How to Make a Template to Put Down a New Kitchen Floor

If you are installing a new kitchen floor, make a paper template of the floor. This will make the job easier, and the end result will be more professional-looking. Because a paper template is essentially an exact copy of your kitchen floor, you can u...

How to Refinish an Aristokraft Laminate Kitchen Island

Laminate has many applications and is often used in kitchens because it is affordable and durable. Aristokraft uses laminate in many of its kitchen surfaces, including islands, for these reasons. If you want to give your laminate a fresh look, you ma...

How to Retrofit a Vanity Top to a Bathroom Cabinet

When you decide to replace the vanity top in your bathroom, you must install a new one that fits correctly on the existing cabinet, otherwise the counter can wobble and loosen the faucet’s connections as well as the drainpipes. Measure the old...

How to Make a Fabric Breakfast Nook

Whether part of a large kitchen or featured as an alcove off the kitchen, a breakfast nook makes a relaxing space where you can enjoy your morning cup of coffee in peace. If you're interested in taking additional steps towards making your breakfast n...

How to Relocate a Light in a Bathroom

Whether it is part of a larger remodel plan or a standalone project, you may want to relocate a bathroom light. If you have never attempted this type of task before, it may seem a little intimidating. But relocating a bathroom light can be accomplish...

How to Cast a Concrete Vanity Top

Concrete isn’t just for sidewalks and driveways. This product, along with its new colors and textures, is finding its way into home décor. A concrete vanity is just one example of the many ways concrete can be used. If you have experience...

How to Raise the Height of a Bathroom Vanity

There are a variety of reasons to raise the height of a bathroom vanity, including the installation of a smaller bathroom mirror than before, so have the vanity match the heights of other pieces in the bathroom or to accommodate a taller owner. The a...

How to Frame a Bathroom Layout

A bathroom is laid out as part of the planning process. A detailed plan is drawn that includes measurements and the location of the bathroom fixed within the plan. This floor plan is used by the person constructing the house to know where to position...

Is a Light Above the Shower Safe?

Water and electricity do not mix. While this is almost always true, technological advances now enable homeowners to enjoy tub and shower lighting without fear of electrocution. Provided you select the right lighting structure for your shower and leav...

What Kind of Light Can Be Used in an Enclosed Shower?

When your enclosed shower is a bit dreary or shadowy and needs additional lighting, it's tempting to take the easy way out and simply hook up a table or floor lamp nearby. However, installing proper lighting is essential for safety reasons, and a per...

Why Do Outdoor Bathrooms Have Roofs?

Outdoor bathrooms and outhouses have been a staple in human convenience for centuries. These small buildings consist of four walls, a roof and a toilet or other means of seating for use during elimination. Although you probably assume the four walls...

What Size Light for a Breakfast Nook in a Kitchen?

A breakfast nook in your kitchen is a valuable asset that increases the available space in the room and gives your family a place to start the day together. The appropriate light in a breakfast nook enables you to read the morning paper, finish that...

What Height Is Master Bath Cabinetry With a Knee Space?

The height of bathroom cabinetry in a master bathroom determines specific features available in the space. If you plan to construct or redesign a master bathroom and want knee space under the cabinets or sink, your countertops must meet height requir...

Do-It-Yourself Bathroom Stall From Scratch

Bathroom stalls offer privacy in a bathroom shared by two or more people. With the stall, one person can use the toilet while another uses the sink or shower. A stall does not require floor to ceiling coverage, just short walls to offer enough privac...

Can You Use Airtight IC Lights in Bathrooms?

Lights that carry an insulated contact or “IC” rating are fully insulated. The insulation in these recessed lights prevents energy loss when they are installed in ceilings. If conditioned air can exit your primary living space through you...

How to Make a Laminate Vanity Top

If you are remodeling your bathroom and have advanced carpentry skills, you may want to make your own laminate vanity top. While you can purchase ready-made countertops to fit over base cabinets, the laminate countertop you create will be one-of-a-ki...

Do I Need a Permit to Redo My Kitchen?

