After fifteen years of living in their one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment, Deniz and Ramon had plenty of ideas for upgrades they could make to the place. So when they finally embarked on their long dreamed-of renovation, the result was some very dramatic changes indeed. Previously, the apartment, while quite spacious at 1,000 square feet, was broken up into small, choppy spaces. The kitchen, separated from the living and dining areas, had no natural light at all.

Homebuying in New York is one of those things that doesn’t always turn out like you planned. Jamie and Chad had their hearts set on buying a brownstone in Brooklyn, but when it turned out that everyone else had their hearts set on this as well, they wound up with an apartment in Ridgewood, Queens with plenty of space, its own backyard, and a bathroom that was well, interesting.

This galley kitchen in a Brooklyn one-bedroom wasn’t quite the nightmare that some of our ‘before’ kitchens present — but as soon as they closed on the apartment, homeowners Hari and Kaity knew they wanted to do something about the kitchen’s dark, cramped layout. Under (and over!) cabinet lighting didn’t quite make up for a lack of natural light, and the layout of the appliances meant that what countertop space there was was strangely segmented.

Every New Yorker dreams of living in a beautiful pre-war building with beautiful pre-war details, but sometimes the reality is less exciting. Hari and Kaity loved a lot of things about their one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, but the living room was a bit, well, dull. So they set about making a few changes — small, budget-friendly upgrades that nevertheless made a big difference.

For almost ten years, John lived in his Hell’s Kitchen co-op while it slowly crumbled around him. The apartment, built in 1923, was definitely showing signs of its age: plaster was falling off the walls, moldings were caked with years of paint, and the kitchen cabinets, which had been replaced sometime in the 90s, were starting to fall apart. Faced with all this, and with the prospect of his partner, Katherine, moving in with him soon, John decided it was time for some big changes.

If you love the look of an apron front (or farmhouse) sink, look no further than this handy guide, where we’ve rounded up 22 different sinks, in all kinds of different materials and price points. No matter your budget, you’re sure to find a sink that will be a complete showstopper in your kitchen. Before you shop, here’s something you should know about apron front sinks right off the bat: they’re not cheap.

If you’ve ever found yourself a bit dismayed by a remodel where the homeowners took a perfectly serviceable kitchen and subjected it a complete gut renovation, then this project is for you. Instead of starting from scratch, Lindsay and Matt made just a few small changes to their Brooklyn kitchen, creating a fresh, modern space with a minimum of hassle (and a minimal budget).

Lindsay and Matt, the Brooklyn homeowners who brought a light touch to the renovation of their less than exciting kitchen, took the same approach toward their apartment’s somewhat generic bathroom. It had been recently renovated, and they were on a pretty serious budget, so a complete overhaul wasn’t in the cards. Instead, they made a few small changes that made this little bathroom much more fresh — and much more functional.

The wheel of design is always turning, and at no time is this more delightful than when something you remember from your childhood as being particularly dowdy is suddenly the height of chic. My mother’s sandals and culottes are suddenly for sale at Urban Outfitters, and similarly, the floors of my parents’ house are the hottest new thing in design. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to terrazzo.

Mosaic tile floors are having a renaissance. Of course, as many of you will point out, they never really left — lots of bathrooms, including the one in my New York studio, have floors like this that have been there for years. So these floors are not so much a trend as a classic that’s getting a (well deserved) moment in the spotlight. The bona fides of this particular kind of floor are many: they’re classic, they’re beautiful, they work with almost any style of bathroom.

If you love the modern look but are starting to tire of all-white kitchens, then this kitchen, from blogger Molly at Almost Makes Perfect, will be a breath of fresh air. It mixes together white and wood cabinets for a look that’s fresh yet timeless — and there are plenty of other ideas worth stealing, too. Mismatched upper and lower cabinets are gaining a lot of traction lately, and in this kitchen, it’s the perfect choice.

What’s a door? If you ever gave any thought at all to this question, you would probably say something like: a door is a tall, thin, rectangular piece of wood, or metal, that has hinges and a knob. But probably you’ve never given much thought to the essence of a door at all, because doors are one of those things that are so essential to and prevalent in everyday life that we hardly think about them at all.

Bookcases are always beautiful, because they’re full of books. But this post is devoted to bookshelves that are especially beautiful, and the shelves that are so pretty and unique that they almost steal the show from the volumes themselves. Here are nine gorgeous built-in bookcases to inspire your next renovation — or just inspire a little dreaming.

