From foliage to roughage, a well-tended garden can boost your home’s curb appeal, cut your grocery bill, and help you be more environmentally friendly all in one swoop. But if you’re like us, finding the time to garden between…
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Tabatha Wharton
We’re quickly approaching hard core wedding/baby shower/graduation/housewarming season, and we have a creative solution to all your gift-giving dilemmas — give the gift of DIY! There are plenty of ways to spread the DIY love, and we have a…
There have been some interesting developments going on in our neck of the quasi-gentrified neighborhood. Over the last couple of months, our elderly neighbor on one side has had several various family members stay for extended periods with him…
For those of us with the ultimate DIY projects running around (that’d be kids), sometimes it’s hard to figure out the best way to make your home safe while encouraging curiosity and healthy boundaries for your littles. While there…
Imagine the scenario: you’re out running errands up the street, or taking a family walk, or driving through the neighborhood on trash day and suddenly you see an amazing piece of furniture discarded. It has great lines or bones,…
We’ve talked before about the “man cave” as the ultimate dude space for guys and their buddies to do man things together. But we’d like to propose the flip side to that coin — specifically, the mom cave. In…
Now that spring has (hypothetically in some areas) sprung, you might find yourself looking about your abode wanting to spruce things up a bit. The same old decor can feel boring and depressing after a long winter for sure,…
We’re the first to admit that we have a small obsession with wallpapered ceilings. From the seemingly impossible task of hanging the paper, to the cool effects you can create, to the quick-fix change it can add to a…
We go through a lot of doormats at our house. Between the weather, outside animals, and the occassional vandal, doormats seem to be something we are always putting on the supplies list. This means we often settle for the…
Unless you’ve been hiding out in a bomb shelter in fear of Cold War nuclear attacks, you’d know the biggest possibly-irrational fear in the post-modern world is the zombie apocalypse. From TV shows to survival guides to the actual…
For a multitude of reasons, not everyone can plant a traditional garden. Maybe you live in an apartment or condo where green space is sparse and not really yours to dig up. Perhaps your soil is inhospitable to anything…
We stumbled upon this little interesting little tidbit stemming from this year’s CES and thought we’d share with you: how’d you like a pet robot dinosaur as your home security? Back in 2002, Japanese robotics company TMSUK developed the…
As you very well may already know, April 22nd is Earth Day, and this year more companies than ever are joining in the effort to help green our planet. One of the most interesting concepts we’ve seen is the…
People often think home security systems are only useful when they’re not at home — say, going on vacation or even just the day-to-day of going to work, driving the kids around, eating out and the like. But home…
We’ve all been through the same process — you want to change the color of a room, but you’re not sure which shade to pick, or how it will look in daylight versus at night. You don’t want to…
While walking the Passive House in February, we couldn’t help but notice the decor choices made for the ultimate eco-friendly home. From the flooring choices to furniture, accessories, color schemes, and textures, we were taken with how incredibly discerning…
Here in the Ohio contingent of Charles & Hudson, we’re looking at rehabbing both our front and back yards — because in a former life they were actually small urban farms instead of lush green space. While we’re all…
Looking around at all the design and decor mags in the past few years, we couldn’t help but notice a prevalence of stenciled word art pieces adorning people’s homes. From simple colloquialisms to lyrics of entire Bonnie Tyler songs…
In February we were invited to the Passive House in Yellow Springs, Ohio’s open house. Hosted by both the new owners and the building company, the event was a casual, yet incredibly informative adventure. The people at Green Generation…
It’s been a little over six months since we introduced the littlest renovator to our crew, and we’ve tackled a couple of pretty large projects with more than just our menagerie of animals underfoot. With two kids under two,…
Searching for a way to garden a little greener while creating less waste in the kitchen? Look no further than your trusty coffee maker for one of the best fertilizers, composters, bug repellants and worm cuisine! Here’s a list…
With Daylight Saving time approaching for most of the country this weekend, we thought we’d give you a few tips of things to check around your home while you’re switching your clocks and smoke alarm batteries. *Change the batteries…
It’s amazing the places you can pick up DIY tips from. If you pay attention, you can learn all sorts of tricks and hacks from seemingly unrelated places. Take for instance, middle-school art class. We had the fortune of…
Before our second child was born, we realized that our bathroom, shown above, needed some serious TLC. After three years of time warping every time we needed to tinkle and one genetic byproduct underfoot as it was, we needed…
When you have a home security system, often times you’ll be asked to create a “safe word” — the point of it being that if your alarm goes off, you have to give the safe word to the security…
Have you ever found yourself spending countless hours online, scouring the usual and unusual sites looking for that perfect piece of furniture? You know, the one that is the right style, size, and color — only to find it…
