Do It Yourself Spring 2020

The thrill of the hunt for secondhand treasures never grows old. Whether I’m digging through a dusty antiques store or scanning flea market booths, I often feel like I’m 8 years old again, visiting a neighbor’s garage sale with my own money in hand for the first time. That afternoon I found amazing deals (Avon perfume bottles: 50 cents each or three for a dollar!) and castoffs that just needed a little TLC (a wooden step stool I knew my dad and I could repaint). Best of all, everything was within my total budget of $2.75. I felt a similar excitement as we assembled our collection of flea market makeovers (“Old Stuff, New Tricks,” page 58). With a little creativity, someone else’s junk can become a showstopping kitchen island, a wall…

Senior Editor BRIAN KRAMER Senior Associate Editor NATALIE DAYTON Associate Art Director JESSICA ENO Assistant Art Director EMILY BUTTERWORTH Contributing Copy Editor NANCY DIETZ Proofreader MARTHA COLOFF LONG Administrative Assistant RENAE MABIE HOME Executive Editor SAMANTHA HART Group Editor ANN BLEVINS Senior Editors BRIAN KRAMER, SALLY FINDER WEEPIE, KRISSA ROSSBUND Senior Associate Editor NATALIE DAYTON Design Directors KIMBERLY MORGAN METZ, MICK SCHNEPF Group Art Director NICOLE DEAN TEUT Associate Art Director JESSICA ENO Assistant Art Director EMILY BUTTERWORTH Senior Graphic Designer BRITTANY MUELLER Administrative Assistants RENAE MABIE, SUE MILLER, KIM O’BRIEN-WOLETT Photography Coordinator ALYSSA RICHARDSON FOOD Executive Editor JAN MILLER Senior Content Manager JESSICA SAARI CHRISTENSEN Senior Editor MAGGIE GLISAN Senior Associate Editor CARRIE BOYD Design Director STEPHANIE HUNTER Associate Art Director RAE DANNEMAN Administrative Assistant COURTNEY BUSH Director, Meredith Test Kitchen LYNN BLANCHARD Culinary Specialists SARAH BREKKE, JULI HALE, COLLEEN WEEDEN Senior Food Stylist GREG LUNA Food Stylists KELSEY BULAT, LAUREN KNOELKE, SAMMY MILA GARDEN Senior Content Manager SUSAN APPLEGET…

DO IT BETTER KEEP THINGS AU NATUREL (BETTER FOR YOU, YOUR FAM, AND THE ENVIRONMENT) WITH THESE GREEN CLEANING SOLUTIONS. BHG.COM/NATURALCLEAN CLEANING GUIDE We serve up room-by-room tips, exterior tasks, and those once-a-year to-dos so you can get your spring cleaning done right. BHG.com/SpringClean BATHROOM CHECKLIST Unsure of where to start with your bathroom cleanup? Use our handy-dandy checklist to tackle it with ease. BHG.com/BathChecklist SPONGE SANITATION You’ve cleaned the house, but now you need to clean your cleaning supplies! See five easy ways to disinfect your kitchen sponge.BHG.com/Sponge…

FRAME OF MIND This custom artwork, this photo, requires no paint or artistic ability on your part! To stretch patterned fabric (we used a shower curtain), follow the steps, opposite, for assembling stretcher bars and stretching a canvas. To make a decorative outer frame, cut two strips of 1½×½-inch boards to the height of your canvas and cut two strips to the width of your canvas plus 1 inch. Paint trim boards white and let dry. Use a nail gun to attach trim to the side stretcher bars and then to the top and bottom bars. To hang, install a picture wire kit at the back of the frame, or rest the lip of the frame on two level screws secured in the wall. MAKE IT STRETCHED CANVAS MATERIALS • 4 stretcher bars• Wood…

THE MAKER: MEGAN CARN This artist captures animals, whether from the savanna or the backyard, in eye-popping, feel-good color. Q: How would you describe your art? A: My art is colorful and quirky—and it has a twist to it. You don’t usually imagine a pink monstera leaf and a tiger together, but that’s what you’re getting with me. It’s an unexpected take on things you can recognize. Q: What is your artistic process like? A: The most important part for me is when I put the pet picture right next to the canvas and take a photo of it with my phone. Looking at it through my camera lens helps me see where I might have missed a detail and makes it so much easier to realize those critical features that aren’t quite right. Q: What…

1. FLOOR CLEANING CONCENTRATE STARTER KIT Safe for use on all floors, including finished wood, the kit comes with concentrate to make the plant-based floor-cleaning solution and a glass spray bottle. $18; grove.co 2. ONEPWR FLOORMATE JET CORDLESS HARD FLOOR CLEANER KIT Vacuum and wash tile, hardwood, laminate, and even area rugs with this cordless cleaner. The microfiber roll scrubs while the tool suctions up wet and dry messes simultaneously. $300; hoover.com 3. FULL CIRCLE TINY TEAM MINI BAMBOO BRUSH & DUSTPAN SET For spilled cereal or coffee grounds, pull out a mini brush and dustpan. Small enough to stash under the kitchen sink, the dustpan’s rubber edge clings to the floor so debris sweeps right up. $9; containerstore.com 4. SWIFFER SWEEPER HEAVY DUTY PET WET REFILL Keep traces of your furry friend off all finished floors.…