This type of painted dresser is a perennial favorite at many home stores, and therefore at many secondhand stores. Despite the wonderful shape and curving legs, the overall look was just not Lori's style. Thankfully, she had an inspiration photo saved on Pinterest that helped her transform this piece to better fit her home.

Back when she moved into her new condo, Michelle decided the time had come to replace the IKEA dresser in her bedroom, a dresser purchased back when she was in middle school! After scouring Craiglist and thrift stores for months, she finally found the perfect piece for her new home, and picked it up for only $50 delivered. You see, despite its great shape and solid construction, this dresser had some cosmetic issues (scratches, missing veneer, and a couple of burn marks on the top) that needed to be addressed.

When Connie found this coffee table at a thrift store, it was in pieces and the tabletop, meant to open to accommodate a leaf, was nailed shut. Though this bulky wooden piece had seen better days, it was clearly a sturdy table with a lot of life left in it — it just needed a little love and attention.

When Tammy picked up this dresser, it was already painted a soft blue and the drawer fronts were already sanded down to the bare wood- clearly this was someone's unfinished DIY project. Never one to back down from a challenge, Tammy immediately had a vision of a coastal vibe dresser honoring her family's annual summer trip to the beaches of North Carolina.

As a kid who used to retreat to my closet floor to read in peace, I have a soft spot in my heart for reading nooks. Looking to carve out a little space, Ashley took the completely unused and unaccessible space under her stairs and transformed it into a delightful reading nook/playspace for her kids. Ashey's "little monsters" are lucky; I confess, if this were my house, I would likely be claiming this space for my very own!

As Brittany herself says, this story began (as so many here do) with a trip to the thrift store. Celebrating the sale of an old white coffee table, Brittany was delighted to find this sticky, smelly, and admittedly in need of repair chair for the bargain price of only $5. With a little elbow grease and gold leaf, Brittany created a marvelous addition for her home.

Katie bought this table 4 years ago for $30 at a yard sale, and has been using it in all its scratched glory in her master bedroom ever since. Now that she is redoing that room, she knew the time had come for the table to receive a little TLC as well. Unwilling to go through the time consuming process of a full refinish, Katie was able to transform the look of this table with just an hour of work.

When Ann Marie decided to take on a project for her son's school auction, she was lucky to find this old entertainment system for free on Craigslist. After some hard work and for only a $15 investment in supplies, she transformed this unwanted piece into a showstopping French kitchen that any child would love.

When Elisa picked up this vintage dresser for only $60 at her local secondhand shop, she knew the horrid brown paint just had to go. Though she initially considered repainting, once she revealed some of the wood grain below the paint, she decided this piece deserved a full refinish all the way down to the bare wood.

When Jennifer and her husband inherited this dresser from her mom and dad, she was thrilled with the extra storage but not with the look of the piece itself. The piece, which Jennifer's parents bought back in the 1970s was dark and dated, but Jennifer knew with just a little work she could create a more modern piece for her home.