How to Decorate for a Backyard Summer Party - Holidash. I love the idea for keeping water balloons and sparklers around for your dinner guests to play with. Also the use of a colorful beach towel as a tablecloth seems very practical when you'll be serving cold drinks that will condensate. (I don't know about you but my coaster always gets stuck to the bottom of my glass and slides off and plops into my lap which makes me feel flustered and usually leads me to eventually tip a tall glass of lemonade all over the table, all preventable.)

Living in 182 Square Feet in Seattle The Seattle Times | Apartment Therapy. I love that his focus is on getting himself back out into the neighborhood instead of hanging at home too often.

How can I muffle loud pipes in a wall, preferably cheaply? | Ask MetaFilter. We discovered that a kitchen sink pipe runs through our lower level living room when we drilled straight through it while hanging curtain rods. Now that we know where it is (silver lining?) we might try to muffle it.

Design*Sponge » before & after: ashley’s chair + mary’s ikea hacks. I really love the second chair makeover on this page, almost makes me wish we didn't have upholstered office chairs.

Your Smoke Detector Questions, Answered | Unplggd. I'm suddenly feeling insecure about never cleaning out my smoke detectors.

Design*Sponge » new: oh joy wallpaper for hygge & west. I really like this, and as I usually dismiss wallpaper as too much work I will be considering where I could use this.

decor8 » Aunt June Fabrics. An Etsy shop I really must remember, I have throw pillows to make.

shelterrific » tried and true: spot shot carpet cleaner. I need this, I am a clumsy person who prefers red wine in delicate and tall stemmed glasses.

Limited Edition Walnut Eames Hang-It-All | Design Milk. If only we had the space, all our hallways and entry areas are too tight for anything but the most compact of hooks.

Simple Lovely: The Summer of Self Improvement -- Paper Chandeliers (Or "The Patience Edition"). I love the reflection on DIY, but I also love this paper chandelier. I have a new light fixture that is plain and just begging me to decorate it for the seasons.

Traditional & Affordable: Cotton Rugs | Apartment Therapy DC. I could use a big rug in our dining room.

Col-Letto Bed | Design Milk. This bed with foldable soft sides is really neat. I want one.

You Grow Girl™ - » Yes Virginia, There is a Blue Tomato. It's beautiful!

The Secret to Successfully Painting IKEA Shelves Reader Intelligence Report | Apartment Therapy Chicago.

Serious Entertaining: How to Turn Office Supplies Into Dinner Party Accessories | Serious Eats. I heart Helen Jane.

Off-the-shelf door replacement - easy? | Ask MetaFilter.

I'm looking for a home owner's manual. By that I mean a book, website, etc. (the type of media doesn't matter) that is structured like a car manual's scheduled service interval section. | Ask MetaFilter.

Outstanding online furniture stores for medium to high end furnishings? | Ask MetaFilter. Includes a lot of Seattle recommendations.

Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » DIY Painting Tips, Tricks, and a Step-By-Step Guide. Scott and I painted most of this house together, but as we start painting the bathrooms it's always good to have a look over the basics and this guide to painting a room at Making It Lovely is a good one.

I'd like to buy a cool, large map to hang on my wall. | Ask MetaFilter.

Serious Entertaining: Three Quick and Easy Napkin Folds | Serious Eats.

Design*Sponge » diy project: portable sun shade.

Trompe-l’oeil Door Wallpaper | Design Milk. I like these, thanks go Maggi for sending me this link!

Design*Sponge » diy project: drawer knob finials. I have to be honest, my own curtain rods have stood finial-less for over a year. I bought them at Target and none of the finials looked good to me. I wonder if door knobs like these would fit into the rods I have?

Just Something I Made: FUN WITH DECALS PART 1: In the Kitchen Free PDF Images. Downloadable decals for your kitchen, via Craftzine.

Marimekko Upholstery Fabrics | Bold Designer Fabrics by Marimekko Finland. I didn't realize some Marimekko fabrics were upholstry weight, thanks Laura for the tip!

Door Sixteen » Attack of the 16-foot planter!. Instructions for some huge, and pretty, planters. Thanks Anna!

We have an empty space in our dining room that we've been meaning to fill with two chairs. We see ourselves sitting there in the morning sipping coffee and reading the paper (well, reading the morning news on various mobile devices). But it's a small space and I cannot find chairs that I like and which would fit. Most chairs I find in the furniture stores I frequent (which is mostly limited to Ikea and Crate and Barrel) have too large a footprint, those that are small enough are like a mini version of an overstuffed chair and just aren't comfortable. I'd like something bit a little bit of a cushion and with arms (no slipper chairs, unfortunately) but the space we have doesn't allow for the boxy upholstered chairs I find everywhere.

I keep seeing chairs in lobbies and lounges that I like a lot. Above are some chairs at a bar in the Luxor in Vegas, and below are some spotted on an episode of Bones. (I'm glad nobody was home to see me gasp and rewind Tivo to take photographs of the screen.) But I cannot seem to figure out where one would buy chairs like these. Does anybody know? Or do you know what words I should be using to look for this kind of chair? If so pipe up before I start walking into hotel lobbies and demanding to speak with their decorator.

