Before After

This 100-year-old kitchen had a lot of charm and a ton of beautiful natural light, but it had some major issues—and a century’s worth of random features and finishes. In a poorly scheduled bout of renovation bravado, this kitchen was made over in the few days before Thanksgiving for just $600.

This entryway is pretty darn aspirational, but its owner knew it could be even better and was determined to improve upon the “standard, builder-grade finishes like the dreaded ‘boob lights'” and the 20-year-old brown carpet on the stairs. Six weeks later, the stairway and entryway have a fresh new look. While white and cream walls have a definite beauty, the new grasscloth wallpaper adds an upscale richness and texture in the subtlest of ways.

While this photo may look like an “after” shot, it’s actually just the blank white canvas on which a colorful, glamorous wonderland has been created. While a room outfitted in gray, white, and wood has an understated charm, sometimes it needs the type of beauty that only mint and pink velvet and plenty of gold can provide. The new predominately pink, mint, and white color scheme is delicious, while the wallpaper and bookshelves add a multitude of other hues.

This entryway had a spot for coats, a large landing strip, a mirror for last looks, personality, and beauty, but it was lacking in storage for shoes and other odds-and-ends. A DIYer who enjoys “trying to figure out how to make things with no experience” solved the issue with a few ordinary IKEA drawers and some very special wood.

While a master bedroom with an adjacent sunroom is a glorious thing to have, this particular one was “dreary and dated”—and not very sunny. It was overwhelmed by comfy but massive furniture and ready for a fresh look. Here’s the sunroom first. Nothing fresher than lush greenery, bright blooms, and a happy bird on a newly bright white wall. Avery Michaels of Holland Avenue Home boldly hand-painted this mural—inspired by Rifle Paper Co.

One of the Dr. Oz Show’s backstage dressing rooms was neglected and nearly empty, but it needed to become camera-ready in a very short amount of time, for a fairly small amount of money. All it took was a style guide, Amazon two-day shipping, and some major glam, and this room is ready for its closeup. The space before is not very inspiring, but it turns out the room was even worse in person: Bland, boring, and plain UGLY!

This vintage Airstream had a whole lot of faux paneling and bulky built-ins, but was recently given a breath of fresh air thanks to an enthusiastic couple who “loves to bring Airstreams back to life with a modern update.” This is completely dreamy.

When one clever crafter gained a larger bed but lost a headboard, a humble roll of washi tape came to the rescue, completing the look without destroying the budget. Here was the issue. Georgina recently replaced her old bed with a much larger super-king, which didn’t come with a headboard. As a result, the plain wall above her bed suddenly looked very bare. She came up with a smart way to elegantly and affordably demarcate the sleeping space.

While this entryway looks pretty organized and well-wrangled in this photo, the entryway’s owner assures us that it was actually “cluttered and disastrous” on a daily basis. IKEA to the rescue! Reader Kate Sheehan explains the issues this hallway was causing: I had tried to make the entryway nice with two industrial shoe racks, but my husband and I have so many shoes that the hallway always looked cluttered and disastrous which is not a particularly great first impression.

This is a near-perfect cozy corner—imagine curling up by that fireplace in that chair, warmed both by the fire and the radiator—but its new owner believed it could be totally perfect. And, indeed, perfection was achieved, thanks to about $150 and a summer of hard work. Here’s a little backstory on this house and its dated floor: Our house was built in 1910 and this particular floor was the only one replaced since.

IKEA hacks are always fun, but this one resulted in a piece that looks more like a high-end mid-century modern credenza that would cost at least 10 times more than it actually did. This BESTÅ is about to truly live its best life. First, a little bit about how Alex Mcclain, the mastermind behind this hack, was inspired by: I really liked a mid-century style credenza I saw from a company called Rove Concepts but couldn’t justify spending the $1,000+ dollars so I had to get creative.

This “industrial condo” needed to be transformed into a home to please someone who also loved Victorian homes and an elegant, full-of-antiques style. Somehow they managed to combine those two aesthetics seamlessly. How does this have so much vintage charm yet feel so fresh? That, I suppose, is the magic of Shannon Tate Interiors, who renovated this kitchen for a client.

This “disastrous” 1970s trailer is about to become a highly inviting guest room, parked on a lake and packed with vintage charm. And all it took was $500—and a lot of hard work. A 50(ish)-year-old trailer is bound to have a backstory, and this one definitely does: This trailer has a lot of history, and by the time we decided to start this project, it had definitely seen better days. A Prowler brand travel trailer, it originally belonged to my Grandpa’s fishing buddy.

