I bought this mail sorter on clearance at Target a couple years ago. It’s seen better days, and it’s not exactly the look I go for anymore. To quote my sister, it’s “really ugly.” So I gave it a makeover. A little paint, two label holders, and three cup hooks […]
Whenever people tell me they love painting, I’m suspicious. If you do the job right (protect the floor, clean and prep the walls, tape off moldings and edges, and start with primer), painting is anything but fun. And that doesn’t even count cleanup. But it’s worth the hassle because paint (or […]
I am sorry to have neglected Crafty Nest for so long. But this time I have a great excuse. I bought my first house!
Here are some “before” pictures of my “new” house. It’s a 1927 Mediterranean bungalow, with loads of charm including original light fixtures, push-button switches, built-ins, and gorgeous hardwood […]
I removed this old, scratched, chipped mirror from an ugly plastic frame (which I turned into a bulletin board). Even though the mirror had seen better days, I couldn’t just throw it out. Despite it’s flaws, I loved the shape and thickness of the mirror. I wanted to […]
This one is for Alyson. She’s been asking me to blog about jewelry storage ideas for, um, years. I’ve had this tiered jewelry tray idea in the back of my mind for a long time. The delay came down to finding the right glue. I think I’ve found it — well, […]
This small unfinished pine bookshelf was shuffled from room to room. I planned to paint it, but never did. I was on the verge of kicking it to the curb. (This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, I may earn a small commission. You can […]
Lately I’ve been coveting a coffee-table ottoman. You know: one of those oversized ottomans that you can kick your feet on from nearly any seat on the couch and use as a coffee table by merely adding a tray. I loved Pottery Barn’s striped Alexandria Ottoman (see […]
My apologies to everyone who has been waiting since last summer’s blog post for me to share this chandelier tutorial! Life got in the way and delayed my ability to pass on this information. First there was girls camp, and then I got a new job, and […]
You probably remember this lamp. Its first makeover was four years ago. Frankly, the fabric-covered lamp shade was a disappointment, and brass just wasn’t my thing. I still loved the white lamp base itself, so I decided to spray paint the brass base, rewire the lamp with nickel-plated hardware, and […]
Maria Romvari, a former guest nester, returns for another tutorial! I mentioned glass etching in another post recently, and it reminded of these instructions that Maria sent me a while ago. This is the frosted glass spray paint method. You could also […]
American Express asked me to make over a social space using merchandise available through Membership Rewards points. I chose to make over my dining room. Deciding what to buy with 150,000 Membership Rewards points and dozens of fabulous merchants to choose from was a challenge. […]
I am happy to report that most of the work is done on my dining room makeover that American Express generously sponsored. Unfortunately, however, I ran into a few snags. The dishes I ordered using my Membership Rewards points arrived broken, and […]
Wow. I should ask for your input more often. You gals shared some great ideas! I didn’t think it was possible, but you changed my mind about some of my original ideas for this dining room makeover sponsored by American Express. After […]
First, I know I still have three tutorials to go to finish off my office/guest/craft room makeover series. But they’re going to have to wait, for a couple reasons. I’m once again planning new camp crafts for a girls camp in mid-June. Rest assured that […]
This is the first whole-room makeover I have attempted on Crafty Nest. What an undertaking! I had been planning to make over my office/guest/craft room for some time. The makeover involved a ton of DIY — which is definitely why I had procrastinated the job. Then Sylvania […]
When I discovered that my matchbooks fit perfectly into this old unfinished cigar box, I knew it was a DIY matchbox in the making. I wanted to step up the fancy in a subtle way, so I could leave the dingy box out in plain site. I like showing off doilies […]
I am all about being hands-free and reducing the weight on my shoulders. I use a lumbar bag instead of a backpack for hiking. Being an asthmatic, taking the load off my shoulders makes a world of difference. And any chiropractor will […]
