Photo Art Unique photos are a great way to decorate your home. Here’s how to make this photo art image titled “Oatmeal Drops.” There’s also a post showing how to make art using reflected light on a CD. 1. Place organic oatmeal in a small bowl and pour boiling water on it. There should be […]
This no-sew pillow slipcover idea is for people who not only don’t own a needle or thread but don’t know what they are. What You Need                         What You Don’t Need Ugly square pillow of your choice          Needle Fabric: approximately twice the            Thread   dimensions of the […]
The reason I ask is – I can’t find them anywhere. When I started looking I figured they would be everywhere from designer stores to Lowe’s and Home Depot at very reasonable prices – whomever – I found one place in NYC who would do them custom for $1,000 a door. I was thinking, not […]
It can be a real pleasure to spend a relaxing evening at home sitting by the fireplace with the love of your life… until you realize that somebody accidentally knocked over a bottle of wine. You could spend the rest of the night with a can of carpet spray-foam cleaner scrubbing away the stain and […]
Last week we had a chance to talk to our friend and fellow Minnesotan Garrick Van Buren on his First Crack Podcast. You can listen to the interview online. We talked about our reasons for starting Curbly, our process for developing the site, and some of our plans for the future. check it out! Related: […]
Ever wondered how to clean and restore that great vintage plastic orb lamp or telephone you found, maybe even your storm door or CDs? Ever wonder how can I maintain new plastic items I buy so they always look new as the day I bought them, even my kids toys? Â One of the most […]
I’ve been collecting magazine and online clippings for many a year, just waiting for the day when I had a blank slate to decorate all my own. That day draws near, I’ll be moving into a new artists loft this spring. It will have brick on one wall, and the others will be drywall. It […]
Although the illuminated vessels of undulating goo, known as Lava Lamps, have reached middle age they’re still as sexy as every. We should all be so lucky.  From the Mind of a Nudist Inventor, WWII vet and raging nudist, Edward Craven Walker, while tippling at an English pub, spied a lamp “…made out of […]
My quest for the (near) perfect bathroom rug has FINALLY paid off, and I got a good deal, no less! My bathroom is a very strange amalgam of design choices. My obessions with Koi fish and seashells are well represented, but my towels are a deep royal blue. So blue, orange, and tan have been […]
My favorite way to change up my living room decor is to add new pillow covers. It can update the room surprisingly quickly. Here’s a pattern for the easiest pillow covers you can imagine. You don’t even need a sewing machine, you can do this with a little hand stitching and “stitch witchery“. Firstly, Ikea […]
Like many people, I imagine, I don’t have a fireplace or a mantel, so I am sort of at a loss as to where to hang the stockings for a family of 4. It seems weird to have them just stuck on the wall with hooks or something, but I am not sure what else […]
Before we get to the happy ending, we should really discuss how to stay out of jail while undertaking a flip. Notes on Owner-Occupied versus Non-Owner-Occupied If you buy a house, move into it and remodel it, you can do all the work yourself–including all the electrical and plumbing. However, if you buy the house […]
If you’ve been following this post, you’ve probably guessed that we hired out very little work. We did, however, hire a few tradespeople along the way. People, People Who Need Trades-People Time being money, we chose to hire a sheet rocker who was able to hang 50 sheets of rock in the basement in eight […]
As we covered approximately 2000 feet of molding and 20 six-panel composite doors, it was was necessary to employ several tricks to keep our sanity. Painting Tips That May Prevent Insanity  Since we had removed the baseboard moldings where we were going to install the hardwood floor, we were able to paint the walls […]
This is Part II of the Marilyn Frank/F2 interview. Part I is here. In this part, Marilyn tells us how to incorporate her design ideals into interior design.  Judging from the picture on your profile, your apartment also seems to capture what you’re going for in your work: light, form, color and context. How […]
With the cabinetry ordered and the house gutted, we started construction. Well, one of us did, as walls needed to be framed in the unfinished basement. While that was attended to, three of us started the never ending painting process. Prep-Work But before brush touched pigment, we removed all light switches, registers, doors (except the […]
This was this past weekend’s project… though obviously it’s not quite finished yet (no photos in the frames). But it’s been on the to-do list for a while, so it’s nice to finally see it up. We’ve always liked the Picture Wall system, but at $350 for a 3′ x 5′ section (when we knew […]
Any advice on how to refinish a wood chair? I’m looking to purchase a pair of Windsor chairs off of Craigslist and plan to give them a glossy coat of lacquer. Any idea how I would do this? Specifically any advice on the type of sandpaper and the type of paint i would need?
The short version: Find the money to buy a depressed property in a great location, and then work your behind off. The long version: In our case, we exercised a line a credit against the equity in our home to come up with the funds. That only provide for half of what we needed, so […]
Alicia found these great magnetic flower vases that amaze your dinner guests by balancing implausibly on the table-top. Unfortunately, the price tag was also implausible ($42 dollars!). Â So, in true Curbly fashion, we decided to do it ourselves. Here’s the video, details and links are below. Â Like this video? Â For those of you […]
