Want to learn secrets of Richmond’s top interior designers and home-improvement experts? Tips and tricks of the trade will be unleashed Thursday at the second annual Day of Design, sponsored by the Richmond chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association. The event will be held at the new Sierra Hotel at Short Pump Town Center from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PROJECT: Powder room renovation TIME: Two weeks COST: Less than $100 HOW SHE DID IT: About a year ago in Pennsylvania, Gay Neale fell in love with a friend’s powder-room wallpaper. The friend gave her leftover remnants of the paper, which was “sort of a Japanese/William Morris theme,“ Neale said. “It wasn’t much, but I have a tiny powder room, too, and I drew lots of plans until I figured out how to use it,“ Neale said.

PROJECT: Driveway entrance TIME: One weekend to build; a day to install COST: $100 HOW THEY DID IT: Mary and Jearl Cauthorne wanted to replace the plain, rickety driveway entrance to their King William County home with something more inviting. “It’s an adaptation of a garden gate,“ Mary Cauthorne said. “We wanted something a little fancier” to enhance the entry and provide a warm welcome to visitors.

PROJECT: Utility room makeover TIME: One week COST: $150 HOW SHE DID IT: Betty Ann Spiers never imagined that a furnace chimney fire in her Henrico County home would turn out to be a blessing in disguise. “Although I had to clean up the soot from every surface in the utility room, I was jolted into the awareness that this room had not been cleaned in 40 years,“ Spiers said.

Do-it-yourselfers should get rolling—new products are taking the pain out of painting.  A marketing study released this week by the institute puts dormant painters into five categories:

PROJECT: Shed TIME: Two months COST: $1,450 HOW HE DID IT: Stephanie Haysley of Richmond describes her husband, Billy, as “very handy. “In nearly 20 years of marriage, he has undertaken countless home repair and DIY projects,“ she wrote. “He has always wanted to try his hand at woodworking but we never had the time or space.“ With advice and support from Home Depot, he built an 8-by-12-foot shed, his first attempt at an entire structure. The only part of the project that required assistance from a professional was the roof joists.