Articles in: Do-it-yourself

Succulent Garden Ideas – Mason Jar Terrarium from OPC’s The Better Half

Posted by: Jocie Hagan on April 29th, 2013 | 20 Comments

We’re thrilled to have Jocie Hagan of The Better Half, share her succulent garden ideas with us. Her blog-within-a-blog at One Project Closer (OPC) is all about thrifty and fabulous DIY decor and crafts. And there’s definitely a crafty element to this clever miniature succulent garden project– it’s a garden inside a mason jar. Read on for the complete DIY tutorial.

Succulent Garden Ideas: A miniature succulent garden in a Mason jar

Confession time: I don’t garden. Ever. In fact, when The Home Depot asked me to participate in the Do-It-Herself Workshop series by sharing my succulent garden ideas, I had to look up what a succulent was. *shame* But once I figured out what a succulent was, I was super excited to make a garden with my own special twist.

Succulents are right up my gardening alley – they require little water or attention, are bright and hearty, and are easy to plant. They are hard to kill, and for this black thumb gardener, that is all that matters!

Container Gardening, craft ideas, DIH, DIH Workshops, DIY Project, Do-it-yourself, Garden, gardening, guest blogger, interior project ideas

Thrifty Decor Chick: Do-It-Herself Workshops

Posted by: Thrifty Decor Chick on February 13th, 2013 | 3 Comments

The Home Depot has been getting a terrific response from our free Do-It-Herself Workshops, held every month in Home Depot stores across the country. We’ve asked some of our favorite DIY and home improvement bloggers to participate, guest hosting the workshops in select cities.

Sarah, the talent behind Thrifty Decor Chick, has been blogging about thrifty home decor and DIY projects at since 2008. Sarah is always very encouraging to anyone interested in using their own two hands to make their home better. Here, she tells us how she turned a staircase into a centerpiece for her lovely home decor… and the courage it took to tackle the project.

I haven’t had any special training, just a desire to make my home beautiful without paying someone to do it all for me! Through a lot of research, practice, and some not-so-great DIY projects, I’ve come a long way over the years and learned a lot.

I find it’s all about trying – getting that courage to do something you’ve never done. I think you’d be surprised at the results! But believe me, my first attempts were not perfect. Actually most of my latest work still isn’t perfect, but it’s little stuff no one would notice.

One of my favorite projects I’ve ever done in our home was on our staircase transformation. We built our home and had carpet put on the stairs:

Blogger and host of Do-It-Herself Workshops at The HomeDepot's Carpeted staircase before picture

But for years I dreamt of beautiful wood stairs with painted risers and stained treads like those I saw in the magazines. I was lucky that our builder used nice, rounded treads on our stairs, which was half the battle.

DIH, DIY, Do-it-Herself Workshop, Do-it-yourself, do-it-yourself workshop, Easy Remodeling, guest blogger, Home Depot, Inspiration

Give New Life to an Old Patio with Concrete Resurfacing, by Jessica of Four Generations One Roof

Posted by: Jessica Bruno on August 28th, 2012 | 12 Comments

It’s no wonder that guest contributor Jessica Bruno does all her DIY projects family style — she’s the self-described “ring leader” of the Four Generations One Roof blog about life in a four-generation family living in one house. Her family always seems to be working on some sort of home improvement project. Here, she shows us how her concrete resurfacing project transformed the home’s old patio.

Have you ever stared, year after year, at the biggest eye sore in your yard and wondered, what the heck you were going to do with that space? Each year that goes by, you think the same thing and nothing changes? Well for me, it was our patio. This happens to be my mom and dad’s outdoor space, and the annoyed and frustrated feeling that my mom and I would have when we stepped foot on this 60-year-old patio was overwhelming. My dad could care less, he thought it was fine!

Before and after photos of the concrete resurfacing project

So this year, my mom and I made a trip to The Home Depot and bought five four-gallon buckets of concrete resurfacer to restore the old patio.

