We love a good “shop your space” room transformation. Jay is a Minneapolis-based designer and this bedroom project was completed in a day (another benefit of using a lot of what you’ve got!). With a few new elements and a shift in the space, there’s now a blissful new bedroom: From Jay: This bedroom redo was really fast and really easy.

Since they’ll eventually sell this house, Kelley didn’t want to spend too much money in updating the place. So when this bathroom was feeling a little bit country, she set a short budget, and made the existing vintage tile shine: From Kelley: We live in a small cape cod house built in 1951. We love it, but can’t stay here forever because the layout and size doesn’t really allow for a family in the future.

While she was overseas with their daughter, Jeffery decided to surprise his wife with a total living room transformation. See the new room—and read about her reaction—after the jump! From Jeffery: My wife and daughter went to the Philippines for 3 months. I wanted to surprise my wife with a living room makeover, which I tackled in the two weeks before their arrival home. Our living room was boring. The last owners had a thing for wood grain and dull colors.

A vintage cart from a friend came with a challenge that Monica readily accepted: try to make it modern. See how she did after the jump! From Monica: A good friend of mine passed along an old, brassy, rickety cart with the challenge to revamp it and modernize it. We immediately agreed it would make an awesome bar cart for my new Milwaukee apartment! Challenge accepted. I started by removing the trays and setting them aside. I spent a nice day outside with gloves, a cloth and a can of Brasso.

Sarah scooped up this basic rattan chair for $10, but thought it could use a little more interest. She tried her hand at recreating a classic pattern for the chair back; see how it came out: From Sarah: After finding a plain rattan chair for $10 at the thrift shop, we transformed the boring back into a Chinese Chippendale inspired design. Using thinner dowel rods from the home improvement store, we measured, cut and secured them in place to create the Chippendale look.

What to do when you have a nasty old rug that you can’t replace? Sarah decided to paint hers, using a technique she usually reserves for getting paint out of the carpet! From Sarah: I needed a way to bring some rock-n-roll attitude into this music room, and I couldn’t afford to replace the nasty old beige carpet.

Kristi’s guest bedroom is a walk-through room, so a regular bed just doesn’t work. But neither was this plain futon, so she decided to build something more functional. So stylish, and we love that it’s on casters! From Kristi: Our guest bedroom is a small room, and a walk through from the kitchen to the back of the house, so a traditional full-sized bed wouldn’t work.

Amanda’s late father collected over 10,000 pennies in his lifetime. She turned those cents into a gorgeous patterned floor inspired by Paris. From Amanda: Ever since visiting Parisian cafes, we’ve always had a thing for hex or penny-tiled floors. It just so happens that my late father left a collection of over 10,000 actual pennies. Four years ago, I started packing my carry-on full of them each time flew across the country to visit my Mom.

The previous owners had covered Lesley’s plaster fireplace with faux stone and a mantel. She decided to restore it with nods to her home’s Spanish and Art Deco styles. From Lesley: We bought our first home two years ago. It’s in a neighborhood full of period revival homes from the 1920s-40s. Ours is not Spanish or Tudor but has some elements of both styles.

Vintage card catalogs are just one of those items you have to grab if you see them for a reasonable price. Beth snagged a pair that stacked, so she decided to give the lower one a top so it could be used separately. From Beth: These card catalogs are like the holy grail of vintage finds! If you can find them, the prices are usually enormous. I lucked out and found two of these for a pretty good price. They were identical pieces with one sitting on top of the other.

Jill snagged this basic chair for a buck, and decided it could use some style. Instead of reupholstering, however, she made it a custom slipcover instead: From Jill: Comfy and functional but nondescript in style, this chair was the perfect piece for a makeover project. I picked the chair up at an auction for $1, my hubby fixed the one spring that had ‘sprung’ and I used it as my sewing chair for a few months.

Kathy saved this little cart from the trash, and decided to give it a new job, and a new (removable!) top! From Kathy: This vintage TV stand was on its way to the garbage when I rescued it. I was inspired by the printed side of a coffee bean burlap bag to create a coffee cart ideal for a small apartment or office. A little spray paint can go a long way.

Reeves wanted to add a touch of visual interest to this vintage dresser that needed a little love. She’s also got a great tip for painting on wood that will prevent color bleeding: From Reeves: I picked up this Dixie dresser from a local furniture sale. While I loved the mid century look and style of the piece, the finish needed some work and I felt that the piece needed a bit of color and a geometric design to add some visual interest.

Noticing there was a lot of unnecessary stuff (and wasted space) in her son’s closet, Ashley decided to clear out the clutter and add some fun. This just might be the coolest closet ever! I spent a lot of time reading in my closet as a child, and if it had looked like this, I’d never have left! From Ashley: The closet in my son’s room wasn’t useful or well organized.

When roommates outnumbered bedrooms, Brooke opted to take the garage. Now that she cleaned it, cleared it, and spruced it up, we bet the others are super jealous of her fab “glamping” space. From Brooke: I moved in to a three bedroom house with four roommates, and I opted to take the garage as my bedroom. I saw potential in the structure, regardless of its state. And I have always wanted to live in a barn… this is what it reminded me of.

Meghan inherited a hand-me-down dining set for her new home. While the table got a classic twist, the chairs now bring the wow factor: From Meghan: Having bought a new house, money was on the tighter side when it came to buying brand new furniture. My mother-in-law was nice enough to give my husband and I her old kitchen table. When I saw it, I knew I wanted to paint the chairs and redo the table. To start my makeover, I sanded and stained the top of the table in a walnut finish.

