Old, open refrigerator with rust and missing door, labeled "Before" in red.
Before & After: Mr. Heckles, The Love of Reed’s Life
I’m in love. I’m talking about my new (super old) refrigerator. This fridge, whom we lovingly call Mr. Heckles, was made in 1949 by General Electric. I’d always wanted an old fridge, just like the one Monica had on Friends. Gender aside, I am Monica. Really. A month ago, we finally signed a new lease at an apartment complex that did not provide a fridge. I seized this opportunity to find my dream fridge. I scoured eBay, Craigslist, Etsy, antiqueappliance.com. You name it.
Feb 13, 2016
Nicholas’ Black & White Handpainted Muraled Minneapolis Home
Name: Nicholas Location: North Loop — Minneapolis, Minnesota We’ve taken a relatively small square footage plan (740 square feet) and used every inch to its advantage. We took the blank white open space and customized each end to create several unique spaces within one. Our living space, where the sofa is moved just slightly from the wall to create a cozy office area was a must have for our work from home lifestyle.
Feb 12, 2016
Before & After: An “Odd Space” Opens Up
Our 1925 Craftsman had a number of unique features, some of which we preserved, and some which had to go. The Master Bathroom was one that had to be completely renovated, down to the studs. It was such an odd space before. It was essentially a Jack-and-Jill bathroom, but the pass-through from one side to the other was the shower! I’ve never seen anything like it, nor had our contractor.
Feb 12, 2016
Charlotte Painted, Crafted & Thrifted Her Way to This Adorable & Affordable Nursery
Name: Louisa (2 years old) Location: Southport, Connecticut We just moved into a historic house last spring and I was scrambling to pull together the kids’ rooms without too much expense and too much effort! This little room came together with nothing more than paint, a simple craft project and some thrifted decor! The hanging tapestry over her crib is made from two IKEA throw rugs and a homemade freezer paper stencil.
Feb 11, 2016
It Can Be Done: 8 Spaces that Make Track Shelving Look Good
Track shelving might be the most common in a pantry, office or garage, but if you know how to style it right, it can be beautiful enough to sit front and center right in the living room. Just check out these eight rooms, which each put their own spin on the track shelf thing. Above: Mounting art to the wall between the shelf standards gives this wall unit from Old Brand New a more upscale look.
Feb 11, 2016
Surefire Ways to Make Your Home a Happy (And Functional!) Place
Home. It’s the supposed harbor of our hearts, and yours is probably affecting your overall well-being more than you think. Gary and Chelsey’s home gave us that good, old fashioned “happy home” feeling, and we were determined to figure out why. If you’re feeling stuck in your pursuit of a happy home, we’ve compiled a simple list of practices most of the happiest homes on Apartment Therapy—such as this one—share.
Feb 11, 2016
Bradley’s Post-Katrina Resurrected Shotgun
Name: Bradley Sabin and his dogs, Cooper and Romeo Location: Mid-City — New Orleans, Louisiana Size: 720 square feet Years lived in: 8 years; Owned Artist Bradley Sabin may live alone, but he is always in the company of friends. His 720-square-foot shotgun home, located in Mid-City New Orleans, is filled with artwork. “The art is very personal,” he explains. “I’m surrounded by things people I know made, so I feel like I’m with my friends.
Feb 11, 2016
DIY Chipotle Rice
(Image credit: Sheela Prakash) From The Kitchn → Recipe: Chipotle Copycat Rice
Feb 11, 2016
Brandon & Kate’s “Minimal – but Cozy- as Possible” Apartment
Name: Brandon & Kate Location: Humboldt Park — Chicago, Illinois Our home is the top floor of a quaint little two-flat from 1891 in Humboldt Park Chicago. We fell in love with all the beautiful natural light that floods the apartment during the daytime and the simple white walls that were just begging for some artwork. We used to sell vintage furniture so we have a large collection of furniture and home decor to pull from.
