The Latest: 2013

The compact shape, characteristic midcentury tapered wooden legs, and bargain price all caught Shannon’s eagle eyes at a yardsale, immediately convincing her this worn and roughened desk had yet another life to live in her living room after a serious makeover…I decided that a fun dose of bright color was just what it needed to really come to life!

While house hunting, Holly and Ryan nicknamed this 1974 abode, “The Depressing House” due to its dark, cave-like feel.  They bought it anyway.  Want to see this kitchen today?Over the course of a year, they tore down the upper cabinets to open up the sight lines, ripped out three layers of linoleum and painted the cabinets a chic gray (Martha Stewart Zinc).

Taylor and Corey desperately wanted some built-in cabinets for their living room but   space was limited, so they found a vertical solution.  Can you guess what they used? (Hint: I suspect this photo was taken just as they started their project) Perennial favorite, the IKEA Billy bookshelf strikes again!  Using two shelves (extended up to the ceiling) and custom moulding, they created lots of storage that looks and feels original.

To appease her surfer husband Andrew after they moved to land-locked Colorado Springs, Amy had a creative paint idea and turned the staircase in their live/work loft into an homage to the sea. She painted the risers a cool, ocean-inpired blue and topped off the staircase with an old surfboard. No word on whether their adorable dog is much of a swimmer, but it seems like they’re all enjoying the new look. It came out great! Thank you Amy!

There’s a reason we don’t feature many garage makeovers here at Apartment Therapy: no one but the very bravest souls will give us a peek at the often messy “before”!  Not James, he’s proud to share his new garage, and rightly so.  He transformed a dank garage into a bright and organized workspace.  The walls were planked with cost-effective (and aromatic) fencing cedar and the cabinets were leftovers from a previous kitchen renovation.

19-year-old college student Reeves picked up this dresser at an auction because she loved its clean lines and shape, but it needed a bit of an upgrade.  After prepping with a good sanding, she gave this beauty a new look with Sherwin Williams’ Smoky Blue paint. To prevent bleed through, she used two coats of water-based poly and, once the paint cured, lightly distressed the detailing and sealed it with wax.  The new, white hardware really pops against the updated color.

Heidi described her main bathroom as “tiny and odd,” and “yuck, yuck, yucky.”  It was beige with yellow lighting, an ugly vanity and a crooked door.  Well, it’s yellow no more. She opened up the space by removing the vanity and installing a pedestal sink, then adding plenty of wall storage. She used galvanized pipe and hardwood planks — stained and sealed — to create a custom shelving unit and towel bars.

Earlier this year, Samantha was hired by a newly-married Houston couple to transform their living room on a budget. Although they’d lived in their townhouse for about a year, they’d never really felt settled.  But with a baby on the way, the couple wanted to spruce up their space.  And spruce it they did!  Want to see it today?Despite their tight budget, they still wanted classic design that would reflect their growing family.

Christa couldn’t believe her luck when she found this gorgeous settee lounging around a Salt Lake City antique shop.  Despite the dowdy fabric, she knew it was the perfect candidate for a makeover.Amazing!  Inspired by the fact that the settee was a perfect example of 19th-century American Greek Revival, she chose to reupholster this beauty (which she aptly named Aphrodite) in black and white Greek key.

On those unbearably hot days I really need to turn on our apartment’s window air conditioner I’m certainly thankful I installed it. But for the majority of the year the air conditioner is an unsightly presence, blocking a third of the view looking outside our windows and keeping desirable light from entering…A Brooklyn designer decided it was time to give eyesore window air conditioners a visual makeover.