The Latest: Apr 2015

It’s not uncommon to work on every room in your home before you get to your bedroom since it’s a room guests often don’t see. This was the case with Autumn and Justin whose Michigan home we toured last year. They felt great about the rest of their home, but really wanted a “grown up” master bedroom. Seems like they saved the best for last… Ta da! Lighter, brighter and with a soothing, calm vibe.

A vintage cart from a friend came with a challenge that Monica readily accepted: try to make it modern. See how she did after the jump! From Monica: A good friend of mine passed along an old, brassy, rickety cart with the challenge to revamp it and modernize it. We immediately agreed it would make an awesome bar cart for my new Milwaukee apartment! Challenge accepted. I started by removing the trays and setting them aside. I spent a nice day outside with gloves, a cloth and a can of Brasso.

Sarah scooped up this basic rattan chair for $10, but thought it could use a little more interest. She tried her hand at recreating a classic pattern for the chair back; see how it came out: From Sarah: After finding a plain rattan chair for $10 at the thrift shop, we transformed the boring back into a Chinese Chippendale inspired design. Using thinner dowel rods from the home improvement store, we measured, cut and secured them in place to create the Chippendale look.

What to do when you have a nasty old rug that you can’t replace? Sarah decided to paint hers, using a technique she usually reserves for getting paint out of the carpet! From Sarah: I needed a way to bring some rock-n-roll attitude into this music room, and I couldn’t afford to replace the nasty old beige carpet.

Kristi’s guest bedroom is a walk-through room, so a regular bed just doesn’t work. But neither was this plain futon, so she decided to build something more functional. So stylish, and we love that it’s on casters! From Kristi: Our guest bedroom is a small room, and a walk through from the kitchen to the back of the house, so a traditional full-sized bed wouldn’t work.

Amanda’s late father collected over 10,000 pennies in his lifetime. She turned those cents into a gorgeous patterned floor inspired by Paris. From Amanda: Ever since visiting Parisian cafes, we’ve always had a thing for hex or penny-tiled floors. It just so happens that my late father left a collection of over 10,000 actual pennies. Four years ago, I started packing my carry-on full of them each time flew across the country to visit my Mom.

Amy Pigliacampo and her husband Corey Szopinski purchased their Echo Park home two years ago. Their house is a very modern prefab design from Sunia Home, which came with a raw material lined kitchen and open floorpan. “We always knew that we would need to redesign the kitchen. It looked cool, but lacked the functionality we needed for our growing family. Our kitchen is the most heavily used area in our home since we cook and eat at home most of the time.

The previous owners had covered Lesley’s plaster fireplace with faux stone and a mantel. She decided to restore it with nods to her home’s Spanish and Art Deco styles. From Lesley: We bought our first home two years ago. It’s in a neighborhood full of period revival homes from the 1920s-40s. Ours is not Spanish or Tudor but has some elements of both styles.

This family uses their basement for watching movies, playing, and hanging out together. The space satisfied many of these functions, but with its hodgepodge of furniture, beige walls, and random floorplan, it was less than inspiring. With the help of 6th Street Design School, this bland space was transformed to one with patterned wallpaper, bright colors, ample seating, and function-specific areas. Bright, poppy, and fun, this space is much more energizing than its original incarnation.

KitchenAid mixers are a beloved small appliance and, at about $300 each, are the one of the most registered-for items on wedding gift lists. Reddit user LifeWithAdd found an old-school Hobart version on Craigslist for cheap and went to town bringing it back to tip top condition. He documented the whole process to show the rest of us how it’s done, and the finished product is impressive.