Feb 10, 2016
Before & After: Overcoming the Quirks of ’70s Fireplace
About six years ago, my boyfriend and I bought a severely neglected 1970s ranch house. It was basically a grimy, character-free tract home with critters living in the garage and AC return duct. We had a lot of issues to deal with after we bought the house, so the limestone fireplace was pretty far from the top of the list, and we ended up ignoring it for years while we worked on other parts of the house. Eventually, it became harder to ignore.
Feb 10, 2016
Sarah & Lindsay Share a Simple, Southwestern-Inspired Space in Chicago
Name: Sarah & Lindsay Location: Humboldt Park — Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 5 months; Rented Sarah and Lindsay haven’t even lived together for half a year, but their styles have already merged seamlessly. Sarah brought the cozy Southwestern elements while Lindsay brought the Mid-century modern, and all the colors and patterns work with the nature-inspired elements to create a space that is warm and inviting.
Feb 10, 2016
This Customizable DIY Dresser Drawer Bookshelf Is Just What Your Wall Needs
Reuse old dresser drawers to create a bookshelf installation like Mike and Kate’s! The couple found free dressers on Craigslist and used the drawers to transform an empty wall in their Chicago home. dresser drawers (preferably dovetailed) paint wall mounting hardware measuring tape hammer drill From Kate: I turned to Craigslist and found free dressers, took the drawers, and trashed the dressers themselves (don’t worry—they were really ugly).
Feb 10, 2016
Partner
Know Your Leather: A Detailed Guide To Spotting The Real Stuff
Thinking leather might be better? Keep in mind it’s not all created equal. The difference in quality between genuine, bonded, and flat-out fake leather is huge, and there are some easy tricks to spotting the good stuff. We looked at Value City Furniture’s new line of genuine leather furniture to learn what to look for. OK, duh. But the label is going to say more than just “real” or “fake!
Feb 10, 2016
23 Romantic Recipes for a Special Night at Home
(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 23 Romantic Recipes to Make for Someone You Love (Including Yourself)
Feb 10, 2016
Su’s Swedish Country Home Inspired Oakland Abode
Name: Su Location: Oakland, California I spent some time in Sweden and fell in love with the red wooden Swedish country homes. Being a designer, I always wanted to design my own home. I worked with an architect who took my vision and made it structurally sound. The materials I felt most connected to were metal and wood. After reading about prefab homes, I wanted to design a small home that felt like a cabin in the woods with the modern necessities.
Feb 9, 2016
See How Much You Can Save: 25 Creative Ways to Save Money This Year
I have a friend who swears that, when she was in college, she saved money by only going to the bathroom at work. Never fear—there is nothing that crazy here. Just simple, creative ways in which to save a few dollars here and there, which, as we all know, will surely add up over time. How many of these could you implement in your life starting today? And how much will you save by the end of the year? 1. Limit your trips to the ATM to one a week.
Feb 9, 2016
Before & After: An Outdated Cross-Country Camper Gets a Modernized, DIY Update
In order to chase dreams and golf balls, photographer/business coach Brittany and her husband, Jordan, an aspiring golf pro, mobilized their lives to go on tour for half a year. Months of searching for a camper with enough space and height (Jordan is 6’5″) for themselves and their pets led to this beauty of a camper. Though built in 2007, the house on wheels didn’t exactly scream “this century.
Feb 9, 2016
A Cozy, Classic & Minimal Brooklyn Brownstone
Name: Adam and Rachel Jones and their dog, Fraiser Location: Clinton Hill — Brooklyn, NYC Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Rented Rachel is a designer and Adam specializes in photography and video production, and new inspirations and ideas are always emerging in both their work and home life. Since they moved into this space a few years ago, the process of settling in has been one of constant evolution and change.
Feb 9, 2016
Before & After: A Bold Blue Guest Bathroom
Whitney of Whitney J Decor was charged with shaking up this guest bathroom and adding more storage. She was able to add a ton of character while avoiding major renovations. From Whitney: My client gave me full, creative control of her guest bathroom, but the only exception was that I couldn’t make any changes to the floor or any permanent fixtures (like sink, faucet, tub, etc.).
