About Me




Welcome to Markova Design


My husband and I are empty nesters and currently renting our home. You will find budget and renter friendly projects scattered throughout the blog.  In addition, I sprinkle in some thrifty finds, furniture makeovers and sewing projects! I hope you will leave inspired. 

A great place to start is with my most POPULAR post is "How to Sew a Roman Blind". It was created after finding lack of decent tutorials on the web, and I wanted to get rid of the ugly venetian blinds in our rental home. Disclosure: You will have to pardon the photos as it was pre-DSLR days.


The idea of Markova Design got it's beginning when I was in high school immersed in sewing classes with the most amazing sewing teacher and mentor, and I had dreamed of being a fashion or interior designer. I had always thought that if I opened my own shop or designed my own line I would name it Markova Design. Being proud of my Czech heritage and my maiden name, I somehow wanted to hold onto that part of me.

 My love for fabric and design began when I was young, I vividly remember, while my mom was mending, that she let me dig through her collection of buttons and fabric scraps. Later on, she taught me how to use her Singer sewing machine, cut out patterns and sew clothes for my dolls. Since my parents were immigrants and money was tight, my mom sewed our drapes, my dad DIY'd furniture and painted our house to create a loving and beautiful home!

All through my childhood, I re-arranged my bedroom or redecorated my Barbie house. I'm sure I drove my parents insane as I moved things around. Around grade 11, which I like to call my  "rainbow phase," my poor dad helped me scrape the wallpaper off my bedroom walls so I could paint them sky blue and paint a large rainbow on the wall. The rainbow was never painted but my love for home decor and DIY stuck. Follow along as I paint, DIY and sew up a storm.