Before After

This kitchen looked pretty good! It was cute and has charm—but it had hidden issues that were driving its owner batty. Let’s see how far $3,500 went in refreshing this sweet space. Before we gaze upon the new kitchen, here’s how reader Alisha described the old one: The kitchen in our townhouse was adequate when we moved in 2+ years ago, but every day it grew more tired.

Behold this tragic trailer, 63-years-old and abandoned in the woods of rural Mississippi. Is there any hope for this rusty, busted, pest-infested little sweetie? Hold out for a hero, brave Airlight! It’s so SHINY!

This is a cute little cabinet, perfect for storing all manner of things. But Melissa had an entirely different purpose in mind, and the whole project took about thirty minutes from start to finish. One member of her household is particularly happy with the end result.

This is a very nice living room! If it has a flaw, it’s that it is all a bit…beige, with endless shades of taupe and brown. Check out the renovation that makes the room’s many assets pop — and makes you forget there was ever any beige involved. It’s now so fantastic!

Reader Tamera is having a baby — yay! Tamera’s rental apartment does not feature a room for a baby — boo! Fortunately, it does have a generously proportioned master closet, and Tamera had a vision to transform this space. This is so very sweet! The accent wall really makes it feel like a room, the pretty mirror adds natural light to the space, and every inch has been used so wisely.

When I saw this living room, I crossed my fingers that the ceiling beams and wood-burning stove survived the renovation. Spoiler alert: they did! Just don’t get too attached to that amazing, but undeniably eccentric, hutch. Beams and stove are intact, but the problem now is that they’re utterly upstaged by that astounding floor by Fairwood.

Today, Mel (a designer) and Mario (a filmmaker) live in a stunning Spanish apartment they own, having spent the last few years slowly decorating the space to be an open, airy and warm home for themselves and their baby daughter Mia (as well as pups Coco and Marni). But it didn’t always look this good. In fact, this 1950s apartment had NEVER been renovated before.

This photo doesn’t look too bad, but click through to find out why reader Sara refers to this bathroom as a “two-toned linoleum bath pit” — and how the situation was dramatically remedied in less than two weeks for less than $2,000. Here’s more detailed information on this 1950s bathroom, pre-renovation from homeowner Sara: The before picture pretty much sums up why I needed a change from this two-toned linoleum bath pit.

This is a treat: a whole-house renovation, with before and after photos from seven rooms — and the exterior, of course. This massive makeover retains the home’s mid-century modern charm, while giving it a fresh, more modern twist. Let’s dive in. This exterior remodel was so well done! It highlights the house’s bold lines and actually makes it easier to appreciate the beauty of the bricks.

This bathroom has a lot of charming quirks, but upon further inspection, we’ll see that it’s falling apart at the seams a bit. Fortunately, a thoughtful design company is about to help this little room be its very best self. Before we ogle the bathroom now, let’s let Courtney and John Achilli of Content + Company describe their process: Not every renovation is a total overhaul.

When I saw the title of this reader submission, I braced myself for some The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe action, but it turned out to be less Narnia, more Lane Kim. Don’t let your teen see this makeover unless you’re prepared to build them a secret hideout — and you’ll probably be tempted to build one for yourself. Here we see Laura Medicus of The Colorado Nest‘s daughter stepping into a fairly magical vintage wardrobe . . .

This bathroom has a lot working for it — streamlined sink, flowered toilet, a cute tiled floor, and boats, boats, boats — but, as we’ll soon learn, it has a lot working against it. Let’s just say you never want something making your wallpaper bulge out… This is a tricky room to photograph, so I’m leading with a few more before shots to get you oriented in the space.

This is a Very Serious Dresser, and while it is certainly beautiful and worthy of preservation, how does one incorporate a dark, gravitas-filled antique into a home that’s decidedly not all stained glass windows, turrets, and gargoyles? Don’t worry—the answer is not “paint it white.

This post is especially for those of us who have lived in 400-ish-square-foot homes, and with a loved one we’d like to keep loving. We can relate to the limited storage, style compromises (there’s zero “me” space), multi-multi-use rooms, and eccentric bed positioning. This studio, shared by a married couple, is an inspiring small space, both pre- and post-renovation. This dreamy decor was designed and executed by Kate Lemmon of Kate L Photography.

