DIY by Design

Memorial Day Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Judy K) — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:00:00 PDT

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer. Unfortunately here in New York, it's rainy and downright chilly. We are hosting a bar-b-que on Sunday for my son's birthday, however, I don't think it will be swimming weather. Whatever your plans are, I hope you all enjoy the long weekend.

Here is some Memorial Day inspired home decor:

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Traditional Living Room by Santa Ana Interior Designer Darci Goodman Design

Have a great long weekend.

-Judy

Bathroom Design & Renovation : Simple and Cheap Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Judy K) — Thu, 23 May 2013 05:00:03 PDT

I'd like to welcome Helen Davies who has written a post especially for DIYbyDesign. Enjoy!

Bathroom Design & Renovation: Simple and Cheap Tips

Day in, day out, we put a lot of stress and strain on our bathrooms, especially when you have a young family like I do, and these spaces can quickly start to feel a little worn and unloved. Well, without resorting to a full-blown bathroom renovation, here are a few quick, cheap and easy DIY upgrades, that will have your bathroom look fresh and revitalised in no time

Planning & Research

If you are planning to completely renovate your bathroom, you should research extensively about various options, with so many different styles out there it can be difficult to choose the best one but if you pick a style that you will like for years this will reduce the likely hood of you renovating your bathroom again and thus saving you money in the long run. Look on various website such as betterbathrooms.com and compare prices for similar products, shopping on line is often much cheaper than visiting your local bathroom store.

Once you have selected a style you can begin to renovate your bathroom but with the cost of a bathroom remodel sometimes being hundreds of pounds it is sensible to do some of the work yourself.

Removing your old bathroom suite

The prospect of removing your old bathroom can be daunting but it needn’t be. Firstly you must cut off the water supply to the bathroom to prevent any bathroom flooding. Then you can just simply rip out the old suite. All copper, brass, lead can be sold and will generate some money for your renovation. Paying for a waste disposal company to take away your old suite can be much cheaper than hiring a skip.

Installing your new suite

Once you have completely gutted your bathroom you can begin to install your new suite.

This maybe a job for the professionals but many suites now come with clear and detailed instructions on installation making it easy for anyone to attempt the installation themselves

Tiling & Painting

Now your new suite is installed you can get on with the tiling and painting. Tiling is much easier than you may think and with lots of helpful tips and tutorials online you should be able to tile your bathroom yourself. You will need several tools (Tile cutter, Tile saw, Grout spreader, Spirit level, Tile nibblers, Adhesive spreader, Tile cutting jig, Gauge stick). Remember to make sure the floor is flat so the tiles sit well and the gaps are equal. Using larger tiles will be easier for a beginner, remember to leave plenty of time for the tiles to set to the tile adhesive (at least 24 hours). Using paint is a great way to save money as tiles can be costly. Choose to paint your walls with a neutral colour paint to enhance the size of your bathroom and to create a sense of light.

Bathroom furniture

Don’t waste money on buying new furniture you can renovate your old cupboards and storage units or pick up something cheap from a thrifty store, yard sale etc. Sand them down and paint them in a vintage style or a modern design, which ever suits the look of your new bathroom. Pick up some pretty draw pulls to really finish off the look, these are inexpensive and will really transform your units.

Final touches

This is where you can really give your bathroom the wow factor, bathroom accessories are cheap and really complete the look of any new bathroom.

Choose matching tooth brush holders and soap containers, choose some chrome towel rails and hooks, finally add some brightly coloured towels, candles and a bunch of flowers. Your budget bathroom renovation is now complete, so go and enjoy it.

This article was written by the interior designer Helen Davies who is a keen blogger, Pinterest addict and freelance writer

-Judy

Swing into Spring - It's a Party # 118

noreply@blogger.com (Judy K) — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:33:22 PDT

Welcome to this week's Swing into Spring party.

Last week's party was filled with tons of great ideas and inspiration.

I look forward each week to seeing what you have been working on.

Here are this week's features:

HOME DECOR:

Old Things New shared her latest project ... hand-painted wallpaper. Gorgeous!

Better With Age shared how she created an office in her kitchen. What a difference!

FURNITURE TRANSFORMATIONS:

Craftivity Designs shared how she transformed an Ikea cabinet using chevron contact paper!

Art For Your Walls transformed a Craigslist dresser into this silver-leafed beauty.

CRAFTY CREATIONS:

Pneumatic Addict Furniture created this gorgeous upholstered headboard.
Please stop by for the full tutorial.

Crafty Journal shared how she created these super cute stamps out of recycled plastic lids and foam stickers. What a great idea.

TASTY TREATS:

Live Laugh Rowe shared her recipe for ricotta cheese cake. Delicious!

Domestic Bliss Squared shared her recipe for gluten-free chocolate overload cupcakes.
Wow, these look amazing!

If you were featured, please grab an "I've Been Featured" button (you can now find my buttons by clicking on the buttons tab right under my header). Now let's get started with this week's party. I can't wait to see what you have been up to. Link up anything you have been working on...home decor, sewing, crafts, organizing, baking, recipes etc. I will keep this link open through Friday.

A few rules:

1. Please become a follower (if you already follow me on Google, I would love for you to follow me on Linky Followers, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest as well).

2. Please grab my party button above and display it either on your sidebar or somewhere in your post. This way word can spread about the party. The more people at the party, the more fun we will have.

3. Please enter the link to your actual post, not just a link to your main blog page.

4. Please visit others who have linked up. Everyone works hard on their projects and blogs...let's show each other some love by visiting each other. Let's have some fun and hopefully make a few new friends along the way.

Ok...Let's Party

-Judy