DIY Life

I can't tell you how disappointed I am when I visit a friend that oozes with creativity and see that their backsplash is the same brown granite as anyone else's. Kitchen backsplashes are so often overlooked as something mundane, unnoticed or unnecessary. And the truth is? The backsplash, in my opinion, is one of the more important design elements of the kitchen. Aside from appliances, they can make a massive impact when done right.

Even better? They don't necessarily have to carry a huge price tag. Here I've rounded up a few of my favorite creative DIY backsplashes to both inspire and remind you that a backsplash doesn't exist solely for functional purposes...

1. Wallpaper
Wallpaper is great for adding an unexpected dose of pattern to any space, and the backsplash is not to be excluded. Try the look by bolting a thin sheet of glass over the wallpaper to prevent peeling or discoloring of the paper itself. Other ideas inspired by the wallpaper look? For a kid-friendly and educational kitchen, try placing your child's artwork or old, typographic report cards behind plexiglass. I'd love to see some vintage alphabet flash cards in a family kitchen's backsplash, as well. The possibilities are truly endless with a sheet of glass to protect from stains!

2. Ceramics
No, we're not talking tile here. Why not line up a few plates for a backsplash that adds a fun, decorative architectural element to the room? Plate hangers are both inexpensive and perfect for switching out decor quickly and easily. I think the look would be gorgeous in a country-inspired kitchen or even a more modern setting. (I'd love these Thomas Paul melamine plates in a stark, black and white kitchen!)

3. Chalkboard
Your elementary school teacher would be so proud. Simply add a few coats of chalkboard paint to the space above your sink and under your cabinets for an instant, schoolroom-inspired aesthetic that is super easy to maintain. Bonus? You'll never lose that to-do list again; just grab a piece of chalk and let the fun begin!
Hint: You can even learn how to make your own chalkboard paint right here!

Promise me you'll ditch the granite, OK? There are far too many great ideas to waste away with a brown marble look-alike!

Remodeling a kitchen, there are a lot of things to consider: appliance choices, layout, storage solutions, and finishing touches. When we renovated our kitchen, flow was a priority for us. We love to cook, and the previous arrangement of the kitchen was awkward and inefficient.

If you want to take the flow of your kitchen to the next level, why not consider applying some Feng Shui principles to your remodel? SheKnows has some tips on how to design your kitchen, feng shui style.

• Plan the stove to be facing the door, as you should never have your back to the door while cooking. You can do this by creating a cooking island or by using a reflective surface.
• Avoid red, pink, or purple in your decor, as these colors can cause you to argue with your cooking partner. Instead, whites, blues, and light greens are calming choices.
• Use full-spectrum bulbs to simulate natural light.
• The traditional triangular model for kitchens fits into Feng Shui: refrigerator, stove, and sink, all about six to eight feet apart.
• Fire elements (stove, microwave) should be separated from water elements (sink, refrigerator) by wood.

The article at SheKnows has more details describing how to create Feng Shui harmony in your kitchen. A Zen kitchen sounds appealing, doesn't it?

It never fails: as soon as I get to a critical part in preparing the evening's meal, my three-year-old needs me. It doesn't matter if the quinoa is boiling over or if the roasting veggies are burned to a crisp; if Owen's fire hat is missing, it needs to be found pronto.

So what do we do in my house to minimize these moments? I don't juggle the potatoes or toss shrimp tails into my chef's hat, but if I have enough energy to be mildly creative, here's what works for us:

• Let Owen concoct. I give him a bowl and let him use water, flour, and other ingredients to mix his own concoction. And if his super heroes decide to go swimming in it? So what! It is all in good fun.
• Make pizza. If we are having pizza for dinner, Owen helps roll the dough, put on the sauce and sprinkle on the toppings. You can't have pizza every night, but it is sure to get your kids to want to help in the kitchen.
  

When a sink or tub suddenly stops draining, it's tempting to reach for the drain cleaner. Though drain cleaners -- actually powerful, corrosive chemicals -- can work when drains have trivial clogs, they aren't effective against bigger problems. Not only that, they can wreak havoc on your pipes and are terrible for the environment.

Instead, recommends Mother Earth Living take a little time to get a better understanding of how your drain system works, and you'll be able to beat clogs at their source.

Tools you might need:

• a sink plunger
• a bucket
• a pipe wrench
• a flexible wire (like a wire coat hanger twisted out of shape)
• a drain snake

Learn how to get started after the break, but if you're squeamish, don't forget to put on your rubber gloves!

There are many easy principles that we all take for granted that you can use to amaze and delight your kids. All you have to do is make the time to spend with them.

These tricks are relatively fast and very simple to execute. The pay-off in looks of wonderment and excitement in you kids' faces will be well worth the time it takes to pull them off.

So plan to turn off the X-Box, PS 2 or 3, Wii or TV, and spend a few minutes with your kids as you introduce them to the wonderful world of mad science experiments.

