#diy

#diy

Creating character and improving function in an existing home is no easy feat - and it can definitely be hard on a budget. So it's no wonder that renters and homeowners alike turn to IKEA when they have big plans but modest funds, as the retailer has long proven its versatility in achieving whatever shoppers have in mind.

This year, it seems like everyone is leaning into nostalgia with their holiday decorations. From old-school colorful lights to tinsel trees, even Ralph Lauren Christmas, I am loving the campiness of it all. The absolute hottest holiday decoration, in fact, is something you might not have thought much about since grade school, and it'll cost you next to nothing, aside from perhaps an afternoon. You might have seen them all over your TikTok feed - that's right, this year's holiday hero is the paper chain garland.

A charcuterie board is a hit at any party, and Sam's Club is selling one that goes beyond a basic board. Right now, you can find a festive, gift-worthy set that includes not only 11 gourmet offerings, but also an engraved, rotating lazy Susan to serve things on. It's a 2-in-1 gift that'll keep on giving, since recipients will be able to keep using the lazy Susan long after they finish the delicious bites featured in the set.

I don't mind losing some time to a DIY project, especially if it's a little update that results in a huge difference in the finished product. While I love the DIY life, I am not a chef by any means. I look at people who spend hours creating elaborate meals and I think, "Don't you know you can pay people to do that for you?," which is, I imagine, what non-DIY-ers think when I tell them I've hand-dyed my bathrobe or refinished a dresser.

Arrakis 3.0 is the latest iteration of Mark Rehorst's sand table experiments, this time designed from the start as a practical coffee table. Under a standard 24-by-48-inch glass top, a steel ball slowly traces patterns in a bed of white sand, guided by a hidden mechanism. From above, all you see is a glowing sandbox under glass, constantly redrawing itself while your coffee sits on top.

I'm always excited when I get a new power tool; I feel like a kid at Christmas. I can't wait to take it out of the box and start working. Of course, I need to be more restrained when testing a product, but my enthusiasm stays the same. The latest addition to my collection is the Black & Decker 18V Brushless Angle Grinder (available from Argos). Having previous experience with Black + Decker tools, I expected this device to be reliable.

When we renovated and extended our house, around 10 years ago now, we were on a tight budget and, given that we had no option but to stay living in the property with two children under four, wanted to get it done and dusted as quickly as possible. Having said that, building an extension while living on site with limited means meant that the whole thing still took around four years from start to finish - you'd have thought that would mean that we got everything we wanted from all our efforts, particularly given that we did most of the work ourselves. Not so.

After painting, Rosaline incorporated lots of artwork on the walls. When it comes to creating a gallery wall, she says there's lots of trial and error involved. "I use a lot of Command strips and let things sit for a day or two before I know whether I'm happy." Her other advice? Vary up size and texture. Rosaline loves mixing sculpture with painting and prints.

My husband, John, and I had been considering moving into a tiny home for a few years before we finally did so in February 2018. The popularity of tiny homes on wheels was significantly smaller than it is now, and it was challenging to find a wealth of information on blogs and social media platforms, such as YouTube. Still, we did our research and due diligence because the idea appealed to us so much.

I already use vertical storage throughout my home (like these wall-mounted hanging produce baskets), but I'd never thought to give the same treatment to a drawer organizer. As Christina Dennis demonstrates on her blog, Cozy DIY Home, a cutlery tray makes an unexpectedly perfect wall-mounted jewelry station. The compartments are ready-made for sorting delicate pieces, and the narrow shape fits in small spaces like a closet or bathroom nook.

The S50 is packed with features: first off, the laser measures out to a whopping 400 ft (120 m) and offers an incredible ±1/16 inch accuracy (and yes, it really is that accurate). It works in all sorts of conditions -- indoors, outdoors, in bright sun, rain, mist, slow, and can even see the laser when it's shone on a low-reflective surface (if the surface has too matte of a finish for the laser to work, you can use ).

We live in a semi-detached, three bedroom house and I have two kids. I wanted to separate my working space from my sleeping space, so that my work set up wasn't one of the first things I saw in the morning, and didn't want to compromise our family space by setting up in the lounge,

From hot apple cider to baked goods in the oven, there's a candle for every fall scent. As much of a sucker as I am for fragrant candles, several years ago I decided to cut down on my candle spending. While my grandma's olla aromática recipes can compete with any high-end candle (and win), I don't always have the time to leave a pot simmering on the stove all day.

When you're shopping for home essentials, coasters are often forgotten about until you spot a ring-shaped stain on your table. Whether you don't own any at all, or are looking to upgrade a plain coaster set you use all the time, this DIY from TikTok is the solution - and gives you something fun to look at every time you pick up your glass.

I have painted (and written about painting!) countless walls in countless colors over my years as both a renter and homeowner. And when I say countless, I really mean countless: A typical room in my house may be painted no less than four times over the course of two years. It's even an ongoing joke with friends when they arrive, acting shocked to see the living room is still the same color as the last time they visited.

I'm big on saving design DIYs from Instagram, but my "saved it" to "tried it" ratio is generally low. One recent exception is the frame mat hack that you've almost certainly seen all over Instagram and TikTok. Whether they're using wallpaper or wrapping paper, everybody seems to be creating their own custom-look frames by repurposing existing frames that are hanging around the house.

Refrigerators have long served as a canvas for creativity in the kitchen, playing host to everything from your favorite travel souvenirs to your child's finest artwork. However, these creative flourishes usually don't reach beyond the boundary of the fridge door - that is, until the trend of fridgescaping came along. The term was first coined by blogger Kathy Perdue in 2011 when she stored her produce in aesthetic containers.

I know a column at the Whitman Plaza Goodwill absolutely hates to see me coming,