Some rooms have a million flaws that need remedying; the problem with this nursery-to-be was there was no real there there. After months of sanding, painting, ripping out, and replacing by a very pregnant lady and her crew, this room was lovingly decorated for its tiny new occupant. The word for this nursery, created by Bridget Matkovich of The DIY Playbook, is dreamy.

Aldo and Zane had already been living in the Borough Market area of London when they fell in love with the city, so it made sense they’d want to buy in the same neighborhood. In fact, an apartment—”a characterful warehouse conversion on a quiet street near Borough Market”—caught their eye. When they got the opportunity to purchase it in 2016, they took on the remodel of a space with great light… but in need of an upgrade.

Some vintage bathrooms are incredibly charming, but I’m afraid the same could not be said of this one. One of the bathrooms in Jonathan and Cecilia’s Queens apartment was a mishmash of styles, with a black and gold sliding shower door, an uninspiring vanity cabinet, and wall and floor tile in a particularly unappealing shade of mauve.

Ursula’s new condo in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood came with a builder-basic kitchen that seemed trapped in the ’90s, and a dark color scheme in the living room that, while stylish, made the space feel heavy and dark. Her goals for the renovation were two-fold: to modernize the kitchen, and brighten the entire space to emphasize its natural lighting and generous proportions. So out went the dark, heavy wood cabinets, replaced by streamlined modern ones in a glossy white.

Can this humble, crumbling little garage be replaced by the hottest place to stay in town, all in just six short months? With a little help from trusted architects and contractors, anything is possible! Let’s let Jude Green of That Homebird Life explain how this family decided to go from a useless garage to a multi-use guesthouse: We pulled down an old rotting garage and constructed a guest house (with attached storage room, loft and bathroom) in its place.

This kitchen is perfectly nice! It’s got lots of windows, a beautiful hardwood floor, and classic cabinets. Its owner, however, wanted something beyond perfectly nice, and, after four years of plotting and planning, made it into something special. In the full-length shot, you can see that lovely floor, as well as more of the mustard walls.

Peggy Wang, Buzzfeed’s founding editor, decided one day a few years ago she was ready to move out of tiny apartment living. “It was like a weird sudden existential outburst in my usual lazy put-everything-off-forever mindset,” she writes. When she purchased this 1100-square-foot home in Queens, it felt like the right fit. But boy it needed a face lift. She worked closely with White Arrow—Keren Richter and her husband Thomas Richter—to remodel this home.

This kitchen had a lot of cozy charm, but it wasn’t very user-friendly. After five months of DIY renovations, it’s now bright, spacious, and totally made for cooking. It’s hard to believe this is the same amount of space! While the old kitchen felt claustrophobic, the new one is roomy and airy, yet it appears to boast about the same amount of storage space. Rachel Klein of The Northern Current is the powerhouse behind this renovation, and she did a bang-up job.

When you’re dealing with a small space, very minimal designs are usually the preferred choice (or so the thinking goes). But when Nancy decided to remodel her Upper East Side studio, she made some bold choices in the tiny six-foot-wide kitchen—things that you might not expect in a room this size, but that give this little space a character all its own. Previously, the kitchen was a bit of a blank slate.

This is a 115-year-old, 1,800-square-foot carriage house with 11-foot ceilings and tons of character. It had been recently renovated, but its new owners wanted to go a step further, by going back to the past and revealing the home’s historic charms. Such a nice modern upgrade! Allow me to list my favorite things about this transformation: 1. That beam!

It would be fascinating to meet the person who decided to decorate this living room—in what its new owner described as “the ugliest house I’ve ever seen”—with bright green walls and all red furnishings, but we’ll have to be content with seeing how this Christmas-y space was transformed into a bright, modern, and colorful—but not quite as colorful—room.

This bathroom was very, very orange, but no longer. The once-colorful bathroom still has plenty of color, just not quite as bright and “day-glo.” Here’s the full-length version of the bathroom before, so we can see the pedestal sink and what the homeowner describes as “yucky” floor tiles, but let’s take in the full expanse of ORANGE. I kind of love it, actually.

