This Dreamy DIYer Has a Brilliant New IKEA Hack for You
It’s officially Homemakers week here at Brit HQ (if you haven’t ordered the book, get on it!), and we’re celebrating makers, shakers and homemakers across the country. Our book, Homemakers, takes you through a redefinition of the word “home maker” room by room, from the dining room to the kitchen to the bedroom. Well, there’s one room in the book that we have yet to reveal: The Back Porch! The back porch chapter of our book is where some of our favorite makers have stopped by to share their own awesome projects for living more beautifully and creatively.
One such (home)maker in this chapter is Ashley Rose, founder of DIY lifestyle blog, Sugar & Cloth. In Homemakers, Ashley shares her IKEA hack for creating modern shelving without breaking the bank. Her project shows how to use IKEA’s EKBY shelving brackets to turn untreated wooden planks into shelves in just a few simple steps. But that’s all we can tell you for now — you’ll have to buy our book for the full how-to! ;) In the meantime, read on to learn what inspires her, how she got started and what’s on her studio playlist.
Spoiler alert: Like so many of us, Ashley is addicted to macarons. We feel ya, girl. Now, let’s meet this maker.
What inspires you? Why do you love to design, create and make?
I get really inspired by simple, everyday things that I take note of from new places, shops, traveling or products online. I usually am taking iPhone photos everywhere we go whether it’s just of moulding or the elements of a cafe table to be able to remember little details that I can combine to make a new project or home decor inspiration.
What’s Sugar & Cloth all about?
Sugar & Cloth is a blog filled with DIY projects, recipes, home decor, and everything in between to make for DIY inspired living. It’s been featured in places such as Oprah Magazine, Refinery 29, The Huffington Post, HGTV and many more!
Tell us your story.
I founded Sugar & Cloth just over three years ago with the intention of keeping in touch with family and friends about daily happenings after a cross country move, but it quickly blossomed into a popular DIY resource that has since been featured on many major online publications. I lives by all things white and gold, and often follows the call of macarons.
What’s one piece of advice you’d share with other makers?
Don’t let yourself compare your work or successes to others, it never does anyone any good.
Tell us how technology has changed and supported what you do.
It’s so amazing how simple it is to find new techniques for old things that you can modernize into a trendy project for today. YouTube has become my new best friend when I’m learning new processes, and we just recently started our own channel to become a bigger part of that community too.
What’s on your studio playlist?
We listen to A LOT of the indie folk station on Spotify. We were on a big Rihanna kick, but we’ve moved on the last few weeks ;)
How do you get into the creative flow? How does it feel?
Usually it involves a lot of running around the studio or local shops to collect supplies and then a bit of organized chaos in the Sugar & Cloth studio creating a sample project, then the step by step and styled versions seen on the blog.
What do you love about teaching people to make? And inspiring people who don’t think they are traditionally creative?
I love when readers get as excited about a project or post as I do, it’s hands down my favorite thing about sharing what we’re creating online.
Be sure to order Homemakers to check out Ashley’s project as well as over 1,000 tips and tricks for living more creatively, inside and outside the home.