I adore this “bird cage” illustration by Emma SanCartier. And I wanted to make this small piece of art stand out. I could have mounted it in an up-sized frame with generous matting. I decided to make a frame-within-a-frame instead, mostly because I already had all the […]
Introducing a new guest nester! Australian Abby Matthews used to blog about the things that inspire her at Two Little Dicky Birds. Abby’s remake of this tired, chipped pine dressing table reminds me of my wallpapered cart, but she used an entirely different (and better?) process, so […]
Whenever I speak to my dad on the phone, he always asks, “Miss me?” This past month I’ve been getting concerned emails, so apparently some of you missed me — or at least my weekly blog posts. I’ve missed you too. I think I just needed a break. But I’m happy […]
Here’s a last-minute idea for us last-minute gift wrappers. I felt guilty about discarding those round, sturdy cardboard canisters that hold nuts, cocoa, and other foods. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think they can be recycled (aluminum + cardboard?). But they definitely can be reused! Here, I covered […]
Remember my tank top totes from a few weeks ago? Well, I just had to share this tip. The piece I cut off the bottom of the one of the tank tops made a perfect — and super comfortable — headband. My neighbor Rhean did a beautiful job […]
Our new guest nester, Maria Romvari, transformed this corner of her house for her Hungarian blog A Hoover-gáton is túl, and she’s sharing her tutorial with us! Maria used ordinary thrift store items — side table, vase, and mismatched frames — totaling $10.67 to create this stunning vignette. […]
Before you pack away your summer clothes for the winter, you might want to set one of your tank tops aside to make one of these easy totes. The best kind of tank tops to use for this project are ones that have front and back necklines that are the same […]
What a difference a little color makes! I decided my white sunburst mirror that I made in 2007 was a little boring. It only looked good from an angle, where the shadows would emphasize the shapes. Straight on, it looked more like a plain white circle. So I […]
What can I make with an old picture frame that’s missing glass, a free fabric sample from FabMo, and an 8- x 10-inch LoRan magnet board that my friend Chris gave me? Another friend, Kristi, had an idea: a mini magnetic board.
If you add a […]
Why anyone would paint over window panes is beyond me. But that’s exactly what someone did to this window that I bought at a salvage yard for $20. It took a couple hours to scrape away all the stray paint and caulking, but the effort was totally worth it, considering I […]
I love metallic-finish furniture, and I thought this little library table was the ideal piece to try my own metallic finish. I bought the table on Craigslist last year for $15. I adored its cute shape, but it needed lots of repairs. I pulled 21 (mostly bent) […]
I picked up this table curbside last year. The wooden top was weathered, cracked, and warped, and the base was rusted but sturdy. Then I found these French café chairs at Ikea, a replacement tabletop at The Home Depot, and exterior paint on
I outgrew my toolbox end tables, but I refused to pay hundreds of dollars for one of those ugly, manly Craftsman tool chests. And the gorgeous white ones are even more expensive. This chest of drawers cost me $10 on
My friend Julie Chai, garden editor at Sunset magazine, gave me this lamp base as a project. (Watch Julie teach you how to make your own compost bin here.) Southwest isn’t my style, plus it had rusty hardware and a tattered, taped cord. As soon […]
I decided to try a different take on the tray table I made nearly a year ago. This time, it would have a more practical permanent top. Plus, it’s an ideal opportunity to use more of my furniture nails, which I love, and some fabulous lime green spray paint. […]
My first project on Crafty Nest was a spice rack. So it’s fitting that, nearly a year later, I work on another one. I bought this old Spice Islands rack at a thrift store for $3.50. After dumping out the ancient spices, soaking off what […]
First rule in government spending: Why build one when you can have two at twice the price?” Any guesses what movie that line is from? (Answer at the end of this post.) I loved these salvaged window frames so much, I bought both of them. This one was […]
