JOURNAL
The Smallest Closet, Working the Hardest — IKEA Walk-In Built-In with Semihandmade
A primary walk-in closet barely large enough to stand in — designed as a full built-in using IKEA Sektion cabinets and Semihandmade custom door fronts. Here's how it came together.
How Designers Use IKEA Kitchen Cabinets
Some of the most photographed kitchens in design media started with IKEA cabinet boxes. Here's how three designers — Athena Calderone, Luke McClelland and Anna Drakes — built something beautiful by spending where it counts.
How to Turn a Cabinet Gap Into Hidden Pull-Out Storage
That awkward gap beside a built-in cabinet doesn't have to be wasted space. Here's how I turned a 5-inch filler strip into hidden pull-out storage that disappears into the design.
How I Built a DIY Built-In Dresser and Bookcase from a Repurposed Dresser
The bunk bed was the first half of a larger plan. This built-in dresser and bookcase — built from a repurposed six-drawer dresser and an IKEA cabinet — was the second.
How to Finish the Bottom of a Bunk Bed (The Detail Everyone Skips)
The underside of a top bunk is one of those details most people ignore — bare slats, exposed plywood, nothing. Here's how to cover it cleanly with fabric using the same logic as stretching a canvas.
How to Add Pendant Lighting Without Hardwiring
Lighting is one of the simplest ways to shift the mood of a space. Our new construction kitchen started as a white box with recessed lighting throughout. I knew the counter needed pendant lighting to create a visual break and bring dimension to the space. The solution: USB-powered lightbulbs that require no hardwiring. Here's how it works—and what to consider before you try it.
How to Wallpaper a Desk with Peel-and-Stick Grasscloth
Transforming a basic desk with wallpaper looks far more complicated than it actually is. I used the Target Wavy Writing Desk and peel-and-stick grasscloth wallpaper to create a custom piece for my daughter's room. The key is wrapping components before assembly so seams stay hidden. Here's the full process.
Trim, Reconsidered
Baseboards are one of those details that quietly anchor an entire room — and one of the decisions I kept putting off because getting them wrong felt permanent. Here's how I worked through three different profile options, why one got eliminated by professional consensus, and what I actually installed.
DIY Fluted Shelves
Custom shelves don't require custom carpentry. I built these rose-stained fluted shelves for my daughter's desk area using select pine boards, mini fluted wood trim, and black iron brackets transformed with Rub 'n Buff. Here's the process.
DIY Lucite Gem Garland for Kids' Room
A small project that adds just enough sparkle. I found these lucite gems at Target during the holidays and knew they would complement my daughter's blush pink desk area. I used twine to blend into the woodland mural, though ribbon, cord, or fishing line would work just as well. Here's how to make your own in under an hour.
DIY Reeded Cabinet Doors Using Wooden Dowels
When I decided to paint the gray powder bath cabinets to complement the woodland wallpaper, I knew I wanted more than a simple color shift. The flat cabinet fronts needed dimension—something to break up the surface and add visual interest. The solution: individual wooden dowels, lined up to create the look of a reeded panel. I sourced the right size, then cut and glued each one—140 in total—into the inset of the doors. Here's the process and the result.
Entry Closet: Ikea Sektion + Semihandmade Built-In
When we moved into our Brooklyn condo, the foyer was an empty white box with a niche where a closet should have been. Here's how we built a custom-looking entry closet using Ikea Sektion cabinets and Semihandmade door fronts—and fit a microwave, pantry goods, coats, shoes, ski gear, suitcases, and a printer into one wall of storage.
How to Hang Wallpaper for the First Time: 10 Tips That Make All the Difference
Wallpaper can transform a room in a way that paint simply can’t — but installing wallpaper for the first time can feel daunting. These are the tips I wish I’d had before I started.
Proof There Is Always More Storage
There's almost always more storage in a space than first appears. You just have to know where to look. Here's what I found hiding at the top of a shared kids' closet.
How I Built a DIY Built-In Bunk Bed in a Tiny NYC Bedroom (Using Two Old Beds)
Custom bunk beds were out of the budget. So I repurposed the two beds we already had, added Ikea built-ins, and gave the kids’ room more space to add 2 individual desks. Here's how.
Why I Chose a Modern Café Curtain (and How I Installed It)
Full-length curtains were too heavy for a row of windows next to a glass balcony door. Here's how a modern café curtain solved the light, the privacy, and the ledge problem in one install.
How to Tinsel a Christmas Tree
Tinsel gets a bad reputation. Applied the wrong way, it deserves it. Applied the right way, it's one of the most quietly beautiful things you can do to a Christmas tree — and the technique makes all the difference.
How to Make a Faux Christmas Tree Look Fuller
The best discoveries are the accidental ones. A few years ago I bought green wired ribbon that happened to be the exact color of my faux tree. What I found when I put it up changed how I decorate every year.