Feb 9, 2016
Dana’s Compact Loft Full of Rich Colors & Textiles
Name: Dana Location: Corktown — Toronto, Canada I bought my 750 square foot 2 bedroom/2 bath loft in August and I immediately set out to make it a home. It’s located in Corktown, a historic area in Toronto which has been developing over the past few years. I grew up in the Middle East and I have a love for textiles, rugs and handmade objects. My style is a mix of eclectic, bohemian and mid-century.
Feb 8, 2016
A DIY Update to 70s Style Bi-Fold Doors
I think nearly anyone who buys a 1970s ranch home will likely end up with those dark wood, hollow core bi-fold doors. We ended up with them in two of our three bedrooms. Replacing them with more modern, up-to-date bi-fold doors can run over $150 per pair, so why not put in some elbow grease to bring those doors to life and save yourself about $100?
Feb 7, 2016
Patrick & Anna’s Light & Open Florida Home
Name: Patrick & Anna Location: Tequesta, Florida My husband, myself, our two children, Harlee Faye (she’s almost 2), our son Declan (he’s almost 9 months), and our pit bull Gypsy Lou live in a 1,600 square foot home in Tequesta, Florida, which is just north of West Palm Beach. The moment my husband and I stepped foot into our home, I knew this was the one!
Feb 7, 2016
Modern Lighting Design & Friendly Cali Vibes: Brendan Ravenhill Studio
Name: Brendan Ravenhill Studio Location: Frogtown — Los Angeles, California Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rented A large Quonset hut on a lot adjacent to the Los Angeles River is the home of the incredible Brendan Ravenhill Studio. Brendan and his team build incredible lighting fixtures, furniture, and home accessories that are quickly gaining accolades all over the place. The team of about 10 builds everything right on-location and even photographs it in their homemade photo studio.
Feb 6, 2016
Before & After: A Tourism Kiosk You’ll Want to Live In
Project by: Relish Interiors Location: British Columbia, Canada Leah was asked to revamp a Boler trailer into west coast inspired tourism kiosk. The result is a charming small space that may induce some serious pillow envy. From Leah: I was commissioned by Tourism Powell River, in beautiful British Columbia, Canada to makeover a 10′ Boler trailer into a mobile Tourism Kiosk that represented our west coast influence.
Feb 6, 2016
Leslie’s Lovely, Lived-In Austin Apartment
Name: Leslie Location: Hyde Park — Austin, Texas My apartment is wholly imperfect. It has full brick walls, a beige-everywhere approach, and our bedroom doesn’t have a proper door. We chose it mostly for location. The neighborhood can’t be beat with quiet, tree-lined streets and our favorite Tex-mex restaurant is two blocks away, next to an out-of-this-world bakery. Decorating this home has been a challenge and a joy.
Feb 5, 2016
5 Real-Life Wardrobe Storage Solutions From Apartments with No Closets
Take inspiration from these five real-life apartments, whose residents found smart ways to store everything with no closet in sight.
Feb 5, 2016
Natalie & Nate’s Rustic St. Louis Collaboration
Name: Natalie Slyman and Nate Bethel Location: St. Louis, Missouri Size: 1,300 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Rented Natalie and Nate are one of those couples whose styles go together so effortlessly. They met while working at the same resale shop, and they’ve been together over six years.
Feb 5, 2016
Before & After: An Almond & Orange Bathroom Leaves the ’80s Behind
I can’t believe it took us 10 years to renovate our small 1980s bathroom. With the hideous almond tub, loo, sink and the orange wood cabinetry, things should’ve changed long ago. After I took a week off of work and my husband took a few days, we got to work on demo on a Sunday. We expected to be done by Wednesday but had some buffer days just in case. We found we needed new plumbing to fix low water pressure which set us back on our timeline.
Feb 5, 2016
Melanie’s Playful Potrero Hill Apartment
Name: Melanie Abrantes (and her boyfriend Rick Gibb) Location: Potrero Hill — San Francisco, California Size: 500 square feet Years lived in: 6 months; Rented We recently shared Melanie Abrantes’ fantastic Oakland studio, and today we’re getting a glimpse into her San Francisco apartment. Melanie’s playful personality is seen in every inch of the 500-square-foot home.
