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Gregory Han

Los Angeles, CA

A Los Angeles native, Gregory’s interests fall upon the relationship between design, nature, and technology. His resume includes art director, toy designer, and design writer. Co-author of Poketo's "Creative Spaces: People, Homes, and Studios to Inspire", you can find him regularly at Design Milk and the New York Times Wirecutter. Gregory lives with his wife Emily and their two cats—Eames and Eero—in Mt. Washington, California, curiously investigating the entomological and mycological.
6 Affordable and Easy Ways to Add Lighting to a Closet Without Wiring
The renter-friendly solution to dark closets.
Gregory Han
Mar 16, 2022
This Bull Horn Ship Model Reminds Me Of My Father’s Memory and My Mom’s Sacrifice
Comfort Decorating
It's a mid-century design that's more tchotchke than heirloom—but I consider it possibly the most valuable item in my possession.
Gregory Han
Aug 18, 2020
7 Secret Spots to Hide Valuables at Home
A friend of mine was recently burglarized. Their place was completely ransacked in the process and several valuables were stolen. Fortunately, a few of the most precious items were left unscathed because they were hidden away in a small storage safe disguised as a book, hidden in a pile of other hardbound copies.
Gregory Han
Oct 10, 2014
What’s the Best Way to Convert Audio Cassettes into MP3s?
Q: During my recent stay and visit with my parents, I was told there was a good chance they were going to be moving out of the country after retiring soon, and that I should check out all of my old boxes for things I wanted to keep before they put it all into the donation pile. I discovered a cache of once loved old audio cassettes, many of them mixtapes I made back in high school and college. What’s the best way to get these mixes from analog to digital file format?
Gregory Han
Nov 19, 2013
The Ideal, Safest Temperature to Set the Water Heater Is…
Now the daily temperatures have dipped down into the “gotta put on some socks and a sweater” range, it also means I’ve been adjusting morning showers or post-workout baths into the steamy-hot triple digits.
Gregory Han
Nov 19, 2013
Before & After: DIY Slab Marble Desk
Marble countertops have become part of the renovation/decor vernacular thanks to TV makeover shows (though a distant second to the ever-popular granite countertop). But despite marble’s beauty, it’s rarely mentioned as a material for DIY projects because of its weight and cost, which makes this custom made midcentury inspired home office project unique… Redditor yourpalthomps combined four materials into his very own handsome midcentury-inspired desk.
Gregory Han
Nov 14, 2013
How To Convert Your Favorite Song Into a Color Palette
Have you ever closed your eyes and imagined which colors of the spectrum would visually represent your favorite songs? And would you consider painting a room using those colors? I imagine Vivaldi’s Concerto for Cello in G exploding in a blur of greens and yellows, the Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas an ethereal dripping-swirl of deep reds and purples, Pete Rock & C. L.
Gregory Han
Nov 6, 2013
Before & After: TV Nook Upgraded Into a Home Entertainment Center
Renting almost guarantees you’ll be living and working around compromises, and perhaps nowhere more so than when it comes to planning a home entertainment setup. Awkward layouts can prove a challenge, especially when you can’t move or tear down walls like a home owner.
Gregory Han
Nov 5, 2013
Before & After: Dial D-I-Y With Vintage Phone Bookend Project
I might belong to the last generation who grew up using these touch tone style handset telephones (aka, the Trimline). I see them pop up regularly at thrift stores, yard sales, and on eBay. They’re commonly found stored away in garages, attics, and closets, disconnected and forgotten.
Gregory Han
Nov 4, 2013
Quick Tip: Use a Salad Spinner For Quickly Drying Small Clothing Items
Here’s a quick tip I learned from friends who regularly go car camping: they always bring a large size salad spinner with them, just in case they find themselves needing to wash, then dry a t-shirt, socks, or intimates… I’ve got several technical synthetic material athletic shirts, socks, and tights/sleeves I prefer to hand wash and hang dry throughout the week immediately after workouts (they can accumulate a funk quickly, the sweat hog I am).
Gregory Han
Nov 4, 2013
Cheap IKEA Storage & Charging Solution For Multi-Tablet Households
It’s not uncommon to find homes today with two, three, maybe even four separate tablets and/or laptops used by individual household members.
Gregory Han
Oct 31, 2013
Before & After: A Frumpy to Fabulous Reupholstered Couch Tranformation
She saw the late 1960’s couch sitting there at the local thrift shop, covered in a yellow satin paisley flower patterned fabric which she immediately deemed “very not cool”. Yet something about the style spoke to her as “hella fabulous” (her words, not mine).
