Young House Love

DIY Home Decorating Projects, Tutorials, & Shenanigans

Archives for April 2010

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Build DIY Floating Shelves With Ana White

We could not be more thrilled to introduce Ana from Ana-White.com who’s swinging by with an amazing build-it-yourself project for anyone who’s ever wanted to DIY floating shelves. For those who don’t already know about Knock-Off Wood, it’s a site full of amazing designer-lookalike furniture plans that will save you hundreds- even thousands- if you’re willing to break a sweat and put in a little elbow grease to whip things up on your own. And you know we love that Ana proves that woodworking isn’t only about guys in overalls. Ladies can totally make the sawdust fly just as well. So without further ado, let’s get down to business with the first project that Ana

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Reader Redesign: Stellar Stencils

When Dana sent us her super simple and wallet-friendly stencil project we just had to share it. Here’s her letter: I just wanted to pass along a quick and inexpensive project that you inspired! A while back you featured the knot stencil from Sunny’s Goodtime Paints in a mood board and I immediately fell in love with it. My lovely husband gave it to me for Christmas and I recently used it to stencil a pillow cover and laundry curtains (that hide my laundry room water valves and electrical cords) with fabric paint. It was really easy and I’m lovin’ the results. I’m thinking of using it on my foyer wall now that I’ve tackled these smaller stenciling

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Nursery Progress: Adding Some Art

Waaaaay back when we mentioned that we’d be converting our third bedroom into a nursery, we admitted that we loved the asymmetrical wall of frames too much to remove it. But we did plan pretty much from the start to switch out some of the randomly framed prints and pictures with more kid-friendly and cheerfully toned art that’s fitting of a little girl’s nursery. So here’s what it looked like before our big art-swap-fest: And here’s the same asymmetrical arrangement of frames after the big switch: Now we’ll zoom out so you can see it in context with the rest of the nursery. Don’t the blues and pinks and greens work nicely with everything from

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House Crashing: Stunning In The City

We’re back with an amazingly gorgeous home to share, and this one is actually located in downtown DC. We had a blast meeting and greeting Adam and Amber, and of course when they showed us around their Capitol Hill rowhouse we couldn’t contain our excitement. Here’s the happy couple now… But back to the whole “couldn’t contain our excitement” thing. Do you see why? This is the view as you step inside. Their home is a modest 1000 square feet but they definitely squeezed all the beauty and function that they could out of it. Everything from the small scale sofa to the mini dining room that they created (the round table can actually accommodate

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Burning Question: To Paint Or Not To Paint?

This is one of those topics that we just know will stir things up. Where do you stand when it comes to brick houses. Specifically: to paint… or not to paint? We know some people are adamantly against painting exterior brick while others love the look of a charming painted brick cottage. And what about whitewashing, liming or sandblasting for that aged effect? Is the only acceptable brick treatment to leave it au naturale? Or do you prefer the look of brick with a bit of paint on top? Psst- This pic is from a House Crashing adventure of yore.

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April Showers Of Gratitude

We thought we’d follow the April shower downpour that we got last night (thank you for washing away the pollen!) by sending out some big wet kisses to our sponsors. By now you guys know that we like to devote one post per month to thanking the kind folks who grace our sidebar. They really do help put food on the table and keep YHL going – along with doling out the occasional discount to you guys as well. So let’s start the slow clap in their honor. Clap… clap… clap… Smock Paper isn’t your ordinary beautiful letterpress shop (though all of that is true, minus the ordinary part). They’re sustainably printed on bamboo paper,

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How To Tame Office Clutter: Organizing Cords, Wires, & Cables

Q: Since I’m an avid reader/adorer of all things YHL, I’ve seen pretty much all the pictures of your home that you’ve managed to cram into the blog. And every time I see these pics, I swoon over how organized and neat your house is- so very unlike my own. One thing in particular annoys me: office clutter! Cords, cables & wires. Lettin’ it all hang out is NOT my idea of organization or attractiveness. How do you guys make your cords/wires/cables more organized and neat? Must I resort to actually having to tie each wire and cord individually? There must be another way! Right? Please? – Erin A: I’m crazy. I’ll just get that

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Karen’s Design Dilemma

Karen’s living room is bursting with serious potential. Here’s her letter: Hey! I got one! Let’s get to it. I need serious help with my LR (and I’d love a few pointers for my adjoined eat-in kitchen). My decor is traditional but I’m trying to go more casual, hip, & younger. I call it my midlife decorating crisis. I fell in love with photos of your living room in a magazine and I believe that I’d be totally happy with anything you love. The sofa, chair, console & nesting end tables are all new and must stay. I still have the receipts for my two new lamps so they can stay or be returned. Everything

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5 Tips For Hauling Big Items When You Have A Little Car

If we had a dollar for every time someone incredulously asked “wait, you guys do all this DIY but you don’t own a truck?” – let’s just say we’d be able to afford a big ol’ truck. But we love being a single car household and owning a modestly sized Nissan Altima (can’t beat the gas mileage). And it has definitely taught us to get creative when it comes to getting large furniture items home (along with giant pieces of lumber and hardibacker) over the years. Heck even when it comes to getting rid of stuff we’ve had to be strategic. So here are a few ways that we approach occasionally hauling away the stuff

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Reader Redesign: One Charming New Chair

When Teresa sent us her before and after chair makeover pics, we couldn’t wait to share the goods. Here’s her letter: I just had to pass along the story of our $20 garage sale find. My husband hated the patterned Ikea curtains that I had hanging in our living room so I’m happy to share one of the panel’s reincarnation. My husband and I refinished the chair by sanding it and using Kilz oil-based primer and a can of regular old white high gloss spray paint from Lowe’s. We can’t take credit for the reupholstering though, as we had that professionally done. But here she is in all her glory. This is definitely my new

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This is eggciting.

Yup, I just hit you with an egg pun. Watch out for those this time of year. Anyway, we really were excited (there, I resisted it that time) to discover an adorable and very Easter appropriate display of nature that’s actually been living in one of our former DIY projects. Can you tell what’s going on in this picture? Yes, that’s a nest with two adorable eggs in it. And guess where that nest is located? Why it’s in one of our homemade porch lanterns (learn how we turned cheap bulb covers from Home Depot into sweet candle-lit porch decor right here). Mr and Mrs Bird just built it right on top of the candle

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Burning Question: On A Pedestal?

Where do you guys stand when it comes to pedestal sinks vs. vanities? Do you love how light and spacious a pedestal sink can make a bathroom feel? Or do you appreciate the serious storage space that a vanity brings to the table? We’d love to hear more about how you really feel when it comes to pedestal sinks vs. vanities (does it depend on the size of the room? the style of the space?) so feel free to comment away with more details.  

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Some Super Classy Curb Appeal

We had the best idea for taking our home’s curb appeal to the next level. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you, the gloriously fabulous front yard fountain of our dreams! We know what you’re thinking. You can’t believe how swanky and high-end that fountain looks. Especially in front of our modest brick ranch. It’ll make our house look like a million bucks! Isn’t that fantastic? Are you guys chomping at the bit to get one of your own? Oh and one more question. Do you remember what day it is? HAPPY APRIL FOOLS! Fountain image found here.

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