Feb 5, 2016
Mark’s Cool California Mobile Home
Name: Mark Location: Pleasure Point —Santa Cruz, California I am a professional surfer who is constantly traveling so I recently decided to sell my family home to find a smaller space with less overhead. I luckily found a 1959 Broadmore mobile home right around the corner from my family home! It sits in a mobile home park that I honestly never paid much attention too but drove by every day for my whole life. It was actually the cheapest place for sale within a hundred miles of my house.
Feb 4, 2016
Before & After: A Quick & Cost Effective Rental Kitchen Fix
Our kitchen has really tacky fake granite particle board counters. Someone at some point in our building’s history thought it would be a good idea to cover the backsplash in this same ugly material, which not only draws attention to how absolutely fake the “granite” is, but also just generally looks horrendous.
Feb 4, 2016
Anna’s “Accidentally Minimalist” Chicago Apartment
Name: Anna Location: Lakeview — Chicago, Illinois I live in a small studio apartment (350 square feet) in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. I’m actually right on the border between Lakeview and Lincoln park, which is a popular location for 20-somethings who have recently moved to the city (I’m 25) which is nice because all of my friends live a few blocks away.
Feb 3, 2016
10 Things To Know About Your Eames Chair
So you bought an Eames chair because it was cool. It’s okay—so did I. But now when people come over and say, “I like your chair, where did you get that?” it’d be nice to tell them a little more than, “It’s from a designer.” Here are 10 fun facts about your chair that you can throw around at the next cocktail party, because, you know, knowing stuff is also pretty darn cool, too. 1.
Feb 3, 2016
Renee & Adrian’s Sustainable Hideaway in Western Australia
Name: Renee Mouritz and Adrian Testa and their dog, Sammy Location: Yallingup, Western Australia Size: 128 square meters (1,378 square feet) Years lived in: 10 years; Owned Renee, a passionate Australian conservationist, and Adrian, a chiropractor from New York, built themselves a home near the coast of Western Australia to serve as a retreat from the busy-ness of the rest of the world.
Feb 3, 2016
Romane’s Playful and Patterned Room Fits a Lot of Fun in Just 85 Square Feet
Name: Romane, 7.5 years old Location: Notre-Dame-de-Grâce; Montreal, Canada Following a renovation of the entire home last year, which included the removal of a wall between the living room and (now) dining room, Marie-Claude moved her daughter’s room into what was the rarely used office. We saw Romane’s Romane’s first bedroom over four years ago, and it has been fun to follow along as her space matures with her.
Feb 3, 2016
Chelsea’s “Intentional and Functional” Nashville Loft
Name: Chelsea Location: Nashville, Tennessee My husband Jared and I live with our cat, Albert, in a quaint neighborhood called Germantown in Nashville, TN. We live in a building that was once a canvas bag factory. Our apartment is about 1,100 square feet, including our lofted space. We chose to live in Germantown because we were moving from Boston, Massachusetts to Nashville, Tennessee and wanted to maintain a similar metropolitan, historic feel in our neighborhood and home.
Feb 2, 2016
Emma Makes the Most of a (Temporary) Move Back to Her Childhood Home
Name: Emma Fineman Location: Oakland, California Size: 238 square feet Years lived in: 17 We recently shared artist Emma Fineman’s stylish Memphis-inspired studio, in which she paints as well as designs textiles and apparel for her women’s clothing brand, Weft + Hide. Today, we get a glimpse into her cozy, temporary living quarters in her childhood home, filled with plants, textiles, and mementos from her travels.
Feb 2, 2016
The Best Kitchen Carts & Islands for Every Budget
You don’t have to remodel to add a lot of extra counter space and storage space to your kitchen — all it takes is a kitchen cart. These little workhorses are a great way to make a small kitchen more workable, or just help you get the most of your space no matter what size it is. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite kitchen carts (and islands), in a range of prices to suit pretty much any budget. This hardworking IKEA cart is perfect for smaller kitchens.