This tiny kitchen was making its owner feel claustrophobic. All it took was $30 and a couple of hours to add breathing room—and beauty—without losing any storage space. Here’s what inspired this ultra-approachable upgrade: Unfortunately, I have a tiny kitchen… as in “two’s a crowd” kind of tiny. Cabinets on top, limited counter space and cabinets on the bottom. Pretty standard and does the job, usually.

The owner of this space described it as “a very scary sunroom,” and the presence of asbestos alone earns it that designation. After six weeks of hardcore work, it’s now anything but scary. Here’s a bit more insight about what our intrepid DIYer was facing: The before of my sunroom was symbolic of the entire house—unloved, a little broken, but with a lot of potential.

What can you turn a headboard into? Here’s a hint: this decadent blush velvet, channel-seam headboard is leaving the boudoir for the cuisine… I love everything about this: the fantastic floor, the black-and-white base palette, the luscious green, mustard, and blush accents, the enviable bistro vibe, the elegant storage in the benches, and the visionary decision to use a headboard to create a comfy yet glam breakfast nook.

We’ve seen a few IKEA KALLAX hacks before— the room divider, the terrarium, the amazing craft credenza—and they’re all inspiring, and this one is no exception. The secret, magical ingredient? Plywood. Reddit user thehomestud scored some free IKEA KALLAX units with drawers and decided to make the most of this windfall.

This ’80s kitchen had ample cabinet space, a dishwashing sink, and wonderfully high ceilings—but the rest of it needed some major work. One excellent interior designer to the rescue… Before we admire the kitchen today, let’s take a step back and learn more about what it look liked before—and its owner: Drew is a bachelor living in Santa Monica. We were introduced by a mutual friend whose home I also helped design.

This bathroom is pretty great. It has a ton of original 1957 features that appear to be in pristine condition. It’s got more going for it than many bathrooms we see, but its owner wanted to add crucial storage and “finally get a real coat of paint on the walls to cover up the three different kinds of paint sheen”—all for only $100. So pretty and practical.

This powder room boasts a pretty pedestal sink (that doesn’t offer much surface storage space), a nice big mirror in an interesting shape (but those faceted clips are less than ideal), and nice pale walls (though it’s that generic cream-beige). It was an excellent setup that could use a bit of a spruce… Oooh baby, this is so much nicer. The changes aren’t huge, but they’re so, so effective, especially considering they only cost about $100.

You know the drill: Any improvements made to this rental kitchen needed to be affordable and reversible, so that the renter could get the security deposit back. With just $500 in upgrades and some very clever re-styling, this kitchen now looks like a million bucks. I was all ready to gush over this ridiculously adorable wallpaper, when I realized that it’s not wallpaper: It’s renter-friendly removable decals.

If you’re thinking that there couldn’t possibly be any improvements upon this Wes Anderson–worthy houseboat, hold onto your Team Zissou beanie because things are about to get a lot cuter—and cleaner. Erika Klees of the Pink Lady is the person responsible for this amazing houseboat renovation.

As if a major Airstream makeover isn’t enough to get excited about, this one features an extremely fuzzy puppy. And some top-notch remodeling, of course. Let’s hear what led to the acquisition of this vintage trailer: We’re Nate and Taylor Lavender! We met in West Virginia and moved to Florida for three years. We bought an Airstream, remodeled it, got married, and now we’re living in it full time with our dog, Summit.

Meet Benny the Boler, a 1974 vintage fiberglass trailer built in Peace River, Alberta. Reader Ali and her husband Bryce transformed this 44-year-old cutie camper into a happy little home. Here’s how Ali describes the project: We bought him in 2017 and the plan was to renovate him with a light and bright attitude, for the love of taking something destined for a scrap yard and making it usable and beautiful. We have a real passion for working together and restoring something so functional.

The new owner of this home became fixated on its “varying shades of split pea soup green” powder room and was determined to give it a makeover—but wanted to spend less than $500. Enter absolutely fabulous wallpaper! First, let’s hear a bit more about this bathroom’s pre-makeover state: To be honest, I don’t remember seeing this bathroom in the real estate listings or when we toured the house. I knew it was there, it just made no specific impression.

This “builder basic, circa 1980” bathroom is about to get a total head-to-toe makeover, in which nothing is where it was and everything is as far from builder basic as it’s possible to get.

