The Latest: May 6, 2019

I love to watch the evolution of people’s spaces. As soon as you remodel or paint one thing you begin to think about what you would have done differently and what you can do next. Katy from Mom and Her Drill has documented her kitchen as she painted it, and repainted it over time. Without any major renovations she had changed up her kitchen in a sustainable way more than once. Check it out after the jump.Immediately after moving in Katy knew she needed to make a change.

Used as a rental for years, Gregg Olsen, the owner of this 1960 split-level in Boulder, CO had a vision to add a second story to his home. When that plan promised to cost $100,000 – $150,000 more than he had budgeted, a change of plans was in order. The new concept included energy efficiency and modern design elements.Mr. Olsen hired VaST Architecture to realize the extensive renovation on his home.

When I saw this little file box at a Salvation Army, it practically called to me from across the store. “Jason,” it called out to me, “please take me home and give me new life. I’m only five dollars!” How could I possibly pass it up?The original gray finish on the file box had definitely seen better days. Even after a thorough scrubbing, the finish was marred with years of tape and dings and scrapes. Nothing a little spray paint won’t fix!

Using a $20 garage sale settee as a base, Suesan over at Frou-FruGal wanted to create a family heirloom map furniture piece. Using a drop cloth, some incredible hand painting skills and some elbow grease she has created an unexpected decor element.Whether you like the look or not, this is so much more than just your typical piece of furniture. As Suesan describes, It’s unique to our family and I’m happy with the look. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t fast.

At $7.99 the LACK table from IKEA is a popular purchase. Supremely simple in design, this piece looks great in the living room or even as a minimalist beside table. Alas, like all things, the surface inevitably shows signs of wear—and there is only so many times you’ll want to reposition a potted plant or stack of books to strategically cover up scuffs or stains. It’s good to know that there is light at the end of tunnel when its life as a table begins to look LACK luster!

When Theresa and her family first bought their home it had been unused for a long time. But with the sweat off their brows, some thoughtful budget spends, and some clever DIYs they are turning their unused house into a gorgeous home. Here’s a peek at how they handled the kitchen.

My Mum has owned her mismatched set of reproduction Georgian dining chairs for just about 35 years. Over that time the seats have been recovered in all manner of fabrics, but until recently they retained a rather traditional air. A little white paint and a bright, bold fabric turn these chairs from formal to funky!First off, you probably noticed the after shot does not feature the exact same chair, but as mentioned, the dining set in question contain chairs of the same era with slight variation.

This project requires slightly more DIY skills than I have (I’m a fan of the ‘near enough is good enough’ approach to measuring), but it shows what’s achievable with some know-how and a lot of creative thinking.The rocker is the work of Måns Salomonsen who took a one week challenge to give an old piece of furniture a new designer life.

With a little convincing, a close friend recently converted her tiny front room into a fabulous walk-in closet. Because of all the natural light it was also an ideal spot for a small vanity, but finding one the right size was nearly impossible. As luck would have it, an old side table and a little problem solving went a long way. See the perfectly pretty transformation here!The table was selected because of its diminutive scale, which was absolutely necessary in such a tight space.

There are so many bathrooms out there with colored tile that are aching for a makeover like this one. By choosing a contemporary paper pattern that complements the tile these homeowners were able to completely transform this space by only changing the walls, leaving the rest of the space untouched.I love the way that by simply adding wallpaper the tile goes from dated to intentional looking. As the homeowner describes: I love how it turned out.

So many of us have builder basic kitchens that have great bones but scream out for attention to make them more original. This makeover takes boring cabinets and personalizes them with paint. The kitchen is completely transformed with this one simple change.This kitchen required a lot of painting.

This month on Apartment Therapy we’re looking at some of the biggest projects we take on when designing our homes, kitchen and bath renovations. Deciding on all the new features can be daunting, but sometimes the choice of a single element literally makes the project click, instantly transforming the space and practically guaranteeing the success of the makeover. That was the case with Rebecca’s kitchen…After!… when she decided to install a “thin brick” wall.

I’m big on repurposing, but usually the items at hand are more obvious. (An old tea pot might become a pretty place for plants or old spaghetti jars could become your new grain storage system.) This transformation, however, is a total surprise! Who knew you could turn a dresser into a desk?What was once a rather heavy and solid dresser has been “hacked” into a truly amazing desk.

BEFOREOld doors can be used for many things, but what about using them as, well, a door? That’s what Adrienne of Dream Book Design did: she found a door on the side of the road (for free!) and, after a bit of sprucing, made it work to fit in her existing laundry room door frame. See the ‘After’ and how she did it below: AFTERAdrienne explains that the door they replaced was a generic particle board Home Depot door that lacked character.

There are 1,000 different ways to hack furniture from IKEA — although this transformation is so extreme you won’t even recognize it. This ho-hum piece has gone Mid-Century!Inspired by Mid-Century pieces from Paul McCobb, this basic IKEA entertainment stand was given a makeover.With the addition of sliding front panels and retro-style feet stained to match, this piece is anything but basic anymore.

