Salway - Home improvement projects for the busy & broke: how to get your $h!t together and live like an adult

Copyright 2016 by Christina Salway

Foreword 2016 by Monica Pedersen

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Jane Sheppard

Cover photo credit Christina Salway

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-0589-0

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-0590-6

Printed in China

Dedication

Holy shit, does it take a village!? They are not fucking kidding. The number of people who helped make this book possible is epic. The sheer number of hands involved was extraordinary. And I dont mean metaphorically, I mean actual hands .

Id like to dedicate this book to all of the remarkable people who helped make it possible.

To my handy-dandy parents : Who taught me that I could do almost anything, especially if it involved home improvement. And for helping A LOT to make this book a reality.

To my husband, John : Who taught me that I can do even more if I Google it first. We are a real, live love story, plus a hammer. You are truly the best partner, collaborator, and co-conspirator. I thank my lucky stars every morning. Usually after Ive had a cup of coffee.

To my son, Jules, and dog, William : You guys are aces too. Thank you for not minding too much when we didnt have a bathroom floor and for thinking it was funny when our kitchen cabinet doors were drying all over our apartment.

To our astoundingly supportive group of friends : Who all acted like it made sense that I was writing a home improvement book, even if I didnt think so.

To Johns parents : For teaching us that we could write well and also be decent plumbers.

To my favorite under-thirty DIY enthusiast, Caitie : Because youre keeping us all alive.

To the dynamite team at Skyhorse : Who helped morph this book from stick-figure drawings into something that looks SO MUCH like a book!

But mostly, I should probably thank my mom: Because, seriously, she babysat a lot.

Contents

Foreword

When I think of Christina Salway, a couple of words come to mind: Creative and Courageous ! I met Christina while working as a judge on a glossy, big budget, reality design competition show on NBC called American Dream Builders . After completing over three hundred makeovers on HGTV, I was thrilled to be on the other side of the table and given the chance to share with the contestants what I had learned from behind the scenes of designing for the masses. Oftentimes, this meant extremely tight budgets, nearly impossible production deadlines, sixteen-hour days, limited resources, and cameras rolling to capture it allthe good, the bad, the creative, and as reality TV often goes, the ugly. Luckily with American Dream Builders , I was behind the judges table. As passionate as I am about design and as thick-skinned as I have had to become to work in front of a TV audience, I would never, ever, have had the courage that Christina showed to participate as a contestant.

On the first day of shooting, the producers allowed me to express in a few words what I wanted to see from the contestants. Naturally, as a do-it-yourselfer and self-taught designer, I said, Dont be afraid to get your hands dirty! While this seems like a simple expectation, for this group of designers, it was not. The contestants on the show were a handpicked mix of highly talented and successful professional designers. In their defense, if you have ever had the luxury to hire a designer you would know that you hire them for their experience, resources, and ability to execute their or your own design style depending on how apt you are. In other words, most professional designers do not do your painting, sewing, carpentry, cleaning out, and rearranging of furnitureunless your name happens to be Christina Salway. Of all the contestants, it was evident early on that she had these skills and mindset in her back pocket.

During the first week of touring the afters (TV talk for redesigned spaces), I was struck by the most beautiful childrens room that was bursting with pattern, whimsical details, and an unexpected color palette (like all designers, I immediately took note to put this palette into my own designer file for inspiration). When I learned the room was designed by Christina, I quietly said to myself, This is my kind of girl. Week after week of gruelingand I mean GRUELING makeovers, Christina brought it. Not only was she able to turn trash into treasure (I swear she could probably decorate your space out of an auto parts store), she always delivered spaces with the most beautiful mix of colors, pattern, and texture. And while the whole design world, including myself, seems to be designing in restrained neutrals, it was a treat to see the life and personality her creative design sensibility brought to each space.

On a personal level, her journey on the show was just as inspiring as her designs. I had heard early on from producers that Christina had moved her husband and eighteen-month-old from the East Coast to LA for the show. As a new mom myself with much doubt about going back to work and transplanting my husband, and seven-week-old baby, I felt both inspired and comforted that there was another mom on our set, with a shared passion.

No matter what challenges were thrown at her, week after week, Christina brought her courage, creativity, kindness, and down-to-earth design approach to one of the toughest design challenges one could face. I learned a lot from watching her, and if you have bought this book, you will too! Yep, I am a fan of this sweet, blonde, skinny-jeans-rocking design dynamo!

Happy Decorating and Make It Beautiful!

XO,

Monica Pedersen, American Dream Builders, author of Make It Beautiful: Designs and Ideas for Entertaining at Home

Introduction

All right. Youve decided youre ready to live like a grown-up. This does not mean you have to stop getting embarrassingly drunk on Saturday nights, this does not mean you arent allowed to spend your weekends watching Back-to-the-Future marathons for twelve straight hours, this does not mean you have to start making babies or decide what you want out of life. This only means that you are no longer going to live like an unemployed college student, surrounded by ironic Onion articles tacked to your walls and neon beer signs humming over your sofa (well talk about your disgusting sofa later).

Its time, guys. Its time to start living like an adult. Even if you arent really one yet.

In this book, were going to tackle some big and small projects that are going to make it a little bit easier to live like an adult. Youre going to find some simple solutions to clean up your actjust a littleso that your apartment is actually a positive reflection on who you are as a person. To be clear: Im not suggesting you throw everything away and make your home look like the IKEA version of the creepy murder apartment in American Psycho . Your home should not be anonymous. It does not need to be generic or barren. Your home should look like you live there. It should just be a representation of your best self, not your laziest, dirtiest self. Give it a shot.