Feb 2, 2016
Dustin & Maya’s Eclectic Hillside Home in Silver Lake
Name: Dustin Lancaster and Maya Brenner, kids Jack and Sadie, and dog Roxy Location: Silver Lake — Los Angeles, California Size: 2,700 square feet (house) Years lived in: 6 months; Owned Hard-working entrepreneurs Dustin and Maya can now add their beautiful six-month home renovation to the long list of productive ventures they’ve accomplished in the last year.
Feb 2, 2016
The Kitchn Before & After: A Junk Drawer Transformation
(Image credit: Cambria Bold) From The Kitchn → Before & After: How I Transformed My Junk Drawer Without Buying a Single Organizer
Feb 2, 2016
Edmund’s “Post Modern Mix” in Montreal
Name: Edmund Location: Montreal-West, Quebec, Canada Just over two years ago, we moved out of our hip 1,000 square foot downtown Montreal loft and into our three-bedroom house in Montreal-West (a suburb just outside of the city) in order to start a family. Not working with a gigantic budget, we really expected to have to compromise in order to upgrade in size. To our surprise, we happened upon an incredibly unique house with an interesting history that we instantly fell in love with.
Feb 1, 2016
Easy Ideas for Making Your Entryway Work Better for Winter
Kerstin & Andy’s Colorful and Happy Family Home in Australia With snow, salt, mud, and the other sloppy aspects of winter, it’s all too easy for the entryway to become a mess. Whether your door deposits you right into your living space or you’re lucky enough to have a mudroom, there are some things you can do to make your entry as winter-friendly as possible. Handmaid Tales Shoe storage First things first: boots.
Feb 1, 2016
Don’t Use Your Dining Room? Our Favorite Alternative Idea
Let’s face it: as much as we’d all like to think of ourselves as the sort of people who throw dinner parties all the time, the formal dining room is mostly obsolete. So what’s a modern family to do? You can set up a dining table and chairs in there and then let stuff collect on the table (I’m pretty sure this is the default), or you can take it one step further and transform your dining room into a multi-purpose space that you’ll use every day.
Feb 1, 2016
Stephanie’s Marina District Apartment of Inspiration
Name: Stephanie Fauerbach Location: Marina District — San Francisco, California Size: 850 square feet Years lived in: 4.5 years; Rented Though making a temporary space feel rooted isn’t easy, Stephanie Fauerbach has put together a collection of mementos and inspiring pieces that make her apartment feel like a home.
Feb 1, 2016
4 Reasons the Julienne Peeler is a Tiny Kitchen Superstar
(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl) From The Kitchn → 4 Reasons to Have a Julienne Peeler in Your Kitchen
Feb 1, 2016
A Bright, Warm, Well-Lived Montreal Home
Name: Marie-Claude and Martin and 7-year-old Romane Location: Notre-Dame-de-Grâce — Montréal, Québec Size: 1,400 square feet Years lived in: 8.5 years; Owned At the age of 17, Marie-Claude went to Venice, Italy on an exchange to study art and sculpture. This experience changed the way she saw the world around her and deepened her appreciation for art and design. Marie-Claude is a interior design fanatic, and it’s no surprise that the trade runs in her extended family.
Jan 31, 2016
Jesse & Dan’s Collected Chaos in Boston
Name: Jesse and Dan Moskowitz and their dog, Stormy Location: Roxbury — Boston, Massachusetts Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 5.5 years; Rented When you enter Jesse and Dan Moskowitz’s comfy and colorful apartment in Boston’s historic Roxbury neighborhood, two things immediately stand out: the records and the pup. “It’s her apartment,” Dan states matter-of-factly, referring not to Jesse but to Stormy, the four-year-old Moskowitz dog.
Jan 31, 2016
Before & After: A Small Living Space Gets A Unified Look
Pedro took his dark, somewhat hodgepodge, living space to a very clean and bright room with a unified look. And he managed to do it all without covering up or distracting from the rooms interesting bones! From Pedro: This is the project about the remodeling of a living room in my house in Oporto, Portugal. I painted the walls gray, put in a new laminated floor, painted the ceiling and the doors in white and put molding on the ceiling.
Jan 31, 2016