POPSUGAR is a global lifestyle media brand with content encompassing entertainment, style, beauty, wellness, family, lifestyle, and identity. POPSUGAR's team of editors, writers, producers, and content creators curate the buzziest content, trends, and products to help our audience live a playful and purposeful life.

POPSUGAR is a global lifestyle media brand with content encompassing entertainment, style, beauty, wellness, family, lifestyle, and identity. POPSUGAR's team of editors, writers, producers, and content creators curate the buzziest content, trends, and products to help our audience live a playful and purposeful life.

American interior designer, Casey Noble is popular as a television personality. Also, she is widely famous for her appearance on HGTV’s Desi...

Coming up on Monday, I'll be participating in the February design bloggers link-up with Olioboard. The topic will be on Charity Causes. The Charity I chose to highlight is Housing Works. Although I am not directly affiliated with the Housing Works, Inc. organization, I wanted to share (here in Part 1 of a 2 part post) how I learned about them -- especially since I don't even live in NYC. It goes back to one of my initial blog connections when I first started blogging back in late 2009, and began my social media connections (especially on Twitter) in early 2010. I don't remember how, but I had started tweeting with Stan Williams, author of the blog, The Elegant Thrifter. We tweeted during the Academy Awards (which reminds me: we have a Twitter-versary coming up!) and I learned he had collaborated with an organization for his book called "The Find." I enjoy thrifting, but this was the first book I ever bought demonstrating the potential of trash to treasures, flea market adventures, upcycling & repurposing plus thrifting good finds... The organization Stan had collaborated with was/is called Housing Works. Stan Williams - Author of The Find - a Housing Works collaboration About a year or so later, Jeff and I were going up to NYC for the 911 ten year anniversary. I didn't get to meet Stan (I think he was visiting family in Kansas at the time) but I did make it a point to visit one of the 12 Housing Works Thrift Shops located throughout New York City. Zaggat reviews Housing Works Thrift as, "Tremendous finds await the patient picker at this never stagnant local chain considered the Bergdorf of thrift outfits, where browsers happen upon super-fashionable vintage and contemporary clothing and designer furniture, all tended by pleasant, unobtrusive staffers." Housing Works Thrift Shop 245 W 10th St, New York, NY (212) 352 - 1618 What is Housing Works? Housing Works is a Non-Profit organization committed to ending the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness. Housing Works believes that all people have the right to a rich and empowering life. Housing Works raises money through donated goods at their 12 Housing Works Thrift shops locations in NYC/Brooklyn. Housing Works Thrift sells vintage and contemporary goods to fashionable bargain hunters. 100% of their proceeds fund their fight to end AIDS and homelessness (see Proceeds). Housing Works began in 1990. Housing Works Thrift launched in 1992. And last year, I learned of a charity event Housing Works holds to increase their awareness and raise funds through donations + auctions: The Design On A Dime Benefit. Since 2005, the Housing Works Design on a Dime Benefit has raised more than $2 million in support of Housing Works. On April 25, 2013, Housing Works will present New York City’s most popular interior design annual benefit event at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea. Design on a Dime features more than 50 of the world’s top interior designers, who create unforgettable room vignettes with new merchandise, which is donated and then sold for 50 to 70 percent off retail pricing! Opening night reception is April 25: shopping preview, cocktails, hors d'oeurves, and music. For two days afterwards (April 26 + 27), it will be a public sale. Here's a peek at some of last years creative room styled vignettes... Each year of the event, Housing Works invites interior designers to participate in creating rooms for auction - or "vignettes" - of donated goods... But these goods are not used garment or household donations from city dwellers. These donations come from showrooms, vendors and manufactures in the furniture design industry. The vignette items are sold through auctions. All proceeds from a silent auction benefit Housing Works Jefferson Avenue Residence, a new housing development in Brooklyn for homeless adults living with HIV/AIDS which opened in summer 2012. I learned about the Design On A Dime event - again from an online connection - a spectacular designer and heart-felt AIDS advocate in NYC named Patrick J. Hamilton. New York Designer Patrick J. Hamilton with Evette Ríos, Design on a Dime Co-Chair. Somehow, I think Patrick and I may have met somewhere for he use to live in Miami prior to moving to NYC. I had also first learned about Patrick J. Hamilton when I had blogged about Eddie Ross and the Big Window Challenge that happened at Bloomingdale's -- Patrick had won the challenge the year before Eddie did. Here is Patrick's award winning window for Bloomingdale's flagship store in New York City... Bloomingdale's Big Window Challenge - Winner Patrick J. Hamilton Last year, Patrick designed a vignette from the showroom pieces he campaigned for through using Facebook. And this year, Patrick is adding in more use of Pinterest (see Patrick's 2013 Ideaboard) and a Gift Registry (see Patrick's 2013 DOAD Wishlist) to campaign for the pieces he'd like to create his vignette for the Housing Works - Design On A Dime Event. I'm very excited to see what Patrick creates this year - This is his third invite by Housing Works to participate in the event. Patrick first participated in their fundraising premiere design event in 2011. Here are some photos from Patrick's previous Housing Works DOAD vignettes... Design on a Dime vignette 2011 by Patrick J. Hamilton Design on a Dime vignette 2012 by Patrick J. Hamilton The Housing Works Design On A Dime Benefit debuted in 2004 and has gained notoriety ever since. I'm sure as last year, it will only be continuing to grow as a successful Housing Works fund raiser to further help facilitate their goal of ending the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness. Click here to watch a video from The Editor at Large at the DOAD event . Some of the Housing Works Design on a Dime Donors include: 1stDibs.com, Arteriors Home, Ballard Designs, Bernhardt Designs, Bloomingdale's, Bungalow 5, Calvin Klein Home, Crate & Barrel, Ikea, Jonathan Adler, Joss & Main, Nest Interiors, One Kings Lane, Ralph Lauren, Scalamandre, Seren & Lily, West Elm, Williams-Sonoma Home, V&M (Vintage Modern), and Z Gallerie -- just to name a few. See more donors here: Donors -- Housing Works. Some of its incredible sponsors have included: House Beautiful, Homegoods, Traditional Home, Veranda, Valspar and Elle Decor. Some of the events celebrity attendees have included Iman, Charlotte Moss, Genevieve Gorder, Andy Cohen, Alex McCord and... Nate Berkus! Charloette Moss Iman Nate Berkus (2011) says “Many New Yorkers know Housing Works as a great thrift store. But, their mission is a serious one, providing care and community for those suffering with HIV/AIDS. I am honored to join them for Design on a Dime, to raise funds and awareness for the good work they do.” I didn't realize it, but even one of my favorite thrift makeover mavens is a chairperson for the Design On A Dime Event: The Dumpster Diva and Fab Flea Finder herself - Lara Spencer. Lara holds charity “Taste Maker Tag Sales” of her vintage finds on the website One Kings Lane and donates all profits to Housing Works, a non-profit that helps those living with HIV/Aids. Lara says the Housing Works Design on a Dime Event "is as big as The Oscars." Lara Spencer with ABC's Sam Champion and HGTV's Sabrina Soto at Design On A Dime 2012. Since I personally LOVE using Pinterest to collect furnishings and then apply them to online design boards for projects using Olioboard, I thought this would be a good opportunity to demonstrate this wonderful cause + event during the Olioboard February Charity Causes link-up (which will be Part 2 of this post). I hope you'll join me Monday, plus the other 9 design bloggers -- as they each share their use of Olioboard to to support their charity causes. Thanks for stopping by...