This estate sale sectional had its issues, but what it lacked in legs it made up for in mice. Don’t let the beautiful backdrop distract you: This sofa needed some serious (read: professional) TLC to go from threadbare and disintegrating to refined and rodent-free. Here’s how this sofa was acquired: The day before I moved 1,000 miles to my current home, I spotted a mid-century sectional sofa at an estate sale and bought it for my new place.

This dining room had a lot going for it—natural light, wood trim, soothing palette, the fact that it exists—but its owner couldn’t get past how “boring and beige” it felt. Paint to the rescue, and no, it’s not all white. Here’s a bit more about the before: This house was as beige and boring as you could get, from brown carpet, brown trim, beige walls, and builder-grade light fixtures.

Jenny McClary and Allie Leepson never originally intended to purchase a cabin in the woods of Vermont… they first looked to buy a home in Joshua Tree. But, after losing out on offers on homes to cash buyers, they decided to change course and take a look in Vermont to see if anything sparked their interest like those in California. Three of them actually did… and they put an offer on this three-bedroom rustic cabin immediately!

This entryway is so incredibly relatable: purse, recycling, tote bag, Roomba, grocery cart—all necessary and conveniently accessible, but perhaps a bit too visible. One impressive DIYer took $200 and totally revamped this space, making it a lot more attractive and practical. Here’s a description of the pre-makeover entryway, plus how it affected the rest of the home: My entryway was a complete disaster.

This Redditor’s pantry was impressive, both in terms of its size, but also in the amount of food, kitchen supplies, and cookbooks he had stuffed in there. For $250 and some DIY power, he completely revamped the space and made it so much more functional and appealing. I think we can all relate to what this pantry looked like before: Standard wire shelving, jumbled up goods, the works.

This dining room is so graceful and elegant—that delicate molding and beautiful hardwood floor, but its new owner found it lackluster and hollow. IKEA’s BILLY bookcase to the rescue! Well, more like eight BILLYs to the rescue… Reader Oriane Szekelyhidi-Williams kindly shares a wealth of details about the inspiration behind this project and the challenges faced: We purchased our condo knowing we would be doing a BIG overhaul on the space.

This totally DIY bathroom took seven months to go from damaged and dangerous (faulty electrical work!) to sleek and safe; and from “standard, average” to something truly special. Here’s a little backstory on this bathroom: When we moved into our home our guest bathroom was your standard, average space. It had newly updated cabinets and lighting, was painted a shade of beige, and was topped off with budget-friendly $5 blinds.

This appears to be a landlord-special bathroom, with the classic beige walls and floor, but with a twist—it’s not a rental, so the new homeowner dove right in to make some crucial but affordable and approachable changes. Here’s a closer look at what the bathroom was like upon move-in: This small bathroom is outfitted with almond fixtures. There’s a beige sink, toilet, shower, and tile. The yellow walls made the space feel tight and crowded, almost headache inducing.

This sad chair—IKEA’s ubiquitous POANG—was languishing on a curb, doomed to rot away, dreaming of those good old days when it was useful. Fortunately, someone with a vision (and 20 meters of rope) happened to walk by and oops-a-daisy! Britt Winter of Regroovinator on Etsy describes happening upon this chair, and the makeover time crunch: This sorry-looking IKEA POANG was a curbside find: bare bones and a ripped-up seat. However, those bones were good.

This rental kitchen was covered top to bottom with fixtures and finishes from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, so one brave tenant finally gathered the courage to ask for permission to make improvements. Amazingly (and smartly), the landlord said yes and the DIYing was on. While the kitchen looks pretty nice in the photo before, its resident has the real scoop: The kitchen in this rental is a galley-style kitchen.

In today’s Before & After, a Berlin guest bath gets a six-hour, $400, low-key upgrade that’s sure to inspire even the least DIY-inclined among us. Here’s a hint: If you can operate a sticker, you can handle this project. Before we ooh and aah, let me just say that the bathroom is already pretty nice. It’s black and white, which is a great palette for a rental bathroom, and I love that little black stripe.

IKEA’s KALLAX is perfect for holding boxes, bins, baskets, and books, but one DIYer saw its potential as an understated entertainment unit—and the results are inspiring. This looks so great. Nicole Witney of Meraki came up with and completed this smart hack, which has so much going for it. Its central position means it is viewable from the kitchen—essential for tedious food prep/cleaning tasks—and yet it doesn’t dominate the space.

This vintage bathroom had a color scheme its renters described as “lentil yellow and seafoam green,” which Pantone probably isn’t going to be announce as the 2019 Color Combo of the Year. But in a rental, what can be done? It turns out that paint is the problem, but it’s also the solution.

