Amanda had a tiny extra room that wasn’t much more than a dumping ground for “old clothes, holiday decorations, paperwork, and hockey gear,” becoming pretty unusable. But with a guest visit on the horizon, she gave herself the challenge of transforming it into a room a guest could enjoy staying in! From Amanda: To brighten the room and add some life, I brought in color with the pillows and ottomans from Target.

If you’ve ever come across a painted wood storage piece and wondered how you could restore it to the naturally beautiful look of wood and do something fresh and unique to it, you’ll find inspiration in this credenza Martha got creative with. From Martha: The original finish on this piece was a fading white with many scratches all over it.

Have a spare room that you want to turn into a creativity-inducing craft room the likes of which have never been seen? You just might find some inspiration and ideas in Tasha’s DIY craft room that features bold colors and patterns as well as stylish supply storage solutions. From Tasha: We transformed the remnants of our twin girls’ nursery to my craft room/home office. I selected a neutral gray for the walls and a black and white color palette.

Project by: Roger + Chris Location: Sharon Springs, New York The drab downstairs bathroom in our 160-old Italianate Victorian was in desperate need of a style infusion. Likely installed in the 1940s or 50s, the bath hadn’t received much attention in the ensuing years. A cute but well-used pedestal sink with separate taps, a tiled (and tiny) shower, fairly gross floor, and square tile running halfway up the walls. On the plus side, the large window brought plenty of sunlight into the space.

Renters and those not willing to make permanent changes to their stone fireplaces, rejoice! There is a way to meld your modern sensibilities with an outdated fireplace that might feature a material that overwhelms. Lidy came up with a simple and chic DIY way to add a modern feel to her stone fireplace. From Lidy: Our fireplace was a little outdated and it had no mantel. Although I was perfectly content with that, I debated how we could modernize it just a bit.

Wendy fell so in love with the character and charm of this rental apartment she was a bit blind to the stained, outdated wallpaper in the bedroom. But after moving in, she realized an update was needed, and she went with a dark and dramatic color palette. From Wendy: When my children and I moved into our rental apartment last winter, I was so wowed by the charm and character of our new space that I scarcely noticed the dingy, stained wallpaper covering every room in the house.

When the budget is tight and you can’t tear apart your entire bathroom to turn it into something you’d prefer, you’ve got to get creative. Jenna did just that with her bathroom, and it went from kind of sad to cheery! There are some simple but bold ideas in this makeover for both renters and homeowners.

Kelsey and her husband Heath had their work cut out for them when they moved into their new home with an outdated kitchen. But they worked with the home’s bones for a makeover that both fits the house and their personality! From Kelsey: This project is/was the most time and energy intensive DIY renovation we’ve sunk our teeth into, but it has also been the most gratifying.

What to do when one of your old vintage finds or IKEA chairs is looking sad and worn? Well you could reupholster it, of course! Lisa gave not just a new look to her old IKEA chair, but a custom one. From Lisa: As an unstoppable chair rescuer, and self taught upholstery DIYer, I love to sink my teeth into new challenges as they come along. This dilapidated IKEA (Lunna) swivel chair, grabbed on Gumtree (Australia’s Craigslist!

We’re all about the affordable makeovers that completely transform a room for not a lot of money. And though this kitchen does get a new floor (the price of which is not reflected in the $500 budget mentioned here), pay attention to the rest of the room where the $500 was spent. Alex got creative and outlines everything done to achieve a fresh new look. From Alex: I’ve wanted to redo my kitchen since I bought the house five years ago.

If you’ve ever not been able to afford a design you spot in a catalog, look instead to your thrift store, and keep your eyes peeled for a piece that shows potential. You just might be able to shape it to look more like your dream furniture piece without spending as much money!

What to do when you’ve got a spare bedroom on the boring side and are looking for a creative place to work? You tackled it stylishly like Marie and her husband did with their extra room, creating one seriously dramatic, contrasting space to get creative in! From Marie: Our renovation started off quickly because, four days after moving in, a pipe burst in the bedroom’s ceiling and flooded the entire floor and closet.

With the holidays almost on the way, you might be looking for ways to add both extra seating and storage in your small home. You’ll love this DIY project that turned a plain cocktail table into a modern ottoman with concealed storage! From Pam: I came across this sad little cocktail table made from cheap blistered laminate in a second hand store. Its only redeeming quality was the octagonal shape, which I thought would make for a cool little ottoman.

Project by: designHARMONY Location: Bothell, Washington From the designer: This busy family of four had a disorganized, uninspired office space. We transformed it by updating pieces the family already had, turning a former closet into a desk space and created a masterpiece with all of the kids’ artwork. Bright paint and accessories round out the now creative, family-friendly space.

Project by: Harmony Weihs of designHARMONY Location: Bothell, Washington What to do when your living room is full of LEGO in plastic containers, slowly taking over your home? You get in touch with a designer who can give you both a great designed space and plenty of room for your LEGO! From the designer: We walked into this house on our first visit to find rooms and rooms and containers and containers of LEGOS.

We never tire of tiny powder rooms that get a dose of bold style from DIY pattern, and this room is no different! What started out actually as a larger room became smaller when more space was needed for another part of the house. But any deficit of space isn’t missed one bit with the exciting makeover these creative folks gave the room! From Joanie and LinMara: We had a dysfunctional bathroom with a shower we did not need. We converted that bathroom into a tiny, narrow powder room.

You might remember Lauren’s style from her bedroom before and after; she turned a kind of boring bedroom into an exciting nautical and rustic-themed retreat. Well she’s back on a smaller scale, infusing some serious fun into an inherited desk from the in-laws. From Lauren: This past summer, I made over a roll-top desk we inherited from my in-laws…and it’s my new favorite project!

A white wall can be quite the inspiring canvas for interesting or even a little crazy ideas. Shehzeen had one of those ideas, and though her husband was a little dubious, after she finished DIYing a statement wall in their bedroom, there’s no doubt it was a brilliant — and easy-to-do — idea! From Shehzeen: When I moved into my current apartment, I immediately knew I wanted a statement wall for my bedroom and everything else could happen around it. So I painted it. Hated it.