By Caroline Inge

Being new to the DIY-world, I only take on modest projects that can't cause too much damage if I screw up, and I always, always print off step-by-step instructions which I've probably been googling for about a week. You could say I like to be thorough. Well, I think I've found my next project, and even though it's much more ambitious than say, painting a bookshelf, I definitely think it looks do-able -- at least the step-by-step video looks easy enough!

Having brand new countertops installed in your kitchen or bathroom can cost thousands of dollars, and in many homes, they are the main offender in a tired kitchen. The grey, marbleized laminate in my kitchen makes me sad, and paired with dull, cream cabinets, this space is a total bore. Until recently, there was no way to update your kitchen countertops without completely replacing them. This month, Modern Masters®, a decorative paint and faux finishing brand, came out with a clever way to makeover your outdated, laminate countertops using a three-step painting system. Countertop Transformations™ allows you to change the aesthetic in your kitchen without sacrificing your durable work surface. Check out the website for an easy step-by-step instructional video, or upload a picture of your kitchen and try out each of the five colors!

I definitely think this paint kit would help me achieve my dream kitchen, which looks something like this: 

I love color, and for my kitchen, I want something energetic but still classic enough that we could grow old together. I think this kitchen from Sunset has a nice balance with its soft, minty green cabinets and sleek, black granite countertops. I think the Charcoal paint kit from Countertop Transformations would look fantastic paired with Benjamin Moore's Salisbury Green. What do you think?

I recently finished decorating my guest bedroom (it looked like this for too long!) on a serious budget. I wanted a nice place for quests to relax, and had to work with hand-me-down furniture from both my parents and my husbands parents. Here's the breakdown of what I spent to bring it all together ...

With Baby Williams set to arrive in about 6 weeks (and counting), I figured it was about time to fill you on what we've been up to in the nursery. After evicting my husband from his home office (while he was out of town, even worse), it was time to choose a palette for the room that would work for a baby! I wanted a soothing space for those 3 a.m. feedings...and dark (almost black) hunter green was not going to cut it.

Time for a front entry makeover? Check out ours! Now, my husband is not convinced of the color, but we're going to try it for a while and see. Because there are orange tones in the brick, a friend chose a red with an orange tone so that it worked with the house, not against it.

Here's how I did it... And no, I didn't choose blue door handles, the painter's tape is still there. :)

Wouldn't you rather be here than wherever you are right now? I definitely would, especially now that it's springtime. It's the famous Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. It's a park in the center of the city where Parisians (and tourists like me) go to rest and people watch. I won't be making it back to the garden this year, but I am looking for some Luxembourg Gardens-inspired patio furniture.

Luckily, I found Fermbob a French patio-furniture company with a whole line called Luxembourg. You can order each piece in one of 27 colors. I would go for verbena myself. Here are some of my favorite pieces all available for purchase through Cafe Society Store.

The Luxembourg Low Chair -- a nice compromise between an arm chair and a lounge chair.

  A bar cart -- perfect for a garden party.

The table -- I couldn't stand having this outside. I would definitely use it as my kitchen table, but if necessary I could take it outside. Perfect!

Do you have any patio furniture favorites?

I've been looking for a peacock chair. It goes by a number of names: queen's chair, wedding chair, or Queen of Sheba chair. The chair is the 70s fan-back wicker piece that you may remember from your grandparent's sunroom, or from a tacky condo you stayed in during college spring break. Regardless, I think the chair has potential. I love the lines of the wingback, and it's a fun (and thrifty) conversation piece to add to my living room. Which is why I drove 360 miles roundtrip when I found this one listed for $20 by a seller in Canton, GA.

After a month of internet research, I knew that $20 ($70 with gas included) was a steal for this chair, I've seen them listed for as much as $1850 like the chair below. It's been re-painted and fitted with a cushion. If you're interested it's available at the much loved pieces in Atlanta.

I'm so happy with my bargain find from Craigslist. I'm still looking for another chair to make it a pair. In the meantime, I'm deliberating on what color to paint it. I'm leaning towards navy or black, maybe even gray, and thinking about a fun printed fabric for the cushion.

Maybe this one from Lewis and Sheron fabrics in Atlanta? 

Could this apple-green fabric look really fresh on a shiny black chair?

Would this gray and blue fabric look understated and chic on the chair? Should I even attempt understated on a chair like the peacock?

I'm on the fence of a million ideas! Please weigh-in and let me know what you would do with the chair. And, if I can't find another one to make a pair, what should I do with just one in a living room? Do you have another type of chair in mind that could hold it's own with such large and lively piece?

You know, one of the good things about the current state of the economy is that it teaches you to be thrifty and resourceful. The other weekend I noticed one of the walls in my apartment was bare, boring, and basically begging me to be decorated.

