CasaSugar

Casa Quickie: Wallpaper a Nook

CasaSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:00:41 -0700

One small change you can make that will cost only the cost of a roll of wallpaper (if that) is simply to wallpaper a nook, rather than an entire room or even a whole accent wall in your home. Christiana Coop of Ferm Living shared images on her blog of a San Francisco apartment styled by Eden & Eden's Rachel Eden. Rachel chose to wallpaper one wall in a small nook of the otherwise predominantly white-walled apartment with Ferm Old News Wallpaper ($94) behind an industrial, stainless steel cabinet. The busy paper used throughout the apartment would be overwhelming, to say the least, but the small dose of pattern is intriguing and subtle.

Cool Idea: A Damask Makeover

CasaSugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:30:18 -0700

Melissa from Sugar City Journal recently made a small change to her staircase that carries a huge visual impact. She scanned a damask fabric into the computer, then digitally enhanced it in PhotoShop. After printing the pattern on paper, she glued the sheets together, laminated them, and then used Modgepodge to glue them to her stairs.

To see a surprise in the pattern, read more.

Melissa says, "If you look closely when walking up these stairs, you might see a few familiar faces hidden amidst the damask. A simple way to bring a smile, as I walk up and down these stairs, one hundred times a day."

Great work! I love the surprising pattern on the staircase; I'm almost wishing I had one to walk up every day, just so I could enhance it as Melissa did.

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Before and After: From Awkward Corners to Splendid Shelves

CasaSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:00:09 -0700

DIYer Paul Smith spent several weekends constructing shelves for the odd, recessed space on either side of his fireplace. He cut wood to size, drilled, glued, clamped, and painted, and came up with something amazing. Here's what it looked like about halfway through the project.

To see what the shelves looked like afterwards, as well as a gallery of in-the-process photos, read more

Paul writes, "I think the shelves look pretty neat now the front room is painted. We have no idea what to use this room for, it's kind of a spare sitting room."

Pretty neat is an understatement, if you ask me. It looks like a great space for sitting, reading, or socializing. What a lovely change this is!

View 6 Photos ›

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Casa Quickie: A Low-Budge Rug

CasaSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 05:30:49 -0700

If you're dismayed by the prices of accent rugs these days, or just looking for an inexpensive solution to pull a room together while you look for the perfect one, I have the answer to your problem-o. Stop by a cheap home furnishing store (Ikea, Bed Bath & Beyond, a local outlet) and pick up two or three small cotton rugs, which you can find for $2 to $10. Then, tape or stitch them together to create a larger accent rug, which would normally cost you upwards of $100.

I once took this project into my own hands with some household duct tape and two $7 rugs from a local linen outlet. No, it doesn't make for the most crave worthy rug, but it's a quick, small change that can make a room look a bit more composed.

View 7 Photos ›

How-To: Make Changes That Don't Cost a Thing

CasaSugar — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:00:14 -0700

I've offered you some inspirational small changes that involve switching out hardware or painting an accent wall, but you don't have to spend money to see some big results! Take a look at my list of ways you can improve your home without spending a dime.

Start a collection. Choose a favorite color or theme, and then scour your home for items that fit. For instance, group white objects such as vases, small trinkets, statues, and bowls together for a surprisingly pretty collection.
Start with your closet, and organize!
Make your lingerie drawer smell lovely by assembling some no-sew sachets out of an old t-shirt or skirt.
Try grouping objects in 3s and 5s.
Take extra glasses or mugs out of your kitchen and use them as stash pots for your makeup, q-tips, and other bathroom necessities.

For other suggestions, read more.

Rearrange a room! It's fun, illuminating, and does your house a world of good. Look what it did for HarmonyFrance's dining room!
If you have a yard, arrange a nontraditional bouquet from tree branches, tall grasses, shrubbery, or a mix of these and flowers.
Clean out your junk drawer.
Take the time to transition your hall closet or entry closet from winter mode to summer mode. Store all of your heavy blankets, winter jackets, and other unneeded items elsewhere, and make room for sunblock, balls, bats, croquet mallets, and other summer necessities.
Switch up your photo display by making a Polaroid trellis. And don't worry - you can use regular photos, too!
If you're tired of some of your furnishings, have a garage sale, then use your extra loot to get something you truly want.

Have other suggestions? Leave them below!

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Su Casa: Show Me Your Casa! Show Me Your Garden!

CasaSugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:00:37 -0700

Do you have some small changes to show off? Or maybe they're big changes, like Jessamae22's first (very successful!) season as a gardener.

Show off all of your home updates in my group on TeamSugar called Su Casa, where readers can share snapshots and stories related to home decorating, crafts, organizing, and gardening.

