Rooms

Almost no house is complete without a home office these days. And they can range from something as small as a nook in the living room to as involved as renovating your garage. A spare room inside your home is probably the preferred way to create a functional workspace. Brielle Tolmeijer (@brielle_interiors) had just that in her 120-year-old Dutch Colonial home. In an Instagram post highlighting her office renovation, Brielle called her would-be office a “sad, forgotten room.

In general, neglected basements tend to fall into two categories. Either they are bare-bones bunkers that act as convenient storage units, or they are dated time capsules that likely haven’t been changed since Nixon was president. Basements come with tons of potential — and can be ideal for large families or social butterflies — but giving them a modern makeover often falls to the end of a home’s to-do list.

Even if you have an extremely dated space, it doesn’t always require a total demo to look new and stylish again. Take Geneva Slye’s (@just.geneva) bathroom, for example. “The first thing you notice about the bathroom is the pink tile,” Geneva says. “It is original to the house that was built in the 1950s.”Also part of the bathroom upon move-in?

“I could never figure out the best use of this space or its true potential,” DIYer Crystal Ransons says of her home’s large storage closet. The space was the only “extra” room and had gone through several phases of use.

Every once in a while, style switch-ups are good for the soul — even if the room “before” isn’t terrible to begin with. For Emma and Zack Shay, their kitchen wasn’t bad-looking by any means, but they wanted to ditch the blue-gray cabinetry for something that felt warmer and homey.

If there’s one 1990s or early aughts feature that DIYers and designers are ditching when redoing a kitchen in the 2020s, it’s a two-tiered island countertop. Multi-level bar seating is making way for something more practical — often an expansive, single-level island or peninsula. You can see examples in this green kitchen makeover and this navy one — and in Sheri Abernathy’s (@brasswalnut) recent kitchen makeover.

Think twice before including this in your plans.

Sarah Bryant’s (@sarah_louwho) over-100-year-old Brownstone apartment came with a lot of charm: original woodwork, two fireplaces, flower pots on the stoop, and friendly neighbors. A few things that weren’t so nice or charming? The large window right next to the toilet in her bathroom, the dated tan-and-black tile, and the hardware in the space. “The upgrades [over time] left some room for improvement that I’ve been happy to build on,” Sarah says.

Old homes have tons of cool history, charm, and character, but they can also come with a lot of necessary remodels and repairs thanks to plenty of years of use.That was certainly true of DIYer and real estate agent Melissa Doucet’s dining room in her 1922 home. “When we bought this century-old home, I don’t think anything had ever been done to it,” Melissa says of the dining room.

Every square inch matters when a room is only 40 square feet large. It’s important to maximize the room’s functionality and organization and get the most out of the limited space you have. This was the issue Julia Gallagher, principal architect and founder of JAGA Studio, faced with her client’s bathroom.

Apartment owner Amanda Mactas (@manhattantwist) is a voracious reader, and that’s clear in her design aesthetic, too. “I really like the feel of an old library, but I also love some elements of more modern style,” she says.The goal for her living room transformation was to marry the two, and she worked with professional designer Kim Limtak. “I never did anything at all in the living room,” Kim says.

If you don’t have a fireplace in your living room or bedroom, you can always make one — whether that’s an operational one or a purely decorative one. Here are nine DIY fireplace ideas to inspire you — plus a 10th one from stylist and interior decorator Chad Burton (@chadburton.studio).

One of homeowner and interior designer Chloë Rideout’s (@chloerideoutinteriors) goals for her bathroom makeover was to make it look less cookie-cutter and more vintage. After all, her condo is in an 1835 rowhome.But in the first three years that Chloë and her husband, Joe, lived there, the bathroom was “gray and boring,” Chloë says.

People who live in smaller homes can probably relate to this sentiment from designer Lauren Saab @saabstudios.design): “In a smaller home, you feel the inefficiencies of every square foot,” she says.And Lauren was definitely feeling the inefficiencies in her 1,162-square-foot 1950s house’s bathroom. “The bathroom was one of the smallest rooms in the house, but the vanity made it feel even tighter,” she says.