This bedroom was already cute, cozy, and charming, but its owner came up with an affordable, renter-friendly way to upgrade the space—and the results are tropically fantastic. Laura B of Thrifted Bohemian transformed this bedroom into a vibrant oasis with a little help from peel-and-stick wallpaper that goes with the bed perfectly.

After living in Brooklyn for awhile, architect Niraya and civil engineer Humberto wanted to bring that “loft” style to Miami, where they currently live. After hunting for a townhouse to buy, they found this home, which was actually used as the manager’s quarters of a Marriott Hotel in the ’70s and ’80s. And boy did it look like it was still in the ’70s and ’80s.

It’s impossible to believe, but at one point, these chairs were like two perfect plums. We first discovered them in NYC’s Chelsea Flea Market, one cold Sunday morning, in the early ’90s when my husband (then boyfriend) and I were recovering from a live Jane’s Addiction hangover. The flea market was a place you wandered through when you had nothing better to do and little energy to do it.

Gorgeous hardwood floors, a large window, posh location, a fireplace, and built-ins galore? Yes, please. This Upper East Side apartment’s living room was already dreamy as hell, but one bold client-designer team knew it could be so much more. My favorite part of this transformation is the way the newly painted built-ins echo the tone of the fireplace, creating, along with the mirror, a delightful triptych. The coffee table appears to be the same hue, further unifying the space.

Designer Michelle Gage has an amazing ability to design homes, which was on full display in her and her husband’s first home that they renovated themselves. After transforming every single room in the 2000-square-foot Philadelphia home, the couple sold that house last November and moved into what they consider to be their forever home. “We fixed up everything we possibly could, while not pricing ourselves out of the neighborhood we were in.

This penny tile floor is fabulously snakeskin-like, but an unstable subfloor caused tiles to pop out. Similarly, that pedestal sink is graceful but offered no counter space, while the intriguingly low tub was unused and unnecessary. After 15 years, this remodeled bathroom was remodeled again and the results are dreamy. So pretty. Pink, black, white, and wood is a fantastic combo that I might not ever have thought of.

We’ve had a kitchen renovation in the works for months upon months now, and I’m just getting final photos back, but couldn’t resist sharing this one corner over the weekend. The kitchen before was totally adorable—part of an old house in small town Illinois, owned by one of our freelancers, Ashley Poskin. It had tons of vintage character and charm, but needed a bit of an update, especially because she planned to put it on the market to sell.

Where exactly is the kitchen, you ask? Why, it’s behind that grey dividing wall. And while the room’s cabinetry and other surfaces were very nice, this home’s new owner found the kitchen to be “small and closed-off.” It was perhaps the most closed-off kitchen in the history of our renovation posts.

This Philadelphia row home came with many enviable features when Matt and Anne Thomas bought it. Stunning architecture. Tons of space. All that natural light. The one thing they didn’t love was the home’s extremely red-toned cherry wood floors. But, the floors had just been re-done and were nice in every other regard. Replacing them would have been wasteful.

This kitchen was super cozy and sun-soaked, and it boasted an ample and intriguing island/peninsula hybrid—pretty sure that’s what an isthmus is—but it had a few shortcomings: The finishings were getting worn, and the freezer was a full 70 years old. Now it’s light and airy, and full of personal charm and quirky objects. Reader Catherine S. Vodrey of OutspokenWomen.

The MELLTORP is one of IKEA’s ubiquitous and affordable tables. It’s minimal and modern, but it also makes a great blank canvas for a DIY. Here’s how Tiphaine of Kraft & Carat transformed it. This is extremely cool, and the way the table now matches the chairs is uncanny; choosing colors that close to each other often leads to awkward almost-matching, but this looks perfect.

Hugh Molten, a South Carolina-based real estate agent, didn’t plan for such a big project when he bought this falling-down old church. “I originally had the vision to simply clean it out and live in it basically as-is; create a small shower in the corner, stainless prep tables for the kitchen and call it done.” Today, this 1600-square-foot former house of worship is an incredible industrial modern home, and how it ended up that way was a long and interesting journey.

