TheDesignFile

DIY: Bookcase makeovers to swoon over

Almost everyone has had one of those particle board bookcases or entertainment centers at some point in their lives.

You know, the ones you buy in college or for your first apartment. They cost about $150 and you put them together with plastic hardware. A few years -- and often a few moves -- later they barely hold your TV and are headed for the trash.

But what if you could make that cheap piece of furniture into something stylish and practical?

That's just what I found at the Better Homes and Gardens web site as part of a slide show of bookcase makeovers.

You can see it above: The knock-down entertainment center becomes a fantastic laundry organizer!

It's a great idea and not the only one at the BHG site.

The slide show includes several suggestions for remaking a narrow, unfinished bookcase. One of those ideas is at right.

"To transform this bookcase into a cupboard, add a pair of pretty shutters with a touch of country character," BHG says. "After sanding, priming, and painting the pieces, hang the shutters on the bookcase with cabinetry hinges. Top it off with a forge-iron shutter bolt to secure the doors closed."

Nice!

Want to see more ideas? Check out the slide show here.

DIY: Use grommets to turn a sheet into a curtain

Yesterday, I wrote about the Design Dilemma faced by Indy resident Kat who is trying to figure out window treatments for a big bay window.

The post made me think about this great DIY project by the talented Shelly Leer of Flipt Studio (also known as ModHomeEcTeacher on the great blog Curbly).

Shelly shows us how to turn a flat sheet into a shower curtain using grommets (with results that can look a lot like the Urban Outfitters shower curtain at right).

But I think the same lesson could be used to turn a sheet or other fabric into modern curtain panels -- especially if you use larger grommets. You could even add grommets to an existing curtain panel to give it a much more modern look.

So thanks to Shelly for allowing me to repeat her post:

Turn a Flat Sheet Into a Grommet Topped Shower Curtain

Generic shower curtains are a dime a dozen at Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond and Target, right?

Here’s a little secret: Buy a full sized flat sheet with a snazzy graphic design (like the one at left from CB2) and convert it into a custom shower curtain for your re-decorated bathroom.

Standard sized shower curtains measure approximately 72″ x 72″. If you purchase upholstery or apparel fabric, you’ll have to buy at least 4 1/2 yards, and your choices of fabric may be limited.

However, you can easily cut down a flat sheet, hem the sides, top, and bottom, add grommets and you’ll have a knock-out shower curtain in no time.

Photos above compliments of Curbly.com.

This is how you use a full sized flat sheet to make a 72″ x 72″ shower curtain. Be sure to measure your own shower to determine what size sheet you’ll need to use.

Here’s what you do:

A worthy fundraiser with a great DIY idea

One of my favorite parts of the Indianapolis Home Show -- which is going on now at the Indiana State Fairgrounds -- was a fundraiser for The ReStore of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

One hundred students from Broad Ripple (my husband's alma mater) and Crispus Attucks high schools painted 50 hollow core doors, which are now for sale as part of the Doorways to Dreams project.

The project showcases some talented students while benefiting The ReStore, a shop that sells new and gently used home improvement products at significant discounts.

The painting at right was done by Broad Ripple students Eric Thurman & Diana Flores. Beautiful!

Below are paintings by Justin Coelho of Broad Ripple (left), Broad Ripple art teacher Ms Tyte (center) and Eric Thurman & Diana Flores of Broad Ripple (right).

To buy one of these doors, contact tgraves@indyhabitat.org.

This project also offers a great DIY idea.

A hollow core door is an interior door made that has a frame faced with a thin plywood or composite wood. It is, obviously, hollow, which makes it light and cheap -- about $25 to $35 at your home improvement store, depending on the size and quality.

That makes it a cheap "canvas" for a painting that can really set the tone of a room. And although the Indianapolis students all created vertical paintings, they would make for a fantastic horizontal painting, something to hang over a sofa or headboard.

And the best part is that if you mess up your painting, you can can just cover the door with primer and start over!

Meanwhile, check out this video of the Indianapolis students working on their doors.

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for a blog LINK UP! Give us your favorite recent post...

Sunday roundup: Game art, wallpapers & more

I was introduced through Twitter last week to Infarrantly Creative, a fun blog that features crafts and other projects and is written by Beckie, a mom who lives in the Indianapolis suburb closest to my city home. (Thanks to Laura at ChambanaMoms.com for the intro!)

I was particularly struck by Beckie's "Game Board Storage Art" project, which is just what it sounds like.

Beckie framed some of her family's favorite board games to serve as art in the game room and then stored the game pieces in a recess in the back. Brilliant!

You can find complete instruction's at the Infarrantly Creative post. But if you don't have all tools or skills to try it Beckie's way, try this same project with some pre-made frames.

Here are some other great links to check out:

• Another fellow Hoosier blog, Atomic Indy, has a great preview of this month's 20th Century Cincinnati mid-century furnishings show.
• The beautiful Colour Me Happy blog had a wonderful post about what she calls happy colors. "The colours we are decorating with in 2010 are from a fresher and cleaner palette, which are happy colours!" designer Maria Killam says in the post.
• One of my favorite blogs, Splendid Willow, has a post showcasing some phenomenal wallpaper selections, including beautiful options from the Swedish store Tapetorama. The post includes the geometric Alhambra Quasi Nero paper at right.