A few people have asked me for jewelry organizing solutions. You asked for it, so you got it. (More jewelry storage ideas to come.) I bought this Ikea room divider for $10 in the As-Is section last year. I wasn’t a fan of the black hook-and-loop holding it together, […]
One of my friends referred to this as the “ugly mirror.” Another friend said, “Whatever you paid for it, you paid too much.” I get more excited about a project when I hear comments like that because I think, “Just wait till they see what I do with it. Mwahaha!” For […]
Two drawers were left over from my modular bookcase project. I didn’t think they’d be useful for anything but firewood. But upon closer inspection, I began to appreciate the aged beauty of the wood — even the smattering of white paint. Combining the drawers into one shadowbox — […]
I bought this trolley for a steal on Craigslist. You may have seen it before with my salvaged window-frame mirror. You can’t tell in the photo, but it’s banged up and rickety from years of use. My friend Peter added some reinforcement to make the […]
I found these chairs curbside with a “free” sign taped to them. They have a nice shape but suffer from two problems: a shoddy paint job and cracked seats. I knew I could fix both issues. I wasn’t settled on the how part until I saw what Melissa did to her […]
I’m fed up with ugly tissue boxes. Even the semi-cool ones never match my decor. I used to buy the white tissue boxes from Target, but they discontinued them. So I took matters into my own hands. I found this wooden tissue box cover at a thrift store for a couple […]
I saw this interior window frame at a salvage yard and coveted it for a few months before finally buying it. Instead of the opaque Plexiglass it came with, I inserted mirrors. I love mirrors because they can make a small space feel airy and bright. This one offers an added […]
Closet cleaning isn’t a flashy subject, but I can’t help it: I’m in full organization mode. I blame the new year. I simplified this closet by chucking old clothes and sticking with just three types of hangers: wood, padded, and skirt hangers (the latter two are on the left side of […]
Kelly and Sarah, two former Sunset magazine coworkers, planned to use this shabby bookshelf in Sunset’s Menlo Park Idea House last summer. After removing the doors, which were in a dire state of disrepair, they painted it. Paint: Benjamin Moore Aura Steam (AF-15) and Caliente (AF-290). Then they decided […]
This one was my friend Kristi’s idea. While window shopping one day last spring, we saw a glass cake stand in a jewelry store window. She said, “You could make one of those.” I spent the next couple weeks scouring thrift stores for plates, candlesticks, vases — anything I could find […]
Instead of chucking these old mismatched frames that I accumulated from thrift stores, I painted them all the same color, attached magnets, and gave them a whole new life. If only I could give this 1980s fridge a new life — in the junkyard. But because I’m renting my apartment, I’m […]
A few years ago, I achieved my dream of owning a Yamaha DX7 keyboard, the synthesizer behind that bell-quality sound of 80s pop music. But, I couldn’t just plop it on top of any keyboard stand. A former roommate gave me an old piano bench, and I found an unfinished […]
Living in a rental, there is only so much you can do when you want to upgrade your bathroom. With a wall-mounted sink and no storage to speak of, my small bathroom needed a little help. Paint isn’t an option, and the neutral tile colors limited my color choices, so I […]
Ever since I saw it hanging on Vanessa’s wall in a photo of her home, I adored Ikea’s plastic Ung Drill picture frame ($25), but the cost of replacing the glass with an oval mirror was prohibitively expensive. Then I found this carved […]
I’ve seen many tray tables on the market recently. You know, the side tables with removable trays. They inspired me to make my own. My neighbor gave me this rusty old plant stand, and I knew it could make a perfect base for my round metal tray. All it took was […]
I got this lamp for free from two sweet ladies on Craigslist. I love the base, but the shade had seen better days. I couldn’t find the perfect replacement, so I made my own. And I’ve been obsessed with round finials — which can be pricey. I […]
My great-grandmother lived to be 93. And she loved to tat. She made me and my siblings dozens of doilies, collars, and hankies over the years. Her tatted doilies are so beautiful that I hated to see them packed away in a box in my closet. But I wasn’t about to […]