Don’t get me wrong — all of the kitchens I’ve written about are special and gorgeous in their own way, but sometimes, a feature comes along that I really just have to pause and admire. This happened with Rachel (@ladyhighwayjewelry) and John Thompson’s (@johnny___666___) kitchen in their maximalist New Orleans home. And there’s one DIY feature in particular that’s so unique, I couldn’t help but write about it.

“The living room was our first project,” Maudie Francek says about her and her husband Ronnie’s 1928 Milwaukee home. Because the couple was tackling the whole home room by room, they needed at least one space away from the renovation messiness in other parts of the house.“We knew it would be the space where we spent most of our time, so we wanted to create a comfortable landing spot to relax in as we tackled the rest of the house,” Maudie shares.

Wisconsin-based interior designer Emily Winters of Peabody’s Interiors was tasked with an all-too-classic mission: An outdated kitchen from the late 1990s to early 2000s was in need of a modern makeover — and a much more functional layout.“It was a sea of natural maple cabinetry with sponge-painted walls and Corian countertops,” Winters says of the original kitchen.

Studio apartment dwellers often have to come up with clever ways to divide their space into distinct zones for sleeping, dining, working, and more. Take, for instance, these large pink IKEA BILLY bookcases that basically turn this studio into a one-bedroom, or this IKEA shower door hack that carves out a home office in a studio.A third space-savvy IKEA project to add to the list is Olamilekan Isaac’s (@our_commonspace) BILLY-built bedroom.

For a lot of people, the kitchen is where a lot of time is spent. Everything from cooking to entertaining to hanging out with family happens in this space. So it’s a win if it represents the people who live in the home.Gina Gutierrez, interior designer and founder of Gina Rachelle Design, had a client who wanted her home “to reflect her taste while supporting working from home, cooking, entertaining, and life with her small dog,” Gina shares.

Small dining spaces can be a challenge to furnish and stage for a potential buyer. Too big a table, and your family, guests, or potential next homeowner will have to squeeze themselves through your space, making it feel cramped, awkward, and hard to imagine living there.Meanwhile, a too-small table lacks function and the ability to use the space as it’s intended.

Kitchens are the highest-traffic areas in any home, serving as a place to work, cook, eat, and gather. The renovation inspiration for kitchens is endless, and sometimes it’s hard to decide where to start.If your kitchen isn’t in need of a complete overhaul, but still doesn’t fit your style, simply painting the cabinets or replacing the floors can make a huge difference.

Here’s the truth: Neutrals are nice, but they can also be a little… boring. That goes double when a room is filled to the brim with them, like this beige-on-beige living room from designer Natalie Papier’s own home.Natalie, of Home EC., is all about colorful, eclectic interiors — the exact opposite of the space she found when she and her family bought their new home in North Carolina after moving from Chicago.

“They always say ‘make a small, dark room a lighter color to make it feel larger’ and I feel the opposite is true,” DIYer and influencer Ava Russo says. She’s always loved warmer colors and dark, moody rooms, so her and her fiancé Danny’s basic all-white bathroom was the perfect opportunity to explore that style and “make it dramatic.

If you ever have the lingering feeling that your space looks good, but not great, turn your attention to the walls. Often, they just need a bit more oomph.Giving the walls a dose of texture with moulding or coating them with rich, moody paint color is a surefire way to make an entire space look more sophisticated and meant-to-be.This dining room is a great example.

Some home design trends are destined to become classics that never go out of style (think: Shaker-style kitchen cabinets, hex floor tiles, and picture frame molding). But others are definitely more short-lived (remember spray foam decor?).The dark red wallpaper in this 1980s dining room definitely fell into the latter category. Homeowner Alexis Moore (@alexisnicolemakes) says the space hadn’t been updated since it was built, and the overall effect was drab.

You might not always be allowed to paint the walls of a rental apartment, but if you are, it can make a huge difference in how the whole space looks. Plus, adding a just-for-you color to the walls can make your place truly feel like home.Take it from renter Juliana, who has a 600-square-foot one-bedroom in San Francisco that was filled with white walls when she moved in.

Green is a great color to use in interior design because it’s so versatile. Muted sages make for calming sleep spaces, and bold or dark greens can create statement-making bookcases.Brandi Katherine Herrera (@alivelymanner) went with bright green in her Omaha cottage’s dining room makeover. But the space when she bought it had a “palette of gray and white builder-grade finishes.

