Do-It-Yourself Ideas Inside and Outside Your Home

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on July 10, 2022. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’ve been known to take a selfie now and again. In fact, my friends know and appreciate my signature “Sarah selfie,” which is a group pic taken as a selfie with me in front and them all in the photo, too. But never have I ever taken a “shelfie” until I read this week’s Style Specialist column, in which our interior designer extraordinaire — Christine Cowles of Styled & Staged Santa Barbara — shows us her secrets for styling bookcases so that they are shelfie-worthy. Here’s my before pic above. I’m going to study Christine’s tips and tricks and see if I can up my game a bit. How about you?

I’ve been kitten-sitting for a friend recently, and although feeding and playing with the sweet young feline — aptly named Clawed — has been my only responsibility, I’ve been almost as enchanted with the flowers in the front garden as I have with young Clawed. Dahlias, tuberoses, and lilies (like the one shown above) galore. If you’re inspired by the profusion of flora surrounding us this season, take your own garden to the next level. But before you do, you might want to check out this article with several mistakes you don’t want to make while you’re in the planning stage.

I love a good Ikea furniture hack, and this one is no exception. Two Ikea bread boxes are turned on their sides, glued together, painted, and voila! A stylish new bedside table is born. This one uses hairpin legs and a chalky blue color, but style and finish options could certainly give it a different vibe. One poignant, punny poster pointed out that with a table like this, “you’ll never wake up on the wrong side of the bread again.”

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If the breadbox table inspires you to look for other Ikea hacks so that you can do yourself, start with this article from the Hunker blog. It provides a great starting point, and the possibilities from there are endless. They even have a hanging planter made from Ikea shopping bags.

What do a neck fan, cast-iron skillet, and a Corona extendable hand weeder have in common? They are among the myriad home-related products that are on sale ahead of Amazon’s crowd favorite Prime Day deals. Prime Day falls this Tuesday and Wednesday, July 12 and 13. But if you just can’t wait ’til then, check out this list compiled by Better Homes & Gardens. You’ll avoid the lines, and you still get free shipping.

Enjoy your Sunday in the sunshine, and here’s this week’s issue if you need a reading break!

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