When Genevieve Claire of Vieve Claire moved into her home, the kitchen had the same, standard design from when it was built: brown cabinets, dark surfaces, and track lighting. The kitchen felt dark and drab, and it was crying out for a refresh. I started looking into DIY solutions, but unfortunately, there were no shortcuts due to the material and sizing of our cabinets. Playing it safe, we decided to call in some professionals and talk through options and designs.

This kitchen was super cute and cozy, with beautiful whitewashed hardwood cabinets, bright, cheerful curtains, and platters that coordinate with the yellow paint. But it had been 14 years since this kitchen had gotten a tuneup, and its owner was ready for a fresh look. First, here’s how Emma Rupp described the kitchen and the initial update: Original wood cabinets, tile counters, and range/hood.

This sweet green and pink bathroom is 63 years young, and though it had received a few updates 25 years ago, “It was just time to modernize and freshen up the old bathroom,” according to its owner. Let’s see what a difference 10 days can make in the long life of a vintage bathroom… Ooh, this looks so great! I love how the newly restrained palette—goodbye, pink, ivory, oak!

This is a cute kitchen. It’s petite, efficient, seems to have ample storage, and its white palette is bright and conveys cleanliness like a spotless chef’s coat. However, this kitchen’s tenant was sick of its “bland and boring hardware and countertops” and took an afternoon to do something about it. And now? “It’s so glam and bright!” exclaims Chelsey Brown of City Chic Decor, and I have to agree. The changes are subtle but crucial.

This blank wall in a home office is about to become its own room, thanks to just $600 and a bit of hard work. The room before is pale and pleasantly beige—and the now is anything but. Let’s pause a minute before admiring the finished product to learn a little more about this space: Before we started working on this room, it was just an office space for my husband.

This kitchen has a lot going for it: a dishwashing window, stainless steel appliances, a beautiful hardwood floor, tons of counter space, and tons of cabinet space. I’ll say that the combination of the beigey-pink cupboards and the yellow walls are not for everyone, but they might have looked a lot prettier in natural light. But, here’s what the space looks like now. This kitchen now looks ultra-clean and is a blank slate for however the owners want to decorate.

This kitchen was pretty cute and had a ton of storage, but it was sadly cut off from the rest of the home. Enter an interior designer–architect/contractor power couple armed with a clear vision and $20,000. Look how incredibly open and airy this room is now! The light from the window can now flow into the next room, the dining room is now conveniently integrated into the kitchen, and it all looks lovely.

When it came time to renovate the orange-hued room in her 1920s Michigan home, Patti Mapes had a vision. She wanted an office that was inspiring, conducive to productivity, and, most importantly, that didn’t look like what she calls, “the inside of a cantaloupe.” Over the course of a year, this teacher transformed her spare room into a bright and organized office space with a hint of playfulness to get her through grading mountains of student essays.

This 50-year-old bathroom had two major things going for it, and they were both tile. All of the other features were perfectly fine, but, after a refresh, the entire room lives up to the high standards of the fantastic original tiles. Reader Kristine Buffa submitted this project and described exactly what was going on before the makeover: The before bathroom was outdated and dark, but the character of the original tile and tub had survived.

This immaculate 1950s pink tile bathroom was completely untouched. Other than a few paint updates over the decades, it had never seen a full renovation. As the only bathroom in a 1,600-square-foot family home, the homeowners lived with the dated look for about four years before they decided to make change. Here’s a slightly larger of a shot, so you can see the space from head to toe: They asked designer Teri Moore of T.

Here we have a perfectly nice entryway console, adaptable to nearly any style with the right knobs. But its owner had something a bit more special and a lot more specific in mind… This is absolutely delightful and I wish it were available in a dress, or perhaps a dress/shoe combo. Pink and green go so well together, and they both pair wonderfully with gold, so the trio is totally fabulous.

This bedroom, pre-makeover, was very relatable: an assortment of cozy fabrics in interesting patterns, a jury-rigged reading light, and a bit of fun thanks to the dartboard. Relatable, but not up to the high standards of its resident, who’s been passionate about interior design since childhood. That’s more like it.

A common point of discussion regarding renovations is that what we consider to look classic now will inevitably look dated someday—possibly someday soon. This kitchen, renovated less than two decades ago, is getting a much-needed (according to its owner) update. Let’s learn a bit more about what this kitchen was like, because photos never tell the whole story: We fitted our kitchen 18 years ago and, although it’s a classic design, it was starting to look very dated.

