Indoor Projects
Dining Room Design Accents: Wallpaper within Shadow Boxes
Moving now into the final phases of the dining room trim work design, the original vision for the room is becoming a full-blown reality. What started … [Read More...]
Outdoor Projects
Paver Walkway Burrowing Pest
A few days back, we noticed a small sliver of paver stone was missing from our front walkway. As I took a closer look at it, I realized there was a … [Read More...]
Recent Projects

Green Pest Control: Tips for Protecting your Home and Garden this Summer
May 21, 2013 By Guest Author 1 Comment
This guest post is by Jen McCauley of Eden Advanced Pest Technologies. While insects and other pests are vital to our ecosystem, I’d rather not make personal contact with them. I find no pleasure in seeing a trail of ants along a kitchen counter carrying crumbs from this morning’s toast. And I’d rather spend time eating … [Read More...]
Hardwood Floor Installation and Trim Work
April 15, 2013 By Mark Russo 2 Comments
Now that the dining room hardwood flooring preparation efforts are completed, it's time to get this floor in - and really bring the room, overall, to a whole new aesthetic plateau. For those of you who read the article or who watched some of the videos in the Part 1 portion of this hardwood flooring effort, you know that this is … [Read More...]
Preparing to Install Hardwood Flooring
March 18, 2013 By Mark Russo 2 Comments
So, what does it take to install a hardwood floor? Is it easy? Hard? Expensive?? How much time will it take, and can I do it myself? Will I need special tools that I may not already have? These may be some of the questions you're considering if you've never done something like this yourself, and they're all good questions. A … [Read More...]
5 Easy Ways to Bring Your Landscape Back to Life
March 1, 2013 By Guest Author 5 Comments
This guest post is by Landscape Designer, Joe Ciaglia. It’s your turn this season for hosting the annual family reunion! You’ve decided on planning your party as a “start of the summer kick off” barbecue. Your preparation checklist includes who will be invited, a list of foods and drinks that you will provide to your … [Read More...]
Sturdy and Stylish Curtains for Your Home
February 23, 2013 By Guest Author 5 Comments
This guest post is by Interior Decorating enthusiast, Eva Stephen. I don’t know what it is about prefabricated curtains, but the flimsy rods, overly decorative hooks and the tiny screws just end up looking cheap, unstable and unappealing. Sometimes we just need a little more DIY elegance than the hardware store has to … [Read More...]

Flagstone Walkway – Quick & Easy
February 2, 2013 By Mark Russo Leave a Comment
This is a little project I did in the fall as I had a stretch in the yard between the deck and the gate I thought could use a little dressing-up. It's really easy, fairly cheap and only a couple of hours of work. But it makes for a very nice aesthetic and is particularly liberating if you're a perfectionist - because this is … [Read More...]
Dining Room Design Accents: Wallpaper within Shadow Boxes
January 6, 2013 By Mark Russo 3 Comments
Moving now into the final phases of the dining room trim work design, the original vision for the room is becoming a full-blown reality. What started as a nice (but somewhat stark) dining area is now taking on a completely different overall personality. To me, this is the power of architectural trim work - and in this article … [Read More...]
Dressing Up an Archway with Fluted Casing and Rosettes
November 24, 2012 By Mark Russo Leave a Comment
As my dining room trim work design starts getting underway, my construction strategy is to begin at the edges and work my way into the core of the room. So, near the top of the “start-building-it’” list is framing-out the dining room archway – and I’m planning to use wide fluted casings, rosettes and plinth … [Read More...]

Building a Removable Wood Fence Section and Gate
October 6, 2012 By Mark Russo 7 Comments
When we enclosed my yard with a cedar fence 11 years ago, it seemed like a good idea to create a removable section so we could get a truck inside. You never know when you might need to get back there, right? So I built one. And as it turned out, this came in handy time-and-time again. (At one point, lightning actually struck and … [Read More...]







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