Backstage at the August Wilson, the nearly 100-year-old theater currently houses the cast of “Mean Girls,” the delightful Tony-nominated musical adaptation of Tiny Fey’s beloved early aughts teen comedy. Barrett Wilbert Weed, who stars as Janis, preps for eight shows a week in a minuscule dressing room—one that recently underwent a serious style transformation.

You are currently gazing upon a floor that is not only old linoleum—it is the old linoleum floor of a fish-gutting room. Is there any hope for this room, or is it doomed to be forever haunted by dearly departed stinky fishies? The old, fishy floor has been replaced with a watery blue dream; it’s like a river you can walk on. This stained plywood floor was created by Tanya of Dans le Lakehouse, and I’m in awe of her vision.

Let’s be real: This about-to-be-renovated kitchen is far nicer than any kitchen I’ve ever had, so much so that I kept putting ‘after’ labels on the ‘before’ photos. But now it has a fresh vibe, new appliances, and a radically different look. After all the before/after confusion, I still had to double-check that this was the same view as the top image. It is the same camera angle, but every other thing has been changed.

If, like me, you were hoping that this art hack involved adding enormous sea monsters to this idyllic beach scene, you might be the teensiest bit disappointed, but if you want to see these discount pieces transformed into lovely original abstract paintings, read on! Let’s start with a little backstory: When I came across these pre-framed mass reproduction art pieces at HomeGoods, they were the perfect size for our space but lacked the modern minimal look I was going for.

A reader found this old dresser in an alley and knew right away that she’d hit the jackpot. And after hours of scrubbing and sprucing, this dresser is even more beautiful than the day it was built. Here’s how reader Krissy Gilhooly tells the story of this exciting discovery: I found this piece abandoned in the alley behind our house. When I first saw it, I was expecting it to be rickety and have sticky drawers, as most furniture is when it’s thrown away.

Wow.

This is a very straightforward, efficient kitchen that looks exactly like at least three kitchens that I’ve been in. But it had a few issues that needed to be remedied (starting with secretly leaking pipes). Reader Ellen McCormick was kind enough to submit her project and give an in-depth description of the challenges this kitchen presented: Before the remodel the kitchen completely lacked character and function.

This little stairway landing is so pretty. It’s got hardwood floors, a gracefully placed window worthy of Vermeer, a dramatic work of art, and an intriguing vintage table. Its owner did not feel so positive about the space, however, and saw potential for so much more. Seriously, wow! I love the notion of a stairway accent wall; as you’ll see below, it’s incredibly inviting from below.

Ah, the ever-reliable IKEA KALLAX: a timeless, affordable shelving unit that’s available in a variety of sizes and colors and is useful for holding books, records, storage bins, objets d’art, snakes, and so much more. Yes, of course, snakes… I have to say, the wood of the KALLAX looks pretty beautiful with all the organic matter, and the plants and rocks inside are all well chosen and arranged.

Here’s a story from an intrepid Redditor, who kept getting packages stolen off their porch. Many people can relate: one third of Americans have reported having a package stolen outside their home. So this crafty person turned to a DIY fix. Here’s what this project involved, according to this Redditor: My solution was a lot cheaper and went up in less than an hour! Not permanent, but will do for now.

A reader moved into this trailer without realizing how much work it needed, and it’s always so much more difficult to renovate a space when you’re already living in it—especially when your home is essentially one room. It took some serious determination and a bit of boldness, but this trailer is now home sweet home.

This is a nice big kitchen with tons of storage, lots of natural light, many ovens, and a cute baby blue and tan color scheme. However, it had some issues and some awkwardness that its owner was determined to rectify.

We’ve enjoyed a few bathroom renovations which preserved the vintage tile—dreamy blue and seafoam green—but know this right now: This is not going to be one of those situations. Don’t worry, though, because the results and the story behind this 1939 home are absolutely amazing. The designer behind this remodel shares the story of this family home: My client has lived in this home since she was 12 years old. She bought it from her mother and has raised her family in it.

