BellaSugar -- You're beautiful.

Before and After: A Humble Shutter Gets Its Due

casasugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:15:01 -0700

I found these cool, untreated, wood shutters at Urban Ore, an architectural salvage yard in Berkeley. While I didn't exactly know what I was going to do with them, I knew that I'd think of something, so I dragged a few of them home.

Curious as to what I came up with? Then

DIY: Make Your Own Eco Outdoor Fire

casasugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:00:51 -0700

As the nights get chillier, many of us crave the warmth of an outdoor fire, but might be concerned about the pollutants that a roaring wood fire produces. Leave it to green designer Michelle Kaufmann to create a solution to this problem. She's come up with a great, inexpensive, and very modern-looking way to create an outdoor fire on your patio, deck, or in your yard.

Here's What You'll Need

A few cans of Eco Fuel
A big metal or ceramic planter box
River rocks

To find out how to do it,

Geek Tip: How to Make a Monitor Cozy

geeksugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:00:59 -0700

Martha Stewart has some directions for how to make a monitor cozy from an old issue of Blueprint, which reminded me of the monitor cozies I created for my boyfriend's two monitors last year. Lest you get discouraged by how nice and fancy Martha's version is, just check out the ones I made on my own, with just a bit of quick measuring and side-seam sewing. I also added a lining as well as a decorative fabric, since, like Martha says, it adds a little bit of color to the room.

Of course, hers are made much more carefully, where I'm more of a sew-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal. For instance, she adds gussets, and I don't even know what a gusset is.

DIY: Quick Fix For Pet-Gnawed Sofa

casasugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:30:54 -0700

For those of us who live with a cat or a dog, the joys of pet ownership are nearly endless. There's the thrill of returning home from a busy day to an enthusiastic pup, or the contentment of having a kitty curl up in your lap while you're reading at night. However, one thing that both cats and dogs are often guilty of doing is wrecking furniture. Even though my dog isn't allowed on the furniture while we're home, we still have to throw a sheet over the sofa because we know that as soon as we close the door and leave for work, Ozzie will jump up on the sofa and settle in. It's even more of a bummer when a pet rips up furniture.

Instead of replacing her sofa when her dog went a little nuts on it, one Craftster member came up with a creative solution to remedy her ripped sofa arm. To see what she did,

Before and After: A Buffet Gets Styled

casasugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:45:30 -0700

Talk about changing the look of things! Craftster member Olga reports that this buffet, which is made from cheap materials, was purchased for $15. She writes, "I wanted to do something to help this buffet, and at the same time I needed to get more practice with different or new materials. For a long time I went back and forth on what to do with this monster, and finally, after months of staring at its ugliness I was inspired by an ad in Architectural Digest."

Here's what Olga started with.

To see how she changed the look of this "monster,"

Casa Verde: Eco DIY Ideas

casasugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:15:29 -0700

Recently, I interviewed Tyler Velten, whose apartment had been featured in a New York Times article about designing on a student's budget. Tyler has a lot of cool, creative ideas for making eco changes on a budget. Check out some of his household experiments in the slideshow. Photos Courtesy Tyler Velten

Casa Interview: Tyler Velten

casasugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:45:16 -0700

Tyler Velten, a student at the Yale School of Architecture, was recently featured in the New York Times article Lighting Changes Everything. However, Tyler wasn't interviewed for his architectural projects. Instead, his artistic re-use of found objects and repurposing of Craigslist furniture and even the hated plastic bag were featured in the article. Tyler recently found some time between his busy school schedule to answer some questions for CasaSugar about his home design experiments.

CasaSugar: What was the first object you found that inspired you to start augmenting your apartment?

Tyler: We moved into the apartment knowing I was going to play with the space. It is a gorgeous apartment with great natural daylight. When it was empty, it felt more like a studio than an apartment. The first task was to somehow distract attention from the white walls. We found a kitschy brass table lamp complete with a tattered latex shade on the street. Instead of placing it on an end table or dresser (which we didn't have), I hung it from the wall. Lizzie [Tyler's wife] has teased me for years about taking it down. As a relic from our first days in the apartment, the lamp simply cannot be replaced.

For the rest of my questions, and to find out how Tyler's wife feels about his experiments,

DIY: Ceiling Medallions as Wall Art

casasugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:00:55 -0700

Since I was recently fawning over that ceiling medallion light, I couldn't help but stop in my tracks when I came across these ceiling medallions used as wall art. Do It Yourself offered up this creative idea in its collection of quick home projects. The lightweight urethane medallions were simply painted in subtly varying shades of yellow and easily mounted on the wall of this living room. The medallions are affordable, around $20 to $30, so it's quite an attainable way to bring "art" into your home. Another thought? Pick up a medallion with a circular opening in the center, and have a glass cutter make you a round mirror to size, and you'll have an ornate mirror at a fractional price.
Source

DIY: Easy Weekend Projects

casasugar — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:30:03 -0700

Have some time on your hands this weekend? Me too! Why not stay home, open up your craft closet (or box, or bag), and try one of these easy, fun DIY projects.

I'll start with a fun, easy, and relaxing decoupage project. You could even do this one in front of a movie or Mad Men. For a super simple DIY project this weekend, make some collage blocks for displaying on a dresser or fireplace mantel.

How about a fabric pup tent for a kids' room?

For a few more projects,

Before and After: Lampshade Recovery

casasugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:15:27 -0700

Crafty lady Tresa Edmunds had two boring pendant lamps that needed to be changed out. She writes, "I bought two plain jane lampshades at Home Depot on clearance. Because the shades needed to hang from the ceiling, I needed shades with hardware conducive to that. Then I found this great fabric at a quilt store that had nearly every color I was working with. With all my materials, the rest was just a case of reverse engineering."

Here's what she started with:

To see what it looked like after her craftiness,