Before & After: Adding Style to an IKEA Karlstad Sofa
Whit and Rachael Gardner of Our Mid Century are savvy stylists, whether we are about talking vintage or contemporary furnishings— the post that they shared with us for Home Project month proves it. When the search for an affordable mid century sofa kept coming up dry, they did a complete makeover of an affordable IKEA basic to help it fit in smoothly with their vintage style home. The “after” looks like a totally different sofa!…and the After!
Feb 7, 2011
Before & After: A Demo-Free Bathroom Renovation
I know there are those among you for whom the classic pink-tiled bathroom is a national treasure worth saving at any cost. And while I admire your commitment to preservation and in theory agree with you, in practice I know better — six years ago I bought a pre-War apartment with two pink tiled bathrooms and that turned out to be two too many for me.
Feb 7, 2011
Temporary Window Screens: Inexpensive & DIY
For the last several months my husband and I have had fans in our windows at all times. We had a hard time getting any breeze in them, but because the fans were in place, we hadn’t had a problem with bugs and mosquitoes coming in. As the temperatures dropped this past weekend, we removed the fans and all sorts of creepy crawly and flying friends came in, so it was time for some screens! Off to the hardware store we went!
Sep 27, 2010
Make Your Own Clouds
We spent a fair chunk of Labor Day weekend lazily stretched out on picnic blankets, engaged in imaginative cloud gazing with our son. There’s a hedgehog, a Lego guy, a banana. But yesterday we were in the mood for some more, and not a single patch of condensed water vapor to be seen. So we did the next best thing – we fashioned our own to hang indoors. They took literally minutes to put together, and the effect was surprisingly transporting.
Sep 8, 2010
3 Easy Ways To Dress Up A Metal Bed Frame
Metal framed beds often get a bad wrap, and not without due cause. Pillows are always slouching through the headboard bars, and metal is certainly no match in comfort with its plush upholstered counterparts. Thankfully there are a few easy ways to work around their flaws or change their look without breaking the bank.
Jul 13, 2010
Krista & Zak’s Philadelphia Art Hotel
Name: Krista Peel and Zak Starer of Philadelphia Art HotelLocation: East Kenzington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Size: 1,700 square feet — 3 story brick rowhouse Years lived in: 9 months If there’s one thing we know right off the bat — Krista and Zak are not afraid of color! In fact, they embrace it and use it in every square inch of their home.
Jun 3, 2010
What Color Is Your Holiday? Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa
With the city festooned in red and green for the holiday season, it seemed like an appropriate time to wonder how these colors came to be associated with Christmas, how blue and white became the official colors of Hanukkah, and what symbolism black, green, and red have during Kwanzaa. The Christmastime significance of the color green is partly related to the evergreen tree, seen as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection and eternal life.
Dec 17, 2009
Close Up: Adam’s Sleek Basement Office for Two
Name: Adam SelwoodLocation: Melbourne, Australia Now here’s inspiration to clean out that basement or attic and make better use of the space. Adam was kind enough to share his work-in-progress renovation, a DIY conversions of a basement once stuffed to the brim with typical “stuff” into a sleek and multi-use home office for both him and his wife.
Jul 10, 2009
Tech Myth: Holding the Car Remote to Your Head Increases Its Range
This entry comes to you courtesy of the fact that I’ve heard this maybe-myth told to me more than once in the past few weeks my friends and complete strangers alike. My car’s keyless entry remote, for lack of a better word, sucks. I practically have to be next to the car to get it to work. Alas, plenty of the aforementioned people have given me the tip to hold the remote to my chin with my mouth slightly open to increase the range of the remote signal.
May 4, 2009
Close-Up: Über Organized Craft Room with a Touch of Tech
click for more picsCrafty IntentionsShe painted the space from a harsh purple to Jamaican Sea from Behr, then installed Ikea Lack shelves to hold all her crafty goods including, rhinestones, sequins, little fabric trim, beads, metal and wood accessories, etc. pom poms, tools and glitter.The bottom shelf includes stair-like levels Megan got at Lowes. These allow her to store more small jars in the space.
Apr 8, 2009