Apartment Therapy Archive: Aug 2011

Inspired by NicoleMari’s reading chair makeover, Rachelle decided the time had come to make some changes to the reading chair passed down from her parents when she was young and furniture-free. Since she still loved the comfort and scale of this chair, changing out the fabric to bring it up to date was the ideal (though challenging) solution. Though she originally planned to reupholster the chair, in the end she opted to make a custom slipcover instead.

I don’t think I’d ever be able to tackle this impressive DIY project, not unless my dad decides to take up carpentry when he retires. Luckily for Sarah, her father is a self-taught carpenter who was happy to help her transform an old oak door, some plywood and some wood strips into a herringbone-pattern dining table. Prepare to be jealous!Sarah details the entire project from start to finish over at Design*Sponge. The steps sound tedious, but not impossible.

If you have room to stash a few rows of books, you have room for a home office. While it might not be as easy a DIY project as, say, making a smartphone speaker out of a drinking glass, anyone with a cordless drill should be able to tackle this improvement. We spotted this armoire (far above) on This Old House. While we were initially drawn in by its feminine style and stellar organization, we came to appreciate its other creative feature: a fold-down desk built into the door.

Something about making over a fireplace always seems daunting to me. I think it’s all the tile or brick work that makes me feel I should leave it to a professional, but after seeing Heather’s surprisingly smart and simple fireplace facelift at Home Modern I’m gonna take a deeper look at it from now on.

When Carrie found this vintage vanity at a garage sale, the large center mirror was missing, the finish was in desperate need of some TLC, and the drawers were full of dead bugs. Despite the obvious condition problems, and the fact that she herself had no need for a vanity, Carrie knew this lovely piece deserved a second chance to grace a home. After a little reflection on the piece and on her actual needs, Carrie was able to give her secondhand vanity a new lease on life.

I’ve been trying to come up with a pun on this door-to-bookcase project — you know, something like opening the door to a new bookcase or some such cleverness. But, well, as you can tell by that sentence alone, i have not had much success. So let’s just make it simple: this project is totally rad!I love a project that re-imagines stuff that would have otherwise been bound for the junk heap. And Gail, from the blog My Repurposed Life, is the queen of such projects!

Kate found this great dresser for only $20 at her local thrift store; though it had lovely lines, she knew it needed some TLC before it found a place of pride in her home. Kate originally planned to sand and stain the piece, until she discovered the top of the dresser was laminate rather than solid wood. Faced with this unexpected curveball, Kate was forced to change her plans for this inexpensive piece.

It takes a keen eye see past the dingy upholstery and waiting-room feel to focus on the possibilities of this loveseat. When Kelli found this piece at a garage sale for only $20, she knew she had a steal of a project on her hands, but she had to wait a few months to find the time to get this makeover started.Kelli stripped this seat down piece by piece, saving the fabric to use as a pattern for the new upholstery.

I love it when readers leave links to their blogs in comments, which is how I found out about this project from Gloria at A Little Paint. She commiserated with my can’t-paint-another-stroke pain by showing a room makeover she took on earlier this year. The “after” is proof that a little paint can make the biggest difference in the world.I am so impressed by how Gloria transformed this once boring room, from the eye-catching detailing on the ceiling to the cool ombre cabinet.

When Ashley’s aunt brought her this old rocking chair, which she had rescued from a dumpster, it was an ugly sight to behold. Still, Ashley was confident she could give it new life and, $10 later, she did just that…The first thing Ashley did was peel the fabric and foam off the chair. After removing the fabric, Ashley sanded the chair frame, then primed and painted it. Once the paint had dried, Ashley replaced the chair foam and then applied new fabric, using small finishing nails.

Remember when every home we saw on HGTV was being renovated with a breakfast bar? They have their place for sure, but they don’t really lend much in the way of design as far as storage or even looks go. Many homes, rentals, and apartments have them, but did you know that overhang of countertop can be doing more for you? Want to see what this space looks like now? Should I keep asking silly questions?

I love my quaint, 1940s condo, but the kitchen has always felt unfinished and out of place. Not being in the financial situation to completely remodel to my liking, I decided to do a few quick, inexpensive projects to brighten the space as much as possible.The original flooring in the kitchen was a clay-like, synthetic tile which was glued down like nobody’s business.

Time to do laundry because Curtis Robertson is about to knock your socks off! His niece and her husband just moved into their first home and he wanted to do something special for his great nephew’s room. With two vintage eBay paint-by-number paintings as his guide he meticulously recreated them in an incredible whole room mural. It’s a must see:After!

Jesyka D’Itri over at Visual Vocabulary did a remarkable makeover on a china hutch a few months ago. The original piece had a lot of scratches, missing pieces and a broken door, but she really kept on it and was able to bring it back to life in a very unique, stylized and surprising way…After sanding and stripping the wood, repairing the door and getting new glass for the broken cabinet, Jesyka was ready to get her style on.

Old apartments come with a lot of character. They also sometimes come with really old fixtures, the kind of fixtures that are caked with centuries of wear and tear. Those kinds of fixtures don’t like to let go of light bulbs too easily. Luckily, you have this tip in your back pocket.Don’t let a stuck bulb be a bigger problem than it has to be. Before you go bonkers trying to loosen that dead bulb (and inevitably break it* in the process—natch!

Who among us can’t empathize with Joy, who found a fabulous pink chair at the thrift store and convinced her husband that of course she had the necessary skills for this reupholstery project? Though the initial chair is one anyone might easily bypass, the end result is a reminder that good things come to those who invest the time and energy to give new life to an old favorite.For only $35 (!), Joy bought this wonderful chair with slightly less than wonderful upholstery.

I bought these bar stools at Target about ten years ago, when my husband and I were renting an apartment with a little breakfast counter. Since then, I’ve used them in my studio, where they’ve gotten beat up and paint splashed. I moved out of my studio but I’m still not quite ready to part with the stools so I decided to give them new life…It was immediately evident when I brought the stools into our little apartment that I would need to cut them down.

For every home I’ve lived in, there has always been a room that steadfastly defies decoration, opting instead to act as repository for odds and ends and lack of style. Up until a couple of weeks ago, that room was our bedroom. But thanks to a fortuitous score while photographing a recent house tour the space is finally good for more than jumping on the bed.