Handed down from Bryce’s grandmother, this headboard’s mid-century stylings are hard to ignore. With a little modernization, it has a happy new home in the family. From Bryce: My gran recently down scaled and passed this headboard down to me. She couldn’t believe my interest in such an old piece of her furniture. I immediately saw its retro mid-century potential and spent the weekend giving it a fresh look.

Aimee wanted a home office, but was short a spare room. So she transformed an extra master bedroom closet, small as it might be, into a super organized and fully functional area for crafting and work: From Aimee: I was in desperate need of home office space, but we don’t have a spare room. Luckily, I have two closets in our master bedroom, and only needed one for clothes. I was able to turn the second closet into a functional work space that is extremely organized.

In redoing a bedroom for his mother, Gonçalo worked in some family heirlooms that in a way that preserved memories, but created a soothing atmosphere. Check out the transformation: From Gonçalo: We live in the countryside around Lisbon, Portugal. We had this old furniture from my grandparents, brought from Africa in the ’70s. I wanted to surprise my mother with a new room… but keeping the family memories!

Dee’s new house was dark, having been painted chocolate brown with dark trim throughout. She decided to start at the beginning— and transform the entryway first. From Dee: About a year ago, my fiancé and I bought our first house together! While I was excited at finally having my very own home, I completely underestimated the amount of work involved in getting it to look like my “dream” home. Luckily for us, the changes have all been cosmetic so far.

We love a good freebie-turned-functional piece, and this one is no different. Taiyo spotted this trunk in the trash and transformed it into a stylish staple: From Taiyo: I noticed this trunk peeking from a pile of other junk that my neighbors had thrown out. My roommate and I carried it back in the dark and hoped it’d look decent in the daylight, which it did. It took a lot of scrubbing to get rid of the grime but it was worth it!

Havalah’s family room fireplace featured an extra-long mantel that also spanned some strange built-ins. With an update, this focal wall becomes much more functional. From Havalah: When we moved into our house, there was this funny looking mantel in our back family room. Then next to the fireplace, there were these two ‘holes’ like cabinets that were completely useless to us. We decided an update was definitely needed.

Anna’s lime green room had won her a teen interior design contest, but three years later, this 19-year-old graphic design major had other plans for the space. From Anna: About three summers ago, I had the honor of working with Pottery Barn Teen as their “student stylist.” As a Student Stylist, I wrote articles and produced pictures and videos for their website, with the focus of the videos/pictures/articles being my room.

Normally a member of the tribe of wood painters, Krizia decided this dresser was too lovely to coat. She did decide to ditch the yellowing finish and give it a refresh, though. See the results: From Krizia: This is a dresser I picked up not too long ago from Craigslist for $60! The shape was so gorgeous and I loved the size and bulk of the piece. What I didn’t love was the dated yellowish finish and there were plenty of scratches and scuff marks everywhere.

The dark-and-orangey fireplace in Amber’s living room was not her style. With a little ingenuity, she managed to give it a lovely light facelift, for under $50. From Amber: When we first moved into our house it was dark! Dark walls, dark trim and a big boxy and dark fireplace with orange tile. Not exactly our style. We’ve been diligently working to lighten everything up, but the biggest eyesore was also the main focal point of the living room – the fireplace!

Aimee’s twin toddlers had done a number on her dining set, but she was hesitant to shell out for something new while they still have an appetite for destruction. Inspired by kitchen counter DIYs, this IKEA table gets a tough new top: From Aimee: I was the sad owner of an even sadder, hodgepodge dining set – Ikea table and chairs, Target bench. The tabletop had taken quite the beating, thanks to the 2-year-old-twins who eat at it 37 times a day.

My apartment’s entryway is an angled, narrow pseudo-hall that opens to my main living space. After searching for a way to create some definition, I decided to do a little painting project, inspired by my coworking space. Here’s the inspiration: I love that I work from a place that makes bold design decisions, so when my WeWork location recently opened up this new common area, I filed away this simple geometric painting technique for future use.

This small house near Nashville had been left unloved for awhile. Claudia decided to give it the makeover it deserved, including some much-needed curb appeal: From Claudia: This is one of two projects that I just recently finished in the area of Nashville, TN. The cottage had been vacant since 2010 and in a huge disarray.

Jill was looking for a budget-friendly option to add a modern industrial look to her home’s new addition. Enter the IKEA STUVA, a smart DIY tabletop, and just check out the result: From Jill: We just finished adding a little over 300 sq. ft. to our small house, and have now begun the process of furnishing the space. I loved the idea of a wall to wall desk for the office, but I couldn’t find a modern/industrial looking desk that fit both my budget and needs.

How do you balance the need for updates when you’re waiting to do a larger remodel? Ashley and her family faced that exact conundrum when they set out to spend not a ton of money on a bathroom update that’ll get them through the next five years. From Ashley: Our goal with this DIY bathroom update was to modernize it and make it fit us without spending a ton of money. This bathroom will eventually be part of a large scale remodel, but eventually is the key word.

Marlane spotted this broken wardrobe at a thrift store. She decided with a little love, it could be a solid replacement for an IKEA piece. From Marlane: I got this 1930s wardrobe for $50 at my local thrift, broken pieces and all. It seemed like the wardrobe had once been dropped, but other than that it was in good condition. Definitely old, but not a priceless antique. When I got it home, it was a lot more broken than it had looked!