This brass chandelier may have a lot of life left in it but it’s definitely a bit dated. Of course, that’s nothing a little paint and patience won’t fix!Reviving an old, dated piece is always the greenest option versus replacing it altogether. So I’m delighted to see that Diane, over at In My Own Style, was able to modernize this dated brass chandelier.

So many people dream about redoing their kitchen but look at the cost of new cabinets, new counters, new appliances and put it squarely in the one day pile. Thankfully, clever makeovers like this remind us that it’s not always about getting more – sometimes it’s about doing more with what you have.By removing cupboards and doors, repainting, making her own curtains, and adding DIY pieces Rita at harbour breeze completely transformed her kitchen for under $200.

In keeping with my current obsession for budget makeovers big and small: this reading bench was $20 and in dire need of some TLC (apparently the cats loved the cushioning as much as its new owner). So with the meager investment of $10 for for a new mattress, some sewing leftovers and one afternoon, this reading bench was given a new home.

Hello, beautiful, dresser! I have a similar piece on my DIY To Do for the summer, so I was super inspired by the creative addition of herringbone and the piece’s simple white finish: “The dark and light woods, leather and crisp white paint work wonderfully together, and the herringbone pattern is just amazing and apparently quite simple to make,” writes Design*Sponge. Read on for full the project’s full description and instruction.

A couple or years ago my Mum did a fantastic modern kitchen renovation incorporating all kinds of bargain finds.

Name: Stephanie Rearick and Jon Hain Location: Madison, Wisconsin Years lived in: 20 Stephanie and Jon had wanted to redo the kitchen in their 680-square-foot Madison home for 18 years. They knew the space was sad; as it was, there was little storage and workspace, cabinet doors didn’t close, and the room lacked any and all personality. Then they saw that, thanks to a grant, a local green-building consulting firm was offering design plans at a discount.

This is a great kitchen makeover. Using budget items from IKEA, repurposed materials and creatively placed chalkboard paint, this kitchen was completely transformed without ripping the cabinetry out. You don’t want to miss this one!We spotted this one over at Notes from the Heartland and don’t you just adore that island? A beadboard backsplash, chalkboard paint on the bulkhead and great lighting have made this space look fresh with a vintage vibe.

Swapping out your cabinets is one of the easiest ways to give an outdated kitchen the refresh it needs. But this particular item is one of the more expensive elements in a kitchen. Fortunately, there’s a solution: IKEA kitchen cabinets.Though much more affordable, going this route isn’t without challenges. We love IKEA, but readily admit assembly and installation can be rather tricky.

When Alissa received this lamp as a hand-me-down from her grandparents, she loved the shape but not the dated brassy finish. Spray paint and a little imagination to the rescue!I see what Alissa means about the shape of this lamp — now that it’s painted! I admit that I was too distracted by the old brassy finish on the lamp to appreciate its finer qualities! Now that its been painted white I love it — especially that tall finial!

Tufted ottomans are a great solution for many small spaces that need something that can not only serve as extra seating but also as spot to set a tray down in a pinch – but they are often quite expensive. Over at Five Days … Five Ways they repurposed an old coffee table that had seen better days into a fantastic looking tufted ottoman.Considering that these ottomans usually run new in the many hundreds of dollars the cost breakdown for this project is quite impressive.

This half bath had its fair share of problems: an ugly floor, a water heater in the space and very little style. For only $25, it has been restyled to look much fresher with a cottage feel. Check out the dramatic change after the jump.From dirty and green to bright and blue, this half bath has had quite the intervention. Check out the cost breakdown: Glidden white paint ($7.77 at Wal-Mart) I used 1/2 gallon so cost is $3.89 Five 4′ wood strips at $1.65 each – $8.

Rental kitchens are tough, you don’t want to put too much money into them but there isn’t much incentive for the landlord to make them top notch and gourmet. Here’s a great kitchen makeover that completely transforms the entire look of the kitchen for only $17. You really can’t miss this one.This great makover at HGTV really shows how far you can take $17. As the renters describe: We are renting right now and this kitchen was GROSS! I couldn’t live with it.

Re-Nest reader Cassidy (of the blog Remodelaholic) emailed us her hutch makeover, and we were impressed enough to want to show it to you! She managed to turn what is otherwise a pretty old-fashioned hutch into something crisp and modern.

At left, the affordable and handy Fräck mirror from IKEA. I’ve had one hanging in my bathroom for a few years and, now that I’ve seen what Daniel was able to do with his, I’m looking at mine in a whole new light… A whole new light! See what I did there? Daniel, from Manhattan Nest, is responsible for this brilliant IKEA hack. He was also kind enough to give us step-by-step directions on his blog so we can make one for ourselves!