Empty room with wooden floor, large window with black blinds, and a radiator below.
The “My Roommate Moved Out of the Bigger Bedroom” Makeover
Project by: Taiyo Location: Brooklyn, New York My roommate moved out of the larger room in my apartment so I took the opportunity and switched rooms. Playing with a blank canvas was both exciting and daunting, as I started accumulating furniture a few weeks before the switch hoping it would all work out in the end. I drew inspiration from Scandinavian design, Japan (where I’ve lived), and Brooklyn which resulted in a mix of natural wood and industrial-style elements.
Oct 14, 2014
Chunky Wool Blankets to Buy or DIY
At the top of my wish list for this fall is a giant chunky knit wool blanket. I keep seeing them on Scandinavian design blogs, and every time I do I take a minute and imagine how wonderful it would feel to be snuggled up underneath a blanket that feels like a giant wool sweater for your entire body. So I’ve hunted down a few sources for these enormous lovelies, and also a few DIYs for those of you brave (and talented!) enough to make your own.
Oct 2, 2014
Before & After: A Brightened Hand-Me-Down & Handmade Bedroom
It’s never easy trying to create a beautiful space that reflects your personality when you don’t have a big budget, but it’s even harder when you’ve got two people’s tastes in the mix. Chelsea and her boyfriend managed to style a bedroom using only DIY projects, hand-me-down furniture and vintage finds that is a combination of both their tastes.
Sep 28, 2014
Before & After: A Pink Storage Space Becomes a Cool & Cozy Spare Bedroom
While renovating an over 100-year-old Victorian sounds like fun, it’s also a lot of work, which is why Lilly and her husband are tackling this home project room by room. They decided to fix this room up so they could use it as a bedroom while they makeover the master bedroom, but they love the finished result so much they might keep sleeping in here! From Lilly: For years my husband and I used this room as a spare bedroom/storage space.
Sep 27, 2014
Before & After: A Refreshed, Repurposed DIY Bedroom
Twenty-three years is a long time to sleep in a room that looks the same, but that’s exactly what this couple have done. Until recently, of course, when their compact bedroom got a fresh makeover and a much-needed new look! From Marty: We had lived with the same furniture arrangement in our bedroom for 23 years. Yes, that’s right. 23 years. That’s a long time to wake up on the same side of the bed!
Sep 7, 2014
9 Free Ways to Instantly Improve Your Bedroom This Weekend
Most good things in life do take time, but every now and then you can cut some corners, spend zero dollars and take a few minutes to improve a room in your home without a significant time (or money) investment. This weekend, make your bedroom a slightly better place with these nine easy changes you can tackle. 1. Move your phone charger across the room from your bed Actually, if you have a separate alarm clock then take your phone and charger out of your bedroom all together.
Aug 24, 2014
How To Make the Most of Typical Rental Features: The Only Bathroom is Through the Bedroom
Once upon a time, I was flat-hunting in London and found an adorable one. The location was convenient and the space bright and sunny. The problem? The bathroom was located off the bedroom, meaning that guests would have to go past my bed in order to use it. Here’s how to make the most of this sometimes awkward layout: Though I immediately discounted that flat, I’ve since discovered that this layout isn’t as ridiculous (or rare) as I once thought.
Jul 25, 2014
Working With White Walls: 6 Ideas From Bold Bedrooms of Real-Life Rentals
You don’t need a bold wall paint color to turn the tide on a bland bedroom. These six bedrooms — despite their white walls — are real-life examples from our house tours of rooms that wow. And they are full of bold ideas to borrow for your own bedroom (in case it’s feeling a little too white and boring). Pictured above: Can’t do color on the walls? Do texture instead! And then also put texture on the bed, too, just for good measure.
Jul 20, 2014
Before & After: Kristen’s Modern Regency Bedroom Makeover
Kristen Hettich has been living in her Burbank duplex for five years now but never had the intention of staying longer than 9 months. This was the very reason she hesitated about really investing in the decor. “I was planning on moving back to South Florida. With this mindset I was thinking temporary furniture and also thinking in the mind frame of a 22 year old.” She also was raising a puppy who was destroying everything.