You will notice in the picture above, that the cement was peeling and cracked leaving some fairly large open spaces. The Restore product will fill in up to a ¼ inch, but nothing more. This stuff is very thick and cement-like but extremely easy to apply.

building materials, cement resurfacer, concrete resurfacer, DIY, Do-it-yourself, guest blogger, outdoor, Outdoor Living, Patio, Restore Liquid Deck Resurfacer

YouTube Tuesday: Make A Book Into A Shelf

Posted by: Craig Allen on May 22nd, 2012 | One Comment

There is something wonderful about the look of a nicely bound book, and on a nicely designed bookcase, your books can become a part of your decor as well as literature. Here we have a small twist on the book shelf idea: the book IS the shelf. In this video, Home Depot Forum associate Aboveaveragejoe takes you through this cool DIY project to re-purpose and old book as a cool floating display shelf.

In less than four minutes you’ll know all about what type of book to choose for the project, how to glue the pages together, how to attach the hidden bracket and how to properly drill the bracket (and book) into the wall.

When you’re done with the book shelf project, you’ll have a truly unique floating shelf that would look great in an office or library. Use children’s books for a fun, cute look in a nursery as well.

Visit Aboveaveragejoe, or any of our other expert associates, for more interesting DIY projects on the Home Depot Community Forums. And take a look at our project guides for just about any DIY, home improvement or gardening project you can think of.

We have plenty more videos here on the Apron Blog. Catch up with YouTube Tuesdays and Thursdays.

DIY, Do-it-yourself, Home Depot, Home Improvement, Shelves, The Home Depot, Video, Videos, youtube

Repainting Metal Patio Furniture to Spruce Up Your Outdoor Decor

Posted by: Shaina Oliphant on May 17th, 2012 | Make A Comment

All it takes is a little paint and elbow grease to make your old metal patio furniture like new again. It will make a huge impact on your outdoor space without spending a bundle.

Our very own expert Forum associate PatinPaint shows you exactly how to give your old patio set a total facelift. And after going through the steps of using a steel brush to take off flakes and rust, steel wool or sand paper to give furniture a smooth finish, applying primer, and then paint – you’ll feel like a paint expert yourself!

The supplies you need for this, and any other DIY painting project, can be found at homedepot.com. PatinPaint, and all of our expert associates, are on the How-To Community Forum ready to answer your questions or give you advice on your DIY or gardening projects.

We have plenty more videos. Catch up with YouTube Tuesdays and Thursdays.

DIY, Do-it-yourself, outdoor, Outdoor Decor, Outdoor Living, Paint, Patio, Patio Furniture, Video, Videos, youtube

Use Your Windows And Fans To Beat That Summer Heat

Posted by: Micah Robinson on May 9th, 2012 | 2 Comments

A kitten cools off behind a portable fan

Photo by ClatieK

Is it just us – or is it getting hot in here?

Recent years have seen shorter, warmer winters followed by hotter, more intense spring and summer seasons. Faced with a barrage of unexpected (and relentless) heat, it’s no wonder why we instinctively crank the A/C cooling systems in our homes in an effort to keep things cool.

But that habit can take its toll, both on your wallet and on the environment. Fortunately, air conditioners are just one piece of the cooling puzzle, and understanding that is the key to achieving a consistently cool home while also being energy efficient.

All, Ceiling Fans, Conservation, DIY, Do-it-yourself, Energy Efficient, Energy Savings, Home Depot, weatherproofing, Windows

Meet The Material: Plexiglass

Posted by: Jae Warren on May 9th, 2012 | One Comment

Image of 1939 Pontiac Ghost Car made from plexiglass

Image via Twisted Sifter

German chemist Otto Rohm registered the brand name Plexiglas® in 1933, and by 1939 his company Rohm and Haas brought the first commercial grade acrylic glass to market. That same year Rohm and Haas teamed with General Motors to produce the first transparent car built in the U.S., the Pontiac Ghost Car, for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, according to Twisted Sifter. In August of 2011, the plexiglass Ghost Car was auctioned off for $308,000, which is not a bad return-on-investment for the $25,000 it cost to build the car in 1939.

