I've been renting my flat in San Francisco for a few years now, and ever since I moved in, I've been bothered (make that incensed) by the cabinet hardware in the kitchen. The real dilemma? Twenty-four cabinets, combined with an obsessive love for leather pulls priced at $20 each (do the math and that's a $480 investment). The good news is that I figured out a way to get the cabinet pulls of my dreams and still have enough money to eat lunch.

Want to give it a try? See my DIY video for step-by-step instructions (you'll need to source the materials outlined below).

Above: The finished product, inspired by a sophisticated pull spotted on Remodelista.

Here's What You Need:

• Vegetable-tanned Leather Hide, $20 on Etsy (a single hide yields 30 cabinet pulls).

• Matte Behr Interior Paint in white; $11.23 at Home Depot.

• Nuts and Carriage Bolts; $5.44 for a pack of 20 at Home Depot.

• General Tool 818 Scratch Awl; $6.60 at Amazon.

• Paint Brushes; $1.15 each at Home Depot.

N.B. I

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After

living in our home for almost 11 years, our chief complaint was that we only had two options when entering our house: the front door and the garage. With three children and many bicycles, ATVs, and sporting equipment, navigating our garage was an "enter at your own risk" undertaking. Likewise, we were sick of our children kicking off shoes and dropping backpacks in our front hallway. On one side of our garage was an unused fifth bedroom , too small for guests, that we decided would provide a perfect side entranceway into our home. With two months off between job changes, it was the ideal project for my husband and I to tackle with the help of some outside professionals. Here's how we did it.

Opening a new entrance

The first task at hand was to cut an opening to the outside. By pulling back the siding from an existing window it was easy to remove the window from the framing. The width of the window matched the width of an external door. By cutting through the studs to the e

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Laundry rooms can be a challenge even you’re uber-organized. This very small and yet highly functional space is typically dominated by two very large appliances that are frequently used. But just as often, laundry rooms have other uses.

Making your laundry room as user-friendly as possible is difficult, but not impossible. Getting it right will make you feel as though you’ve added even more space to your home. Here are four ways to create a more useful laundry room:

1. Start with a clean sweep.

Oftentimes laundry rooms function as more than just a place to do laundry, so de-cluttering is the first step to getting organized. People tend to store extra household items such as paper towels and light bulbs in their laundry rooms, as well as cleaning supplies and extra towels or sheets. After going through all these laundry room residents, decide which should stay and which need to be moved to an alternate location.

2. To maximize the space in your laundry room, consider cabinets or shelvin

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Your kitchen faucet is one of the most frequently used fixtures in your home and a focal point in your kitchen. Once simply a tool for food preparation and washing dishes, today’s kitchen faucets offer exciting new features and enhanced functionality designed to provide ease-of-use and years of trouble-free operation. This buying guide will help you understand what to look for when selecting a kitchen faucet, so you can feel confident the fixture you choose provides the ideal combination of function and style.


Factors to Consider

Whether you're replacing an old faucet or installing a new one, you'll need to consider these important factors:
Mounting Options – Deckplate, non-deckplate and wall-mount Features and Functions – Handles, sprayers and spouts Finish – Tones, features and décor coordination
 

Mounting Options
While accessories like deckplates and sink hole covers allow some flexibility, if you’re replacing a faucet on an existing sink or countertop, the faucet you choose should ...Read More »

Fix your favorite foods and prepare delicious new recipes with the addition of a sleek, stylish cooktop to your kitchen. Installing a separate cooktop gives you maximum flexibility with a wide range of placement options. Whether you want to install the unit in your kitchen island or countertop, they fit seamlessly into nearly any environment and offer a number of benefits that will boost your cooking performance.

Before you can begin putting in the right pinch of this and dash of that, you'll want to choose a model that best suits your cooking style and kitchen setup. Keep these questions in mind as you shop:

• What are the benefits of each type of cooktop?
• How often do you cook, and how much food do you generally prepare?
• Which type of cooktop is the best fit for your kitchen setup and décor?
• What design elements are included that make cleanup easier?
• What special features and options would you like to have at your disposal?