If you are planning to remodel your kitchen, it's best to do the job properly. Part of the process may include acquiring any work permits necessary. Permits vary, according to local ordinances and remodeling plans, but in general, similar guidelines...

How to Remodel a High Bathroom in a Ranch

Upgrading a second-level bathroom in a split-level or raised-ranch home often involves upgrading the room to make it more spacious and luxurious than the more utilitarian first-floor bath. This is especially true if the second-floor bath is part of a...

How to Add an Extra Recessed Medicine Cabinet in a Small Bathroom Wall

Adding an extra recessed cabinet inside a small bathroom requires you to plan carefully on the placement of the new cabinet. You cannot install the cabinet inside the wall where electrical wiring or plumbing runs, since such obstacles do not allow yo...

DIY Rustic Kitchen Island

It is not uncommon for homeowners to spend a small fortune remodeling their kitchen, but there are many simple ways you can transform your kitchen for less. Creating your own rustic kitchen island, for example, is a way to give your kitchen a new loo...

How to Redo Your Kitchen Yourself

Remodeling your kitchen doesn't have to be an expensive project that you pay someone else thousands of dollars to complete. It's possible to give your kitchen a complete overhaul, on your own, to suit your personal tastes and preferences. Whether you...

How to Install a Bath Vanity Against a Baseboard

Removing or cutting the baseboards when you install a new bathroom vanity can lead to problems in the future. If you decide later to replace the vanity cabinet with one that's narrower, you'll have blank gaps on the wall -- unless you either match or...

How to Do Cove Lights in a Bathroom

Incorporating some kind of accent lighting is wise to achieve aesthetically pleasing lighting in a room. It might not have a purpose other than to be eye-catching and dramatic, but that is reason enough to look into bathroom cove lighting. The easies...

How to Design a Farm Kitchen

Whether you live in an old farmhouse or are planning on designing a kitchen for your new home, the farm-style kitchen evokes feelings of country and comfort. Many designers and companies produce vintage or weathered new cabinets and items for your ki...

How to Add a Breakfast Nook to a Kitchen

A breakfast nook suggests an inviting, cozy space recessed into a corner of the kitchen. While they never really went out of style, breakfast nooks are making a big comeback these days because they make the most of available space, optimize seating a...

How to Add a Breakfast Bar to a Countertop

Adding a breakfast bar to an existing countertop requires a lot less effort than installing the countertop. There is no need to create a stable base of cabinetry when adding a breakfast bar, as there would be when installing a countertop. As long as...

DIY Counter-Height Breakfast Nook

While most breakfast nooks are built at standard table height and use benches or booth-style seating, modern decorators have taken breakfast nooks to a whole new level. Now, people are building counter-height breakfast nooks and using bar stools to s...

How to Repurpose a Dresser to a Bathroom Vanity

A repurposed dresser, whether purchased new or found at a thrift shop, makes a charming bathroom vanity. The dresser adds storage space and creates a starting point for the bathroom's design. Substitute either a dressing table with a large mirror or...

How to Replace Bathroom Vanity Lights Going From One Light to Two Lights

Lighting is important in bathrooms, especially over the vanity, so you can see yourself in the mirror. If your vanity lighting contains only one bulb, you can replace the single fixture with two fixtures, and gain additional light. As with any projec...

How to Enclose an Open-Design Shower

Open shower designs are becoming more and more common in contemporary homes, especially those that have small bathrooms, since the lack of a shower enclosure helps to make the bathroom feel more open. However, if you prefer more privacy or are simply...

How to Add a Nook for a Refrigerator Outside of the Kitchen

Smaller kitchens sometimes have inadequate space for refrigerators. If the house is old, the size of the space may have been calculated for a much smaller refrigerator. Other issues include inadequate wiring to support a modern refrigerator. One solu...

How to Add a Bar to the Galley Kitchen for a Kitchen Remodel

A galley kitchen is a very user-friendly space for a cook, but a bar area will make it more user-friendly for family members and guests. Figuring out where to place a bar will require going over options to see what works. Every family functions diffe...

