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Theo Alvarez

DIY Editor

Theo Alvarez edits DIY coverage for The Decor Artist: practical projects a reasonable reader can finish with standard tools, attributed to makers' published instructions, hazards deferred to professionals.

Articles by Theo Alvarez

A solid-oak dresser with eased drawer edges stands against a plaster wall while afternoon light rakes across its grain and someone slides a drawer shut with one hand.

Storage Furniture Explained: Wood Movement, Drawers, and the Tip-Over Rule

Theo Alvarez

Late-day light crosses a plaster dining room where a walnut table is set for four, one diner sliding a linen-backed chair in from a taped-out floor mark.

How to Size a Dining Table for Your Room and Your Guest List

Theo Alvarez

A sunlit workshop corner where a maker clamps a walnut tabletop, curls of shavings on the bench beside a kettle of tea.

Custom Furniture or Ready-Made: What Makers Say You Should Know

Theo Alvarez

A terrace in low golden light, teak gone soft silver-grey beside a white aluminium sling chair, one person unfolding a linen cover with a watering can at their feet.

Teak, Aluminium, and Sling: Outdoor Furniture Materials Explained by Makers

Theo Alvarez

Low evening light crosses a bouclé sofa as someone blotting a spill leans over the armrest, cloth in hand.

Upholstery Fabrics Explained: Wool, Performance Weaves, and Barrier Textiles

Theo Alvarez

Brushed satin light catches the wet edge of a freshly coated oak board beside steel wool and a tin of oil on a maker's bench.

Wood Finishes Explained: Oils, Polyurethane, Lacquer, Shellac and Wax

Theo Alvarez

A quiet reading corner in oiled walnut and cream bouclé, a leather armchair catching low light through linen sheers, a woman blotting a spill with a soft cloth before it sets.

How to Care for Walnut, Oak, Bouclé, and Leather Furniture

Theo Alvarez

A worktable strewn with moss and cut greenery in soft window light as hands wire a spring bundle onto a straw frame, twine and secateurs within reach.

How to Make a Seasonal Wreath, According to a Lead Florist

Theo Alvarez

A woman steadies a large brass-framed mirror against a plaster wall as afternoon light from sheer curtains doubles itself in the new glass above a walnut console.

How to Hang and Place a Mirror Without Damaging the Wall

Theo Alvarez

Warm lamplight pools through a natural linen drum shade onto a walnut side table where someone in a linen sleeve wipes the shade's ribbing with a soft brush.

How to Refresh a Lamp With the Right Shade Size and Fitting

Theo Alvarez

Afternoon light through half-raised blinds striping a linen curtain, a man kneeling at the window frame with a level and pencil behind his ear.

How to Install Blinds the Right Way, According to Supplier Guides

Theo Alvarez

A kitchen repainted in warm off-white, doors drying on a drop cloth by the window, a woman in a linen apron labeling hinges into a jar.

How to Refresh Kitchen Cabinets With Paint, According to Suppliers' Guides

Theo Alvarez

A bright shelf of trailing pothos and compact ferns above a linen sofa, someone pinching back a vine as soft window light washes the leaves.

How to Style Houseplants on Shelves, According to Plant Experts

Theo Alvarez

A plaster wall in slanting morning light with frames laid across the floor below it, one person kneeling with a tape measure and paper templates, coffee set on a stool.

How High Should You Hang a Gallery Wall? The 57-Inch Rule Explained

Theo Alvarez

Afternoon light across a painted kitchen, a person's hands steadying a brass pull against a drawer front scattered with templates, a drill resting on a linen cloth.

How to Swap Cabinet Hardware Without Drilling a Single Wrong Hole

Theo Alvarez

Soft morning light through a linen curtain glances off a glazed backsplash as hands wipe the tile with a cloth.

How to Clean Tile and Grout, According to Marazzi's Published Care Guides

Theo Alvarez

Saturday light on a bouclé sofa as a hand runs the vacuum's soft brush attachment along the seam, cushions flipped and waiting on the floor.

How to Clean and Care for Upholstery, Step by Step

Theo Alvarez

A barely damp cloth moves with the grain of an oiled walnut tabletop while low evening light shows the surface the maker left behind.

How to Care for Wooden Furniture, According to Conservation Scientists

Theo Alvarez

A sunlit workroom with a half-stripped sofa, rolls of bouclé and linen leaning against an oiled workbench, someone in an apron smoothing fresh fabric over a bare armrest.

How to Reupholster a Couch, According to Published Guides

Theo Alvarez

A half-painted room in warm afternoon light, a linen-curtained window, a roller tray on drop cloth, a man on a step ladder pausing to look at the fresh wall.

How to Paint a Room in the Right Order, According to Suppliers

Theo Alvarez