Danielle Braun
An Inside Look at Navigating the Brimfield Antique Show
The Brimfield antique show is the Super Bowl of New England flea markets — as diverse in its treasures as it is in its attendees. It’s a scavenger hunt for both professional and casual DIYers, a hunting ground for HGTV…
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8 Tips for Keeping Your House Clean When You’re Living with Dogs
I grew up with fancy cats. The kind of cats with pushed-in faces and special markings that went to the pet salon every week for a wash and fluff. They had names like Alexander and Natalie and were as gorgeous…
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What My Father Taught Me About Life, Carpentry, & Hard Work
I like to think that I am like my dad — the good parts, of course. There weren’t actually any bad parts, just some that you might not want to display in mixed company. My father immigrated to the U.S…
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Game Time! Getting Ready for Airbnb Guests
Inspiration, Enthusiasm, Energy, Creativity For this Airbnb hostess, the arrival of spring signals time to roll up my sleeves and get to work. With Airbnb taking the lead as the budget conscious traveler’s answer to quality, comfortable, temporary housing, the…
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Giving Your Fireplace a Facelift
Inspiration, Enthusiasm, Energy, Creativity Who doesn’t love a warm fire on a damp New England night? I’ve always loved my fireplace, but the stone was too rustic and yellow for my taste—and what I really wanted was to upgrade from…
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DIY Industrial Pipe Shelving
Inspiration, Enthusiasm, Energy, Creativity I’ve been upcycling and repurposing since I watched Grandma paint salvaged stands for her spider plant collections when I was a girl. We used to call it “yard-sailing” or “junk shopping”—and while we may have upgraded…
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What Makes a House a Home?
Inspiration, Enthusiasm, Energy, Creativity It’s just days before the beginning of the new year and I’m reclining in front of a fire thinking about all of the things on my “to do” list here at home, when it occurs to…
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Looking for One of a Kind Holiday Gift Ideas?
Nothing distinguishes a house from the pack like unique, one of a kind, home décor. If you’re like me you watch the home networks and see these amazing designers magically pull incredible, functional, “I wish I had one!” objects out of their back pockets. Where do they come from? Most of us puruse the aisles of our local home goods stores and yes, I too love these places for bedding and basics. But where do they find the really unique pieces?
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*DO* Try This at Home: Listing Your Home on Airbnb
Two years ago I took the leap to join Airbnb. My neighbors told me I was nuts. “You’re going to let people sleep in your bed? Touch your things? What if they steal something?”
Let’s do some quick math…
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Do Try This: Painting and Priming – Simplified!
If you’ve done this before you tedious and time-consuming painting raw wood is. You scrub the walls, patch and sand, shellac each and every knot, apply two coats of high quality primer, then finish with two coats of interior paint
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