It's not your fault that crafting is hard.

The experts at HGTV.com share DIY locker decorating ideas and organizing tips for heading back to school in style.

The experts at HGTV.com share DIY locker decorating ideas and organizing tips for heading back to school in style.

Discover ideas for rose garden design from the experts at HGTV. Learn practical tips for creating and tending rose gardens.

Casey Noble an HGTV presenter is also the pretty wife of NFL player Clay Matthews who plays linebacker for the Green Bay Packers.

HGTV Magazine asked HGTV celebrities to arrange their own store-bought flowers in different vases or containers. See how they put together roses, tulips, lilies and other flowers.

The design experts at HGTV share the best cheap and creative decorating ideas for every room in the house.

actor/model joel west is 37 today. #happybirthday

As we scroll through Instagram on an hourly basis, we’ve learned to filter out the perfectly contoured faces of celebrities and the designer labels that adorn their bodies – because we’re much too interested in what their house looks like! As they take thousands of photos and videos, we love to check out what their kitchen looks like, how beautiful their living room is, and how darn comfortable their bed looks. Although this fills us with an unbelievable amount of joy, it also makes us feel sad. Why can’t we have houses like that? Well, it turns out that we can. If you’ve yet to discover the HGTV network, you might want to call in sick and turn on your television – because you’re gonna want to see this. As a cable channel dedicated to home improvement, real estate, property investment, interior design, craft making and gardening, this channel is bound to inspire the homeowner within you.

The experts at HGTV.com share DIY locker decorating ideas and organizing tips for heading back to school in style.