How to Glue a Glass Sheet to the Wall in Remodeling a Bathroom

When remodeling a bathroom, you may choose to use glass sheets to cover the walls. Glass protects the walls from moisture and is easy to clean, making it a viable option for high-humidity bathrooms. You can use the glass sheets as a backsplash behind...

Framing a Soffit Above Bathroom Cabinets

If you're looking to improve the appearance of your bathroom, one project to consider is installing a soffit above the cabinet. A soffit is a box-like area of the ceiling that is often used to hide pipes or wiring. Installing the soffit above the cab...

How to Build a Kitchen Island From a Bathroom Vanity

With the proliferation of small appliances designed to make cooking chores faster and easier, you may covet more food preparation space. Few serious cooks would turn down extra storage space, too, but kitchen renovations are often expensive, messy an...

Framing a Kitchen Island Counter

Kitchen islands provide extra counter and storage space to many residential homes. Kitchen islands typically consist of cabinets on one side with a countertop that overhangs on the side opposite of where chairs are placed. Islands are freestanding st...

Wrap-Around Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Countertops

When homeowners remodel a kitchen, they often gut the entire kitchen so they can start from scratch. These types of projects can be very expensive, so any part of the remodel that you can complete yourself can save you money. One of the fairly easier...

How to Finish When Gutting and Renovating a Bathroom

Renovating a bathroom is challenging and time-consuming. If you haven't planned out your renovation project completely, the job is liable to be even more difficult. When you're getting close to a point of completion, you may not know how to finish. B...

How to Wire a Waterproof Spot Light in the Shower

Waterproof spotlights in showers are standard canister lights with a waterproof trim that uses a gasket to keep water out. The waterproof trim makes the light suitable for installation over showers or tubs and in other wet or damp locations. Electric...

How to Install a Vanity Top With Unsquare Walls

One of the most difficult steps in installing a new vanity top is squaring the vanity top to the walls. The walls in older homes become out of square due to settling of the framing. Fortunately, since most vanity tops are either Formica or resin, tri...

How to Install the Plumbing for Ikea Vanities

IKEA is a major manufacturer of bathroom furniture, including a wide variety of vanities. Although the selection of IKEA vanities varies in style and design, all of the company's vanities use standard plumbing fixtures and connections. That means tha...

How High to Install an Outlet Above a Bathroom Vanity

Electrical wiring is not something you treat like a toy. Even if you do all the work with the power off, wiring something incorrectly could create a short circuit or a fire hazard once you turn the power on. For this reason, follow all regulations co...

How to Layout the Bathroom Plumbing in a Basement Before the Floors Are Poured

A home’s plumbing system is a network of water supply lines, drainage pipes and plumbing vents, all of which efficiently direct water flow in and out of the home. Because breaking out a concrete floor to plumb a bathroom in an existing home is...

DIY Bathroom Wall Hideaway Cabinets

You can build your own bathroom cabinet with a minimum of parts and labor by building it into your bathroom wall. Such a hideaway cabinet uses the wall studs as the sides of the cabinet. The finished product will look less obtrusive than the standard...

How to Build a Kitchen Island Ledge

Extending a kitchen island by installing a ledge provides you with more surface space for cooking or storage. As with the original island countertop, a ledge extension requires a strong support to prevent its collapsing beneath the weight of the obje...

Free Do-it-Yourself Bathroom Floor Replacement

If you have a bathroom floor that you do not like, then you can transform the floor space with a few simple materials from your home construction supply and craft stores. Add a little creativity and you will have a new, inspirational bathroom floor b...

How to Add a Raised Counter to a Kitchen Breakfast Bar

A kitchen breakfast bar is an area with surface space for eating or cooking and usually with some seating. Building a raised counter on the breakfast bar will increase the surface space available. You could place dishes and eating utensils on the rai...

How to Install Vanity Splash Pans

Splash pans, or splash guards, prevent water from running off the side of your tub or shower floor and damaging your walls or floor. The splash guard installs along the corners of your tub, shower or sink and blocks the water from running down along...