Jun 18, 2014
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: One Year Sharing a Bedroom with a Baby
Some parents share a room with their baby by choice (especially those who choose to co-sleep) and others by necessity if they live in a small home. Perhaps you have a long-term plan to move into a two-bedroom home, but are staying where you are for now. Or, like my family, you’re not quite ready to have your infant share a room with an older child.
Apr 29, 2014
Small Bedroom Ideas: 5 Tips For Tiny Sleep Spaces
Bedrooms are a place for resting, for reading, for getting down. And besides a bed and a lamp, there’s nothing else that must go into it. So there are a lot of options for how much or how little you want to incorporate. We’ve gone the route of keeping it simple with no artwork; just dark walls, patterned curtains and a white bed. But there are lots of options for packing style into a small space: 1.
Apr 12, 2014
Before & After: This Busted Bed Gets Beautiful
Sheila was feeling rather unromantic in her bedroom lately. All the elements were there, but something just felt…off. So she did one simple thing that made all the difference. Ooh la la. Someone’s getting lucky tonight. Lucky to sleep in such a cute, new bed, that is. Sheila already had everything she needed for this makeover right in her own home — she just needed to put it all together.
Apr 1, 2014
Before & After: 3 Easy & Inexpensive Ideas for Making Rooms Look Larger
Every once in a while, we need a change. My husband and I loved our bedroom before: clean, cozy and colorful, it made us happy every time we were in it. That is, until I decided I was being smothered by it. When an apartment feels cluttered, regardless of space, sometimes it’s more about your own emotional issues with the space itself. Here are a few simple tips and tricks that can help to open up a space and give it the breath of fresh air that it (or you) so desperately needs. 1.
Feb 25, 2014
A New Headboard by Bedtime: 12 Unusual & Affordable DIY Headboard Ideas
Looking to make a bold impact with your bedroom decor? We showed you unusual items to use as nightstands last week, but the sides of your bed aren’t the only place you can make a visual statement in your bedroom. Why not show off your personality with an unusual headboard, too? We’ve got 12 fun ideas you could DIY today. Top image: Hang a shag rug!
Feb 23, 2014
Before & After: A Rustic Nautical Bedroom Makeover
Lauren and her husband both have great opinions about home decor, which at first meant it was a bit of a journey finding their shared style. But after tackling their bedroom together and combining both their ideas and tastes, it’s a fun, personal space that’s proof sometimes two styles are better than one! From Lauren: For four and a half years we’ve slept on a boxspring and mattress without a bed frame.
Feb 16, 2014
No Nightstand, No Problem: 12 Unusual Things to Use Instead
What is a nightstand, anyway? Of course we all know what the pieces identified as nightstands at the furniture store look like: little tables, usually with a drawer or shelf. But all a nightstand really is, at its most basic, is a place to put the stuff you may want immediately before you go to bed or right after you get up, so you don’t have to lean over awkwardly and pick up your iPhone from the floor.
Feb 14, 2014
Before & After: Plain Bedroom Wall Gets Glam Stencil Treatment
The whole project, including the paint, cost $27. If this sounds good to you too, head on over to Chrissann’s blog, Ducklings in a Row Thanks, Chrissann!
Jun 25, 2013
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior’s Studio Space
Here at Apartment Therapy, we talk a lot about small spaces, but we don’t often get a chance to look at design for a group of people who often find themselves living in smaller spaces — senior citizens. That’s why we’re so excited to share this Before and After with you. Designer Emily Henderson partnered with Sunrise Senior Living to make over the home of Fran Ferguson, an 81-year-old military widow, grandmother of 8, and all-around active, creative lady.
May 23, 2013
Inspiration Gallery: Jaw-Dropping Bedroom Details
This post is all about gasp-inducing details – elements that stop you in your tracks, take your breath away and, in one fell swoop, transform an ordinary space into an extraordinary one.Some of the details are architectural, and some are the result of dramatic furnishing choices, but each provides an undeniable “wow” in the experience of the room.TOP ROW:1.
Mar 29, 2013
Before & After: An Ocean View in the East Village
I was a teenager once, and I’m sure my mother would have been beside herself with joy if my room were ever as neat as this before photo. But while uncluttered, this teen bedroom lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. A teen’s room is the one place where they can express a style that is truly their own, and this room wasn’t cutting it.
