The Latest: May 2018

Front doors get all the attention, but what about interiors doors? You see the inside just as much as the outside, so why not show yours some love. Brittni of Paper & Stitch holds no punches with her dramatic entryway makeover. The dark charcoal walls make the mint door a focal point instead of an afterthought. She also lays out the best plan for painting the door without removing it, and provides a complete checklist. Is there anything cheerier than a yellow door?

In this photo, this little French bedroom appears to simply be a blank slate, but according to its new owners, “Everything was old and ugly.” Five months of DIY weekends later, this room is now cozy, dramatic… and double-decked! The bedroom has gone from plain white to an incredible blue. This paint—Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue—is the perfect blue for a bedroom; it’s deep and inky like the night sky, while perfectly white linens pop against it like stars.

Name: Nikki Norberg and Bryan Frank Location: Minneapolis, MN Size: 1200 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned I work at Blu Dot doing a mixture of photo and design, and Bryan is a web developer. Ceramics is something we both find passion in because it is a way to escape the computer screen and create with our hands. Here was our very sad, dingy, asbestos-tile filled basement just a few months ago. We wanted to convert the basement into a usable studio where we felt relaxed and inspired.

Reader Caroline Savard shared the transformation of her Quebec rental—which only took one week! This apartment went from intensely colorful and crowded to calm and cozy, yet still absolutely packed with personality and style. Now the kitchen is so lovely and calm. You might laugh, but I had to look back and forth a few times to confirm that the only major change made was the painting of the cabinets and walls. And, of course, the clutter was cleared, which is incredibly powerful.

A 175-square-foot apartment is a small apartment, but one of our readers has transformed a challenging space overwhelmed by bulky furniture into a serene, seemingly spacious oasis, all for $1,700. Before we move on to the studio as it is now, here’s how reader Emily Barry described it before: The space had a more utilitarian feel before I moved in; it was basically being used only for sleeping, and didn’t feature much more than a bed and a TV.

Hanging up some wall shelves is one of the best things you can do for a room, and even a shelf you don’t adore is a good thing to have. However, if you can take an ordinary, affordable shelving unit and transform it into something remarkable for just $5, why not?

This smart redo preserved everything that was great, and changed everything that wasn't.