The Latest: 2019

Twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott—also known as HGTV’s Property Brothers to anyone with a cable subscription—make a great team. As a realtor and a licensed contractor, respectively, they’ve been buying and flipping houses on and off camera for more than a decade. But their latest project, “Brother vs.

I’ve always been a huge fan of 1950s style kitchens, and was lucky enough to score a tiny vintage refrigerator from a few years ago. The small size made it a bit of a challenge (we had to be very cognizant while grocery shopping!) so, when we added a member to the family this year, we also decided it was time to upgrade to a bigger refrigerator.

We moved into our house in summer 2011. The house, built in 1944, was in good shape, in a great neighborhood, and priced very competitively. However, aesthetically it was a bit lacking. The previous owners had owned the home for 50+ years, and the most recent updates to the kitchen and main living area had been made in 1974.

Almost a year ago, my husband and I moved back to our hometown of Long Beach, CA. We found a gorgeous two bedroom 1930s apartment in our favorite neighborhood. Our landlords updated the space with grey floors and fresh paint. It was almost perfect . . . except for the terribly outdated entryway. It’s the only carpeted, unpainted space in the entire home, and the first thing you see when you arrive.

This is what my guest room looked like 6 months after moving into my new home eight years ago, and this is how it’s looked every since. White walls, metal twin bed with a wool camp blanket, and a former doctor’s table helped the room earn its nickname as “the hospital ward.” This month I swapped out the bed, which led to a lighting project, which led to wallpaper and soon the room was pretty much redone.

When it comes to taming my ever-growing collection of stuff, there’s really nothing simpler or more useful than a wire basket. To be honest, I have five (is that too many??) in my bedroom alone. And while I love how functional they are for stashing everything from notebooks to ribbons, they can start to feel a little utilitarian.

This ‘before’ kitchen wasn’t nearly as dire as some we’ve featured — it was just, well, awkward. A previous renovation left the kitchen floor covered in a dreary ceramic tile, with an awkward curb that guests continually tripped over.

This is the story of a kitchen that was once so small that it could barely be photographed. Having bought a place of her very own in Manhattan, Evelyn was living the dream, but her kitchen left a little something to be desired. Besides being (a bit) on the small side, it also featured a leaky dishwasher, cracked floors, and barely-there workspaces. After living in the apartment for a few years, she knew it was time for a change.

This week Camille is sharing her real life rental challenge and how she transformed her dingy carpeted entryway stairs (with her landlord’s permission!) into something more welcoming, yet still temporary. If you want to see the first post, check out the before photos here. My husband and I decided to DIY this project ourselves, and broke it down into manageable steps, each of which could be completed in a weekend.

This week Camille is sharing her real life rental challenge and how she transformed her dingy carpeted entryway stairs (with her landlord’s permission!) into something more welcoming, yet still temporary. If you want to start by hearing all the plans, check out the before photos here. Updating an old home is filled with challenges.

When you’re lucky enough to live in a home with beautiful historic architectural features, you probably want to highlight those features with your decor. Paint can work, sure, but maybe not in this icky green color? That’s what Danny and Lyndsay faced when they moved into this Portland, Maine rental. So they used the power of paint to cover up the unpleasant green, refresh the space, brighten the home and turn the focus on one charming architectural feature in particular.

There should be a medical or scientific term for that visceral aversion to seeing cords and ugly electronic boxes (something on par with trypophobia for example). Getting rid of them is an endless quest as fraught with difficulty as getting tickets to see Hamilton with Lin-Manual Miranda in the lead role. Figure out how to cover up those unattractive bits— and improve the look of your home in the meantime —and you’ve truly mastered the art of organization and storage.

When is a staircase more than just a staircase? When standout details like these take stairs from just a convenient way to move from one floor to another and into the realm of functional sculpture. Whether there’s a remodel in your future or you’re just an architectural junkie, you’ll find plenty to love about these beautiful staircases. Above: A particularly striking staircase in a Seattle home from Archinet.

Range hoods may not be the most glamorous kitchen appliance to shop for, but they’re definitely a must-have to avoid lingering odors and keep your kitchen air as fresh as possible. Here’s a shopping guide to get you started when looking for a range hood. Like all the other appliances in your kitchen, there are a few factors to consider when buying a range hood.

Sarah Kahl’s house in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago has four bedrooms on two finished floors. But she wants to get more out of the wide-open semi-finished basement. There’s already plumbing for a powder room, but Sarah wants a full bath down there. Her budget is $15,000 for everything. In this series, expert Alex Bandon answers your specific renovation questions.

Round of applause for Chelsea and her terrific eye! While taking her Mom out for her birthday (awww) Chelsea picked up this diamond in the rough and took it home for a little TLC, and boy did it pay off! From Chelsea: This piece was sitting outside in the muddy lawn of an antique shop this past Spring when I took my Mom out for her birthday. I had no intention of making a purchase of my own but couldn’t pass this soggy piece by without wondering what it could be if it were restored.

Ashley’s sleek little cushion adds serious style to her already impressive dining room chairs, all while making them a little more welcoming. From Ashley: We have a set of four metal chairs and I like them other than the fact that they are not the most comfortable. I got to thinking that they could be comfortable with a cushion. To stay consistent with my decor, I knew that a slim, modern cushion would look best. I couldn’t find anything that I liked so I decided to try to make some.

When Holly and Christian bought their two-bedroom, two-bathroom co-op in a 1920s building in New York’s Greenwich Village, they knew it would need a little work. The apartment’s kitchen wasn’t in great shape (you can read all about its transformation here), so, while renovating the kitchen, they decided to refresh one of the apartment’s aging bathrooms as well.

An old pro at the vintage rocking chair game, Ashley spotted this gem and knew that with a little TLC it could become something truly special. From Ashley: Over the past two years we have hunted and found vintage rocking chairs for friends (including ourselves!) at least six times. Our friend group has definitely hit the parenting band-wagon. There are a lot of new options out there, but we wanted rocking chairs that could add some character and history to our nurseries.

April turned this beige, catch-all “pool house” space into such a crisp and gorgeous home office it is almost unrecognizable! From April: Hi all! I’m April from Uncookie Cutter. A while back we moved halfway across the country into this crazy house in which every room needs a makeover. One of the reasons we bought this house is that we knew this junky “pool house” would make a great office for my husband, who does the majority of his work from home.

Only a few months after buying our first home and moving into this 1927 fixer-upper, I found out that I was expecting my second child. We knew it was going to be a big project, but we didn’t realize just how urgent it would be for us to transform this darling little house into a home for two little ones. So almost immediately, we shifted gears and got to work on a shared nursery and toddler room for our now 2.5 year old son, Adam, and 3.5 month old daughter, Edie.