When Mila grew tired of her gallery wall she opted for a big and bold change. Part accent wall, part large scale art piece and entirely fabulous, her vibrant mural is an eye catching delight. From Mila: This wall of my living room needed major help. I was bored of that gallery wall and wanted to try something new, exotic and attention grabbing. This mural was inspired by Robert Murle Marx’s textiles. Florence Lopez, a designer that lives in Paris, had a similar idea for her apartment.

If you’re a fan of Carrera marble, you’ll understand why Paris was so excited to come across an affordable pair of marble-topped tables on Craigslist. While she loved the tops, the ornate legs didn’t suit her style so she turned to a company that usually caters to IKEA customers to find new furniture legs to match her modern aesthetic.

Perhaps the next best thing to your landlord offering to fix up your rental bathroom (which rarely happens), is your landlord granting their blessing for you to fix it up yourself. Justyna was thrilled to get the green light from her landlord to make some bathroom improvements and she got straight to work. See what she accomplished on a small budget in this small rental: From Justyna: This summer I decided I couldn’t live with my rental bathroom any longer.

Kacie’s kitchen lacked personality, especially this corner nook which she found drab and dingy. Armed with paint and plywood, she and her husband created a bright, cheerful spot for family dinners and game night with friends. From Kacie: My husband and I were excited about the size and footprint of the kitchen in our first home, but were less thrilled about the orange oak-y style.

Erin’s guest bedroom is small but makes up for it with great views. She was feeling it was a little too orange-y for her tastes and decided to paint the wainscoting grey. It made a world of difference, but wasn’t totally what she envisioned, so she dove in and gave the room an entirely new look. From Erin: Our guest room is the smallest in the house, but has amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean. It always felt dark and dreary and sad.

Devon and Jessica were tasked with adding personality, style and storage to their friend’s living area. Taking style cues from his favorite cult classic TV show, the duo created a funky and bright space that celebrated the occupant’s interests. From Devon & Jessica: Off in the final frontier, Los Angeles, lives a Star Trek-loving singleton who was anxious to update his one bedroom apartment.

Anne-Claire was on a Craigslist hunt for the perfectly sized and perfectly priced desk for her daughter. After a few disappointments, she stumbled across this desk, which needed a little love but was otherwise exactly what she was looking for. The fixing up process took a little longer than Anne-Claire expected, but the final result was worth it. From Anne-Claire: Now that my daughter is growing up, I started to look for a small desk to replace her little child table.

Megan’s kitchen was dark, didn’t feel like her and was completely lacking storage. She decided to banish all the brown and open the space up to make it brighter and more functional. The result is a charming kitchen that was totally DIY! From Megan: Our ten year old kitchen (new to us) was dark, tiny and unattractive. Dust would settle on the eaves and required us to get on a ladder to clean them, which never happened. Our cabinets were very small and allowed for only minimal storage.

We got a glimpse of Ruth’s home in her House Call but her bathroom reno deserves some special attention. While the old bathroom was not horribly offensive aesthetically, it wasn’t fully functional (and a little stinky). After bumping the project up on her to-do list and getting to work, Ruth found herself with a darkly dramatic space that didn’t break the bank.

Nina helped a family turn their vacation property kitchen from a claustrophobic and kitschy space into a fun and open gathering space. By removing the divider, adding some unexpected color along with classic elements, she breathed new life into the room. From Nina: The owners, a young family, wanted a vacation apartment (that they could also rent out), located in a town adjacent to a European ski area.

Marti’s master bedroom makeover was a slow and steady labor of love. Her first move was to tackle the too-bright purple paint and choose a color that was a little more serene. After that, she mixed DIY projects with budget finds for a chic and calm bedroom. From Marti: We’ve lived in our house for a little over one year now, and our bedroom has come a long way. There was certainly nowhere to go but up!

Danielle added style and interest to her living room with a few simple and small touches: replacing the curtains, adding some light fixtures, and slapping on a new coat of paint. And then she made a big change, adding color and interest to the space in a major way. From Danielle: When we first moved into our family home, the living room was covered in brown and beige from floor to ceiling.

Lindsay and her family moved into a wonderful new space in a neighborhood they loved. But there was one snafu: the old and outdated kitchen. Lindsay has a food blog so a clunky kitchen just wouldn’t do. They gutted the entire thing and started from scratch, and the results are a fun and functional space that’s perfect for family life and blog life. From Lindsay: The biggest change we made was to the location of the sink and the removal of the existing island.

This little kitchen was in need of a lot of spiffing up and a little bit more space. Christina gave the space a fresh new look with a smart layout, some classic tile and a coat of paint in a lovely light color. From Christina: We recently finished up our project in Redondo Beach. This was a smaller house that was in serious need of a face lift. It had so many colors happening as well as some issues in the kitchen.

Michelle stepped in to help a grad student create a stylish and functional space that she could love for all of her harried, paper writing years. She added color and fun without creating a room full of distractions. From Michelle: This grad student was moving into an apartment that she would live in for the next five years. Mina had a small budget, but a lot of style. Her space was a blank canvas, as she was starting from scratch.

This master bath had plenty of space but not a lot of function. Kendra set out to not only upgrade and maximize the utility of the space, but to create a calm and serene atmosphere. From Kendra: This master suite had taken on minor renovations before, but nothing that allowed it to shine and become a truly functional and relaxing oasis. This space had an outdated standing shower, no access to the walk-in-closet and overall lack of functionally.

Ashley wanted a bathroom update that was stylish, full of storage and helped maximize the space of her small bathroom. By pulling in a surprising piece of furniture and painting the space a calming color, she created a bathroom that blends form and function. From Ashley: The tiny half bathroom connected to the master bedroom was original to the 1972 house and in desperate need of an update.

IKEA Pax wardrobes can be a godsend for creating closet space out of nothing and here is an exquisite example of how they can not only provide a massive amount of storage but appear like they were built just for your space.

The size and scale of this fireplace is striking which means that changing its look has a big impact on this space. The homeowners also opted for a new wall paint color. Together, these changes give off a whole new vibe. Take a look: From Christina: I am not a big DIY person so I spoke to the amazing contractor Adrian at Craftsman Construction that we worked with on this project, about how they were able to change the multi-colored stone fireplace into the clean white look that we finished with.

We’ve seen Natalie’s 19th century home before and this time she’s tackling her dining room. Not happy to just strip the floors and replace the chandelier, she put her artistic talents to good use and painted something gorgeous on the walls. From Natalie: My husband and I bought a circa 1870s house in Pittsburgh nearly three years ago. The house has a wonderful lived-in feeling and great bones, but it needed an infusion of style.

Heather’s kitchen was outdated, but not unlivable, so she and her husband opted for a few smart and thrifty updates to add some style to the space before a big kitchen remodel. From Heather: My husband and I recently purchased a 1960s home. It’s in great condition, but most everything is original to the house.

Natalie’s home was originally divided into apartments, so she had the not-so-small challenge of turning it back into a cohesive space. After experimenting with new paint colors, and switching up the floor, she finally found herself with a moody library full of quirky, personal charm. From Natalie: This room has changed over time as my husband and I have lived in the house. We bought our circa 1870s Pittsburgh home nearly three years ago.

When Marti set out to revamp her bathroom, she knew that a full tile update wasn’t in the cards. She didn’t let that deter her, however, and went ahead and made some really smart and stylish changes that created a less dated, more classic space. From Marti: My goal was to replace the glaring features that made the bathroom look really dated/cheap: most notably, the paint, mirror, and sink.