If you are like me, you have a list of blogs that you follow.  Mine are mostly craft and decorating blogs, and I love looking at their projects to see what is trending and find inspiration for my own home.  Once source of great  inspiration that a lot of people tend to overlook, though, is the websites of big companies.  Here are some that I like to check out.

Lowes – Near the top of the page, you will see drop down tabs.  Hover over “inspiration” to see a photo gallery of home improvement projects, or hover over “projects” to explore how-tos and tutorials for any area of your home.  They walk you through projects from building a deck to replacing a bathroom faucet, and also have handy calculators for figuring out how much flooring you need, or how much paint you will have to buy.

Home Depot – This link takes you directly to their blog, where they have new articles daily on everything from house cleaning tips, to grilling recipes to gardening how to’s.  Look at this chalkboard  – easy and inexpensive, with instructions right on their blog.  I could think of a hundred cute things to use this for!

Hobby Lobby – Click on “project inspiration”, then you can click on the left to browse by season or category.

Michaels – Click on either “projects” or “videos” at the top of the page for lists of what they have available. You can search by category, length of project or age range.  Check out this cute pillow project – perfect for warming up your space for the colder weather.

Remember that at both Michaels and Hobby Lobby websites, you can get coupons for in store purchases!

Ace Hardware – Click on “tips and advice” for lists of available topics, similar to Lowes and Home Depot.  If you are taking on a complicated and involved home improvement project, check you the section called “interactive project videos” for some really practical tutorials on things like changing your furnace filter and how to use a table saw.

Home Goods – Do you just love this store as much as I (and my good buddy Nate Berkus) do?  I’m not lucky enough to have one in the town where I live, but it’s a must-stop anytime I head to the “big city”.  The link will take you straight to their blog that is full of beautiful photos and design inspiration.  If you have a minute, check out their Stylescope quiz to determine your decorating style.  My teenage boys and I played around on this for quite awhile the other night and just had a blast (No!  Really!).  At the end of all the silliness, though, it told me my style was a mixture of Boho and Urban Funk, which I thought was right on the money.

Kids Craft by Plaid – This is a really fun blog if you have little ones in the house, or if you are an elementary teacher.  Lots of great ideas, searchable by category on the right.  How cute is this?

My kids would have loved making these pots when they were younger, and I love that most of the projects use items that are inexpensive and easily obtained.

Plaid – Hover over “craft by type” then search your options there. My favorite?  The decoupage section.  A whole section full of Mod Podge ideas??  Swoon…

There you have it; next time you’ve finished your usuals on the internet and need a little fresh inspiration, give one of these a try!