Aniko’s white IKEA wall unit worked fine in the dining room. But the second she saw West Elm’s reclaimed wood buffet, she knew she could refresh this basic piece into a showstopper—and save over $1,100 in the process. Aniko got the wood for free from a local business, and spent $17 on stain and lacquer. That’s a pretty hefty savings! Check out her blog, A Place of My Taste, for more photos and a tutorial on how she made the oversized art that hangs above her new buffet.

This children’s rocker had definitely seen better days… like during the bygone decades when marbled vinyl was a thing. Charlotte plans to reupholster a lot this year, and thought she’d literally start small and tackle this kids chair. See how she did: From Charlotte: I’ve had this yellow vinyl rocking chair in the basement for… a while. But 2015 is going to be the year of upholstery for me so I decided to start out on this little piece.

A $20 IKEA “as-is” bed frame had served its purpose, but Kerry decided to give it a new use. By adding cushions and wrapping the mattress, she now has a sweet reading spot: From Kerry: I’ve had this ultra bland Lillehammer IKEA twin bed frame for several years. I’d gotten it in the ‘As Is’ section for only $20 to help stage our home when we sold it.

After facing decades of moves and time in storage, Sheila decided to restore this chair her husband’s parents bought in the 60s. It’s now ready to take on another 50 years: From Sheila: My husband’s parents bought this chair around 1960 shortly after they were married. It eventually landed in my husband’s childhood room and then followed him as he grew up. During most of our life together the chair was stored away.

A simple shoe cabinet was becoming a dumping ground for recycling— and not much style. Jeremy decided to use temporary wallpaper to transform this little corner into something more rustic mid-century: From Jeremy: I bought the shoe cabinet from Wayfair to, obviously, reign in our (fab) shoe collection. While it’s been great and done its job admirably, it’s not very attractive (and it ends being a place to dump our recycling!).

Many might have passed over this sad vintage sofa, but not Janet. She had glam plans for this junk shop find, including a BIG seat refresh: That oversized seat cushion makes it all the more glamorous, don’t you think? From Janet: I found a fabulous, battered, worn out vintage French Louis XV-style sofa at a local junk shop. So I stripped it down, sanded and painted the woodwork and reupholstered, with a little help from YouTube and my Dad.

When Rachel found this chair in her parents’ garage, she just had to save it. Once belonging to her great uncle in the 1940s, this former home for mice had such stunning arms, it needed a new lease on life. From Rachel: I found this chair in my parents’ outdoor garage a couple of years ago. I was immediately drawn to it because, just look at those gorgeous arms! It looked like it had been a house for mice for a while.

Although her boyfriend was not convinced that this was the sofa for their apartment, Miranda had big plans. First to go, that dated skirt: With a black slipcover, a graphic black and white fabric, and an ottoman to match, the sofa feels fresh and modern with more room to stretch out. From Miranda: We looked for a couch for what felt like forever!

Janet was looking to replace her IKEA LACK coffee table with something with a little more style. She saw some potential in an unlikely find — the BABORD shoe rack. From Janet: I had just moved into a new place, and I was dying to replace my ever-ubiquitous Ikea “Lack” coffee table with something more unique. Seeing as how I didn’t have any funds to purchase the slat bench of my dreams, I used my old, beaten up (also Ikea) shoe rack to make this!

Claire scored a deal on a pair of campaign nightstands, that, despite the brass being in good shape, could use some refinishing. She didn’t really need the bedroom storage, so she put them to use in the living room: From Claire: I came across these two nightstands in a booth at the Mission Antique Mall in Prairie Village, Kansas. The booth’s owner was there and she gave me a great deal on the set (less than $150).

What to do when your place is a total blank space? Kristin overcame the unlimited possibilities of her white-and-concrete living room, and went big and bold with graphic wallpaper. See how it looks now: From Kristin: There are good things and there are bad things about moving into a house with white walls (not even a backsplash in the kitchen!) and concrete floors. The good: It’s a totally blank canvas.

These IKEA nightstands were still in good shape, if not particularly stylish. Aya tackled them with a quick and easy refresh that’s totally on trend: We can’t get enough white-and-wood mix, and it looks particularly great here. From Aya: I’ve had this Ikea nightstand for several years and since it was still in really great shape I didn’t quite want to get rid of it. It had turned a little drab and boring so to spice things up, I painted the drawer fronts a matte white.

With the laundry room in her new home visible from the front door, Tania made fixing it up her first priority. Adding functionality and style, plus a way to close off the space when it was less than company ready, were top of the list: From Tania: In the fall of 2014 I bought a 1960s ranch fixer upper house.

