utterly doomed if you didn't clean a stain right away.
    Erin Roberts
    May 19, 2023
    DIY Home Decor: How to Make a Vinyl Chalk Cloth Wall Organizer
    I’m a bit preoccupied with black and white. While always a classic pairing, inspirational black and white images have been popping up everywhere recently — like this recent roundup of entryways. Lucky for me, my 1910 apartment has a fantastic vintage black and white bathroom. It also has a bit of an odd 18″ angled wall that was screaming for a DIY solution! I chose to create a wall pocket organizer using vinyl chalk cloth, in part because you can write on it (how fun!
    Erin Roberts
    Dec 19, 2019
    DIY Party Decorations: How To Make a Mini Pennant Banner
    I’ve come a little late to the pennant and bunting bandwagon, but I’m here now, and I cannot get enough of adorable banners! They’re perfect for parties or weddings, but I also love to see them jazzing up a bookcase or lending a sassy wink to a traditional picture frame. This miniature banner is a birthday gift for my crafty sister-in-law, so I chose a toned down palette of warm yellows and a pretty mauve in order to make the banner suit her home décor.
    Erin Roberts
    May 4, 2019
    How To Make Your Bedroom an Allergy-Free Zone
    Suffering from allergies is a terrible thing at any time, but it’s especially difficult to be breaking out in hives, sneezing incessantly, and struggling to breathe when you’re supposed to be falling asleep at night. As someone who has suffered from terrible allergies and asthma all of my twenty-nine years, I know that as difficult as it can be, there are steps to take that can help create an allergy-free safe zone in your bedroom to help ease those night-time allergy attacks.
    Erin Roberts
    May 4, 2019
    Inspiration & Ideas for Using Lighting Successfully in a Small Space
    You can add these to your “words to live by” list: never underestimate the power of good lighting. A beautifully decorated room can end up feeling like a cave and that chair you just had recovered in gorgeous flax colored linen can look sickly green if you lack adequate lighting. It’s even more complicated in a small space. Creating the balance between too much and too little light, plus finding fixtures that won’t overwhelm a petite space can take some trial and error.
    Erin Roberts
    May 4, 2019
    Tips For Negotiating a Lease with Exotic Pets
    I am an exotic pet person. This came as quite a surprise to me when I moved to a new city and called a vet specializing in small animals to see if they could fit in one of my guinea pigs who had developed a sneeze during our move, but was told that the vet did not treat “exotic pets”. Surprise! Both of my guinea pigs and my little mouse are exotic pets. I assure you they all felt quite fancy when I informed them of their status.
    Erin Roberts
    May 4, 2019
    Style Forecast: Headboard Trends for 2014 & Beyond
    I’m in the market for a pair of headboards for my guest room. I’ve been scouring local stores, design blogs, and of course many, many online shops in my hunt for the perfect headboard. Here are my notes on the headboard trends of 2014: Headboards are a big commitment and I’m something of a commitment-phobe. Choose the right headboard and you’re rewarded with an attractive focal point and a pleasant place to prop your head.
    Erin Roberts
    May 4, 2019
    Parental Wisdom: 3 Tips for Organizing Your Kitchen Cabinets from My Mom & Dad
    This week marks the start of a new chapter for my mom and dad. After four pleasant years spent in Northern Virginia they’re loading up the car and, along with the dogs, hitting the road for their new home in Atlanta. This isn’t the first, or even the fifth home they’ll be moving into during their thirty-one year marriage, and they’ve become quite adept at quickly and efficiently organizing a new space.
    Erin Roberts
    Oct 2, 2014
    Apartment Therapy Contributor Style: Erin’s Own Bathroom
    Of all the rooms in my home my bathroom is the one I was least inclined to share in this “behind the blog” contributor house tour. It’s not what you’re thinking, I like my bathroom, it has some older fixtures and natural wear and tear, but it’s in pretty good shape and I’ve had fun decorating it. The truth is, my bathroom gets some odd (r.e.
    Erin Roberts
    Aug 27, 2014
    Apartment Therapy Contributor Style: Erin’s Own Bedroom
    My bedroom has long been the catchall spot for old, homeless furniture and items that I just can’t seem to figure out a use for. Any new item, even when purchased specifically for the bedroom, tends to migrate into the more public and more used areas of the home. I suppose my bedroom is a bit of a time capsule for decor and style choices over the years, which as a person with an affinity for nostalgia (as you may noticed in my living room and kitchen tours) suits me just fine.