Since my roomates and I were planning on having people over soon, I began racking my brain for ideas. We already had a mirror and a painting on the two nearby walls, so I wanted to try something different. I was also in a DIY mood, so I started looking for a project. Next thing I knew, I was over at my parents house rummaging through closets and the garage for ideas. I found this old door remnant in one of their piles and decided it would make a great coat rack since the wall is near the entrance to our apartment.

I sanded down the entire surface with a medium grit sandpaper since I needed to get rid of the splinters and rough areas, but it needed  a smooth finish that would hold another layer of paint. I used my dad's electric sander, which was much faster than doing it by hand, and concentrated on making the edges and corners and smooth as possible. Once that was done, I brushed away all of the grit and dirt to make sure I had a clean surface the paint would adhere to smoothly.

Our apartment is decorated in mostly neutrals with pops of blue and green, so I chose an aqua blue paint color to stand out against our plain beige walls. I am impatient, so I did two very light paint coats and used a hairdryer to speed up the drying process.

One of favorite lines in the extremely-quotable movie Steel Magnolias is when Clairee says, "The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize." And so true she is. We all know the simple black dress can go from chic to stunning with just the right necklace and earrings, well the same is true for your furniture. Instead of bangles and strands of pearls look to dress up an old chest or dresser with new pretty hardware like these:

I took a white dresser I bought at a flea market in Atlanta for $50 and just by switching out the plain round wooden pulls with vintage-inspired glass knobs, I totally reinvented the piece. My intention was to repaint it glossy white, but I liked the combination of the scuffed paint with the more glam hardware so much I just kept it as is.

I purchased these knobs at Anthropolgie and to be honest at $8 a knob (I needed 6 knobs) I did spend a little more on the hardware than the dresser -- but for $100 total I was finished and I have had the piece for almost 6 years now and still love it (although I am getting over the shabby-scuffed look and will repaint it soon). But you can find decorative knobs also at stores like Home Depot, Restoration Hardware, and even crafts stores like Hobby Lobby. I recently bought some at Hobby Lobby for only $3 per knob!

But while you can find the items for a little less at other stores, nobody can come close to the selection that Anthropologie has -- and on their site they even have a "Hardware Store" where you can virtually see how the knobs will look on a piece of furniture.

First pick the style of hardware: Flowers, Animals, or Jewels. Then pick a similar style of furniture to style. (This one looks just like my dresser.)

And then pick your favorite knob. With just a click you can see how transformed a dresser or chest can become.

This is also an inexpensive way to spruce up cabinets and drawers too-- think about your bathroom vanity or medicine cabinet or your kitchen cabinets. Add a touch of color and dash of personality just with a few furniture accessories.

When we bought our house, I thought that I wouldn't last a month looking at our not-so-welcoming front entry, but ... well, I'm sure you know how that goes. So, on the one-year anniversary of moving in, we finally did something about it -- without spending a fortune.

The first thing we did was remove the bulky, wrought iron storm door. It really made the facade look dated, and I personally think it's not very hospitable to open a door into your guests' face. The screws were rusted, stripped and painted over, so it took a little while to get it down, but it was free! Unless you count the $10 vice-grip my husband ruined in the process ...

Next, we needed a little color. I was inspired by a photo I saw in Cottage Living (photo by Rex Perry), and chose a dark blue that leans a little on the green side (peacock blue, if you will). I feel in love with "Cafe on the Riviera" by Ralph Lauren, but since RL doesn't sell outdoor paint at Home Depot, I had it color matched at Benjamin Moore. I splurged a little to make sure I got the color I wanted, and that the paint would hold up to the weather on the South-facing door. One quart was enough to cover the front and side doors in three coats, and I've got plenty left if I ever need to touch it up. Cost: $26.

Next, we wanted to update the lighting. The small single fixture wasn't adding anything to the look of the porch, and it's placement above the shutter seemed odd. We bought two matching lanterns in an oil-rubbed bronze finish at Lowe's, and planned to put them on either side of the door to add some much-needed symmetry (a no-fail decorating trick). We did have some issues when I came to wiring them, as we didn't have access to the inside of the walls. We bought a bit of trim and hollowed out the back to make "chasers" to cover the wires. After a little paint to match the siding (which we were thrilled to find in the basement!), I barely notice them. Cost: $75 (for two lanterns and supplies).

Finally, we used some Elmer's Wood Filler to repair the holes in the trim, sanded it, and gave it a fresh coat of the white paint I've always got on hand. We saved a little money by not replacing the door hardware. Brass is kind of having a moment right now, and I even kind of like the way it looks with the blue. And of course, we saved by doing all of the work ourselves -- all it took was a Saturday afternoon. Now the entry is so much more up-to-date, more open, and definitely more welcoming. And I've always wanted to say "look for the house with the blue door!"