What is plexiglass? Plexiglass is a transparent thermoplastic, known chemically as poly(methyl methacrylate), or PMMA. Plexiglass is a term that is also commonly used to refer to a wide variety of synthetic plastic products sold under the brand names of Lexan, Lucite, Perspex and others.

Plexiglass is often confused with polycarbonate, another transparent thermoplastic product that looks identical to plexiglass, but has different chemical and physical properties. Polycarbonate, sold under the brand name Lexan®, has 30X the impact resistance of acrylic plexiglass, is far less prone to scratching, and is available in bullet-proof grade thickness.

Clear Acrylic Sheets, Decorating, DIY, Do-it-yourself, Home Depot, Home Improvement, Meet the Material, Plastic Sheets, Plexiglas, Plexiglass Sheets, Polycarbonate Sheets, The Home Depot

YouTube Tuesday: Deck Improvements

Posted by: Shaina Oliphant on May 8th, 2012 | Make A Comment

We recently told you all about how to properly clean and maintain your deck, but let’s take your outdoor space to the next level. Give your deck a complete face lift without building a new one from scratch.

This video is chocked full of ideas on how to improve the appearance of your deck. Learn how to maintain your underlying structure while replacing certain features for dramatic effect. Add deck tiles and boards in a variety of colors and recessed LED deck lighting to post caps, deck rails and risers. This will can make all the difference in the world.

Balusters available in tons of shapes, styles and materials, as well as a variety of post caps, are all quick and inexpensive ways to make your deck look better than new! Visit our huge decking selection for everything you need to build or maintain your deck. Our expert associates on the How-To Community Forums will also answer any deck-related, or other DIY, questions you may have.

Want more videos? Catch up with YouTube Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Deck, DIY, Do-it-yourself, Home Depot, Home Improvement, outdoor, Outdoor Living, Outdoor Projects, Video, Videos

Give An Old Patio Umbrella New Life With Paint

Posted by: Shaina Oliphant on May 4th, 2012 | 7 Comments

This umbrella doesn’t need painting… yet. Image via nancy_t3i

Beautiful plants and flowers to liven things up? Check.

Comfortable patio chair to relax in? Check.

Time to stretch out in the warm weather with a good book and just unwind a little bit. Check.

But, wait! Your old patio umbrella doesn’t match your new patio accessories and it’s throwing everything off. Or maybe last summer’s sunshine totally faded your umbrella and it’s looking a little sad. Home Depot Community member ShaunasMom had a similar issue, but she didn’t want to splurge on a brand new umbrella so she headed over to The Home Depot Forums for guidance. Luckily, Forums associate Aboveaveragejoe was there to lend a helping hand:

DIY, Do-it-yourself, From the Forums, Home Depot, Home Improvement, outdoor, Paint, Patio, Patio Furniture, patio umbrella, The Home Depot

Places: Ceilings

Posted by: Jae Warren on May 3rd, 2012 | Make A Comment

Image via Cap Murals

What was the first person to paint or decorate a ceiling thinking? For all we know, cavemen began painting the ceilings just because they ran out of wall space. It’s almost certain, however, that once they were done they realized – “hey, that looks pretty cool, it really changes the entire feel of the space.”

That’s our story on how ceilings came to be known as the “fifth wall” of the home and we’re sticking to it. Ceilings are also the dimension of interior design, the oft unexplored space in the home that begs discovery. We love the fantasy cherry blossom theme painted by Cap Murals in the photo above.

But it doesn’t require an original mural to make your ceiling work harder for the decor and take your ceiling to a place where no home has gone before.

Ceiling, Ceiling Design Ideas, Ceiling Styes, Ceiling Types, DIY, Do-it-yourself, Home Depot, Home Improvement, Ideas, Inspiration, places, Style, The Home Depot, Tin Ceilings

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