Gregory Han
Oct 24, 2013
5 Ways To Light Up Drawers with LEDs
Working from a home office carved out from a dark converted living room closet means even with a desk lamp and overhead lighting, there are times when I need a little extra illumination to light my way while fumbling for a flash drive or a pen. LED strip lighting installed on the inside of drawers and cabinets solves the problem.
Gregory Han
Oct 18, 2013
Before & After: Vintage Suitcase Now Packed For Portable Audio
Old leather suitcases or briefcases from decades ago are commonly found in varying states at garage sales, thrift shops, and vintage stores across the nation, popular DIY fodder for an array of upcycle projects like this and this.
Gregory Han
Oct 17, 2013
Before & After: The Converted Closet Floating Desk Home Office
Coltography’s closet home office was already a space efficient and streamlined affair, with cables and wires thoughtfully routed through the wall from PC to a trio of wall-mounted screens. But with improvement in mind, this industrious gent set out to eke out even more usable desk space with an impressive modification merging desk with computer… As a person with a tiny room, I have used my closet as my desk space.
Gregory Han
Oct 11, 2013
Take the Test: Can You Tell the Difference Between High & Low Quality Audio?
It was all the way back in 2007 when I posted about converting the very last of my remaining CD collection into digital file format. I wasn’t yet as well versed in high audio file formats back then, settling for 128-192kbps quality MP3s.
Gregory Han
Oct 10, 2013
Why You Should Consider An Automated Pet Feeder
Do you know what your cat or dog most looks forward to in life? Just a whiskers width after a tummy rub and your loving attention – and maybe tied for a walk to the park for canines and laser pointer playtime for felines – is the sound of kibbles being poured or a can of food being opened… In our two cat household we’re faced with the dilemma of balancing the habits of one picky grazer and another cat who tends to eat kibbles like a whale shark.
Gregory Han
Oct 9, 2013
Before & After: A Novelist’s Home Office Takes a Step Up
What happens when you find yourself in need of an area to call an “office”, but the layout and/or space inside your home doesn’t offer delineated work and live boundaries? That’s the issue general contractor Tim Logsdon faced when helping set up a home office in Atlanta, Georgia for a novelist who needed somewhere to write.
Gregory Han
Oct 8, 2013
Before & After: IKEA EXPEDIT Transformed Into Rustic TV Console
Who hasn’t owned an IKEA EXPEDIT shelving unit at one time or another? These shelves are to storage like Keds and Vans are to sneakers: basic, affordable, and available in plain white. But maybe you’ve had one for awhile now and are itching to change things up and customize it with a little more character beyond the plain old white finish. Check out how one EXPEDIT owner hacked his cabinet into something with more rugged character.
Gregory Han
Oct 3, 2013
64 Square Feet: Writer Lived Inside Astor Place Cube in New York City
The Astor Place Cube, also known as the “The Cube” or by its official name “Alamo”, is an iconic outdoor sculpture by artist Tony Rosenthal. Located at the busy intersection of Lafayette Street and 8th Street in New York City, it’s hard to miss.
Gregory Han
Oct 1, 2013
How To Remove a Stripped Screw Without an Extractor
image:e4471c14063691b3b4999905f48d87bfe81e71bd w:540 s:"fit" class_name:"mt-image-center" show_pin_button:"true" show_image_credits:"true" Almost everyone who has worked on a DIY or renovation project has applied too much torque and stripped a screw head clean. It can feel like a frustrating dead end, especially if you don’t have a specialized extractor kit on hand.
Gregory Han
Sep 27, 2013
How To Reuse a Digital Satellite Dish for Free Over-the-Air TV Channels
Maybe you’ve decided to stop subscribing to a digital satellite cable provider to save money, but still have one of those large pizza sized dishes sitting on top of your home/building doing diddly-squat.
Gregory Han
Sep 24, 2013
How to Wall Mount a Television As a Renter
The dilemma: you’ve got a brand new super flat panel HDTV and you want to wall mount it for space efficiency and an uncluttered setup. The problem: you’re a renter and you’re not allowed to drill into walls. The solution: build a false wall!
