Unusual Solutions to Simple Problems

6 Creative Ways to Address Common Home Challenges

From insufficient table space to insufficient shelf space, from ugly floor gouges to slamming windows, from mildly annoying to incredibly irritating, every homeowner complaint has a solution, and often more than one. Try these five ideas from Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living and House Beautiful to resolve or even anticipate issues in your home.

From Martha Stewart Living

• Window Prop Stick— an easy DIY project to create a “stepped window prop stick” that will keep your window securely open at various heights; especially useful during the summer months.
•  Make Your Own Outdoor Furniture — learn how to convert a cot into an outdoor daybed or create super easy bases for tiki or solar torches to light up your yard. For more ways to make your own outdoor furniture, click here.

From House Beautiful

• Protect your floors — easier to manage and more secure than felt pads, “Plasti Dip” from the hardware stores is perfect to coat the bottom of your furniture’s legs and bases. For more creative uses for common hardware store items, click here.
• Add surface space — whether for one night of entertaining, or for the long haul, you can never have enough occasional tables; try placing a tray on a footstool, or topping a sturdy vase with a large paver stone or tile. For more ways to transform your room with accessories, click here.

From Real Simple

• Easy Kitchen Shelving — out of space for all your cookbooks? Looking for a spot for your summer picnic supplies? Need a shelf for your potted herb garden? With a few plank shelves from the local lumber store and a ladder, you can add shelving in less than an hour.
• Clever Wall Shelves — bringing a new meaning to “bookshelf,” follow these steps to make your own shelves out of old hard backs.