Rather than fall cleaning, we usually embark on a couple weeks of fall decluttering. We round up any unwanted items that have been collecting over the last few months and send them on their way. For those who are cleaning out the junk drawer or hauling donation boxes out the door, we've rounded up a list of common household items that can be recycled...
This is the flip-side of our earlier post on bikinis, dresses and socks for chairs. Whereas those pieces were made to (literally) dress up furniture, these designs are upcycled from old jeans, belts, jackets, and sweaters...
There's something about perpetual calendars that's at once comforting and unnerving. Maybe it's the physical representation of time continuing to move forward, in the words of David Byrne, "same as it ever was." When you look at a calendar that's been counting the days for fifty years or more, you really feel the march of time...
Here in Chicago, the cold winters can make for high heating bills and lots of energy use, so we were happy to hear Governor Pat Quinn announce that a chunk of federal stimulus money will go to Illinoisans who need money to weatherize their homes. Projects that could qualify for funding include insulation, weather-stripping, and repairs to windows and doors. To find out how to weatherize your home (even if you don't live in Illinois) click below...
Large-scale art can anchor a room, act as a great conversation-starter, and even make a small space seem bigger, but it's not always affordable. If you're looking for ways to make a big impact on a small budget, get creative and look for found objects that be repurposed as wall art...
What's not to like about rope light? It's cheap, easy to install, and available in energy-efficient LED format. If you're looking for a way to light your kitchen cabinets, add some ambience to a bedroom, or make your own party decorations, it's one of the simplest tools you can use...
Last week at Cersaie, we were intrigued by the projects on view at "Green Street," an exhibition that highlighted the way landscapers and architects are (or in some cases aren't) addressing sustainability in Italy. The "Violetta" cabin, designed by Italian firm Cibic & Partners in collaboration with Dogtrot and H16, is an experiment in living with a minimal amount of stuff...
This standard-looking shed is only about 9 x 7 feet, but it's large enough to house a desk with double screens, a generously sized cabinet, and a task chair—everything you need for a functional home office...
Now that the days are getting a little cooler, we're looking forward to entertaining at home and warming up our guests with a nicely stocked bar. Instead of buying a brand new liquor cabinet, why not go green (and maybe save some cash in the process) by repurposing a vintage or thrift store find into a home bar?
We always forget what a nice, industrial look tin cans have when they're stripped of their labels. Before tossing them into the recycling bin, think about repurposing a few of them for a project...
Yesterday was the first (official) day of fall and we're past the time when we should be writing about tents, but we're feeling a little wistful about the passing of summer. As we cross the threshold into autumn, we're taking a glace backward at some inspiring outdoor structures...
Plants are one of the most multi-purpose things we can bring into our homes. They improve our air quality, bring color and life to a space, and sometimes even provide us with food or flowers. They're also a great way to decorate an empty corner or an open space that needs a boost...
Re-upholstering furniture is a great way to customize your home, and allows you to reuse old pieces. If you want to take the idea of customization one step further, we've seen some interesting approaches that you definitely won't see in everyone else's home...
Amy’s home (shown above) contains some great ideas for repurposing objects, like these small plastic ice buckets that she used as planters. They’re cheap, colorful, and double-walled to keep moisture from condensing on surfaces. Her creative re-use inspired us to think of a few more ideas (besides the obvious) for using ice buckets at home…
We hadn't really thought of IKEA's Trofast system as something to use outside of a kid's room until a reader mentioned repurposing it as a recycling station. Since then, we've noticed lots of different recycling ideas within the IKEA catalog, some of them obvious and some not so much...
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