Playing House

On a slightly random note, I also have a hardcore ( I mean hardcore) addiction to interior design as well as all that fashion stuff. When I was younger, like middle school, I dappled in the world of architecture; in my spare time I would buy professional design programs and make blueprints and collect paint chips and fabric patterns, all that jazz. Besides my endless love of power tools (I don't actually own any, I just daydream about them), I love, love, love reading about and look at the before and afters of diy projects. Oftentimes, I see what people have done with a cabinet or table and find a similar object in my possession and think of all the things I could do with it. Which is what brings me to the next four blogs I'm going to show you. Some reference household items, others diy projects, and some total overhauls. They're fun to look at and learn from. So if you're in a hands-on kind of mood, read away.*

Oh Joy!
You've probably heard of Oh Joy! already, but if you haven't let me tell you why this site is just so amazing! It's written by a graphic designer, Joy Deangdeelert Cho, who also sells her products online. Oh Joy! contains wonderful images of little bits of wonderfulness. The products she features are often not only whimsical but practical as well. Take this laptop case, for example. Yes, those old books are really laptop cases. Joy is very adept at finding these lovelies.



CasaSugar
While more of a time killer, CasaSugar is still an excellent site for all your design fetish desires. Part of the PopSugar network, Casa follows the same line of all the news you need in one place. Every post has some interesting aspect to it, as well as many photos that correspond to the topic so you are always visually intrigued. There are often quizzes to test your savvy and such.



Desire to Inspire
LOVE this site. It's a fabulous source for home decor. The site compiles images from all over the interwebs of themes that relate to one another and mix in styles for all tastes and budgets. There are also images that homeowners send in to boast (rightfully) about the beautiful spaces they call they're abodes. It's very easy to get lost in the magnitude of posts that exist. Also, the site was recently redesigned and as an effect had become much easier to navigate and search through the archives. So if you are a free spirit willing to have hours sucked out of your life, click away.



Design Sponge
Last, but most definitely not least is Design Sponge. This is the one stop shop for all your diy needs. Readers send in images of their befores and afters and some are truly amazing. Often times there are also notes about how you can repeat the processes yourself. Besides diys, there are also product posts and occasional food posts (yum! yet to disappoint). I have spent many many hours looking through the site's archives. Why? Because it's amazing, I need not say more.



* Mind you, as a mini disclaimer, these images in no way show the bounty of fantasticness that awaits you if you actually link hop over to these beauties. So, this is me hinting at you (wink, wink) to take a look for yourselves and make up your own minds.

Image Sources: all images linked to their prospective sites