In today’s digital world, creating passwords, identifying questions, and security codes are required in nearly every aspect of your daily life. From voicemail to ATMs to security systems, one of the most common forms of security codes are the…
When we began this venture, we knew it was a gamble. This is our first turn at refinishing a tub, and we knew we might have to settle for less-than-professional results. This was okay by us, because we love…
When we were moving into our house, we very quickly realized that the lack of closet space was greatly slowing down our unpacking. There was one great closet in the smallest bedroom with a very sturdy wooden hang bar…
The first step in our great tub refinishing project was prep work — dismantling the tub as much as possible so we could address each issue separately, without potential damage to any other component. Also, clean the everloving bejeebus…
If you’re in the process of a renovation, something that’s likely to come up numerous times is the concept of storage. Namely, creating more. Whether you live in a 200-year-old house or a 20-year-old house, more storage always seems…
You hear about it all the time — people finding great vintage or antique pieces of furniture on Craigslist or from their great-great-aunt’s basement or even on the curb, throwing in a little elbow grease, and voila, they have…
Now that we had our antique, cast iron, claw foot tub Clementine finally in our home after three years of storage, it was time to give her a good once over to see what was required to get her…
With winter still in full force across most of the country, many of us are looking for more efficient, less arduous ways to dig ourselves out from the piles of white Mother Nature has gifted us than your traditional…
When we bought our house in 2007, we did it fully intending to renovate it from top to bottom. We looked at the modestly-sized home for its bones, and were sold on the fact that most of the major…
If you’re looking for a keyless-entry solution for your home or office but are concerned about electrical failures locking you in or out, we have quite the gadget for you. Korean designer Jaeseok Han has masterfully married the basic…
If you’re looking for something bold to help you reinvent a room this year, try thinking beyond your basic solutions with paint. For 2011, wallpaper is where it’s at — and not just for accent walls, either. Here are…
We’ve previously talked about what you should consider before getting a guard dog for your home. But were you aware that there’s a camp of thought that uses the illusion of dog ownership as a home burglary deterrent? The…
As you probably already know, we have an unbridled love affair here at Charles & Hudson with spray paint. So imagine our glee when we found this project at ECABonline.com, in which Elizabeth DIYed a vintage, leaded-glass window pane…
In sociology, there’s a school of thought that defines urban areas into circular zones. There’s the center-most, financial center of a city, then outwards from the center (much like rings on a tree) the zones are defined by the…
Back in the fall we shared with you the first Passive House in Ohio. Recently, after news that the house had been successfully completed and sold, we were able to sit down with Green Generations’ President Andrew Kline to…
You have your plans all set for your next DIY project — tools borrowed, paint purchased, time set aside — and tragedy strikes. You hurt yourself, and not in a way that some hydrogen peroxide and a Band-Aid can…
During the busy holiday season, you’re more than likely to find yourself entertaining at some point. But rather than struggling with some of the various side effects of playing host or hostess, we have some quirky tips on ways…
Pantone just revealed their Color of The Year for 2011 — Honeysuckle Pink. Per their press release: “While the 2010 color of the year, PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise, served as an escape for many, Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday…
These prefab getaways are easy to setup and eco-friendly.…
In today’s downturned economy, it can seem nearly impossible to find somewhere to live where there are jobs, affordable housing, and banks willing to approve a loan. If you’re not lucky enough to live in one of the most…
With wallpaper becoming all the rage in home decor circles, you can often find yourself stressing about details you may never have considered before. You may want to wallpaper a space with uneven walls. You may want to make…
It happens to all of us — you get out your holiday decorations, are all stoked to trim the tree and create a celebratory light show to be seen from space when lo and behold, one (or many) strings…
One of the more fun (and yet so frustrating) parts of making little people is creating a space for them in which to eventually reside. Yet once the furniture is built, the impossibly small clothes are folded, and the…
Recently we posted about DIY Dads and their declining numbers. While the article wanted to point out that today’s young men aren’t learning trade and fix-it skills from their dads as much as decades past, I think it’s only…
Maybe you’re trying to set up house for guests this holiday season. Maybe you’re in the middle of a room renovation and the budget’s a wee too tight to get the ideal piece of furniture. Or maybe you’re just…
As the temperatures finally begin to drop, it’s ever more apparent that winter is just around the corner. While it may be easy to keep your spirits bright during the holiday season, once January hits, the weather and our…
With autumn drawing to a close, it’s time to address the arduous task of cleaning up all those gorgeous fall leaves strewn about your yard. However, many waste management companies and municipalities are requiring that yard waste be bagged…
As our lives become greener with every action, purchase, and eco-conscious decision, sometimes it’s easy to assume just about everything is recyclable. Unfortunately, that’s not entirely the case, and as responsible DIY’ers it’s our responsibilty to educate ourselves on…