Feb 25, 2013
Before & After: Christina’s Tiny Bedroom to Bright Office Plus Guest Room
The second bedroom of our house is only 8 feet wide and 13 feet long. In spite of its size, we still needed it to function as an office/craft room and a guest room that would sleep 2 people. The major projects here were pulling up the carpet and painting the walls light gray and the ceiling blue. Then we found the perfect sofa bed for small spaces and built a wall shelf behind it since there wasn’t room for end tables. The whole transformation cost about $800.
Feb 8, 2013
Washington Square Park Living Room and Kids’ Room
A big, open space in a home is a nice thing, but sometimes it can be hard to divide the space into useful areas. That’s exactly the problem Bob and Cortney tackled with their clients on Saturday’s Home By Novogratz, and the best part is that we get to see it in Before and After format!I’ve loved before and after transformations ever since Brady Bunch episode 71 where Marcia gave her friend, Molly, a makeover. This Novogratz design was similar.
Oct 29, 2012
Hosting Help: Tips for Sleeping Comfortably on an Air Mattress
I live in a one bedroom apartment with no pull-out couch, so whenever guests come to stay, either they or I usually end up sleeping on my inflatable air mattress. Due to these adventures, I have collected a list of tips and tricks to make the night more bearable (and perhaps even comfortable) if you’re sleeping on an inflatable.See below for my list, and of course add your own.1. If you haven’t yet purchased an inflatable mattress and are planning to, splurge and get the double.
Mar 27, 2012
Before & After: An Elegant Bedroom Redo
When the folks at Fixing It Fancy bought their home in Hudson, Wisconsin, they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them. They powered through the wood-paneled home room-by-room. Here’s a look at what they dreamed up in their bedroom… They began with tearing down the wood paneled walls. They decided on keeping the panel on the ceiling and painting it white, which really gave a nice, open and airy quality to a once claustrophobic room.
Mar 23, 2012
Before & After: A 24-Hour Boy to Girl Bedroom Makeover
Many of the ‘Befores’ of our Before and After posts are hopeless spaces where any bit of attention would be a marked improvement. But sometimes the room itself is fine and it is the needs of the occupant that dictate the change. In this case, a little sister was moving into her big brother’s room. To make things interesting, the makeover was a birthday surprise and had to be completed in just one day. The suspense is killing me!Voila!
Mar 22, 2012
Before & After: Sophisticated Master Bedroom Makeover
This master bedroom needed a modern update and some TLC in order to transform it from drab 1980’s tract style into a sleek and sophisticated sanctuary.When you live in a home for awhile, it is easy to get used to certain architectural elements that may not be helping a space out. This space had a large soffit surrounding the room that seemed to enclose it in a negative way.
Feb 8, 2012
Before & After Project Submission Form
Online Form – Apartment Therapy Before & After Submissions (Taxonomy) <a href=”https://www.formstack.com/forms/?
Dec 1, 2011
Pillow Talk: Pillows for Long Distance Lovers
If you’ve ever been separated from your loved one, or been in a long distance relationship, you know how hard it can be. For me, the worst part is always at night. When the busy-ness of the day recedes and it’s time to settle down and go to sleep – that’s when I miss my sweetheart the worst.
Nov 4, 2011
Kyle & Erin’s U Street One Bedroom with a View
Name: Kyle J. Avarell, Erin Berteaux, and Buddha the catLocation: U Street Corridor, Washington DCSize: 594 square feetYears lived in:1 ½ years, rented Down to their beautifully blue-eyed cat’s food dish, Kyle and Erin have brought style and personality to every aspect of their penthouse home. In turn, the modern apartment makes a great backdrop for their collection of locally sourced vintage furniture, strategic Ikea buys, and handmade projects.
Aug 16, 2011
Before & After: A New Headboard Makes the Bedroom
For every home I’ve lived in, there has always been a room that steadfastly defies decoration, opting instead to act as repository for odds and ends and lack of style. Up until a couple of weeks ago, that room was our bedroom. But thanks to a fortuitous score while photographing a recent house tour the space is finally good for more than jumping on the bed.
Aug 9, 2011
American Style Through the Decades: The Forties
The 1940s were a tumultuous time. It is impossible to understand those years outside of the context of WWII. The war not only defined the decade but from a design perspective, split it virtually in half. During the first half of the decade, new design was halted, as supply shortages and rationing demanded that all available resources — material and otherwise — be directed towards the war effort…Socially, the decade featured a similar split.