I’m always intrigued by the design challenge of show houses, window displays, tabletop shows, and Design on a Dime, the annual fundraiser for Housing Works, whether I’m participant or spectator. Do you try to represent the work you do, or woo the work you want? Do you go theatrical, because the spaces are ethereal, and the intent is to draw the eye and stop traffic? Do you shoot for practicality, or shoot for the perfect shot? In the specific case of Design on a Dime, there’s the added caveat of making everything attractive to the frenzied and festive buyers who show up on the opening night. Make no bones: this is a sale. So on top of all those conceptual questions, Design on a Dime adds a few more practical ones: Do you set up shop, create a mini storefront? Do you tackle it like you would a client’s project (the space we’re given is not that much smaller than many Manhattan living rooms)? Do you risk the dreaded word “busy,” even knowing that the more you have, the more you sell to benefit the beneficiary? So after two years of relative safety (if you count a pair of three-foot acupuncture statues, and brown crocodile walls safe), I decided to go big. Big color, big texture, big, well, parakeet. And in the process, big fun. And, for you and for me, a few big lessons along the way. Walls Can Shape a Space Well, THAT seems obvious, but I mean more the wall covering. All three years, I’ve used wall coverings (the first two years from Koroseal, this year, that amazing "Flame" printed grasscloth from Schumacher), and they have turned “booth” to “room” the minute the last sheet or roll went up, before a stick of furniture went in, even in this “room” with only two walls. So what’s the lesson? Wall coverings take the edge off new construction. They can cozy up a room, hide flaws, make a room feel settled in, and add an instant sense of architecture to the barest of white boxes. And here’s my bonus tip: I always underpaint a wall that’s being wallpapered, using the wallpaper’s predominant color (this year, Valspar’s Autumn Glimmer, who might also possibly be a contestant this season on RuPaul’s Drag Race). For Design on a Dime, it’s because there’s always the slightest chance things won’t arrive in time, so at least I’ll have color if it doesn’t, but in real life, also so that at wall ends and ceiling lines, or if there ends up being any shrinkage at the seams, you won’t see glaring bits of wall. And while wall covering adds some serious time to the limited set-up timeline, I’m most certainly doing it again next year, assuming I’m asked back! The generous folks at The Alpha Workshops have already signed on, and I have my eye on their Topography line. Client Sympathy I think one of the biggest things you pay a designer for is visualization skill, and very often, after the first meeting, I can see a finished room in my head before I’m off the subway. It’s no different with Design on a Dime. From the first Pins and before the first donor commitment (EVERYTHING you see was donated!!), this room was complete in my head. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of doubt (dare I say PANIC?) along the way. And as much as I loved the wall covering, and KNEW it was the perfect choice (happy, vibrant, a great scale to hold its own at this busy event, Miami-evocative and color-motivating), when ONLY the wallpaper was up, I thought “Oh dear god,” even though passersby commented positively about the paper. So the lesson is, when the room is only painted or paper, DON’T JUDGE. Keep soldiering on. It will make sense when other elements are introduced. Here, once the sofa was in place, when “Salvador” took his place above it, and when the ivory Lola chair arrived and the white Power Shag rug rolled in, it became exactly the room I’ve had in my head since January. But the moment of panic made me extra sympathetic to clients who say, “Um...”. Actually, it just reaffirmed my commitment to keep clients OUT of the space at that stage. Sorry clients! Buh-bye. During set up, the phrase “It gets worse before it gets better” crossed my mind more than once. Installations are NOT pretty, and it’s why I try my best to not have a client around when I do it for that reason too. Risk = Fun Deciding I was going to design outside my own comfort zone became a VERY invigorating exercise. Everything became a happy “Why not!” instead of a worried “Should I?” What were some of the rules I broke or bent? I mixed metals (burnished brass sits next to polished nickel, near raw steel legs and shiny gold nailheads). Why not! The gallery wall, while unified by white frames (and gorgeously framed by Steven Amedee) that also tempered their presence on top of that jazzy paper, adhered to ideas of general balance and not strict symmetry, even though that was my intent up until the first screw went in the wall. Tell those Virgo voices to hush! The frames are not all going to line up, not THIS time. Why not! The bonus of letting go on my gallery wall? An overall arrow-shape that pointed right into the booth, and with forced-perspective, made my long wall seen longer than its 12 feet. Go With the Flow Be prepared to change your mind. People, this is art, not math. There’s no one right answer, and as much as I envisioned those Circa Lighting picture lights/wall easels tucked low behind the Constable lamps and just above the side tables, with the parakeet the wall star, it just looked wrong in reality. Actually, I might have left it were it not for my patient paperhanger/handyman who offered to move them in the 11th hour (when he knew