I love a good porch. Maybe that's because I don't have one (and am dreaming of the day), but this one really caught my eye! At first, not terrible, but definitely not dazzling.

Though this staircase to the basement got daily use, it wasn't until the basement turned into a workout room that the stairs got a freshening up. See what just a little bit of paint did for Jae's steps:

Recent college graduates, Clayton & Chaz, were tight on money, but large on outdoor space. By using 95% recycled materials and a lot of sweat equity, they were able to transform their backyard from ho-hum, to shabby chic — with a budget of only $210! More

Katherine Hammond, an interior designer, had a very specific vision for the desk she wanted in the behind-the-bed nook in her Brooklyn Brownstone. For her project, she turned to Nick Dillon of Nick Knacks Creative Interiors, a New York-area contractor who was able to build the desk exactly as she envisioned it. 

Christine loved the period details of her dream home — though some of them had been lost under years of paint. Though it took a while (250 hours of stripping alone!), the results of her staircase restoration are light and bright and a little breathtaking. 

Karyn, an interior designer, found the perfect island bungalow in Coronado, California. Of course, it needed a little sprucing up before it would be the entertaining and living space she dreamed of. Check out how she transformed this studio into a chic, multipurpose space:

Beige carpet and a half wall kept this staircase closed off and out of date. Check out how Kelly and her boyfriend brightened the space on a small budget. 

Leslie loves to reupholster furniture and found this little chair at an estate sale for ten bucks. Although it had a great shape, it was in a sorry state, with stains on the old fabric. After Leslie stripped it down and rebuilt the springs and padding, it sat in her garage until the right fabric came along.

There's a bit of debate going over in this Reddit thread whether painting the brick was the right choice or not, but I think overall this den makeover resulted in a big improvement . The owners transformed a traditional den into a modern home theater space with large projection screen, hidden flat speaker wires, and audio system, ready for the finishing touches before movie night...

This bar cart was far from perfect, but it sported some nice mid century stylings. Sarah picked it up at a thrift shop and set out to banish the bad stain and bring back its former glory.