This St. Paul, Minnesota, kitchen was large, sunny, and full of storage, but its owners wanted something new and bold. With the help of a thoughtful designer, they now have the kitchen of their dreams. Kassina Falstad of OlliePop Design is responsible for this renovation; here she describes the company’s approach and this project in particular: Our motto is love your house for less, as we believe everyone can afford great design.

What do you do when you have two bathrooms right next to each other? Knock down a wall and transform them into one luxurious space. When we moved in to our Edwardian house there were two bathrooms next to each other. One had a corner bath, toilet and sink and the other a shower, toilet and sink. Both had lowered ceilings, stained carpets and really the most hideous windows I think I have ever seen.

The biggest issue with this master bathroom appears to be a possible overabundance of beige, but the real problems were smelly and—literally—shocking. Since this website somehow still doesn’t have scratch-n-sniff capability, let’s let reader Lisa Carolla give us a bit more insight into what this bathroom was really like: You had to squint really hard to see the potential in our master bath, but it was there.

This backyard is a great size and appears to have excellent views, but it must be admitted: There’s a bit more rubble than one might hope. And a few more rats than is ideal, too, apparently. That’s right, rats: Our yard was a high-maintenance relic of an avid gardener. Looking for a way to hide an ugly garden shed, the previous owner thought it wise to build a six-foot concrete wall directly down the middle of the small yard.

Reader Kate refers to the purchase of this apartment as “When the Only Good Thing Is the Layout.” After several months of renovation—and plenty of NYC red tape—this home is now living up to its full potential. This is so glam. I love the glimpses of the bedroom and kitchen through the screens of the balustrading, the deep duo-tone wood railings, the rich wood floors, the boutique hotel feel of the bedroom, and the entire vibe.

This Airstream trailer is 33 years old, and while its exterior is apparently in fantastic shape, its interior needed a lot of love. In less than three months, one power couple was able to take this rolling home from neglected to elegant. The travel trailer’s new owner described exactly what they were up against: We acquired this neglected 1985 Airstream Sovereign (34-foot) back in May 2018. Overall, the exterior was in excellent condition, so we took a chance and brought her home.

When Lindi of Love Create Celebrate set out to redo her entryway, she knew she wanted an accent wall. After deciding against wallpaper and painted geometric shapes, she ultimately landed on wood as her medium (one-inch MDF strips, to be exact). With a few power tools and a helpful hubby, she materialized her vision in just one afternoon and the results are impressive. Lindi sketched out several different designs before this one stuck.

When Nicole Goodreau and her fiancé spotted this mid-century Lane cedar chest at their local Goodwill for $30, they knew they had to have it. While the existing army green color and retro knobs didn’t fit their home’s modern aesthetic, they were confident that, with a little elbow grease, they could transform it into the perfect storage piece for their petite city apartment.

The “Paint It White” philosophy gets a bad rap sometimes, but it can be a great method for unifying disparate elements while emphasizing texture and form. In this home, white paint was used judiciously to update a living room fireplace, with wonderful results. This fireplace surround involves quite a few textures, including the red brick, and the white paint unites them all.

When Bonnie Christine found this 55-year-old travel trailer for sale, it was already in pretty damn good shape, but it got majorly upgraded into a gorgeous glamper that’s more elegant and luxurious than many stationary homes. She had been looking for one for a decade when they finally found the perfect specimen: A 1962 26-foot Airstream Overlander.

This condo’s new owner loved a lot of things about it—high ceilings, good bones, amazing natural light—but felt that the kitchen and living room were “dreary and grungy.” Nearly a year later, this “standard-grade apartment” could be mistaken for a gallery.

Gina and her partner Max remodeled a small San Francisco house, and while every inch of the home got a makeover, one of the most dramatic spots to see a transformation was the kitchen and great room they created when they removed an interior wall. Gina writes: “The combination of kitchen, dining, and living room is the perfect open concept. While it’s not the largest it is comfortable and most importantly, functional.

The before version of this bathroom was perfectly functional and updated, but bland. It has great storage, but completely lacked in character. This is the first home I have owned (and lived in) in my adult life. Even as a kid, I grew up in rentals. I’ve always harbored dreams (and vision boards) of how I would customize my future home. None of it was too radical, but they were rarely rental-friendly edits.