Please help me figure out how to hang these curtains before I lose my mind. | Ask MetaFilter. Some good advice on dealing with the simple act of putting screws in walls. Glad I'm not the only one who finds this completely frustrating.

How To Make a Custom Knife Tray Out of Wood & Glue Reader Tips | The Kitchn.

angry chicken: outdoor art fun. She combined some sheets of plywood and chalkboard paint to make giant outdoor chalkboards, I want one for myself!

Backyard Dinner Parties: Pretty Things to Hang from Trees | The Kitchn. I like the candles in jars hanging from the underside of the porch umbrella.

Technological Green Garden Party Lights | Apartment Therapy Unplggd. Ikea also has a few good solar powered outdoor lights this year.

Will Room and Board's Jasper slipcovers work on Crate and Barrel's Petrie couches? | Ask MetaFilter. The answer? Yes!

Going Paper Towel Free : Juniper Moon Farm. This makes me think it might be possible to eliminate paper towels around here too.

How to Shop for a Vacuum Cleaner | Apartment Therapy Marketplace. I will need this as soon as I manage to break my current vacuum wears out.

shelterrific » make your own photo wall decal with shutterfly.

A Light Wall That Mimics Sun Rays | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.

swissmiss | ID Guard Stamp. Thirding the great idea declaration, this is a stamp that obscures your private information before you throw that mail into the recycling bin or shredder. You can never be too careful, etc.

When is it ripe? at GirlHacker's Random Log. These pink blueberries are awfully cute.

all buttoned up.: Fabric Windows. This is a fantastic way to use fabric to frost a window, with complete instructions on how to make it fit perfectly.

ikea hacker: Table vase. This makes it look like the fresh flower is coming right out of the table, nice.

Free Printable Vintage Ephemera | Apartment Therapy San Francisco.

Make This! Inexpensive DIY Hammock | Apartment Therapy Chicago.

Ceiling Decoration at Design Mom.

Craftzine.com blog : Plantable Paper Flowers.

New Under Cabinet Lighting: Utilitech Xenon Lights Product Review | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn.

Round Up: Ideas and Sources For Displaying Family Photos The Supersize Version | Apartment Therapy DC.

Organizing Computer Cables with Binder Clips | Apartment Therapy Unplggd. Very simple, and not all that bad looking.

vertical garden how-to « in the loop, at CB2. We have a perfect spot for one of these! via Shelterrific.

How to store your cashmere | The Working Closet | Work It, Mom!.

Derek Powazek - You Already Have A Green Thumb. On growing houseplants.

Starched fabric wall decal experiment | How About Orange.

Ruche: DIY - Wall Decor from Ruche's Lookbook. I'm looking at #3 Natual Peel-able Wallpaper. This is one of the first times I've seen a picture of it done.

DIY Glass Bubble Chandelier at The Small Notebook.

Building a Stacked Wood Fireplace Mantel at The Small Notebook. I really wish we had a fireplace, and I've thought about making one but I've never found any fakes as appealing as this one.

Ways to save | Ask MetaFilter. A discussion on the best ways to cut energy consumption in your house, how much power switched off electronics really draw, and where you should actually focus if you want to save money and/or energy.

Design*Sponge » sewing 101: curtains.

Memo Chalkboard Wall Sticker, online at JohnLewis.com. Curse my orange peel finish walls!

Highlight Your Flat Screen With Plywood & Pipe | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.

Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » DIY Painting Tips, Tricks, and a Step-By-Step Guide.

Design*Sponge » small measures with ashley: starting seeds indoors.

The Kitchn On Dishwashers Kitchen & Bath Month 2010 | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn.

5 Books & Guides To Help With Wiring Woes | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.

Postcards from Penguin: One Hundred Book Covers in One Box. Oh boy do I want these to frame all together. Via Anh-Minh.

take a seat... - Oh Joy!. I'm looking at the coat hooks here to use in our upcoming (we'll get to it, I swear) bathroom redo.

Design*Sponge » going places: modern world map + prints.

Potentially Amazing Technology: Is Spray-On Liquid Glass About to Make Everything Greener? : TreeHugger. I hope this gets made really soon so I can spray it on my floors and walls so I won't have to worry about scratching them. (Kidding. But I hate the the surfaces in my home can be damaged by the act of living.) Via Shelterrific.

How To Swap a Two-Prong for a Three-Prong Outlet | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.

How To: DIY a Faux Fireplace Before & After | Apartment Therapy.

Hang Out Hooks by David Zachary -- Better Living Through Design. Keeping these in mind for our (purely theoretical at this point) bathroom redo.

Stainless Steel Modular Bathroom Storage? Good Questions | Apartment Therapy.

Envi High-Efficiency Electric Panel Heater Unplggd Test Lab | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.

Oversize Music Murals | Apartment Therapy New York.

Document sans titre. Big graphics for you wall, you get to choose the size and color. Via NOTCOT.

Reversible Decor: Martina's Chandelier Cover-up | Apartment Therapy San Francisco. We're figuring out what to do with our dining room light, this might be the temporary answer.

Cool Tools: Toto Eco Drake. A helpful review of a toilet.