500 Square Foot Oasis in a Montana Forest

The adventure writer Tim Cahill shares his 500 square foot cabin for the world to see. It's extremely modest and the decor is an afterthought but the location and simplicity are oh so appealing.

Paint Brushes in Lieu of Makeup Brushes?

We typically leave the beauty tips to Dahlight but she shared one that the frugal DIY crowd may find interesting.

Loew-Cornell Paint Brushes are an excellent alternative to standard makeup brushes. We haven't tried it but maybe the ladies can chime in here. Is it worth it?

5 Steps to Prep Your Wall Before You Paint

Prepping your wall and work area before you paint is vital to your final results. Your paint surface must be clean and your work area clear. You must also tape off any areas you do not want paint to drip on or brush over.

Here are 5 steps to prep your wall for paint.

1. Remove hardware - Light switch plates, door knobs, drape rods and any other room hardware should be removed and organized so it is easy to install after the paint drys.

2. Fix holes - Repair any damage to the wall. Use a drywall patch compound to fill in holes and make sure the compound is smooth and fully drys before painting over. Fill in all nail holes and remove any tape, nails or irregular items from the wall.

3. Clean the walls - Use a damp sponge and go over every inch of the wall to be cleaned. There is a layer of dust that you don't see on all walls and this dust must be removed if you want the paint to adhere properly.

When Should You Call In a Design Professional?

I love my finish nailer. Well, I don't really love it, but I like it, I enjoy it, I find it useful for creating the world's most perfect crown molding corner (a future blog post, for sure).

But do I bring out the pancake compressor and finish nailer to drive a single finish nail into my son's train table? Do I go through 5-10 minutes of set-up when just grabbing a finish hammer and a nail set would do the job in 2 minutes? Of course I don't. And neither would you. Why? Because even though I find my finish nailer very handy for certain jobs, it is not meant to be used every time a finish nail is encountered.

The same can be said for a professional designer, or a myriad of professionals for that matter. They are very useful and necessary, but not in every situation.

So how do you decide if you need a design professional? It really comes down to your skill and the risk level you are willing to take. The following scenarios usually require a design professional, which is a general term I use to encompass architects and engineers. Upon reading this post you will have a better idea of when you should, and possibly should not, use a the services of a design professional.

Scenario 1: Structure Will be Affected

Any time your work will affect a load-bearing wall, column, or floor, you will likely need to consult an architect or engineer. It's simply not worth the risk to save money on this element of the project. Perhaps if your affect to the structure is minimal, you can have a designer address just that issue and you can take the rest on separately.

Expect to spend a minimum of $450 for a designer to analyze your project and draw details for the building department.

Metropolitan Home Magazine Closes It's Doors

Hachette Filipacchi will cease publication of Metropolitan Home with it's December 2009 issue.

2 Years ago PointClickHome.com launched as a first of it's kind online hub for ELLE DECOR, Metropolitan Home and HOME Magazine. HOME Magazine folded last year and now Metropolitan Home will be gone.

Met Home was our favorite of the three shelter magazines. Although it was deemed luxury home design, they always included a Hi/Low feature and an issue dedicated to renovation. Hachette recently redesigned PointClickHome.com and prominently highlighted their two magazines.

What will be become of PointClickHome.com? With only one magazine in the stable will they just re-org under ELLEDECOR.com which currently resides under the PointClickHome?

We recently interviewed Anne E. Collins who is the online editor of PointClickHome.com and hope that she and her team will come through this process unscathed.

Bring Mid-Century Flair to Your Front Door

Crestview Doors recently started following us on Twitter and we checked out their work. Very impressive. We love the concept. Take your existing door and give it a mid-century modern twist with their Doorlite Kits.

They include instructions for this diy door modification and they have kits to fit almost every taste and style. We like the classic Newman for our bungalow but if we had a ranch house we'd outfit it with the Langston.

Easiest Kitchen Backsplash Install Ever

If you're short on time, money and effort but still need covet a new tile backsplash then it looks like SIMPLEMAT is for you. It literally adheres to your current backsplash of tile or wallpaper and your done! Without grout there's no mortar, mixing, or mess.

They also have kitchen countertop applications as well.

Anne E. Collins - Online Editor PointClickHome

In 2007 I had an opportunity to work with the team from HFM US to build and launch the first home design web portal of it's kind, PointClickHome.com. This website serves as the online home of the design magazines, ELLE DECOR and Metropolitan Home.

Anne E. Collins was also part of the initial launch team and is currently the executive online editor of the website. Her responsibilities as the online curator of two revered design brands is enormous and straddling both print and web properties requires a unique skill set that few editors can adjust to. We asked Anne a few questions about working in the shelter magazine industry as well as her insights into luxury design.

CH: You've worked in both print and online for stalwarts in the home decor magazines industry. Can you share your background and what it takes to be successful in your role as an online editor?

AC: I always knew I wanted to work in magazines so my sophomore year of at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA., I took an internship at the region's lifestyle magazine. From that semester on I always tried to work in print of some kind--a literary journal, an events magazine, and a weekly newspaper when I studied abroad in Spain. Though the sad truth when I got to New York was that no one wanted to hire you unless you had "New York experience," so I was back to the drawing board with another internship, but fortunate enough to get one with In Style magazine.

It is funny how quickly you can get on a track; I worked in In Style's home design department basically packing boxes but that little home mention on my resume started getting me interviews at shelter books. Soon after, I took a job at House Beautiful and have been happily working in home design ever since. I adore this category and while I love writing and editing as a craft I probably wouldn't have thrived or enjoyed myself as much at a lifestyle or fashion magazine; it's the subject that keeps me ticking.

So that is one part of being a so-called successful online editor--passion for the topic.

Last Minute Halloween Decorations and one Costume

With two-more days before Halloween we've gathered our favorite decoration ideas that can all be finished before the guests arrive or the kids come knocking.

+ Spooky Silhouette Votives from Design*Sponge

+ Halloween Crafts on Etsy from Casasugar

+ Chic and modern Halloween decorations from Apartment Therapy SF

+ Go Green this Halloween with Treats and Tips from Inhabitat

+ Do-It-Yourself Bats from Young House Love

Kitchen Design Help for a Blue Beauty

We often like to help out readers with design questions and the room that seems to be everyone's priority is the kitchen.

Sarah would like some design input on this blue beauty. If she can deal with the white appliances which these days look dated, she can save a lot of money and with some paint and new drawer pulls the kitchen would look very different.

The white countertop and pink walls also have to go and are an easy fix.

What would you suggest???