The pink Malm, prettified.

Materials: Pink Malm, Spray paint primer, Interior Latex Olympic Paint in White Mood, Spray Paint in Seaside Green, Brushes, Stencil, Tape

Description: My daughter has had this dresser for a few years, and as she got older and her favorite color went from pink to green, I thought it was only fitting that the Malm followed suit.

I sprayed the whole thing with primer, twice. Rolled on three coats of the Olympic paint to the main part of the dresser. Taped off the side edges of the drawers so that I could spray paint the Seaside Green to the tops of them. Once they were dry, I lined the drawers up and started stenciling using a foam roller brush and the same Olympic color that I used on the dresser. Viola.

See more of Angela's Malm dresser.

~ Angela

Lanvin loves H&M!

The rumors that Lanvin and it's designer Alber Elbaz would be collaborating with H&M were confirmed yesterday!  Fashionistas everywhere are already in a tizzy and announced that they might actually stand in line for this new collection.  "I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public” Elbaz said. “I really wanted to try the whole idea of brand, and not just a dress for less…It’s about creating a dream and giving it to people who couldn’t afford Lanvin. We thought it was a very relevant move.”  I'll see you in line on November 23rd!

Equestrian Chic: Part Deux

ShelterPop was kind enough to ask me to comment on Equestrian Style for a piece on their site that ran yesterday.  You can learn more ways to incorporate equestrian accessories into your decor.  I also found these new photos since my last Equestrian Chic post.  Enjoy!

Foxcroft Riders, 1960, Slim Aarons

Old Krister desk made into a compact TV stand solution

Materials: Krister Desk, Hack saw, Allen wrench, drill bit (or something to puncture the metal), Nuts and washers to fit the screws

Description: I needed a much smaller TV stand for my new room which is only 9'X 9' and after finding this site, I was incredibly motivated to tear apart the REALLY old Krister desk (pix, right) that had been sitting in the corner of my parents garage for years. It's a fairly simple adjustment, and I still have a few left over parts which I may incorporate by way of shelves if I have the time.

1. remove both top and side pieces of metal from the desk, which includes the angled back, meant for the old CRT monitors, the mouse pad, the keyboard panel, the PC holster and it's side support, and the monitor support beam.

2. use the hack saw to cut 12" off of the bars hanging out off of the frame.

3. Remove the caps from the end of the cut bars and place them on the cut ends to avoid cutting up anything or anyone.

4. Grab the angled panel and line it up with the holes about 4" down from the frame on each side.

5. Mark the sides of the angled panel that don't line up with threaded holes.

6. Remove the panel and drill the holes to fit the screw.

7. Place the panel and screw the front end into place, set the screws in the back end and place the washers and nuts on the backside of the angled panel.

~ Martin Pittis, Washington

The ultimate scarf organizer

Materials: GRUNDTAL Towel rail, and S hooks, BINDER CLIPS

Description: I needed a way to store Scarves. If you have a basket or some sort of closet thing, you will know that it SUCKS. Because scarves need to be seen, and not folded. They also need to be organized in a way that does not leave them in a massive pile on the floor every morning. NO SUCH INVENTION EXISTS. Until now.

Install the GRUNDTAL two pole towel rack into the wall at about 6 feet from the ground. Hang the S hooks from it and then attach about 2 Binder clips per hook. You can not just hang the scarves on the S hooks directly - you will get tears and bumps and they will fall off constantly. Now clip all of your scarves to the binder clips. You may peruse through your scarves with a simple click click click.

See more of the scarf organizer.

~ Mae Callen, Ottawa, Ontario

Working at Home

There are so many of us who work from home and have had to carve out space for a desk.  Some are in the living room, others are in the bedroom, and there are a even a few that are in the closet, literally.  Even those who do have work offices have spaces at home for a computer and correspondence.  I especially love fashion designer Michael Bastian's desk area above.  Enjoy!

Office area in the old Janklow townhouse.

Aerin Lauder's chic desk in her dressing room.

Yves Saint Laurent

Pamela Skaist Levy

Carolina Herrera

Detail of Carolina Herrera's desk

Alex Papachristidis

Amy Fine Collins

Diane von Furstenberg

Celerie Kemble

Cordelia de Castellane

Jenni Kayne

Elizabeth Mayhew

Detail of Elizabeth Mayhew's amazing staionery collection!

Markham Roberts

Gil Schafer

Miles Redd designed home office.

Antony Todd

Nate Berkus's old home work space.

Oscar de la Renta

Annette de la Renta

Veere Grenney

Nate Berkus California designed desk area.

Room with a view from House & Garden.

An inspiring view from desk in Elle Decor.

Effektively hiding a cat box

Materials: Effektiv: base with legs, add-on unit (high), door; Metrik door handles

Description: Cat box hacks are becoming so common on Ikeahacker that this hardly counts as a hack. I thought I'd send it anyway, since I haven't seen the Effektiv used this way before.

It's the classic story (unsightly litterbox, small apartment) with a twist: my cat is messier than average, so she uses a CleverCat top-entry litterbox... which is great, but bulky.

It turns out the Effektiv office cabinet is the perfect size for this behemoth cat box, with enough space left over for storing spare litter, and even an electric air cleaner on a shelf! It was also relatively simple to make, just needing two holes, one of the shelves cut in two, and some angle brackets to keep the shelf steady. I can even add another unit on top if I need more enclosed storage later.

I have new respect for your apartment hackers and their hacks. I had to call in favours from three separate friends to borrow the tools and workspace to make this happen.

~ David Perry, Ottawa, Ontario