Hot Home & Garden How-Tos

How To: Repair Stripped Screw Holes

How to repair a stripped screw hole. Look, we've all bought a crappy chipboard piece of furniture in our time that has fallen to pieces because the screw holes are so worn they no longer hold the screw, or have had an old door that is about to fall off because the screws holding up the door have been stripped out of their hole.

How To: These Google Maps Birdhouses Make It Easy for Birds to Find Their Way Home

With Google Maps, we can fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo to Paris and New York—all in a matter of seconds. We can zoom in with relative ease and flock around the city of our choice, checking out restaurants, historical landmarks, traffic and scuba divers. Easily the most recognizable and iconic part of Google Maps are the markers that signify all of these locations and point of interests. The iconic markers have already spurred artists to create Google Map inspired art pieces—with one such arti...

How To: Clean and Maintain Your Tape Measure

Recently I was working outside forming a driveway in the rain. Working in and around the wet sand was not friendly on my tools, especially my tape measure. About halfway through the day my tape measure would need "encouragement" in order to retract to the closed postion. Not too much later, with force applied, it would remain standing out at 1ft. and the problem progressively got worse.

How To: Turn an Old Washing Machine Drum into an Awesome Outdoor Fire Pit

If you want to put a fire pit in your backyard, but don't want to spend a lot of time or money on it, this $10 DIY Upcycled Fire Pit designed by Sarah and Joe over on House & Fig is the perfect weekend project. It's simple, looks great, and shouldn't take much more than an hour to put together. You can pick up a washing machine drum from a used appliance store, and you'll also need a few pieces of steel for the legs and a can of high-heat paint.

How To: Build a Rustic Timber Table

These three videos will show you how to build a rustic, distressed kitchen table. I'll be walking you through the process of selecting some recycled timber from a junk pile, and with a little care and some simple joinery techniques, transform that waste timber into a distressed timber kitchen or dining table. In fact, you could use the table for whatever you wanted really.

How To: Create an Entryway Using Ikea Billy Bookcases

Small studio apartment decorating can be challenging, especially when it comes to creating separate zones and keeping clutter at bay. In this video, you'll see how to create an entryway using Ikea Billy bookcases and natural jute grasscloth. This bookcase room divider serves many functions, including separating the bedroom from the rest of the space, and providing extra storage, crucial to organizing small spaces. And best of all, you can take your bookcase wall with you when you move out!

How To: 5 Simple Ways to Keep Your Bathroom Mirror from Fogging Up

Getting hot and steamy can be awesome, as illustrated in the 1997 smash hit Titanic. But having the bathroom mirrors fog up during a nice hot shower can be very annoying. Getting ready in the morning can already be rushed, and wiping down your mirrors after your shower wastes time. Since most people like to shave or clean up after a shower, the need for a clear mirror is prime.

How To: Make a Super Cheap Coffee-Stained Wood Pallet Coffee Table

Turning unused items into usable pieces of furniture is a great way to save money and create some really good-looking pieces for your room. And nothing beats repurposing old wooden pallets. Redditor BaconStripsandFishin used old wooden pallets and a month's worth of coffee to create his own unique coffee table. To make this, unscrewed all of the wooden panels (top and bottom), placed them all together, and then screwed them back in reusing those same nails. Once he had all of the board togeth...

How To: Organize Your Bedroom Closet

Frustrated with a bedroom closet that doesn’t work for you? You’re not alone, and you don’t have to live with it the way it is! In this episode, a renter’s closet gets a makeover so she can have easy access to everything and have more hanging space. Taking the sliding doors off and getting rid of the shelf above the rod opens up all sorts of possibilities, including adding a double hanging rod. You’ll see how easy it is to organize your bedroom closet to maximize the space, all on a budget.

How To: Decorate a Small Balcony

In this episode, see how to decorate a small balcony to add livable square footage to your apartment by installing a reed fence, and making a bench out of a few plastic storage containers and plywood. There’s even room to include a balcony garden with a raised planter. These balcony decorating ideas can also be used for small patios and decks and will inspire you to create your very own outdoor oasis.

How To: Make a Drum Shade

Do you like everything about your apartment, except for that unsightly ceiling light fixture? No need to replace it, just cover it up with a DIY drum shade – it will instantly give your room a more sophisticated and personalized look. See how easy it is to make a customized drum shade that will fit any décor, all with inexpensive and easily sourced materials. This is do it yourself lighting on a budget that’s perfect for renters and anyone looking for a quick upgrade to their lighting fixtures.

How To: Install a Hanging Room Divider - IKEA KVARTAL

Whether you own or rent, it’s not always easy to decorate a studio apartment to keep the bed out of sight. In this episode, you’ll see how to divide a studio apartment with an IKEA KVARTAL system. Panels, curtains and art hanging from the ceiling tracks give the illusion of a wall, creating a separate living room that’s easy to open up anytime. All it takes is a few simple tricks and you’ll see what an easy project this is for decorating a studio apartment or any space that could use a room d...

Quick Tip: Fix a Stripped Screw Hole in Five Minutes with Toothpicks

There's nothing that halts progress on a DIY project like a stripped screw. It's incredibly frustrating to get out, and that's just the beginning of your problems. Once it's out, you might also have to fix the hole if you want to use it for anything else. There are tons of ways to do this, but if you're looking for something quick and simple, Chris over on Man Made DIY has you covered.