For an interior designer, there’s nothing like having a blank slate to design and a client who puts their full faith in your process. Sandy Baisley and Natasia Smith, co-owners and principal designers of Re-Find, had found that exact dream scenario with Julie. “Our client was moving into this home with no previous items for a fresh start,” Sandy shares.

When it comes to choosing a dark paint color, DIYer Danie Berger (@diyinprogress_) says, “Transitioning a space from bright and airy to dark and dramatic can feel intimidating.”But she says it can be rewarding, design-wise; the key is “layering tones within the same family so the space [feels] cohesive rather than chaotic.

If you’re a renter wondering where you should spend your budget on decorating your apartment, take Alli’s (@actuallyalliDIY) advice: “I like to try to save as much money as possible on the removable renovations,” she says. “I tend to invest more money into the decor items because those items can move with me and be used in future spaces.

Older homes have unique charm because the layout includes special details that, typically, aren’t seen in modern builds today. Historic homeowners Alexander Rigby and Bobby Naugle, who live in a Pittsburgh townhouse built in 1900, have a gorgeous parlor room. The front room has a fireplace with an original wood mantel and green tiles, plus large stained glass above the front window.

A crisp white color scheme can help rooms feel bigger and brighter—but in some spaces, that’s just not enough. The only upstairs bathroom in Alli Devlin’s home suffered from an always-cramped feeling, thanks to the tiny windows and poor layout.Another drag: The 1978 home had seen few updates over the years, and the bathroom was no exception.

Blank white spaces, given their expansiveness and endless potential, can be tricky to decorate — especially if it’s a long hallway. But luckily for plant enthusiast Paige Tailyn, she knew she wanted to create an experience for her hallway that would make guests “feel suddenly engulfed by their surroundings,” she says.

Hillary and Johnny Musselman weren’t looking to buy a house when they went antique hunting at an estate sale a year ago… but when they saw that this space hadn’t been touched since the 1960s, they jumped at the chance to purchase this architectural gem.

Courtney Hierath had a lot to love about her little bungalow, but the kitchen, with its buttermilk-yellow walls and dark wood cabinets, wasn’t on the list.“I despised it from day one,” says Courtney. “But the idea of tackling this huge project was daunting, so I kept putting it off as long as I could.

During Meredith Svoboda’s final walk-through of her Nashville home, she photographed the dining room, “dreaming of the life I could bring to this room,” she writes.She, her husband, and their three children moved into their new house this past April, and Meredith decided from the get-go that she’d have to make some changes.“The room was so dark and always had a yellow hue to it,” she writes.

Jenna Schreck, a holistic nutrition consultant, shared her pivotal living room makeover with Apartment Therapy. She was able to rediscover her design style after a breakup (and the ex moved out).This time, Jenna reveals her recent hallway-turned-home office makeover (which she had help designing with Annie Mueller of Currant Design), and it’s great inspiration for anyone looking to carve out space to be creative and productive in an unconventional spot.

Tired of all-white? Honja‘s kitchen remodel proves the trend still has legs, especially when paired with cheerful spring pastels. Their kitchen was blessed with good bones, but also cursed with a purple laminate counter — and swinging saloon doors.“We knew it had all kinds of potential down the road,” she says.She saved for three years to afford this streamlined $10,000 remodel, and elected to do a do-it-yourself renovation.

“That feeling of scrubbing a bathroom until your arms ache, only for it to still look kind of grimy, is the ultimate motivator,” DIYer Joe Bergantino says. Joe is one half of the DIY duo @HomosWithHammers, an account he shares with his husband, Ricky Gonzalez. They’ve slowly been restoring their 1800s Chicago home, and that grimy feeling was the couple’s inspiration to make the tiny powder room “pack a giant punch.

Even when an older, outdated room DESPERATELY needs updating, it can be a bummer if the remodel doesn’t retain any vintage charm. It came time for Hilary Alexander — a singer with an internationally renowned swing band — to update the 1906 Craftsman house in Los Angeles she’s owned for 18 years and shares with her boyfriend and her two young boys.