The Latest: 2013

When Jessica bought her first place in Brooklyn earlier this year, it came with a grotty tar wall on the roof. Obviously this was not the outdoor oasis she had in mind. Read on to see her solution. Once again, IKEA saves the day. From Jessica: Apparently, someone in Sweden has the same problem, since Ikea makes these acacia wall panels in its Applaro series. They could be drilled right over our tar wall, with space for drainage and not that much gruntwork.

When Samaa spotted this old hutch at her local thrift store, she says, “it was positively flirting with me.” We’re guessing that their relationship has blossomed into a full-blown love affair. She patched, primed, painted and sealed the wood and gave the hardware a polish as well. Instead of wallpaper for the interior, the pattern is actually a well-chosen stencil.

When Sarah bought her first home, her mum got her this sofa to celebrate. 27 years later, it was time for a little refresh. Check out Sarah’s handiwork. She chose to reupholster in a beautiful, double-width ticking stripe fabric in classic blue and white, an inspired choice. Says Sarah, “This was my first attempt at buttoning and not sure if the stripes made it easier or harder, they did make my eyes go funny after a while though.” Thank you Sarah!

What happens when you find yourself in need of an area to call an “office”, but the layout and/or space inside your home doesn’t offer delineated work and live boundaries? That’s the issue general contractor Tim Logsdon faced when helping set up a home office in Atlanta, Georgia for a novelist who needed somewhere to write.

Interior Designer Tracy has a soft spot for mid century furniture, especially those pieces that seem unsalvageable. One day, she spotted this Kent Coffey chest outside her local Salvation Army. The piece had been sitting in the store for so long that they had parked it next to the dumpster. Obviously, she couldn’t pass up a rescue mission like this. After three rounds with paint stripper and hours of sanding, the true naked (and gorgeous) wood underneath was revealed.

Angela was looking for a way to create a classic accent wall to add interest to her dining room. Turns out, the answer was as close as the local Home Depot. Angela and her husband created their plank wall by custom cutting their boards and then using paneling nails to attach them to the wall. Angela says, “I truly don’t think there is one spot in our old home that is actually level.

Who hasn’t owned an IKEA EXPEDIT shelving unit at one time or another? These shelves are to storage like Keds and Vans are to sneakers: basic, affordable, and available in plain white. But maybe you’ve had one for awhile now and are itching to change things up and customize it with a little more character beyond the plain old white finish. Check out how one EXPEDIT owner hacked his cabinet into something with more rugged character.

Emily spent ages searching Craigslist for the perfect vintage sofa: carved wood details, large enough for 3 people, affordable. Just when she thought it was a lost cause, she came across this beauty for only 100 smackers. Says Emily, “I emailed as fast as my fingers could manage.” After a week of hunting through Harlem for the perfect mudcloth, she dropped off the bag of fabric at her local Brooklyn upholsterer. Less than a month later, her masterpiece was ready to take home!

Homeowner Kathleen would be the first to say that this room in her house was just kind of sad. It was intended as a playroom for her kids, ages 6 and 9, and as a place for the family to hang out together. With paint, some new furniture and colorful accessories she was able to breathe life into the room to make it a vibrant, stimulating part of the home. She even found a way to make the big brown couch work in the space.

Wendy loved this jewelry armoire because it was a family hand-me-down but she wanted to give it a new life, so she took on her very first furniture redo. It’s a doozy! Want to see her results? Read on. It took Wendy six weeks to complete her makeover and not just because she was a newbie. From the outside to the hardware to the lining, there wasn’t an inch of this piece that didn’t get an upgrade. Now it’s a family heirloom that Wendy can enjoy on her own terms.

Joy’d been stalking Craigslist for months in search of the perfect armchair for her living room, but finally struck gold at her favorite thrift store (and by gold…we mean orangey-brown) for a mere 17 clams. Says Joy, “I like to think that it found me. Atrocious orange? Check. Disintegrating foam? Check. Beautiful bones? Check. Check.

There are plenty of reasons for an adult to have nightlights in the house. Some use them to avoid tripping during late night trips to the bathroom, or to illuminate the path to a midnight snack in the kitchen. And, yeah, OK? Some of us might still be a little afraid of falling asleep in the dark. Whatever the reason for the all-night soft lighting, nightlight options aren’t limited to the fairy and fire truck options in the kids’ aisle.

Erin’s neighbor was moving out of the state and she wanted to help fill her new, bigger home with furniture. When she spotted this chair at a garage sale for only $45, she knew that with a little work, this chair could be the perfect going away present. From Erin: With a little spray paint for the frame and a fun black and white bold fabric for the cushions, this chair screams for attention now. And our friend absolutely loved it! Want to copy her look?

Amy says, “Great things happen when you are willing to haul your neighbors’ discarded trash down the street at 8am in your PJs while they drive to work in their swanky cars.” Want to see what she means? Read on… Amy’s about to start her own creative business so she needed a great space to inspire her. With her limited budget ($200), she was able to fill in the gaps of her scavenging with a few key IKEA pieces and some DIY initiative.

Jessica picked up this bench for $10 several years ago, but it wasn’t until a trip to India that she found the perfect fabric to complete her project (and get a lovely souvenir from her travels). When she stumbled upon this beautiful gold leaf print, she knew it would be perfect for the bench. She also sanded and painted the frame to compliment the new design. Jessica says, “All told I spent about $45 on this bench and I love the way it looks in my entry!

Heidi had been storing these bland 90’s era stools, hand-me-downs from a relative, for years but it took her daughter’s room makeover to finally put these blank canvas stools to use. See how she punched up their personality. From Heidi: I first painted them a raspberry pink color. I created the gold dipped effect by spray painting a taped off portion of each stool leg.The whole project cost about $10 and only took a couple of hours. It fits perfectly in her themed room and I LOVE it!

Jennifer and John loved their new home’s open floor plan, but they didn’t love the lack of a defined dining area. So they set out to create a dining space with personality and punch. For the walls, they chose a muted yellow (Dried Plantain by Behr) which, Jennifer says, “makes us happy and hungry!

Kate stumbled upon these two dilapidated chairs at her local Goodwill for…wait for it… $14.99 for both. Spoiler alert: she sure got her money’s worth. Want to see these chairs now? Kate says, “as I started to peel away the faded ashes of rose velour, the foam basically fell off the seats and backs and disintegrated into a cloud of dust.” Obviously new foam and fabric was in order: I fell in love with this bold 50’s inspired floral pattern.

Michelle and her husband go camping every year with a big group of friends, but they were getting tired of their tent, so they found a rundown vintage trailer and fixed it up. Michelle says, “We had no idea how much fun it was going to be.” From Michelle: We would work on it at night after the kids were in bed, and it took us about 4 months from start to finish. We have three girls so we painted it pink (obviously!).

Ashley’s a DIY fanatic and she had so many ideas that she couldn’t commit to a headboard so she found a clever solution to both her blank wall and her need for variety. A customizable headboard! Smart! Says Ashley, “Now whenever I get an itch for change, I can easily update it with whatever style or trend I love at the time!” Want to steal her look? Ashley shares the whole project at her blog, Sugar & Cloth. Thank you Ashley!

Matt and Christian’s IKEA table was still really good at doing table jobs like supporting their food, but not so good at looking pretty while doing it — the pressboard top was beginning to disintegrate. So they came up with an easy and inexpensive way to give it a new life. They headed over to their local scrapyard and picked up some reclaimed 3/4” planks. For variety, they looked specifically for pieces with interesting paint or stain colors.