Want colorful flowers this spring? No time to read that 500-page gardening book you got for Christmas? Well, time-pressed gardener, here's how to grow masses of beautiful pansies in 10 easy steps.

1. Know your zone. Is now a good time to plant? The answer depends upon your zone. Check the USDA's plant hardiness map. Pansies are grown as annuals in zones 2 to 11 (i.e. most of the US) during spring and fall. From zone 9 south to zone 11 (south Texas and most of Florida), they will grow right through winter. North of zone 9, they may die down during winter, but come back in Spring. Further north, the cold will kill them stone dead. Bottom line: if the weather is warming up for Spring and you don't expect any really hot weather anytime soon, you're probably good to go.

2. Buy smart. Don't be sucked in by the brightest blooms. Instead, buy dense, sturdy-looking plants with lots of healthy, green leaves and buds. These will give you more blooms in the long run once they get established. Another buying tip: it's better value to buy whole trays of baby pansies rather than pint-sized pots of mature ones. Be patient and those tiny plants will soon grow to full size.

Is it difficult to find enthusiasm about cleaning the bathroom? Are you living in a place that someone else rented or owned before you? If you said yes to both, try not to think about what may have happened in your bathroom before you moved in. Let's just get to making that place feel like you and your family or friends are the only contaminants.

Here are five inexpensive things you can do to make your bathroom truly feel like it is yours. Doing these will not make the room look new but it will make it feel much more new to you. You'll probably want to wear gloves for most of these. Absent from this list are the obvious cleaning chores that you should be doing regularly -- you know, things like scrubbing the toilet and washing the shower curtain every now and then.

IKEAhacker, the site that tells you how to take inexpensive, design-friendly flat-pack furniture and change it up to suit your needs and style, wants you to vote on the best IKEAhack of 2007.

Here are a few projects that I like:

• Splatgirl's remodeled guest bathroom
• Zachary's end-table-turned-electric-guitar
• Scott's sneaky way to make a pedestal sink look like a bowl sink
• Beverly's sectional sleeper sofa made from mattresses and foot stools
• Nicole's sliding bookcase door that hides a secret passageway
• Erika's console table
• Van's cable-clutter remedy, which involves mounting pegboard under a desk

But everything else is cool, too. Voting ends on January 15th, so pop over and give it a look! At the moment, the remodeled guest bathroom and Marcus's turtle terrarium are fighting it out for first place, with everything else lagging. Can your votes make the difference?

I have a tiny kitchen. It is so tiny that I can't stand it when my husband and I, or even my two year old and I, are in the kitchen together. That is a recipe for driving me bonkers. When my counter (seriously, I only have one, and there is a sink between the counter space!) gets messy, I get upset because the kitchen is way too small to have any clutter at all.

In the time it takes to brew a fresh pot of coffee, you can de-clutter your kitchen counters, clean the stove, and have a shiny clean kitchen floor. Here's how to speed clean your kitchen:

There comes a time in the busy life of every home that the kitchen faucet must be replaced. That time came to my kitchen faucet today and after about one hour of light work the job is done. Not only did I replace the faucet. I upgraded it a little. The fixture I installed today is a fair standard better than the $29.95 model I installed a couple years ago.

The process is fairly simple and requires only a new faucet kit, Teflon pipe tape and a few of the proper tools. If you are a little handy, a lot patient and able to get under the sink on your back, you can do this plumbing job. I have outlined the project for you and I have included some pictures to help you along.

How much time do you spend cleaning your house? I tend to neglect it for a few days then spend an entire afternoon scrubbing. The problem with my every few day strategy is that I never feel like the house is never really clean and I'm constantly playing catch-up. If you're in the same boat, check out this Keep It Clean Plan. They suggest that you put in just 19 min. each day and your house will keep it's clean fresh look. Here's the breakdown.

• Kitchen - 4.5 min.
• Bathroom - 2min.
• Bedroom - 6.5 min
• Family room, living room, foyer - 6 min.

You'll have to mix it up to fit with the size of your house and difficulty of each room, but it actually seems like pretty reasonable time allotments. This plan goes as far as to break down each room into smaller tasks. Prompting you on what to do in each room is a big help. Stressing the importance of a clean empty sink, they remind you that there are some key things you can do to create a clean impression quickly.

This article assumes that you are dealing with clutter as it happens. There is no allotment for putting away toys or dealing with the craft mess you've had out all week. Do you think your house can be cleaned in 19 minutes a day?

There's an absolutely marvelous plumbing hack on the Instructables site which is worthy of your time. The blogger gives us a very understandable synopsis of how to pre-use the water which refills your toilet tank after flushing.

The principle is that the incoming water can be utilized for hand washing prior to it entering the toilet tank reservoir overflow tube. While the blogger's working model is aesthetically crude, the concept is crystal clear in all it's glory. This strategy is common knowledge in eastern countries. I love this idea but I would build my toilet tank sink on a small stand right next to the toilet tank.