Gregory Han
Sep 9, 2013
Before & After: IKEA CD Storage Racks Turned Into Gadget Display
Not only does this IKEA Hacker project by Huib von Essen reuse and refresh three discontinued IKEA BOALT CD racks, but the solution even incorporates 15 clear empty CD cases as transparent shelves for displaying small items (on a related note, CD racks installed horizontally also work great as toy shelving/display) …and you know you’ve got at least a few of those empty cases laying around somewhere.
Gregory Han
Sep 5, 2013
A Classic, Cheaper: Affordable Uten.Silo Alternatives
This weekend a friend and I found ourselves deep in the discussion of the always entertaining topic of, “if I had all the money in the world” scenario, specifically about organizing and furnishing our ideal home office/maker studio. At one point both of us blurted out the very same design while describing our ideal workspace storage: the Uten.Silo wall organizer… Designed by Dorothee Becker in 1969 and reissued by Vitra, the Uten.
Gregory Han
Sep 4, 2013
5 Ways To Burglar-Proof Your Front Door
There’s been a small wave of burglaries and petty theft around our neighborhood the last few months, several happening right through the front door of local homes.
Gregory Han
Aug 29, 2013
Before & After: The $5 New Upholstery Office Chair Makeover
I just bid farewell to our last task chair review sample, noting as much as I found this and other new models comfortable in different ways, my tried and true task chair I purchased way back in 2008 keeps proving to be the most comfortable. But after years of daily use, the chair has definitely seen better days.
Gregory Han
Aug 26, 2013
Before & After: Desk Made from an IKEA Bed Base
Drop by IKEA’s as-is section, any thrift store, Goodwill, or yard sale, and you’ll eventually run into one of these wooden slat bed bases.
Gregory Han
Aug 23, 2013
Before & After: Shannon’s $10 Midcentury Modern Desk Makeover
The compact shape, characteristic midcentury tapered wooden legs, and bargain price all caught Shannon’s eagle eyes at a yardsale, immediately convincing her this worn and roughened desk had yet another life to live in her living room after a serious makeover…I decided that a fun dose of bright color was just what it needed to really come to life!
Gregory Han
Aug 15, 2013
Before & After: Molly’s Custom Fit Wall Mounted Shelving Unit
Gregory Han
Aug 13, 2013
Is There a Way to Auto Refresh My Twitter Feed?
Q: I’ve been using Twitter for a while now, but I realized there might be any easier way for me to refresh my feed throughout the day instead of pressing “refresh” intermittently (I like to get all my news headlines via Twitter). Is there something I can use to refresh my feed periodically?Sent by JohnEditor: There are several options to avoid repetitive refresh keyboard presses!
Gregory Han
Aug 9, 2013
Before & After: Vintage Cabinet Reborn As a Midcentury TV Stand
The beauty of thrift store finds is in many cases their affordable price and less than ideal condition frees their owners from preconceived notions of how and where to use furniture within the home.
Gregory Han
Aug 1, 2013
Before & After: Improving a Window Air Conditioner View
On those unbearably hot days I really need to turn on our apartment’s window air conditioner I’m certainly thankful I installed it. But for the majority of the year the air conditioner is an unsightly presence, blocking a third of the view looking outside our windows and keeping desirable light from entering…A Brooklyn designer decided it was time to give eyesore window air conditioners a visual makeover.
Gregory Han
Jul 29, 2013
How Do I Remove Permanent Marker From a Laptop Screen?
Sent by AngelaEditor: First try using a pink eraser to remove the mark. If the marker stain proves stubborn, a mixture of 1 part isopropyl rubbing alcohol with 2 parts water (you make have to tweak this proportions) can also remove the stain.Ironically, using a black dry erase marker over the permanent marker can also help remove Sharpies marks, due to the solvent in the formula!Leave any additional suggestions for Angela in the comments below.
Gregory Han
Jul 24, 2013
Can I Repair a Scratched Camera Lens?
Sent by JeanieEditor: Believe it or not, some people have been able to use (smooth) peanut butter and/or toothpaste to remove scratches from lenses, using the slightly abrasive quality of each to gently buff out scratches.
Gregory Han
Jul 11, 2013
The Virtual Barber Shop Makes Your Ears Tingle While Testing Headphones
Those who’ve grown up going to a barbershop will recognize many of the sensations connected to getting a haircut: the scarf-like comfort of the tissue and silk cape wrapped around the neck, the smell of the mysterious blue liquid where combs reside perfuming the air, and of course, the ghostly head and neck tickling sensation of scissors and clippers dancing around the head.
Gregory Han
Jul 1, 2013