When Amanda moved into her second house, she knew the dark and dated split entry needed to be brightened up — a dark door, peach-hued walls and a tall wall with nothing on it just didn’t fit her style. From Amanda: To brighten up the space, we installed a tongue and groove accent wall (to cover the heavy knock down texture) and painted it white. A new larger glass French door let light pour.

What do you do when you find a sad little tripod table with potential for free by a garbage can? If you’re Amanda, you take it home with you, give its top a sweet makeover and sit back to enjoy your transformed handiwork. From Amanda: I came home the other day to find this rather sad little table sitting by my garbage can. She wasn’t much to look at while she was sitting forlornly by my garbage cans.

Do you suffer from a bland bathroom? You might find some inspiration in the ideas that Jolie added to her standard-looking, not-very-interesting bathroom. She made this boring room turn glam with some DIY projects and vision. From Jolie: I wanted to feel like I was stepping into a high end hotel bathroom in the morning so I decided I would decorate it with glam wallpaper and gold accents.

When Kelly and her husband moved into a 1950s fixer-upper in late 2012, they knew their kitchen — with original (in Kelly’s words, grime-encrusted) pine cabinets, aluminum-wrapped laminate counters and linoleum floors mixed with asbestos — would need some aesthetic upgrading. They even started working on this room two hours after closing on the house! From Kelly: To say that it was a labor of love is an understatement.

This cramped and outdated kitchen almost prevented Christina from buying the house! But it was a charming 100-year-old Craftsman-style house that won her over, and she made the goal of brightening up the kitchen and maximizing space a priority! From Christina: When we toured this house, the kitchen was the reason why we almost didn’t buy the 100-year-old Craftsman-style house. It was so small, so brown, and so ugly!

Have you ever spotted an absolute steal on Craigslist — except for it being the complete opposite of your style? Nichol saw this table for $50, but before even leaving the house she took the legs off and left them with the original owner (along with the chunky chairs). There were other plans! From Nichol: Thank you Nichol!

Christina’s second bedroom is a tight eight feet wide by 13 feet long. But, despite the small size, she needed it to function both as an office and craft room, and a guestroom that could sleep two people. Christina turned this room with beige walls and bland carpet into a light and inspiring space to work and entertain guests! From Christina: The whole transformation cost about $800.

Ama had found this piece of furniture at a garage sale but wasn’t quite sure what to do with it for a few years. It had great bones, but the finish was in pretty rough shape. Though not a drastic change, the finished product came out stylish and sophisticated and is now the perfect storage piece for her dining room! From Ama: The cabinet cost me $50, dyeing, varnish and handles about $35, plywood for shelves, new door and feet cost me $23 and paper for background about $12.

This trip to Goodwill was originally intended to find something to be crafted into a make-up storage vanity for a friend. But when Jae finished a few simple tweaks to transform this old tool cart, it seemed like a no-brainer to show-off how it’d be perfect as something helpful when entertaining friends in your home!

From Jamie: In truth there are still a few small things we want to change or tweak (one major project being the demolition of the drywall around the stairs to allow the installation of a modern, open handrail) but we are satisfied with how far it has come. We feel it is bright, cheerful, and modern while still meshing with the overall transitional style of the house.

Need inspiration on how to lighten and brighten your old and outdated bathroom? You’ll find it in Mera’s simple update of her cozy room. She didn’t do anything complicated, but her changes made a big impact on the look and feel of this small space. From Mera: The paint peeled and cracked pretty quickly which just added to the overall yucky-ness of the room.

You know how we’re always saying that entryways are a perfect spot for walls that wow? This before and after certainly highlights what a difference design in one’s entryway can make! It was a lot of work (and a lot of math) but you might find inspiration for your own entryway with this neat 3D wall pattern idea.

This teeny little wood and upholstered vanity chair on casters was in a sorry state when Kathy found it on a neighbor’s curb on garbage day: the wooden back was broken off completely (the hand is holding it up in the photo above!), the springs damaged and the upholstery tired and dated. It would be a big job, but Kathy knew she could count on the help of her talented family. The result is a darling and spring-like update!

Sometimes older bathrooms are full of charming and quirky details that are totally worth keeping as-is. And other times older bathrooms are just dull and outdated. Can you guess which one Tanya’s was? Waiting on when the budget will allow for a full renovation, she tackled a few DIY, tried-and-true tricks to change the look of this space to be more livable now. My husband and I just moved into our house and are saving up to renovate our main bathroom.

Want to know a great DIY project trick for small spaces? Anything you can do to a heavy piece of furniture to make it feel visually lighter could help a room feel more spacious. Simple, yes, but effective: Michelle’s paint job left her new nightstands lighter and refreshed, and she added design detail with new handles.They make for a fashionable contrast in her brightly painted bedroom. From Michelle: We had two ornate nightstands that had great trim and very cool brass handles.

Megan’s bathroom was already kind of sweet and simple — perfectly serviceable. But as the only bathroom in her and her husband’s 1930s Sonoma house, they felt it should be a little more spectacular. So they mixed their styles to create a still-simple and sweet but definitely more bold bathroom. From Megan: Our 1930s Sonoma home has only one bathroom and so it had to be spectacular!

Project by: Lisa Hershman Location: Greenwich Village, New York, New York Looking for some small space inspiration for small homes that also house young kids? You’ll love the ideas in this New York City apartment — the clients wanted a space that looked good, but one that could also be flexible enough to change as the family grew and withstand any damage two small kids could throw at it.

Anyone who’s attempted to tackle a DIY project is probably familiar with the phenomenon of it taking way longer to complete than originally imagined. In the case of Janice’s fireplace, it was seven months longer! But the finished result — a modern update from a bland, outdated fireplace — was well worth the wait! From Janice: My husband and I live in a century-old Victorian rowhouse in Toronto and when we moved in we thought we’d never touch a thing in it.

Dana and her husband had a pretty standard bathroom with some pretty dated wallpaper. Together, they tackled a series of DIY projects that transformed an old and tired bathroom into a new bright space with a seriously darling DIY cottage feel. From Dana: We chose a cool white and aqua palette for our cottage style bathroom. My husband updated the floor with white ceramic hex tile. To complement, he installed beadboard around the room.

This resident dreamed of trading in her 90s era furniture for a look that felt like it came out of the pages of magazines like Veranda and House Beautiful. She finally reached out to a professional designer who was able to see that the client was looking for rooms that looked polished but felt cozy, in a transitional style with a heavy dose of navy and white. Steal some of these ideas for your own magazine-worthy home!

The retro look might be back in, but this kitchen that hadn’t been touched since the 1960s was a little too retro for the owners of this beach house on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. The kitchen needed a total upgrade (and a small bathroom in the house also needed renovating) but there was a small budget. With the help of a designer, clean lines, IKEA products and a neutral color palette turned this dated kitchen to a modern breath of fresh air.

Is there anything more delightful than coming across a piece of furniture with good bones and a “free” sign? It’s not everyday that a simple DIY project sparks career inspiration, but this free chair Rachael stumbled on and brought home to fix up did. Though simple, it’s a sweet little makeover, and proof even the most unloved of furniture pieces can look nice with a little cleaning up.

After moving into her 480 square foot apartment, Maura looked for a creative solution to solve two separate studio space challenges: how to create a space that a 70lb dog and two cats can all enjoy in peace and how to create a somewhat separate sleeping space so it didn’t feel like she was throwing cocktail parties in her bedroom when she entertained. Her DIY solution is smart and sweet.