If you follow along with DIY blog Young House Love, you’ll know that they have decided to move and are selling their home themselves. After three years of renovations, decoration, tweaks, and even adding a baby to the mix,…
Did you know that the 13th annual America Recycles Day is coming up? According to Earth911.com, it’s “the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling programs in the U.S.” By visiting their website you can find…
Craigslist can be the virtual mecca for DIY enthusiasts. Whether you’re looking for the perfect vintage dresser, discount kitchen cabinets, or gently used children’s wares, the free online classified posting site is ripe with deals to be had and…
Have bedbugs impacted your favorite pastime of rummaging through used items? We love a great thrift store find as much as the next person. The thrill of the hunt, the rush of adrenaline when you find that “perfect” item,…
With Halloween barely behind us, it’s hard to imagine the holiday season being around the corner. However, as retailers advertise Black Friday sales and grocery stores closing out their turkey order lists, you’d better believe ’tis the season indeed.…
Regardless of where you stand politically, we think everyone can agree that campaign yard signs are an eyesore, especially after election day. They remain long after the ballots have been counted, sometimes lasting until spring elections. They get dirty…
Getting to know your neighbors. can be one of the simplest ways to keep your home safe and secure. But what happens when your neighbors aren’t willing to cooperate? That photo is of my backyard, which shares a fence…
With many people downsizing their homes in order to save money and/or the planet, giving up square footage means making the most of the space you have. As someone who lives in a 1,250-square-foot house with my family of…
There’s a real-life green building trend coming to life in the Miami Valley. A brand-new local green construction company, Generation Green Building, is in the process of constructing Ohio’s first Passive House. According to the website, The Yellow Springs…
Disposing of paint is always a chore and now that you’ve spent the warmer days of autumn getting to all those paint projects you meant to do all summer, your garage, basement, or shed probably looks an awful lot…
Living in a 1,250-square-foot home, I’m pretty used to small spaces. With the four people, five cats, and one chubby Chihuahua that live here, I’m always trying to figure out ways to make our house feel open and spacious…
Once upon a time I wrote a post about countertop paint, made for laminate surfaces like you find in kitchens and bathrooms. I dreamed of someday utilizing it in my kitchen and reporting back, but between bigger projects and…
For living in an ancient house with plaster walls, I have an unnatural desire to wallpaper my very uneven vertical spaces. I’ve looked at different ways to make wallpaper happen, yet another solution that keeps popping up through my…
The Home Depot website has all kinds of nooks and crannies to explore while looking for information and helpful hints, including a blog. This post, which I found through “liking” them on Facebook, has OODLES of quick and cheap…
With almost two kids, five cats, a dog, and a husband, I often forget things, like what day it is, or my name. (It’s Tabatha.) So when we were working on trying to organize our lives before our first…
The thing about shelter blogs is that one begets another begets another. I don’t know how I originally stumbled up on Knock-Off Wood, or how long ago, but it’s high time you all knew about it. The blog is…
When my husband and I purchased our home, a major selling factor was the kitchen. It had been added onto our 110+ year old house within our lifetimes, was spacious, had lots of storage, and was definitely large enough…
In probably some of the oddest home reno show news I’ve come across in quite some time, severalsources are stating that Robert Van Winkle, aka early 90’s rap star Vanilla Ice, is set to host his own 10-episode show…
Recently, my husband and I embarked on an epic adventure in our home renovation. We — actually he and a friend, because I’m nine months pregnant and can barely bend at the waist — completely DIY’ed a hardwood floor…
I live in a smaller city near the largest Air Force Base in the nation, the intersection of two major interstate highways, and about a million college campuses. So despite the fact that I by no means live out…
When my husband and I bought our house, we did so with every intention of getting all HGTV on the place. Despite neither of us having any home renovation experience, we naively looked around and assumed that small repairs…
Ever get stuck on a home decor project? Have problems envisioning a room finished (you know, past the bare drywall and exposed wires)? Or wondering how an out-of-this world color palette might actually work together, but afraid of purchasing…
Many people are completely intimidated by the concept of going green. It really feels like if you don’t start using a rain barrel, install solar panels on your roof, eat, drink and breathe 1000% organic, and compost every living…
Two recent news stories – an article in The New Yorker entitled The Plastic Panic and a CNN television investigative report called Toxic America – got me thinking, yet again, about the dangers lurking in our own homes. I…
Many people are completely intimidated by the concept of going green. It really feels like if you don’t start using a rain barrel, install solar panels on your roof, eat, drink and breathe 1000% organic, and compost every living…
Craigslist can be a DIY’ers dream. Just about everything under the sun can be found for purchase, and usually for a decent price. On the flipside, selling unused or excess items from your home and projects can be an…