Book reviews: DIY Kitchens and 100+ Paint Projects + a giveaway

I have always been a fan of Better Homes & Gardens’ Do-It-Yourself magazine, so when I heard about two of their new books, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. Do It Yourself Kitchens: Stunning Spaces on a Shoestring Budget and Do It Yourself: 100+ Paint Projects: Fresh Ideas For Your Home didn’t disappoint. (This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, I may earn a small commission. You can read my full disclosure here.)

I’ll start with DIY Kitchens. It’s a handy — and beautiful — resource if you are contemplating a kitchen remodel, large or small. With big pictures of gorgeous kitchens for nearly every budget, I had fun picking my favorite one (pictured above). Even the kitchens that I didn’t like had great storage and decorating ideas I can steal.

DIY Kitchens is loaded with tools such as color palettes, budget breakdowns, materials lists, and illustrated how-tos. The “DIY 101″ tutorials include tiling a backsplash, making a concrete counter, and installing pullout shelves. Someday (when I own a home), I’m going to make my own concrete countertop — with colored concrete. This book doesn’t cover colored concrete, but their tutorial will get me started with the basics.

The editors share cute storage and organization tips (above). Although DIY Kitchens has an “editors’ favorite resources” list in the back, I always wish books like this had a more complete list of shopping sources. Maybe that’s the nature of books, though. To be timeless, you probably don’t want to list resources and website addresses that could be outdated in a matter of months.

100+ Paint Projects is kind of mind-blowing. I want to do every project in the book. Many of the projects are not new ideas (is there such a thing anymore?), but their execution is beautiful and inspiring. As an art director, I have to acknowledge the gorgeous prop styling and photography. And I’m slightly jealous that I didn’t do this book myself.

100+ Paint Projects proves that you can paint anything from fabric to floors to ceramics. The techniques they teach you include linoleum block stamping, silk-screening, and stenciling. The book also includes 14 pages of project patterns and 10 pages of tips, tools, and techniques. The first project I’m going to try? Painted linoleum on page 81.

And now for the part you were waiting for: the giveaway! Better Homes and Gardens has agreed to give one lucky Crafty Nest reader a copy of both of these titles. To enter, leave a comment here telling me what kitchen or painting project you plan to tackle first. For an extra chance to win, follow CraftyNest on Twitter, and leave another comment telling me that you’re a follower. I’ll choose one commenter at random to receive the book. The deadline is in two weeks — Friday, October 28, 2011.

UPDATE 10/29/11: Thank you to all of you who commented. I chose one of you at random to win Do It Yourself Kitchens and Do It Yourself: 100+ Paint Projects. The first winner was a comment stating she was a Twitter follower. I checked. She’s not following me on Twitter. Her loss.

So, the next winner I chose was comment #75. Kim Johnson wrote: “We are helping two families rebuild after the devastation from the Texas wildfires. They were lucky not to lose their homes completely but the damage forced them to have to gut the homes and start over. I thought these books might lift some spirit and give them some ideas! Thanks for the opportunity!” Congratulations, Kim! It’s a bonus that the books are going to a worthy cause.

These books were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.