they needed to be moved, and also knew I didn't have the heart to ask him!). And surprise, they actually drew more attention to the wall’s main piece instead of distracting from it. Why not! Use What You Love I’ve always said, “Buy what you LOVE, and anything will make sense together. But I’ve never really tested the theory with such abandon. But that was my rule: ask my generous donors for pieces or versions of pieces that I just loved. I loved the new orange leather at Mitchell Gold, so why not use it on the studio-apartment-perfect Keaton loveseat? (traditional lines, so the traditional bar cart had a friend at the party, both in their orange party duds, to boot). I love the hair-on-hide zebra on Bernhardt’s Connor Chair and loved their Ardmore bench, so why not combine them? Both vendors said yes without hesitation. If you had told me even a year ago that I’d be blogging and bragging about a room with flamestitch grasscloth, orange leather, zebra upholstery, shag rug and a giant acid-green Australian parakeet, metals both warm and cool, and a loosened grid gallery wall, I’d have asked if your meds were current. But guess what? Why not! And this room, and the process to get there (breaking my own rules, relaxing my own preconceived notions, less matching and more mixing) has made me a better designer. I have never had more fun with a room, long or short-lived, client reality or fundraising folly. And it’s because the elements were fun. Colorful, happy, buoyant, flying birds and lacquered lobsters. That buoyant, festive vibe was very much the way the finished room felt. Plus, it was a BLAST to pull together. It’s the only happy pill I’ll need for quite some time. Well, at least ‘til the next Design on a Dime. I’m thinking “Decadent Dining" for 2014... Stay tuned to see more vignettes from Design on a Dime 2013. Read more about where I started and how it all came together over on New York Spaces. See the Pinterest Board that started it all! All Photos: Jody Kivort Sources You'll notice among the sources many of my colleagues in the interior design world. I have special and deep gratitude for their personal generosity and support of this effort. "Flame" Wallcovering in Zippity Doo Dah,: Schumacher, Celerie Kemble collection Parakeet photo: "Salvador," Leila Jeffreys Loveseat: Keaton, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, in Rojo Leather Bench/ottoman: Ardmore Bench, Bernhardt Area Rug: Power Shag, Natural, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Chair: Lola, Ivory Leather, Room & Board Marakesh Upholstered Ottomans: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Custom "Shaftesbury" Bar Cart, in Valspar's "Autumn Glimmer," The Gilded Stag Parsons Side Tables, Textured Lacquered Grasscloth: Bungalow 5 Acrylic Pedestals: Pedestal Source Tristan Side Table, Polished Nickel: Oly Lapis Temple Jars: Bungalow 5 Blue and White Legend Wide-Necked Vase: Bungalow 5 Mirror: West Elm's Parsons Mirror, with custom handpainted finish by The Alpha Workshops Lucy Demilune: West Elm Estelle Wall-mounted Easel Lights: Circa Lighting, courtesy Matthew Patrick Smyth Constable Table Lamps: Currey & Company Orange Throw: Holland & Sherry, courtesy David Scott Interiors Otto Pillows in Tangerine (on loveseat): DwellStudio Tahiti Pillow on Chair: Horchow, courtesy Nicole Haddad Artwork: David Peterson courtesy the artist and SwitchModern; "Macaw," Sharon Montrose courtesy Joel Woodard; Dan Romer, Aaron Smith; Caroline O'Connell; Babette Herschberger; Gary Moran Framing: Steven Amedee, courtesy Steven Amedee and Mike Cahill Bel Air Test Tube Vase: Jonathan Adler Alexander Horn Boxes, Sargent Studded Box, Brass Knot Bottle Opener, Brass Link Box: Jayson Home White "Urchin" Objects: DwellStudio Gold-rimmed Stemless Champagne Flutes: West Elm, courtesy Mae Lee Hacking, Here in this House Ombre Wine Glasses: West Elm, courtesy Wayne Breeden Ling Decanters: Crate & Barrel, courtesy Scott Tjaden and Brian Rose Tour Double Old-Fashioned Glasses: Crate & Barrel courtesy Brian Rose Carmen Cocktail Napkins: Crate & Barrel, courtesy Mae Lee Hacking, Here in this House Chinese Stone Table Top: Pagoda Red White Lobster: Z Gallerie, courtesy Susan Weiner White Lacquer Tray: West Elm Modern Marble Sculpture (on tray): Wisteria Trousdale Coasters, Jonathan Adler Scissor Cut Ice Bucket: Crate & Barrel, courtesy Mae Lee Hacking, Here in this House Cylinder Vase (used as wine cooler), Poppy: Wisteria Flask Orange Vase: CB2 courtesy Janice Ward Gourd Vase in Poppy: Wisteria Orange Resin Star Fish: Pottery Barn Thalia 14" Cylinder Vase: Crate & Barrel, courtesy Mindy Miraglia Books: Courtesy Jay Gurewitsch, Arcadia NYC Quince Flowering Branches: Crate & Barrel Paper Hanging: Phil Farley Set-up Assistance: Alan Bounville, In Our Words Project Special Thanks: Steven Heavner, Michael Morris, Bridget Wise, Bethanne Matari, Eloise Goldman, Landon Shockey, Luca Rensi, David Scott, Matthew Patrick Smyth, Tammi King, Neil Goltz, Alice Moore, Meghan White, Jim Finch, Molly Peterson, Steven Maserjian, Madison Hewerdine, Arielle Trop, Susan North, Lynda Quintero-Davids, Victor Boccarossa, Ken Wampler, John Sullivan, Roy Otwell, Mel Alvarez, David Raper, Cheryl, Suzanne and ALL the Housing Works staff and volunteers. Get Social! Find Housing Works, Valspar Paint, Wisteria, Steven Amedee, Schumacher, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Room & Board, ArcadiaNYC, Currey & Company, Jayson Home, Bungalow5, Pagoda Red, The Gilded Stag and SwitchModern on Facebook. Follow me on Pinterest and Twitter.

