• Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact
  • Let’s Organize These Posts:

    • Art Attack
    • Backyard
    • Barn
    • Basement
    • Bathroom
    • Beach
    • Bedrooms
    • Being Thrifty
    • Business-y
    • Buying and Renting and Selling
    • Casual Celebrations
    • Closets
    • Curb Appeal
    • Dainty Details
    • Deck
    • Decor
    • Dining Room
    • DIY
    • Dog-Related
    • Entryway
    • Flooring
    • For the Kids
    • Garage
    • Gardening
    • Helping The Economy
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects
    • Holiday-Related Projects
    • Home Safety
    • Kitchen
    • Lighting
    • Living Room
    • Merry Travels
    • Office Space
    • Organized
    • Other Pads
    • Outdoor Living
    • Scooter Fun
    • Stairwell
    • Sunroom
    • Supporting Sponsors
    • The Art Room
    • Tools
    • Uncategorizable
    • Wedding
    • Windows
    • Work-pads
  • Search

  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (578)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (87)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)
  • Search

  • Pages

    • blog
    • Good Press: Special Features, Freelance Projects, and Long-Term Clients
    • Privacy Policy
    • about emily
    • before + after
      • before + after – transforming my first home
      • before + after, our current home
    • contact me
    • choose a badge and share the merrypad.com love
  • Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact
Reasons We Recessed Our Induction Cooktop
February 13, 2023

Hands down, the recessed induction cooktop is one of my favorite features in our kitchen.  Induction glass cooktop installed to be flush with the quartz counters. When we planned to invest in …

Read More
2 Comments

Kitchen

Make a DIY Pumpkin Totem Pole for Halloween Night
October 17, 2021

Stack your jack o’ lanterns to make a unique, Halloween totem pole. This simple, whimsical approach to the pumpkin carving tradition makes it easy to display multiple pumpkins in a …

Read More
No Comment

Kitchen

Create a Unique Spider Web Pumpkin
October 11, 2021

While I'm always here for a traditional jack-o-lantern, this year I decided to spearhead a different approach. Come to find, it's really easy to hand-stitch a spider web using simple …

Read More
No Comment

Kitchen

How Do We Really Like Our Home’s White Walls?
February 20, 2020

It's been 6 years since we opted to paint all of the walls and trim in our entire house in Sherwin Williams "Snowbound" shade of white. We even used this …

Read More
19 Comments

Dining Room  / Living Room

How to Clean Your House – Fast
June 11, 2019

The "20 Things" Game: My “20 Things” song and dance might seem like something you’d hear while watching Mary Poppins, but I have to tell you, when you commit to …

Read More
9 Comments

DIY  / For the Kids  / Organized

Why We Aren’t Doing a DIY Kitchen Remodel
June 5, 2019

It may come as some surprise that last fall, we hired a professional designer for our impending kitchen remodel. Why? Don’t you love the DIY stuff? Can’t you do everything? …

Read More
4 Comments

Kitchen

6 Summer Art Assignments For You and Your Kids
May 31, 2019

We invite the kids to get involved in plenty of projects around the house because at the ages 2, 5, and 12, they’re at the ages where they truly want …

Read More
No Comment

DIY  / For the Kids  / HGTV + DIY Network Projects

Our Expanded Outdoor Living Room
May 29, 2019

Our biggest project of 2018 kept us busy for quite some time. Scheming ways in which to update the covered porch of our midcentury home was a 5-year process, and …

Read More
3 Comments

DIY  / Outdoor Living

Lapse in Archive
May 28, 2019

I regret not keeping up on this “home journal” as thoroughly as I would have liked to the last few years. Our family doubled. Our yard work quadrupled. Work got …

Read More
2 Comments

Uncategorizable

Troubleshooting the Growth of Leeks and Onions in New York
May 17, 2019

Expertise needed for this recreational Zone 5 gardener. An honest attempt at growing leeks My daughter and I start our leek seeds ("Hattie's Leeks") on Valentine's Day. We started early after noticing …

Read More
1 Comment

Gardening

Devour This Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter
October 12, 2018

Hello, pumpkin season! What should I do to make the most of you? I can only eat so much pie, so I've been looking for recipes that'll make better use …

Read More
1 Comment

DIY  / Kitchen

How to Haunt Your Home With Faux-Broken Glass
September 28, 2018

In a world of crazy store-bought and DIY Halloween accessories, broken glass windows certainly seem like one of the most subtle accents one could add to their home this time of …

Read More
No Comment

DIY  / Holiday-Related Projects  / Windows

5 Years at Home
September 18, 2018

A thousand words couldn't properly articulate how much we love living here. We celebrated our 5th "homeiversary" in June, and just wrapped our 6th summer in this lovely place. This …

Read More
1 Comment

Backyard  / Casual Celebrations

Martha, My Dog
July 27, 2018

Our newest BFF, companion girl, partner-in-crime, littlest sister arrived home earlier this month. Martha–named as a nod to our family's infatuation with The Beatles and my insistence on using human names for pets–fell …