Parents are proven problem-solvers and potential-seers. That’s why some of our most amazing Before & After furniture transformations are for nursery and kids’ rooms. Let’s look back at some of 2014’s best rescues and restorations: Click on the slideshow to see the projects. To learn more about each project (and see more pictures), click the links in the captions. → Welcome to Apartment Therapy’s Best of 2014 roundup!

Every city has its share of empty storefronts. In Boston, online ticketing platform Eventbrite has turned one such space into a pop-up location for 15 events in ten days. Sara Steele-Rogers, Eventbrite’s Boston marketing manager, transformed a vacant South End shop into Brite Space, a collection of pop-ups aimed to inspire the imagination and bring the city together through local, unique experiences.

Old signage is a familiar sight at salvage shops and flea markets. While most might walk past this dingy exit sign, John was able to give it a bright future in a few hours, for about half of what a new reproduction would cost. From John: Yesterday, I found this great — but beat up — vintage exit sign. Today, I cleaned, sanded and repainted it, replaced the colored filter with clear plastic, and added colored bulbs. My boyfriend attached the (still functional!

We love a good, simple IKEA hack. In the hands of Sarah of Smitten Studio, this plain pine Tarva got a coat of paint and a little bling. Check out the results:Fresh white, gold legs, and brass knobs add much needed storage and a dash of style in the bedroom of Sarah’s cabin, after the removal of a bunk bed/closet system. Sarah also sawed a couple inches off of the dresser’s legs for a more contemporary proportion. Check out more photos over at Smitten Studio.

To save money for a down payment, Heather and her boyfriend lived in her mother’s garage-turned-studio apartment. They did manage to clean it up from this before, and transform it into a gorgeous space! From Heather: My mother’s garage is converted into a studio apartment with a full bathroom and a cute little kitchen.

When it comes to camper makeovers, pop-ups don’t get a lot of love. Despite the serious lack of online inspiration, Sarah transformed her camper from totally 90s into red, white, and blue country chic, perfect for summer road trips: From Sarah: I wanted to do a total DIY to the often overlooked humble pop up camper. While searching for pop up re-dos I found literally nothing. The RVs ruled the web, so I was on my own.

Lindsay fell in love with the shape of this vintage record player console from Craigslist, but when she picked it up, it was beyond dirty. A lot of elbow grease and a little paint later, check out the results:From Lindsay: I have a thing for vintage record player cabinets. I found this Mid-Century style record console that had been gutted on Craigslist, and picked it up immediately. It is solid wood, and was in fairly good condition. Except it was FILTHY.

Josh found this dresser, solid and in good condition, but not quite his style, at a Dallas thrift shop. With a few basic updates, he turned lots of laminate into a mid-century style showpiece:From Josh: I found this dresser for $60 at a local thrift shop here in Dallas, Texas. It’s made entirely of laminate particle board, barely used, and very solid. I knew it had great lines and good bones, but lacked any personality.

When Cristin and her husband found this dresser on the curb in their neighborhood, it quickly became apparent why no one had grabbed it first: it’s huge, heavy, and covered in dated white veneer. But with a little vision and a ton of Mod Podge, this beast became a buffet. From Cristin: Last summer, while hosting a garage sale at my house, my husband came home from work and told me there was a buffet table out to the road in our neighborhood.

Though this staircase to the basement got daily use, it wasn’t until the basement turned into a workout room that the stairs got a freshening up. See what just a little bit of paint did for Jae’s steps:From Jae: Even though I used the stairwell from the main living space to the basement and garage every day to get to my car, it was more utilitarian than decorative for the entire time we’ve lived here (8 years!).

Karyn, an interior designer, found the perfect island bungalow in Coronado, California. Of course, it needed a little sprucing up before it would be the entertaining and living space she dreamed of. Check out how she transformed this studio into a chic, multipurpose space: How gorgeous is this? We love the navy and white against the dark bamboo floors. From Karyn: I had just moved to the island of Coronado and had the perfect bungalow apartment in mind.

This bar cart was far from perfect, but it sported some nice mid century stylings. Sarah picked it up at a thrift shop and set out to banish the bad stain and bring back its former glory.From Sarah: I have been seeing the most adorable bar carts lately, and after spotting this one at a local thrift store, I knew there was plenty of work to be done.

A staircase in the entry was a selling point for Cassity, but the builder basic quality left much to be desired. She decided to make the steps worthy of their prime location. Check out the results:From Cassity: Having a staircase in our entry was one of the features I liked about our new house, but the builder grade finishes, worn carpet and cramped entry really bothered me.