Before & After: 10 Incredibly Successful DIY Creative Solutions to (Previously) Boring Rooms

published Sep 21, 2014

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Saddled with a boring room? Don’t fret! It can be hard sometimes to see past the plain, the blah, the beige and the weird, but these DIY room makeovers prove pretty much anything is possible! We’ve chosen some of our favorite creative solutions from recent room makeover before and afters to pick out just why they were so successful — one might inspire your own from-boring-to-bold room makeover this weekend!

(Image credit: Tasha)

1. DIY ideas + fresh paint
Tasha hated her boring, tiny bathroom. Her creative solution? A fresh coat of paint and some DIY project ideas that added a ton of personality to the space, for not a lot of money! Before & After: A Boring Powder Room Gets a DIY Industrial-Inspired Makeover for Just $150.

(Image credit: Sean Dooley Photography)

2. Blue paint + patterns
This breakfast nook was drowning in beige and boring. But the addition of a striking blue wall paint plus dramatically patterned curtains and accessories make for quite the infusion of style and substance! Before & After: A Breakfast Nook Gets a Bold Blue Look Under $600.

(Image credit: Beautiful Matters)

3. Paint + free hand brush strokes + a few hours of patience
What to do with a hallway so boring you might accidentally fall asleep walking through it? Why grab some paint and spend a few hours of an afternoon freehand painting graphic black brush strokes on to your walls to create quite the patterned look. Before & After: Newly Painted Hallway is a Stroke of Genius.

(Image credit: Pink Little Notebook)

4. Practical space + glam DIY decor
What do you when you’ve got a boring and beige corner of a room that doesn’t inspire you one bit? You add glam details, lots of practical storage and work space and bold wall stripes! Before & After: Sabrina’s Pretty & Professional Home Office.

(Image credit: Submitted by Becky)

5. Simple + sophisticated design elements
Taking a room from boring to wow doesn’t always require a ton of color or pattern; as evidenced by this bathroom, smart, elegant changes equal a much-less boring, serene final result. Before & After: Becky’s BOOOR-ING Bath Gets Some Oomph.

(Image credit: Christina Orleans)

6. DIY open-air clothes storage
No closet, no problem! Christina new that filling a compact bedroom with bulky, heavy furniture to store furniture just wasn’t the way to go, instead creating an organized, polished spot to hang her and her husband’s clothes and create a calming, boutique feel in the space. Before & After: A Creative Solution for a No-Closet Bedroom.

(Image credit: Marty Walden)

7. Rearranging furniture + fresh wall paint
Not a lot of space and comfort with the old ways kept this bland bedroom from its true potential for years. But a furniture rearrangement, fresh paint and DIY ideas made it look great now! Before & After: A Refreshed, Repurposed DIY Bedroom.

(Image credit: Kerry Maloney)

8. Door removal + bold paint colors
Sometimes when you’re renting a boring beige kitchen, the only thing you can do is remove some doors and add some color! Before & After: Kerry’s Colorful & Quick Rental Kitchen Makeover.

(Image credit: C. Payne)

9. Stylishly fitting two functions in a small space
Need a guest bedroom and a cozy place to get creative? You won’t find a lovelier example of combining those two functions in a tight space so stylishly! Before & After: A Spare Bedroom Becomes a Spot of One’s Own.

(Image credit: The Shingled House)

10. Total transformation
This shed wasn’t exactly boring — it was more full of stuff and not being used to its full potential. Now, it’s an amazingly stylish, modern study perfect for working or relaxing. Before & After: Sketchy Shed Converted to Stellar Study.

– Re-edited from a post originally published 9.21.2015 – CM

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Before & After

Decor & Accessories