The Latest: May 2017

Lori saw the potential in a dark and damaged dresser and nightstand combo. After what one can only imagine was a serious arm workout, she sanded and painted the pieces to a nearly unrecognizable state of fabulousness. From Lori: These dark and dated Craigslist mid-century dresser and nightstand were in need of repair because some of the veneer was chipped, missing or falling off. There was also water damage to the tops from plants. They were generally very dark and in need of modernizing.

Vinyl aside, these chairs had a certain je nais se quoi. Stephanie snatched them up from the salvage yard and gave them a loving and era-appropriate upgrade. From Stephanie: These Australian-made mid-century chairs came from the salvage yard at our local landfill. The colors and finishes are different, but I noticed their matching frames under the worn vinyl and busted lacquer finish. Both also had a pivoting metal under frame – so they weren’t just regular armchairs, but recliners!

Bathroom renovations are one of those projects that are easy to keep putting off, until you come up against a real, hard deadline. For Jenna and her husband, who had lived with the less-than-ideal bathrooms and kitchen in their Chelsea apartment, that deadline came in the form of a very small person. A few months before their baby was born, they decided it was time to bite the bullet and overhaul their kitchen and bathrooms.

Kristina and her boyfriend triumphed over one of the most trying of relationship milestones: their first renovation. Kristina points out an important truth about renovations, that even if you’re not working on your forever home, the time and energy that goes into getting a place ready to flip is still monumental. After multiple trips to Home Depot, disagreements and disappointments, and a moment of buyer’s remorse, Kristina and her boyfriend now have a bathroom they can be proud of.

Good hardware can make everything from dressers to cabinets look so much more stylish. While it’s easier than ever before to find cool hardware, authentic period hardware can be difficult to sort from the reproductions. Though there’s nothing wrong with a repro in many cases, sometimes you just want the character that a real piece of vintage or antique hardware brings to a project.