Melanie Sutherland
Creator, Harbor Theory Designs
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Instagram: @harbortheory | harbortheory.com
GREAT DIY IDEA
My proudest DIY was creating a wall-length desk in my office. The wall is about eight feet long, so I bought an unfinished door slab (the kind without a hole for a door handle) from my local home improvement store. I cut it in half the long way and attached both halves to the wall with support L-brackets. Turned out amazing and people don’t believe me when I tell them it wasn’t a custom piece done professionally!
BOOKCASE IDEA
Organize your books by color! It seriously makes such a difference, making a bookshelf go from looking cluttered to suddenly intentional and styled.
"Splurge on items you absolutely love."
BEST DECORATING ADVICE
Splurge on items you absolutely love. You never know when you’ll come across something that makes your heart sing again!
BIGGEST HOME CHALLENGE
I have a hard time letting go when things get messy. A home is meant to be lived in, so I can’t expect things will always be perfect. The challenge is creating a design that allows for imperfection! I try to create more organization and storage than I think I’ll need, because
I’ll always end up needing somewhere to put the mail!
SET YOUR ALERTS TO SCORE DESIGNER PIECES
I’ve found tons of designer pieces through Craigslist. I have alerts set up for certain high-end brands, which means I get an email whenever someone posts something from the brand. I’ve even scored some free items this way that would’ve otherwise been at least $1,000!