Kai and Julie are the kind of adventurous couple to take a risk. While walking to get coffee in their Berlin neighborhood, they came across this bus for sale—and bought it the next day. According to Kai, these sorts of buses aren’t commonly found in their area. Not to mention the couple didn’t know anything about converting a bus when they made the purchase.

You’re looking at a pretty standard-fare bathroom, one part of a mostly unrenovated 1950s house where Andrea lives with her family. Since she’s a renter, she decided to make one big temporary change—something warm and fun—that works with the pink tile in the bathroom shower. I think we can all agree this is very fun, and very bold.

When Laura Gibson and her husband decided to buy this rental home, they knew a lot of changes would need to be made for it to fit their family’s needs. One of the biggest updates Laura wanted to make was to remodel the dark, closed-in kitchen. To create the open-concept great room that Laura dreamed of, the couple did have to knock down some walls in the home, creating a big open kitchen, dining room and seating area.

When Laura Gibson—who runs the blog Sophisticated Rust—and her husband moved into this rental house, she didn’t see a lot to love. It was small, hadn’t been taken care of, and just wasn’t what she wanted in a home. But her husband fell in love with the property and persuaded her to consider purchasing it. She was finally sold on the idea, but only if they put a lot of work into the house.

There’s often one element in old kitchens that we’re all rooting for, crossing our fingers that it survives the big renovation. For this kitchen makeover, I’m holding my breath that the amazing pink double oven makes the cut. Reader Amanda Schaneman shares some insight into what this kitchen was really like, as photos never tell the whole story: The kitchen before the remodel was dark, dirty, and dated.

This “before” bathroom features vintage tiles, which are beautiful in their own way, but also make the space feel a little dated. To the rescue? Modern wallpaper. The bold print took this outdated 1950s style straight into 2018. The wallpaper has so much tropical flair, and I’m intrigued by the way the green of the palm fronds works with the tile color.

This kitchen had a somewhat odd configuration—water heater and washing machine, but not a dryer?—and two of our readers were plumb sick of it. In just over a month, they transformed this slightly confused space into a kitchen that’s as practical as it is elegant. Plus it has a bonus laundry room! This is so different and exvellent.

When reader Erika moved into this house, the living room was musty and dusty. But after four months and a ton of work (and a fair amount of money), this space is transformed and totally fresh. It’s easy to look at that room before and assume the only issue with it is that it might not be someone’s taste. But here’s the truth, from reader Erika Thompson: These are the pictures that were on the listing when we bought the house.

Yes, that’s right: sponge painting! If any of you are old enough to remember when sponge painting (or feather duster painting, ooh-la-la) was the hot new thing, this bathroom is probably bringing back a few flashbacks. While sponge painting is sure to make a comeback any day now, the homeowner was ready for a change—especially from the peeling floors.

When I first saw these dreamy blue tiles, I held my breath that they would survive this bathroom’s makeover. And when I saw the results? Legitimate gasp! This Before & After is so, so fun and incredibly well done. This is glorious! I would never have thought of that wallpaper with these tiles in a million years; fortunately, Carrie Hayward of Disney Travel Babble has a lot more vision than I do.

This ordinary-appearing bathroom was harboring a terrible secret, so a renovation was urgent and 100 percent necessary. And if the finishes just happened to get (majorly) upgraded in the process? So be it… As usual, the Before photo doesn’t tell the whole story—here’s what this bathroom was like before it was gutted: Original floor tiles, missing drawers, and mismatched faucets. This is what our master bathroom looked like when we purchased the home in summer of 2017.

This bathroom was built in the ’30s, redecorated 30 years later… and then used as-is for decades. The new homeowners wanted to give the bathroom a much-needed update without spending a ton, and the results are a delight. First, here’s a tiny bit of backstory: 1931 Craftsman BADLY needed repainting when my then-boyfriend (now husband) purchased the house in 2003… This year we did a “temporary” budget remodel on a TERRIBLE 1960s bathroom remodel.

This master bedroom was perfectly nice but understandably neglected, having been low on the family’s priority list for years. But it finally got its much-desired makeover, and the hotel-inspired results are totally worth the wait. This is so dreamy and calm! I’ve never stayed at a Four Seasons hotel, but now I want to know if the rooms are anything like this. Stephanie of Olive and Tate is responsible for this excellent bedroom upgrade.

Why are we showing you a photo of a kitchen in a post allegedly about an entryway? Well, because the wall you see is about to disappear, opening up the entryway in a major way. Kimberly Smith of Turning It Home helpfully describes the situation: In our home was a non-load bearing wall that separated the entry way/dining room from the kitchen.