    Erin Roberts
    Aug 21, 2014
    Apartment Therapy Blogger Style: Erin’s Own Kitchen
    Welcome to the most chaotic, most used, most loved room in my home, my kitchen! Now, this kitchen certainly isn’t the biggest I’ve lived with (That award goes to my first place in Houston. It only had one cabinet, but technically the kitchen was 12 by 15 feet!) or fanciest I’ve ever had (That would be my first kitchen in NYC.
    Erin Roberts
    Aug 13, 2014
    Apartment Therapy Blogger Style: Erin’s Own Living Room
    (Editor’s Note: Day in and out, we love showing off our readers’ style. As a bit of design quid pro quo, this month I asked some of the contributors from the editorial team to share rooms from their own home. Hope you enjoy! – Janel) My first response to the idea of sharing my home on Apartment Therapy was an adamant no. Absolutely not, definitely no, decidedly no.
    Erin Roberts
    Aug 8, 2014
    The Battle of the Bugs: How To Prevent & Get Rid of Pests
    A couple of weeks ago I helped my brother pick out an apartment in Northern Virginia. We found a great one-bedroom in an older apartment complex, recently remodeled, it has ample storage, a large patio, and it’s close to his work. One little problem: we started to move him in and found a roach hanging out in the kitchen cabinet. Then we found another by the sink. And a tiny one was running across the pantry door. Uh-oh, there’s a bug problem.
    Erin Roberts
    Aug 1, 2014
    Keep the Peace: 5 Tips for Making Design Decisions With Roommates
    Oh roommates, they’re best friends, occasionally strangers from the internet, acquaintances, and even sometimes siblings, but they’re always the person you have to get along with, and yes, most importantly live with. Living with roommates presents all kinds of challenges regarding schedules, chores, and design.
    Erin Roberts
    Jul 25, 2014
    DIY Ways to Mask Awful Rental Lighting
    We’ve all been there — you move into a brand new apartment, only to discover that the lighting is hideous and unlivable. And your landlord doesn’t want you to change it. AND it’s virtually cemented to the ceiling, just in case you thought you’d try to change it out anyway.
    Erin Roberts
    Jul 21, 2014
    5 Places to Skimp on an Outdoor Space
    It’s summer — time to get outside and enjoy the season! Time to enjoy that whole extra living room that is your own yard! Now, I don’t have my own outdoor space, but I was raised by an avid gardener and general outdoor enthusiast. He’s also an overall spare-no-expense, let’s just get the “nicest” one kind of guy, except when it comes to his outdoor space. It’s the kind of space, even more so than an interior room, that is truly never finished.
    Erin Roberts
    Jun 27, 2014
    Tips for Sticking to Your Budget: Getting Clothes Shopping Under Control
    Sometimes getting a bargain isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are tons of tips out there for getting a deal on your clothes shopping — shop off season for coats and swimsuits, swing by the store on a Wednesday morning to scope out the new markdowns, use the department store’s extra percentage off coupon, etc.
    Erin Roberts
    Jun 20, 2014
    5 Places Where It’s OK to Skimp on a Paint Job
    Ugh, painting. Just when you think you’ve made a responsible decision and gone with a moderately-priced paint and your project is underway, you realize you need another bucket, or maybe two. And while you’re at it you really could use another roller, and as it turns out cutting in is not your forte so you should probably throw in a few rolls of painter’s tape. It all mounts up quickly.
    Erin Roberts
    Jun 16, 2014
    Best Bargain Buys: 10 Great, Cheap Cleaners
    Good cleaners can be hard to come by. We all want something that’s effective, doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and won’t kill us with toxic fumes. I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to settle for 2 out of 3 on this one.
    Erin Roberts
    Jun 12, 2014
    Best Bargain Buys: 10 Stylish Wallpapers Under $100/Roll
    Wallpaper, the oft-maligned, terribly misunderstood wall covering, is enjoying a much deserved comeback. The days of impossible to hang, doubly impossible to remove old-fashioned ditzy floral nightmares are thankfully in the past. Modern wallpapers are easy to hang, easier to remove, and feature motifs created by popular artists, bloggers, and designers. Of course, these new wonder wallpapers can sometimes come with a hefty price tag.
    Erin Roberts
    Jun 3, 2014
    10 Sources for Good, Cheap Rugs on a Budget — and Many Are on Major Sale
    Beautiful and affordable rugs aren't hard to find if you know where to look.