A Su Casa post could be anything from a photo of a loved one's home to a tiny nook you're tickled by. Think of it as a Look Book for home style. If I see something I like in Su Casa, I might feature it on CasaSugar, so don't be surprised if you get an email from me!

To learn how to join and post in the group, read more.

To join the Su Casa group, just follow this link and click "subscribe" beneath the photo on the lefthand side of the page. Once you're subscribed, click Share in the upper lefthand menu of any TeamSugar page and choose what type of post you want to create. If you have just one photo and some text, create a blog; if you have a gallery you want to share, select "photos."

TeamSugar has a great primer on how to create a blog post, so check that out if you've never posted one before. Here's a rundown of the basic process:

Add a Title and the Body (content for your post). Don't forget to click Check Spelling link and Upload an Image to make your post stand out!
Post this to a group? Click on the dropdown menu and select the Su Casa group. You will only be able to see groups you're subscribed to, so if you haven't joined Su Casa yet, you will need to.
Click on the dropdown menu and choose the Home and Garden Channel and add some keywords (use a comma, if needed!) in the Tags text box. Then click "I'm done" to view your post!

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Cool Idea: Fabric Panels Frame a Bed

CasaSugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:45:33 -0700

Natalie of Technology Drive hung fabric panels adjacent to her bedside table "to enclose the bed area so it didn't feel like it was floating between the living room door and the open closet/hall." This small change successfully delineated bed, giving it a cozy, canopy-bed-like feeling, but is actually a really simple project. It's also a really attractive update; the cherry-blossom pattern of her fabric panel brings an interesting visual element to an otherwise simple room. This would be a great solution for those of you working on decorating a studio. To see the fabric panels from another perspective, read more.

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Su Casa: A Coveted Closet Renovation

CasaSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:00:03 -0700

What girl doesn't long for a big walk-in closet? Well, Haze decided to make that longing a reality when she and her husband remodeled the child's room, located directly off of their master bedroom, and turned it into a walk-in closet. This is definitely much more than a small change, and I admire Haze's hard work and impressive results!

She writes,

I don't have the "before" photos but you'll have to trust me when I tell you that it was a mess. There was a vintage 1970s drop ceiling, paneling, and a cheap-o brass light fixture hanging from the ceiling. Sometime, before my husband and I moved in together, he had decided to "redo" the room on his own and started ripping the paneling off of the walls. The original plaster underneath was all but completely destroyed and it was down to the lathe in many places. We also needed to replace and rerun the the vintage 1930s wires to the outlets in the room.

To find out how she built it, read more.

Haze continues, saying

Drywall was not an option because we wanted to keep the original window and door moldings intact so we settled for a natural wood wainscoting, which we used as paneling. Roll type pink insulation was placed between the studs to help with retaining heat. As this was originally a child's room and not intended as a closet, there are three rather large windows that created quite a problem with the cabinetry. Nothing that was pre-made fit. Even some of the offerings from creative closet organizers did not work in the room properly so we were forced to build the cabinetry ourselves. We also stripped the floors by using a hand sander and about 300 degrees of sandpaper [joke]. The original plaster ceiling was patched and painted. My husband cut and hung the crown molding to finish off the room and make it feel quite finished and comfortable. Overall, the complete remodel took us about 2 months. It was not an easy job but, in the end- and almost three years later - we are thrilled with the results.

Nice work! If you have a project you'd like to share, submit it to the Su Casa group.

Casa Quickie: Switch Out Your Hardware

CasaSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:00:05 -0700

Since it's Small Changes month, I'm a huge proponent of any simple fix-ups that make a huge visual impact on a room. One of these is switching out your hardware, be it finials on your curtain rods and lamps, knobs or handles on your cabinets and drawers, shower curtain loops, switchplates, coat rack hooks, or the numbers on the front of your house. Particularly if you're renting, and have little flexibility in terms of adding color to your
walls or updating old appliances, reassessing your hardware situation can really help you personalize your home. This might mean restraining everything a bit and going for minimal, understated silver knobs, or painting what's already there in a bright, fun color. The great thing about getting new hardware, though, is that you can take it with you when you leave! Check out my prior posts on hardware, and these few pieces that have awesome personality.

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Cool Idea: Ever-Open Laundry Bag

CasaSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:00:44 -0700

I spotted this neat trick on Martha Stewart and was once again impressed with all the clever things you can do with an embroidery hoop! Here, Martha has transformed a traditional, hanging, drawstring laundry bag into an ever-open one by tightening a large embroidery hoop at least 14" in diameter around it. This keeps the bag open so you don't have to wrangle with it, but still allows you to hang it, keeping it off of the floor and at eye level. This small change will make a tedious household task a bit more efficient. Personally, I use the Umbra Crunch Can as a hamper, which is inherently
always open, crunches for storage, and has handles to be hung or transported; but the key is to work with what you've got!
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