Make sure to join us next Sunday for a blog linkup!

DIY: Turn plain paper lanterns into modern lights

I just can't wait every week to see what Monica Ewing over the at the DIY Craftynest blog will post, and as soon as I saw this project, I knew I had to show it to you here.

Monica turned a pair of old IKEA white lanterns into one-of-a-kind modern light fixtures.

She used white poinsettia garland she bought during the after-Christmas clearance sales at Michael’s and some pom pom fringe she had leftover from a previous project.

"Now I can't decide which lantern I like best," she said.

Get the step by step instructions for these lights at the Craftynest post and thanks to Monica for letting us post the project at The Design File!

Sunday roundup: DIY posts to spark your creativty

The blogosphere has just seemed filled with amazing DIY projects of late and so I thought I'd use today's roundup to provide links to a few of my favorites.

First up is this fantastic project by blogger Maria Jones that was featured on the always beautiful Design*Sponge site.

Maria saw what she called "a drop dead gorgeous" nailhead zebra console table at Horchow for $3,000. And although she loved the piece, it was just too expensive.

So she made her own! That's right, she made her own nailhead zebra console table. Amazing!

You can see the inspiration piece on top at right and Maria's version on the bottom. Isn't it fantastic? And she spent less than $100.

See more photos and read how she did it at the Design*Sponge post.

And thanks to Grace at D*S and Maria for letting me use the photos here.

Here are some other great DIY posts to check out:

• Thrifty Decor Chick -- a blog by Sarah, a fellow Hoosier -- had a fun post about her new kitchen pendant, which is copied from a Ballard Designs light. She takes you step by step through making it.

• Bethany at the b*spoke blog had a simple but stylish project turning a garage sale picture frame into a great chalkboard. She provides all the info you need to make your own -- for next to nothing.

• The blog Thousand Square Feet had a well-written tutorial for making a tufted headboard. It's just excellent and the resulting headboard is gorgeous!

• Finally, I wanted to include this beautiful chair redo by Sherry at No Minimalist Here. This was my first trip to the blog but it won't be my last. I think you'll be visiting again soon after you take a look at the before and after of these great chairs. Thanks to Sherry for letting me use the photos here.

Make pillows for a quick, affordable update

Today I'm so honored to have a guest post from Brooke, who writes the All Things Thrifty blog with friend Kallie.

It's a fantastic blog about decorating inexpensively and this post tells you how to save big bucks by making your own pillows, which is a simple but incredibly effective way of spicing up a tired room or changing it up for the seasons.

Thanks to Brooke for allowing us to use the post here!

Why make your own pillows...

Kallie and I have been making our own pillows for years.

Here are the reasons why you should make your own pillows:

1. They are MUCH cheaper to make than to buy. Let's be honest here, great looking pillows cost right around $25.00 each...maybe even more. Yes, you can luck out every so often and find a sweet deal or a clearance item. But, in order to get what you really want, making a pillow is easy, I promise.

A great idea for last-minute gift wrappers

If you've put off your gift wrapping until the last minute, Monica at Craftynest has a terrific idea for making easy and festive packages that are sure to impress family and friends.

Using canisters -- like those that hot chocolate, coffee or some snacks come in -- Monica has created a reusable container that will hold a variety of smaller objects.

"Here, I covered them in gift wrap and tied on ribbon—and they can be reused year after year to hold anything from cookies to socks," Monica writes in her post. "Or you could wrap them in everyday decorative paper and use them as pencil holders or storage containers. I just thought they were too cute to toss."

Go to the Craftynest post for the supply list and detailed instructions. And thanks Monica for posting such a great idea!

DIY: An easy, mod snowflake garland

I just love the DIY blog Curbly -- and last week featured the site's new book -- because it always has great projects at all skill levels.

Here's one, though, that anyone could try. This snowflake garland will provide a nice little pop in almost any home, but it's especially appropriate for a modern or vintage space.

Vases filled with ornaments let mantel sparkle

After using the same traditional Christmas mantel decor for several years now, I decided to change things up with a design I hoped would be striking and modern.

My design was inspired by a simple centerpiece I made several years ago -- a glass bowl full of red ornaments and beads.

My new plan was incredibly simple. The tough part was having enough glass containers and the sparkly stuff to fill them up.

I was lucky that last year I bought bunches of beads, garland and ornaments on clearance after Christmas. In fact, I'd completely forgotten about most of the purchases until -- while pulling out my storage boxes after Thanksgiving -- I came across one marked "new ornaments." Woo-hoo!

I also changed the color scheme of my porch Christmas tree this year -- from white, red and silver to copper, orange and gold. That left me with some white and silver ornaments and garland to use.

I did need to buy some bowls and vases. I had a few already and then a quick trip to Walmart took care of the rest. I bought a couple trifle bowls, hurricanes and small desert cups. I think I spent less than $20 for about six glass containers, which nearly filled out the mantel.

I added a couple gold candle holders and tapers for height, laid a couple strands of garland around the containers and then added a few sparkly stars and snowflake ornaments along the base.

Finally, I hung the evergreen garland and lights that I usually put on top of the mantel in front of it, using some Command adhesive strips. I love those things! Then I wrapped a bow and ribbon around a top corner of my mirror, a little touch to once again bring in some height and sparkle.

I love the results and it's always fun to have a little something different at Christmastime.