Types, Style and Performance

Cooktops make a great additi

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A fence can provide security and privacy. It can keep your dog in and your neighbor’s dog out. But the fence that keeps the dog in may not be tall enough to keep out prying eyes. First consider why you want a fence, then find a few existing fences that meet your needs. Now look at the back of these fences. The front and back of a fence are almost always different. Any fence that is beautiful from your yard but unattractive from the neighbor’s deck is probably a poor choice. Where a fence is to be located, its dimensions, the amounts of time, money and help available, the climate at your location—all of these factors go into deciding what kind of fence you will build.

Once you’ve decided on a type of fence, decide on the material—chain link, vinyl, redwood, cedar, ornamental iron, or pressure-treated wood. While chain link wins no awards for beauty, it will keep the kids in the backyard, it doesn’t block your view of the neighborhood, and it is maintenance-free. Vinyl comes almost exclus

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Outdoor lighting is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to add beauty and security to your home. Weather-resistant fixtures are available to highlight landscape features, provide security at a door or dark area, or allow you to enjoy your patio or garden into the evening.

Outdoor lighting also comes in a variety of styles to complement your home's decor. Understanding the outdoor lighting styles that work best for each site will help you choose the most appropriate light for your garden, yard or deck.

Safety and security lighting

Path lights


Install path lights along the walkway from your driveway to your entry doors to ensure a safe walk for you and your guests.

Solar powered path lights mean you don't have to worry about remembering to turn on the lights before you leave the house.

Flood lights

Flood lights offer the benefit of safety and security when lighting a stairway, dark garage or entry. They help discourage intruders and light the way for you and your family when you ret...Read More »

Over time, it’s not unusual for residential sidewalks to develop a few cracks or crumbles. To keep this damage from spreading too quickly, and to prevent potentially unsafe conditions, you’ll want to repair these problems before they get too big. This project guide offers steps and instructions on how you can repair those small cracks and crumbles yourself using just a few common masonry tools and a little bit of time. 

Step One

New concrete does not stick well to old.

To anchor a patch make the crack wider at the bottom than at the top. Place a cold chisel in the crack, angle it slightly outward, and rap it with a 3-pound sledgehammer.








Step Two

Clean out debris thoroughly with a stiff fiber or wire brush.

Crumbs and pebbles weaken a concrete patch.










Step Three

Fill the crack with a patching mix - also known as vinyl concrete—made from vinyl, portland cement, and sand. It covers cracks up to 1⁄2 inch wide. Dampen the area around the crack, then trowel on the mix. Smooth the surface with either

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There is an art to hanging art. First, you have the challenge of placing objects on a wall in a pleasing way. It's similar to arranging furniture. Even hanging a single picture on a bare wall can be difficult. Experiment by taping up pieces of paper cut to the size of your pictures. Arrange them in rows, in a circle or randomly until you find a pleasing combination. Generally, larger and darker pictures look better placed toward the bottom of a grouping. By breaking up pictures that feature particular colors, the eye is encouraged to travel around an arrangement.

Make sure your precious objects are installed securely. Use proper hanging hardware to securely hang your paintings on the wall.

Test possible arrangements directly on the wall. Cut out pieces of paper the size and shape of each picture to tape to the wall. Rearrange the pieces until you find a pleasing grouping.


Step One:

Hanging Hardware You'll find a variety of picture hangers in the hardware department. The common hangers sho

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Crown moulding requires coping so that separate pieces will nest against each other.

When painted, polyurethane moulding looks much like solid wood moulding. Putting it up, however, is much easier. There are no finely fitted cope joints here. The corner is actually made from small blocks that screw in place. The outside edges of the blocks are square, and adjoining moulding, which runs along the walls, butts against the corner blocks. The only cuts you'll have to make are simple square ones that cut the moulding to length.

Unlike wood, polyurethane moulding screws to the wall. Use trim-head screws, which are essentially drywall screws with a smaller head. The holes the screws leave are large enough to need filling. Use glazing putty by rolling some into a ball and packing it into the hold. Run your thumb along the moulding and over the putty to create a patch that follows the shape of the moulding.

While polyurethane won't take a stain, it paints nicely. The advantage of glazing putty is

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