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Rugs can transform a mediocre space into something more special but it's not always easy to find one you love on a tight budget. While nothing can compare to that rug you've been saving up for, this DIY is a great option for areas that need a little pick me up such as a studio, a guest room, or your front porch.

I had a length of freshly washed fabric folded up and hung over the railing in the dining room for well over a month. I'd picked it up at the fabric shop directly after reading a how-to for making my own no-sew curtains out of burlap.

Now, I'm not much into burlap (shocking, I know), but I was certain I could replicate this style with something a little more my speed. So I purchased some fabric I liked and did a quick sketch to set myself in the right direction (a direction I like to call, "A Hair Short of Wing-It").

I hate ironing. Don't we all? I've avoided buying everyday clothes that have to be ironed because, ultimately, they end up at the back of the closet. It's also tough when you're used to apartment dwelling without enough space for a full sized ironing board. A few years back I bought an upright steamer which made the situation a little easier to manage. However, with frequent sputtering, I think the life of my steamer is coming to an end. So I needed a new solution. I immediately though of making a new ironing board. I could control the size and had a lot of the materials on hand already.

First things first, I needed slab of wood.

One thing really makes a place look lived-in, and that's hanging art on the wall. It takes a commitment to put a nail into plaster to hang a picture, and seeing art you've committed to hanging immediately makes you feel in control of your space.

While you're waiting for art you love to come along, you can liven up a room with your own art — or your family's! Round up the necessities, and I'll meet you in the driveway for a seriously easy step-by-step guide to making art for your home you'll be proud of.

Let me start out by saying I AM NOT A PATIENT PERSON. Just ask anyone in my family. No wait, don't. Just trust me on this one.

So when I read about making this enzyme cleaner that takes 3 MONTHS to "mature"…I just knew I could never stand the waiting! So I ALMOST passed on this idea….until I read a way how to speed the process up from 3 months to TWO WEEKS!

I thought about it long and hard….and after some DEEP soul searching…I decided I COULD do 2 weeks.

A month after making my batch of cleaner, I hadn't even gotten around to trying it — so I decided the bathroom would be my first "test subject".

My husband and I are getting ready to move into a smaller space with our son — right now we're renting a house, but are going back to an apartment soon. This is all part of a bigger plan to downsize our living space and therefore our possessions, and it's one that we're really excited about.

This was our first garage sale, and we were NOT prepared for the singular anxiety and crazy-making that comes hosting a yard sale. Luckily, we pulled it off, and here's how.

You have to practice spray painting. This came as a surprise to me, my sophomore year of college, my first year of art school, when I was trying to spray paint my Piet Mondrian-inspired birdhouse for Intro to 3D Design on the sidewalk outside my dorm during a very cold March. I guess I thought spray paint was magic — that it automated the process of painting — but I found out that wasn't true, and that I didn't know how to use spray paint at all.

Many projects later, I am a master spraypainter. I paint coatracks and shoes and art work and bones, and I really think this is one of the most valuable DIY skills I have. Being able to finish up a spray paint job with no drips or ripples can make the difference between a ruined project and one I LOVE. Having a good grasp of this skill means anything in my house can be ANY EFFING COLOR I WANT.

Let me teach you the right way to use a can of spray paint.

Setting up a wired LAN in your house is somewhat unusual, because most people do just fine with a wireless connection. But it does offer some distinct advantages over an exclusively wireless network, like faster speeds, lower latency, and better reliability. If you're a hardcore enough nerd, this might be your next home project.