Eric and Joel’s new apartment in Prospect Heights had a lot going for it: generously sized rooms, lots of light, proximity to dog parks. What it didn’t have going for it: an incredibly awkward floorplan where a closed-off kitchen adjoined a mostly useless ‘dining foyer’ — an orphaned bit of space that was too wide to be called a hallway and too narrow for anything else.

If you’re one of those people who hates words like ‘moist’, Joel’s description of his former bathroom is going to make you shudder. Besides the dark, dated tile and fixtures, the bathroom “always smelled damp and musty because the floor and walls were finished with absorbent limestone tiles.” Ew. To add a little extra space to the bathroom, Joel and his partner Eric chose to incorporate part of an adjacent hallway.

The ‘before’ kitchen in this Upper West Side two-bedroom wasn’t in terrible condition, but it was plagued by a few issues common to small kitchens — teeny tiny appliances, and a serious lack of cabinet and counter space. The dark finishes and awkward, chopped-up blocks of cabinets made the small space seem even smaller.

As bathrooms go, the bathroom in Lauren’s Brooklyn Heights studio wasn’t in the worst shape. Aesthetically, it wasn’t much to write home about (and the odd, alien sink seemed ready for takeoff), but we’ve seen much worse. The real problem in this small space was storage. As in, there wasn’t any.

Structurally, there was nothing wrong with the bathroom in Nikki and Chris’ Astoria condo. Aesthetically, it looked a bit like an upscale gas station bathroom from the early 90s. The ‘after’, I think you’ll agree, is a huge improvement. The couple’s vision for their new bathroom was a modern twist on a classic NYC bath.

House-hunting in New York is a notoriously harrowing process. After months of searching, Nikki and Chris thought they had found the perfect apartment in Astoria. It was beautiful, had all the features they wanted, and was within their budget. But after a few weeks, the deal fell through. Incredibly discouraged, Nikki and Chris wondered if they would ever be able to find a place that felt like home. Two days later, they were putting in an offer on another place.

Lately, new designs for the kitchen look more and more like old designs for the kitchen. There’s a certain style of British kitchen — vintage-style appliances, Shaker-style cabinets, a bit austere but with very traditional accents — that’s becoming very popular. Looking at these kitchens, I am struck by the fact that they look remarkably similar to some of the 1920s kitchens I came across while researching this series about the history of kitchen design.

When they decided to start a family, interior designer Meredith and her husband realized that their one-bedroom duplex (with the bedroom accessed by a dizzying spiral staircase) was just not going to cut it anymore. After being outbid on four different houses, they finally found their perfect place: a charming Tudor townhouse in Brooklyn’s Kensington neighborhood, with an apricot tree in the front yard and even — an amenity almost unheard of in New York — a garage.

When Maria and Eric bought their two-bedroom apartment in Queens, they knew the bathroom would need an overhaul. Moldering tile and aging, mismatched features meant the bathroom’s aesthetics weren’t great, but the real issue in this small space was a serious lack of storage. So they set about turning a decrepit space that had seen better days into a bright, modern bathroom — and added a few clever storage solutions along the way.

It's just as cheap and available as subway tile, and you're not tired of it yet.

One of my favorite trends recently is the re-introduction of color to the bathroom. After so many years of white and beige, it’s about time. If you’d like to take baby steps, you can introduce color to your bathroom with art, or with paint, or maybe even with some nice towels — but if you’re ready to really commit, consider one of these unexpected (and unexpectedly delightful) ways to add color to your bathroom.

Buying an apartment in New York often involves a level of compromise. When Deeksha and Joe moved from D.C. to New York, along with their three-month-old son, their dream was to find a three-bedroom apartment. Reality was a spacious apartment in Washington Heights, with gorgeous views of the river — and only two bedrooms. But in the apartment’s L-shaped living room, they saw an opportunity.

Here's a fresh new way to add a little fun to your bathroom.

After living with the cramped, unremarkable bathroom in his Manhattan apartment for almost a decade, Charlie had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted out of his renovation: “I wanted it to look bigger.” Which was a bit of a challenge in a 40-square-foot space with no windows — but I think you’ll agree that this renovation rises to the occasion. The biggest change was replacing the old tub with a glass shower stall, which significantly opens up the space.

