Rachael Ranney
Rachael Ranney is the host and one of the creative forces behind the sustainable design and home décor series {Re}habitat on Buildipedia.com. This environmentally friendly how-to series focuses on repurposing salvaged, vintage, and recycled furniture and house wares in your home and garden.
As a lifetime treasure hunter, Rachael grew up scouring Midwest flea markets and thrift shops for unique and beautiful pieces. Raised among tinkerers and artists to value sustainable design, she is constantly pushing herself to see the beauty and possibilities within forgotten things.
Constantly inspired by the online green design and DIY communities, Rachael never stops searching for new projects and materials, discovering how to apply green practices everyday to her home and life.
DIY Vintage Crate Storage
Learn how to utilize the unique small spaces in your home using a collection of vintage crates, sewing drawers, and shipping boxes creatively repurposed into a funky shelving unit. Rachael Ranney, host of Buildipedia’s {Re}habitat, takes you step by step through this super easy project, a perfect way to add storage and style to your home on the cheap.
The bathroom – most often the smallest room in the house, and home to perhaps the greatest variety of stuff – is the first challenge that I have decided to tackle while settling into my new home.
Upcycled Coat Racks
Find out, step by step, how to create two very different DIY coat racks using both natural and recycled materials. Watch {Re}habitat, Rachael Ranney’s online video series on Buildipedia.com’s Go Green channel, to learn how adaptive reuse can add fun and function to your space.
I am constantly looking for ways to create new and inexpensive storage for my small home. Throughout the winter and spring months here in the Midwest, my house is always cluttered with a flurry of coats, gloves, and other cold weather gear. Installing a coat rack near your front door will add storage capacity to your entryway and can help you to clear up some of the chaos.
6 Simple Ways to Make Your Home More Energy-Efficient This Winter
Even if you rent your home, the six steps for winterizing are worth doing. They help save the planet… and save you money!
Whether you are a renter like me or own your own home, these simple steps will help you to prepare your home inside and out for these chilly winter months.
3 Amazingly Simple Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas
Let Rachael Ranney, host of {Re}habitat, help you to upcycle some humble materials into gifts this holiday season. Here are three ideas for inexpensive gifts you can make in a few hours.
In the past few years I have begun to make almost all of my gifts by hand. Not only has it saved me from fighting feverishly through the madness of the pre-holiday mall crowds, it has kept my bank account in good standing. I also manage to give creative, personal, and thoughtful gifts to all of the people on my list.
Vintage Suitcase Side Table
Creating a multifunctional side table to augment your living room furniture is easier and more affordable than you think. Join {Re}habitat host Rachael Ranney as she turns a vintage suitcase into a useful and chic addition to her living space.
Vintage suitcases are one of my favorite ways to keep clutter hidden and my home organized. Buried deep in the dark corners of my closet and all around my office you will find piles of them. I use old funky suitcases to hide my crafting supplies and photos and to store my out-of-season clothes.
The Best DIY and Eco-Friendly Xmas Trees 2011
As the holiday season approaches, Rachael, the host of {Re}habitat, has been focusing on eco-friendly alternatives for some of the traditional elements of Christmas.
Living in a small, busy, crazy, constantly evolving, pet-filled apartment has kept me from having the 12’ Douglas Fir of my dreams twinkling in the window. I fear the mess, the drying tree lying out on the curb… and, perhaps most of all, our cats taking it all down in one loud SMASH! In hindsight I feel like I’ve cheated myself out of the full holiday experience by not having a proper Christmas tree.
Vintage Doily Table Runner
Set a fantastic and festive table with vintage doilies. Rachael Ranney, host of Buildipedia's {Re}habitat, takes you step by step through this easy project, perfect work for a chilly evening.
Create a beautiful table runner using vintage linen and cotton doilies to bring some unique flair to your holiday dinner parties. I have often come across large collections of these linens at antique malls and flea markets. You may have to begin acquiring them one or two at a time, but try to buy them in bulk from an individual dealer: you’ll probably get a better deal.
Auctions 101: Preparing for Your First Auction
Don't be afraid to try your luck at an auction. Rachael Ranney, host of Buildipedia's {Re}habitat, shares some insider tips for making your first auction experience a successful one.
Let me start by admitting openly that I love, love, love auctions! The moment I score a great deal on that one-of-a-kind, beautiful piece is an unassailable thrill. Listening to a great auctioneer generate buzz and excitement about the wares he is selling will never cease to entertain me.