Read More
No Comment

Casual Celebrations  / Dog-Related

Chainsaw Know-How: Maintain, Sharpen, and Replace Your Chain
May 24, 2018

This post was sponsored by STIHL because they supplied the chainsaw (STIHL's MSA 120 C-BQ) and sharpening equipment. The content itself is my own. It's no secret that I advocate for homeowners to try battery-powered …

Read More
2 Comments

Supporting Sponsors  / Tools

Inspiration For a DIY Driftwood Clock
May 18, 2018

Heart-eyed emoji! If you're wondering if you've seen this big piece of driftwood before, probably yes. It was the star of one of the first projects I featured on this blog …

Read More
3 Comments

Decor  / DIY  / HGTV + DIY Network Projects

How to Repair Deteriorating Flagstone Steps
April 27, 2018

This post was sponsored by STIHL because they supplied the cut-off machine and safety equipment. However, the decrepit steps are my own, and repairing them has been on my list for a …

Read More
No Comment

DIY  / Entryway  / Supporting Sponsors  / Tools

How to Make Your Own Barn Quilt
April 24, 2018

Always committing to doing the things I say I'm going to do–in this case "barn quilt all the things"–I extended my collaboration with Buffalo-based designer Whitney Crispell of Local Color …

Read More
29 Comments

Backyard  / Barn  / Decor  / DIY

How to Make Your Own Swedish Torch
April 5, 2018

This post was sponsored by STIHL because they supplied the chainsaw and safety equipment. However, the project is my own and Swedish cut fire logs really are things we make and …

Read More
2 Comments

Backyard  / DIY  / Supporting Sponsors

Older Posts

  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • Instagram

    merrypad

    Merrypad // Emily Fazio
    How much garlic is too much garlic? Maybe we’ll How much garlic is too much garlic? Maybe we’ll find out in 2024. Finished planting 1,005 cloves (and 19 shallots) in three new beds at the farm, and crossed one huge chore off my list 📝 #gardennotes #garden2024
    Instagram post 18003690670970980 Instagram post 18003690670970980
    We grew these fools. We grew these fools.
    pumpkin patch is doing great✌️#year1 #squashbl pumpkin patch is doing great✌️#year1 #squashblossoms #pumpkinpatch
    I’ve overdone it. #2023gardennotes I’ve overdone it. #2023gardennotes
    I’m not great at weeding my mulched beds, but I I’m not great at weeding my mulched beds, but I am very good at transplanting thousands of pachysandra like little bouquets so within 3 years they’ll consume the entire area ✌️ #earnyourallowance #pachysandra #gardening #merrypadathome
    One magic blossom from the peony roots transplante One magic blossom from the peony roots transplanted in April ❤️
    Load More... follow emily: @merrypad



  • Like Me On Facebook

    Facebook Pagelike Widget



  • Popular Posts

    • How to fix an IKEA drawer. The Easy Fix For Broken IKEA Drawers 76.5k views
    • DIY sideboard rehab. 7 Steps for Restoring an Old Midcentury Sideboard Buffet 64.8k views
    • How to design and make a barn quilt. How to Make Your Own Barn Quilt 56.6k views
    • How to hang art on brick surfaces using specialty clips. The Easy Way to Hang Art on Brick or Stone 48.5k views
    • Our DIY flagstone patio. Building a Flagstone Patio in One Day 42.3k views
    • Tips for dying pasta different colors, and a Halloween Recipe for the kids. How to Dye Pasta Different Colors (Halloween Recipe) 41.2k views
    • Fix an ikea dresser drawer. Life Support For An IKEA Dresser 37.5k views
    • DIY driveway removal. How to Remove an Old Asphalt Driveway 37.3k views
    • Goodbye, gold fireplace covering. Less Is More: How to Remove a Fireplace Surround 32.5k views
    • After: Custom wooden garden fence. Designing a Durable Wooden Fence For Our Beautiful Backyard Garden 30.3k views



  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (578)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (87)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)



  • Recent posts

    • Reasons We Recessed Our Induction Cooktop February 13, 2023
    • Make a DIY Pumpkin Totem Pole for Halloween Night October 17, 2021
    • Create a Unique Spider Web Pumpkin October 11, 2021
    • How Do We Really Like Our Home’s White Walls? February 20, 2020
    • How to Clean Your House – Fast June 11, 2019

  • a little bit of everything, friends, DIY, and inspiration

    • Dadand.com < My husband and his BFF
    • HGTV
  • Some Legal

    Merrypad incorporates the occasional affiliate link to Amazon.com and Minted; we link to many other websites and products, but if it is in context of a paid sponsorship, it is always noted as such. Please review the privacy policy and contact me if you have any additional questions.

    Theme customized by Pete Fazio Creative, the guy from dadand.com.


© Copyright Merrypad