Jul 14, 2011
Simon, Levi & Josie’s Shared Bedroom
Names & Ages: Simon (4) Levi (3) and Josie (7 months) Location: Seattle, WA Room size: 95 square feet This month has been all about Small Spaces at Ohdeedoh and this Room Tour is the perfect example of not letting small spaces deter you from creative possibility. Rebekah and her husband knew they needed to fit their three children into one space (with little sister on the way!) so they made it work.
May 27, 2011
Before & After: Fresh Starts at the 2011 DC Design House
How do you revive a dark and dated room without completely eliminating its original character? I gleaned quite a few ideas from the 2011 DC Design House where some of my favorite DC designers brought fresh sophistication to their spaces by simplifying and lightening — perfect inspiration for spring!• 1-3: The Pool Room: Erin Paige Pitts Erin was charged with the task of making the rather gloomy pool room into a functional and inspiring retreat.
Apr 8, 2011
Before & After: AJ Takes His Bedroom from Drab to Fab
After living with this bedroom for awhile, AJ decided it was a little drab. He started the room’s makeover by changing out the bedding and it all went fabulous from there…AJ blogged about his recent bedroom update at Handjobs (For the Home). The overhaul has been an ongoing process. AJ started with a new bedspread, which went a long way in improving the room. But he didn’t stop there.
Mar 14, 2011
Before & After: Guest Room Paint Job
This is the tiny guest room at the end of the hallway in my house. It started off as an ugly room with paneling and a paint job that was old and worn. It sorely needed a new coat of paint, and since I didn’t love the room to begin with, I felt brave enough to do something bold:The room is seriously small – it really only fits a full size bed. Remembering that small rooms really can go dark, I took the plunge.
Feb 22, 2011
Before & After: Built-In Shelves
You know the pair of built-in dresser drawers in my master bedroom? Well, there’s a smaller second bedroom that has just one set of drawers on the left side of a similar dormer window. On the opposite side of the dormer, there used to be just a blank wall. It was a blank slate, an opportunity to install a partner to the dresser:My husband and I came up with a shelf design as a complement to the dresser.
Feb 16, 2011
Before & After: The Bedroom Desk Gets Organized
A small desk in the dormer window of my bedroom has never really been used properly. The desktop has always been a catch-all for books, clothes, and papers at the end of the day. And the drawer, well, the drawer was even worse. I finally set aside some time to give the area some attention, and it paid off:Now, instead of sitting on the floor at the coffee table, I have an inviting and functional nook to use for work.
Feb 9, 2011
Before & After: The $70 Bedroom Makeover
Many of us have often stared at the pages of magazines, wishing we could have a designer look on a dime. Those that actually make that dream come true are usually willing to roll up their sleeves and do things themselves. When it comes to this bedroom that couldn’t be more true — the new look includes an amazing handmade ruffled duvet cover, headboard and more!Over at Kiki Creates, there’s been some action in the bedroom (hubba hubba!
Feb 7, 2011
A Trio of Hanging Beds For A Room Shared By Three
Names: Jeremiah, Samuel, and Augustine Ages: 6, 4, 2 Location: Texas Awhile back we featured a room that took all of us here at Ohdeedoh by surprise. Jaws were dropping, we were forwarding the link as fast as we could to friends and family — we were flat out amazed. We’ve since gone behind the scenes and today you can see more of this room filled with color, hanging bunk beds and the opportunity for extreme fun!
Jan 7, 2011
Before & After: Chi’s Childhood Room
Designer: Jen ChuClient: ChiLocation: Fort Greene — Brooklyn, New York My friend, Chi, grew up in this room. She moved out for college, and when she came back, the room seemed to need a face lift more than ever. The dingy paint with the poor lighting made the room unbearably drab. The lack of storage made it impossible to maintain a tidy space. Fortunately, her room had great bones with plenty of wall space and nice hardwood floors.
Sep 3, 2010
3 Easy Ways To Dress Up A Metal Bed Frame
Metal framed beds often get a bad wrap, and not without due cause. Pillows are always slouching through the headboard bars, and metal is certainly no match in comfort with its plush upholstered counterparts. Thankfully there are a few easy ways to work around their flaws or change their look without breaking the bank.
Jul 13, 2010