Discover ideas for rose garden design from the experts at HGTV. Learn practical tips for creating and tending rose gardens.

Resourceful girly-girl and Design Star season 7 contestant Britany Simon is passionate about creating modern, glam spaces without spending a fortune.

Add a garden to your deck or patio with this combination raised planter box and bench.

The DIY decor experts at HGTV show you how to craft a trendy Bohemian light fixture.

Design on a Dime is one of the most popular interior design events in the New York community. Take a first look at some of the fabulous designer vignettes.

Final favorites from the Design on a Dime 10th anniversary show.

Design on a Dime is one of the most popular interior design events in the New York community. Take a first look at some of the fabulous designer vignettes.

The design experts at HGTV share the best cheap and creative decorating ideas for every room in the house.

Visually stunning and easy to make, DIY sun prints are a must-try craft this summer. Get the details at HGTV.com.

With over 60 designer vignettes, this year marked the 10th anniversary of Housing Work's Design on a Dime charity design event. As usual, the festive design event, a harbinger of spring, did not disappoint. It never does, since it raises money for a wonderful charity,

The design experts at HGTV share the best cheap and creative decorating ideas for every room in the house.

Rub N Restore, Leather Restoration, DIY, Decorating On a budget, HGTV, Interior Design, Home Decor Blog, BHG home, Tutorial

The experts at HGTV.com share DIY locker decorating ideas and organizing tips for heading back to school in style.

Jazz up your bedroom or any room with these stylish options for attractive and practical closet doors from HGTV.

Whether you choose a wooden or metal deck rail, traditional or transitional, the right deck rail design can give your deck a custom look says HGTV.