Although this Greenpoint kitchen, at 100 square feet, is much larger than many NYC apartment kitchens, it was suffering a bit from dark, heavy finishes. The black countertop sucked light out of the space, and glass-front cabinets left nowhere to hide clutter, making the kitchen feel chaotic and cramped. Plus, two of the cabinets were blocking a window — never a good look. The new kitchen embraces lightness and brightness, but, refreshingly, doesn’t go all the way white.

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There’s no denying the appeal of vintage bathrooms — but Rachel and Michael’s vintage bathroom had seen better days. The tilework, though charming, was badly chipped, and the tight, walled-in enclosure made showering a bit of a claustrophobic experience. The original vanity, mirror, and lights had been replaced with ones that didn’t quite suit the style of the room, and then on top of it all, there was the color of the walls: a very bad, oppressive beige.

A few weeks ago, when I wrote about square tile being the new subway tile, the response, from a lot of you, was a hard no. Many people in the comments agreed that subway tile was classic, whereas square tile reminded them of either truck stops or icky, bland ’70s and ’80s bathrooms.

If you’ve ever lived in an apartment with an old, crumbling bathroom, you recognize Janna’s frustration with her Manhattan bathroom. “No matter how much we cleaned, it never felt clean,” she said. The small bathroom was dominated by an enormous seven foot tub, as demonstrated by the “before” pic above. In addition to the less-than-ideal layout, the walls and floors were in bad shape, the toilet leaked, and the vanity was beginning to fall apart.

When Giovanni purchased his Brooklyn condo, the kitchen had barely any cabinet space — and almost no workspace to speak of. His kitchen was just a drab row of appliances stacked next to each other, adjoining an alcove where a combination washer/dryer sat, visible to the rest of the apartment.

Finding the perfect apartment in New York, for a reasonable price, is no easy task. When soon-to-be parents Fabio and Melina decided to upgrade from their one-bedroom rental, finding an acceptable two-bedroom place within their budget turned out to be quite a challenge. Finally they found a place that fit the bill: two bedrooms, great location, and at a price they could afford. The apartment, which hadn’t been updated in 40 years, was less than perfect. But this couple saw potential.

After a long search, Melina and Fabio finally found a two-bedroom place in their desired New York neighborhood — and at a price they could actually afford. The only problem? The bathroom, which hadn’t been renovated in the apartment’s 40-year lifespan, had seen better days. With its dated vanity, off-color tile, and always-dirty grout, it was definitely in need of an update. The new bathroom looks fresh yet classic, in shades of black and white, with a touch of gold.

There are basically three different ways to get cabinets into your kitchen. You can have them custom-built to fit the space. This is very expensive. You can get pre-made cabinets delivered, already assembled, and install them yourself (or have a contractor do it for you). This is less expensive. Or you can order ready-to-assemble (RTA) kitchen cabinets, and assemble them yourself. This is the most budget-friendly option of all.

Eighties design is a fascinating subject of study because of the peculiar arc it’s taken recently: from despised and reviled to avant-garde cool, all within the space of a very short period of time. But with all the love for Memphis and weird ’80s graphics, there’s one particular aspect of this design era I haven’t heard much about: the ’80s kitchen. Is it as terrible as we remember? Has the time for a renaissance finally come? Let’s take a look.

I love tile. I might even be a little obsessed with tile. So the fact that tile, even very bold tile, is making a comeback in the bathroom has me very excited. Lately I’ve been noticing an interesting trend in tiled bathrooms: bathrooms with tile on the ceiling. That, my friends, is commitment. Is this something you would do? Or is it all just a little too much?

This “Before & After” involves a beautiful Brooklyn brownstone with a bathroom that had seen better days. While certainly not as dire as some “before” bathrooms we’ve seen it had an uninspired design, a clunky sliding metal door that broke up the space, and a distinct lack of storage — especially for a bathroom of this size. Before we focus in on the other charming aspects of this bright new bathroom, let me just say: I love that floor.

The bathroom in the Brooklyn apartment that architect Brian Kaplan shared with his family was one of those “it’ll do” jobs. The space, last renovated in the ’80s, was a bit tired and dated — but perfectly serviceable. But when a leak from the bathroom upstairs ruined the ceiling, Bryan took it as a sign that it was time for an overhaul. Rather than updating the bathroom to look super-modern, Bryan was instead inspired by the past.