The Latest: May 2019

Dania was on the hunt for a rocker to go with the fresh blue and cream nursery she was planning for her new son. This old green vinyl rocker from her in-laws worked just fine…but wasn’t quite the look she was going for. And though she had never upholstered anything before, she tackled this task, and the result is impressive! From Dawn: The original chair came from her in-laws, and while it was in great functioning shape, the green vinyl upholstery wasn’t in the best shape.

These conjoined movie benches sat in Natasha’s garage for a while, just waiting for inspired intervention. It turned out that all they needed was a fabric good enough with which to reupholster them. Although they look like classic corporate waiting room fixtures here, the end result is far from staid… Straight from the Brenda Starr book of decorating, this comic-themed fabric is fun and unexpected.

Miranda found this shapely chair on the side of the road — and it looked like it. But, this piece had a great form, and with Miranda’s lovely DIY changes, is now on the road to being an awesome addition to a home! From Miranda: I am always so jealous when I hear about people finding gems on the side of the road. Finally the selvage gods smiled upon me and one of my neighbors put this baby on their curb!

Recliners don’t usually grab attention for their design, but after Claudia made some quick and easy changes to this one, a corner of her home is much cheerier! From Claudia: This recliner was so ugly, even my cat got depressed by it, so I couldn’t wait to give this chair a fresh update. It is my husband’s grandfather’s chair, so I kinda had to tread carefully.

We wrapped up a Style Cure the week before Thanksgiving. For those of you who haven’t heard about our Cures, they are month-long group projects where a big bunch of Apartment Therapy readers and editors work through a series of daily assignments with a specific goal in mind. This time, it was to refresh one room in our homes in time for the holidays.

When Emma’s family purchased this aging row house in Kingston, Ontario each of the three floors was a separate apartment. This room was occupied by a student and was filled with cheap furniture and textbooks. It needed a lot of love to match the vision she had for her 5-year-old son Angus’s space.

A recent search for an “elaborate, colorful chandelier” for our living room lead me down a fantastic pająki rabbit hole. The paper and straw sculptures, typically Polish folklore holiday decor, were originally constructed to hang from the ceiling to resemble elaborate crystal chandeliers found in homes of the upper class. Pająki are usually made using wood straws but I wanted lots of color, so I changed it up a bit and used printed paper straws.

Project by: Allison Harlow of Curio Design Studio Project type: e-design Location: Miami, Florida This space provided lots of challenges! It was long and narrow, did not have a natural focal point and the budget needed to remain around $1000. To make things more complicated the client wanted to keep the gender of their baby a surprise and create a nursery that was modern, gender neutral, mature and utilized mostly neutral colors.

This old Victorian bathroom is typical of Glasgow tenement buildings —super narrow and definitely hard to maneuver in. Since the original tub wasn’t salvageable, Anne scored a couple more square feet from its removal: From Anne: The bathroom is a very awkward long and narrow shape typical of Glasgow tenements—making it particularly hard to photograph! The end result, £2000 later, is a complete difference.

Not many would see this old media stand and think “play kitchen,” but ChiWei used what she had and came up with a pretty fantastic result for under $90: From ChiWei: I got tired of pulling my 1 year old daughter out of the dishwasher and drawers where she liked to pull out Ziploc bags from the package one at a time. I thought if I gave her her own kitchen, she’d leave mine alone!

This vintage chair was in rough shape, but when the Craigslist seller ended up living across the street, Vanessa knew it was meant to be. With some patience (and a lovely surprise!), the chair has a new life: From Vanessa: I found this worn-out vintage chair on Craigslist and when I found out the seller lived across the street from me, I knew it was meant to be!

While not totally her taste, Meaghan’s bathroom was functional. The tile floor had been cracking though, so she waited until it was time to replace it to brighten up the rest of the space and add her own touches. From Meaghan: There was nothing functionally wrong with our bathroom and it was generally nice to look at, so we did not really need to do a complete remodel.

Changing tables aren’t usually very memorable which is why we like this simple idea for customizing and adding color to one. This nursery DIY is quick, non-permanent and only requires a pair of scissors and some yarn. The folks at bedding company Little Auggie gussied up this IKEA Gulliver changing table with four colors of yarn which they wrapped around the side dowels. You can create any pattern you fancy – perhaps an ombre or just one single color you love.

I’m so excited to share with you today a before & after of my very own kitchen! I live in a converted hard loft in the eclectic neighbourhood of Kensington Market in Toronto. It was converted to lofts in 1999 — which you can see by this before photo. There was nothing absolutely terrible with this kitchen (well maybe those countertops), but it just felt dated and didn’t match my colorful and eclectic personality and the rest of my space. I decided to give it a major makeover.

Kitchen trends will come and go, but some things never go out of style. If you want a kitchen that will stand the test of time and still look as beautiful twenty years from now as it does today, consider incorporating one of these seven elements. Just for fun, here’s a gallery of 1920s kitchens. Even though these kitchens are nearly 100 years old, you’ll spot some of the same features in the modern kitchens below — proof that these elements are truly timeless.

Merci bought her San Francisco condo a couple years ago, and has been turning it into her dream home. See how this staged space went from dated to modern: From Merci: I bought this San Francisco beach condo about two years ago and worked over the first year to decorate with minor renovations to make it the home that I’ve dreamt of. Wanted to feature how color can make a difference in changing a home and low cost renovations to home (e.g.

Tranae picked up this Louis chair in good condition, but was less than excited about its outdated fabric. She paired it with a cheery modern floral that’s more suited to her style: From Tranae: After months of looking for a Louis chair at yard sales and thrift shops, I finally found one for $40. The chair was in good condition but I hated the fabric. First, I removed the old fabric and padding using a staple remover and pliers.

Amanda’s boys had defaced this plain Jane dresser, so she decided to give it a heroic update with some super fabric: From Amanda: After years of carrying around these boring dressers that my children had graffitied, I figured it was time for a new look. A random stop into Walmart yielded the motivation I needed: 2 yards of Marvel comic book hero fabric. A little mod podge and some bright color paint was all I needed to make the magic complete.

This floral patterned chair may not look classic, but with some Pottery Barn inspiration, Brittany was able to transform it into a stunning staple: From Brittany: Before reupholstering this armchair, I’d done a few smaller projects (think loose cushions and wood-framed side chairs), but this was my first time taking on a fully-upholstered piece. It was also my first time doing upholstery work for someone else.

Washington Heights homeowners Pepper and Marshall were thinking about combining the two bathrooms in their two-bedroom co-op into a single, much larger, bathroom. But they changed their tune when they realized how much the combination would hurt their home’s resale value — and how much additional money and time they would spend moving all that plumbing around.