apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

very cool! would love more posts like this!

With the exception of that striped chair (the fabric just doesn't work for me - particularly the ottoman cushion going from boxed on one side and center-seamed on the other) and the white and purple laquered table (the purple is too much) Everything else turned out beautifully.

i agree, most of these are good saves, with the exception of the striped chair.

i think the white and purple lacquered table is actually the before shot... at least, that's what its placement leads me to believe.

these are great!

I like the white-and-purple table but that striped chair hurts me inside.

But the table? Is hot. I'm going to do something like that.

And I like the pink loveseat. I'm warming up to pink upholstery really hard, much to my guy's horror.

definitely more posts like this :) and "how to" instructions please

I don't know why a direct link wasn't provided to the original guest-blogger article:
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2007/12/the-alchemist-ruthie-sommers.html

It appears the white table with purple detail is stripped of paint. The after appears unfinished from these photos, but that's probably meant to look different, sort of pickled? It looks like it has a footprint on the top or something. I guess it could look better still, it's not white and purple anymore.

I really like most of the other results.

FYI, the white-and-purple stool is the before version (I'm realizing I should have labeled them.); apologies.

@K T G: That link is there - under "design sponge".

Some of these are hard to tell if they're the before or after. >_

Keehnan, I might have imagined this but I swore when I clicked it before, it just went to the front page at Design*Sponge. If I skipped over that and did something different I forgot, I'm sorry for bringing it up.

I also forgot to mention my favorite was the pair of pink chairs.

I love before and after posts but the majority of these items weren't hideous or in bad condition in their state. I would love to see more hideous finds or garbage finds transformed.

ya i agree with mrs. mack i cant tell which is the before or after with most of these (exception beautiful white with black piping sofa) and thats not a good sign!

keehnan

i'm so glad you liked courtney's guest posts- they definitely got people talking about whether they liked the before or after better ;)

we have a weekly series on before & afters if you're looking for more examples of furniture makeovers. just click on "before and after" in the menu at d*s.

grace

That cabinet looked fine before, but after? Swoon.

The chest of drawer, lovely. Would have liked to see a closer shot of it. This before and after is a great thing to do more often. It is so inspiring when I look at what I have and what are the possibilities of working with a piece that is redeemable.