Room makeover with a wooden bench, colorful pillows, and a round mirror. Before: plain decor. After: vibrant accents.
Color Lovers Rejoice! 4 Easy DIY Projects to Transform an All-White Room
Inspired by tropical trends and natural woven decor that screams summertime, we’ve created some simple DIY projects that work room-altering magic. Start with a $10 IKEA lamp, a $4 pillow cover, an $8 mirror, and those wire baskets you have lying around—add some basic crafting supplies—and presto, each of these items looks more chic. Whether you do one project or dive in on all four, your home is going to get a serious dose of style. This room features four super-easy upgrades.
Katie Holdefehr
Aug 25, 2016
11 Ways IKEA Can Rescue Your Cluttered Entryway
No matter if you have a non-existent entryway or a spacious foyer, this is one of those spots where clutter seems to pile up before anyone notices. Lucky for us, we can always count on IKEA as an endless source of inspiration for team clutter control. Add one of these hacks or upgrades to your entryway and you’ll gain some extra storage space that also makes a great first impression. When in doubt, wall mount.
Katie Holdefehr
Aug 19, 2016
Try This Super-Simple DIY: Marbled and Ombre Concrete Planters
I’m a huge fan of the concrete and cement planter trend that’s been popping up on DIY blogs for a while now—but while painting the dull gray surface of standard concrete works, I knew there had to be a cooler way of coloring these little plant homes. After some research and hands-on testing, it turns out that the trick is starting with white concrete and stirring in powdered pigments. From there, the sky’s the limit. Marble them, create an ombre stack, go two-tone.
Katie Holdefehr
Jul 25, 2016
The Minimalist’s Approach to Maximum Color: 10 Unexpected Spots to Add a Touch of Paint
There are two ways to work dramatic color into your home: Go for the whole wall, or use little splashes of color for a big effect. The latter takes much less time to achieve and is considerably cheaper (many of the ideas ahead call for just a sample pot of paint), yet it can still create an eye-catching display. The best part of painting a smaller area? It’s much easier to paint over if you change your mind or when it’s time to move out.
Katie Holdefehr
Jul 15, 2016
Calling All Renters: Easy & Reversible Ways to Add Style to Your Bathroom (This Weekend!)
Rental bathrooms are notoriously plagued by ugly (or just plain dated) design decisions. The good news is, there are some simple, reversible ways to cover up what you hate most about this room and add your own style to the space. Introducing color and pattern where you can, and choosing attractive storage lets you put your own touch on a temporary home. It may sound obvious, but in a small rental bathroom, the shower curtain is the first thing you should switch out.
Katie Holdefehr
Jul 8, 2016
No Guest Room? 5 Tricks to Make Visitors Feel at Home
The summer is prime hosting season, but the reality is, many of us don’t have the luxury of owning a guest room to offer to friends and family when they pass through town. Yet even in a small space, there are simple ways to make overnight guests feel more comfortable and welcome in your home—even if they’re just crashing on the couch.
Katie Holdefehr
Jul 5, 2016
How To Make Your Outdoor Space Feel Like Another Room In Your Home (for Less than $100)
As soon as summer hits, you may feel the urge to move everything you own outside so you can live under the sun and stars. Utilizing whatever outdoor area you have is especially important when you call a small space home, because it can give you the dining room, living room, or reading nook your place typically lacks. Whether you have a balcony, a rooftop, or an entire backyard to work with, these $100-or-less details will make it feel like an extension of your home. Give your space a glow up.
Katie Holdefehr
Jul 4, 2016
Bikes & Skis & Surfboards, Oh My: Ingenious Ways to Store Gear in a Small Space
Fitting big hobbies—the type that require a board, a helmet, and maybe even a wetsuit—into a teeny-tiny home can be a tall order. Your best bets for storing this space-hogging gear are to work them into your decor plan or place them in often-overlooked spots (aka hide them in plain sight). Here are nine ways to stash sports gear, without cramping your style. This bike rack from CB2 doubles as a shelf, with a small platform to place your water bottle or helmet on.
Katie Holdefehr
Jun 27, 2016
More is More: How to Display Your Most Treasured Collections
For those collecting maximalists among us—who can’t have just one globe, camera, or milk glass goblet, but seem to amass them by the dozen—here are some creative ways to organize and live with the things you love. All of these ideas keep your most cherished items in sight, incorporating them seamlessly into your decor. This is probably going to become your new favorite spot in your home.
Katie Holdefehr
Jun 27, 2016
Divide & Color: How To Use Paint to Separate Small Spaces
In tiny homes where a single room often serves multiple functions, color can separate a space into zones with different functions. If your bedroom is also your office and your living room is also your dining room, try using paint as a visual divider to section off areas—without sacrificing an inch of livable space.
Katie Holdefehr
Jun 16, 2016
Cluttered is the New Clean: 10 Truths All Messy People Know
“You’re born messy and you die messy, but someplace in between you get bullied into believing that you should be neat and organized,” says writer Jennifer McCartney in her hilarious book, The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place. Bravely rejecting the KonMari method and other trendy tidy-up plans, McCartney proposes a revolutionary (albeit tongue-in-cheek) system for accepting your own clutter.
Katie Holdefehr
Jun 14, 2016
The Art of the Weekender Bag: 9 Secrets to Packing Light
Now that travel season is finally here, it’s time to pull out your weekender bag and refresh your getaway gear. Last year, I was like most New Yorkers—who live in one of the world’s most fabulous cities, but who are absolutely itching to get off the grid the second it’s summer—and tried to book as many weekends away as possible.
Katie Holdefehr
Jun 10, 2016
10 Brilliant Solutions to Make Exposed Pipes Chic
Exposed pipes and radiators—the bane of apartment, loft, and refurbished factory dwellers everywhere. As if it wasn’t bad enough that they prevent you from nudging your bed directly against the wall, they interrupt the look of a space as they sweep across the wall or ceiling. Here’s some inspiration to help you make peace with your pipes by painting them, wrapping them, even hand-knitting them a colorful cozy.
Katie Holdefehr
Jun 7, 2016