    Erin Roberts
    May 16, 2014
    Fat Quarter Crafts: 10 DIY Projects that Use Just a Little Fabric
    Crafters are thrifty by nature. There’s a general can-do, can-fix, can-repurpose attitude shared by crafters. We can and will use every single solitary last scrap of material if it is at all reasonable to do so. And every crafter is familiar with the moment after finishing a project; being confronted with the terrible task of deciding if your leftover scraps are reasonable to save or (the horror!) too small and destined for the trash.
    Erin Roberts
    May 9, 2014
    Living Small in the City: Tips for Coping Without Outdoor Space
    Living without outdoor space is the tough trade-off so many of us make in exchange for urban dwelling. Lack of outdoor space isn’t always a bad thing: if you’re unable to care for a yard, are made nervous by the combination of small children and balconies, or generally dislike fresh air and sunshine, you’re in luck. For everyone else, lack of outdoor space can be a real bummer when spring rolls around and there’s nowhere to enjoy it.
    Erin Roberts
    Apr 14, 2014
    Inspiration Roundup: Small Bathrooms with Style
    Tiny bathrooms are a hard fact of life for city-dwellers and lovers of older homes. As petite person (I’m only 5’1″ on a tall day) I don’t mind the tiny sinks and toilets, or the itty-bitty shower stalls, I just see the opportunity to have lots of decorating fun with little commitment!
    Erin Roberts
    Apr 7, 2014
    DIY Project Ideas: 10 Window Treatments for Under $50
    I moved five times in the past nine years: for college (twice), graduate school, and also for work. I once even moved out of a place I loved because my landlord needed to move back in. Among other things, all this moving has taught me that no two homes’ windows are alike, and a new space (or the urge to freshen a current one) can mean a costly adventure in window treatment world. (It’s putting it mildly to say I was sticker shocked when I discovered the price of 118″ drapes.
    Erin Roberts
    Mar 27, 2014
    Tips & Tricks for Smart Storage of Off Season Items
    We’re less than a week away from the official start of spring! With the change of season we start to pull out our lighter jackets and kick off our heavy comforters, and this year it is really none too soon. But with this change comes the dilemma of what to do with the past season’s trappings. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to look at or think about my snow boots one moment longer than I have to!
    Erin Roberts
    Mar 14, 2014
    Get a Head Start!: Spring DIY Projects You Can Do Now
    Spring is almost here! Spring is almost here. Spring is almost here? Right now, like much of the country, this mantra is helping me get through this nasty, seemingly no end in sight, winter. Granted, as a Texan living in the frozen tundra that is New York City, I might be a bit of a winter wimp. Regardless, spring is almost here and it’s time to get your planters ready for cheery blooms, and front doors ready to greet the rain boots and sandals that will soon replace all the winter gear.
    Erin Roberts
    Mar 7, 2014
    Lighting Basics: 8 Practical Tips & Tutorials
    Aunts, uncles, great-uncles, grandparents, cousins— I come from a family overflowing with electricians! Even my father worked as an electrician before earning his architecture degree thirty-something years ago, so it’s safe to say that I’ve spent my life surrounded by people to whom basic lighting changes come easily.
    Erin Roberts
    Mar 6, 2014
    The Complete Guide to Buying, Using & Maintaining Power Drills
    The power drill is, to me, the most essential power tool anyone can have in their collection. It’s always the first thing I unpack after a move. In addition to curtains and blinds, it can also help hang shelves, place anchors for artwork, drill holes for cabinet hardware, and aid in DIY furniture projects. The list could go on forever! Here’s a guide to this indispensable tool. Cordless drill power is measured in volts, with the most powerful models being up to 20 volts.
    Erin Roberts
    Feb 28, 2014
    How to Stay Clean and Organized During Craft Projects
    There’s nothing quite like the feeling of looking up at the completion of a project and realizing that a once perfectly tidy room has been destroyed by some sort of crafting whirlwind. I am usually that whirlwind. I think a lot of us are usually that whirlwind. I’ve put together a few tips to help us all stay clean and organized during future projects. It certainly makes crafting more fun when it doesn’t involve massive cleanup at the end! Start with a clean surface.
    Erin Roberts
    Feb 21, 2014
    Weekend Project: Easy 30-Minute DIY Felt Storage Bin
    This January I am attempting to embrace the way I actually live. It’s time for me to accept that no matter how organized my craft supplies are, regardless of the many bins and drawers all labeled in detail, I will always have a loose pair of scissors and a few bits and pieces of an ongoing project sitting on the table next to my favorite chair. So I’ve made a quick, pretty little storage bin to corral all of those bits that (try as a might!) are always around.
    Erin Roberts
    Jan 26, 2014