Before After

Perhaps the next best thing to your landlord offering to fix up your rental bathroom (which rarely happens), is your landlord granting their blessing for you to fix it up yourself. Justyna was thrilled to get the green light from her landlord to make some bathroom improvements and she got straight to work. See what she accomplished on a small budget in this small rental: From Justyna: This summer I decided I couldn’t live with my rental bathroom any longer.

Kacie’s kitchen lacked personality, especially this corner nook which she found drab and dingy. Armed with paint and plywood, she and her husband created a bright, cheerful spot for family dinners and game night with friends. From Kacie: My husband and I were excited about the size and footprint of the kitchen in our first home, but were less thrilled about the orange oak-y style.

Erin’s guest bedroom is small but makes up for it with great views. She was feeling it was a little too orange-y for her tastes and decided to paint the wainscoting grey. It made a world of difference, but wasn’t totally what she envisioned, so she dove in and gave the room an entirely new look. From Erin: Our guest room is the smallest in the house, but has amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean. It always felt dark and dreary and sad.

This tiny living room was the first challenge for sisters Kate and Jennifer when they were preparing to move into their condo, a home they wanted to be able to share with visiting friends and family. Unsure of how to make their limited space as functional and stylish as they hoped, the sisters hired design team Margo Haines and Jill Finney at Margo Inc. to help solve their space and style dilemmas.

Devon and Jessica were tasked with adding personality, style and storage to their friend’s living area. Taking style cues from his favorite cult classic TV show, the duo created a funky and bright space that celebrated the occupant’s interests. From Devon & Jessica: Off in the final frontier, Los Angeles, lives a Star Trek-loving singleton who was anxious to update his one bedroom apartment.

Anne-Claire was on a Craigslist hunt for the perfectly sized and perfectly priced desk for her daughter. After a few disappointments, she stumbled across this desk, which needed a little love but was otherwise exactly what she was looking for. The fixing up process took a little longer than Anne-Claire expected, but the final result was worth it. From Anne-Claire: Now that my daughter is growing up, I started to look for a small desk to replace her little child table.

Megan’s kitchen was dark, didn’t feel like her and was completely lacking storage. She decided to banish all the brown and open the space up to make it brighter and more functional. The result is a charming kitchen that was totally DIY! From Megan: Our ten year old kitchen (new to us) was dark, tiny and unattractive. Dust would settle on the eaves and required us to get on a ladder to clean them, which never happened. Our cabinets were very small and allowed for only minimal storage.

We got a glimpse of Ruth’s home in her House Call but her bathroom reno deserves some special attention. While the old bathroom was not horribly offensive aesthetically, it wasn’t fully functional (and a little stinky). After bumping the project up on her to-do list and getting to work, Ruth found herself with a darkly dramatic space that didn’t break the bank.

Each room in Lucas’ 495 square foot apartment in Argentina is designed around one color. When Lucas bought this pair of nightstands at an estate sale, they weren’t in their best condition. But, after some TLC and DIY, they not only got a fresh coat of paint and a bold color, they also became the inspiration for his bedroom’s color scheme.

Nina helped a family turn their vacation property kitchen from a claustrophobic and kitschy space into a fun and open gathering space. By removing the divider, adding some unexpected color along with classic elements, she breathed new life into the room. From Nina: The owners, a young family, wanted a vacation apartment (that they could also rent out), located in a town adjacent to a European ski area.

Marti’s master bedroom makeover was a slow and steady labor of love. Her first move was to tackle the too-bright purple paint and choose a color that was a little more serene. After that, she mixed DIY projects with budget finds for a chic and calm bedroom. From Marti: We’ve lived in our house for a little over one year now, and our bedroom has come a long way. There was certainly nowhere to go but up!

Danielle added style and interest to her living room with a few simple and small touches: replacing the curtains, adding some light fixtures, and slapping on a new coat of paint. And then she made a big change, adding color and interest to the space in a major way. From Danielle: When we first moved into our family home, the living room was covered in brown and beige from floor to ceiling.

Lindsay and her family moved into a wonderful new space in a neighborhood they loved. But there was one snafu: the old and outdated kitchen. Lindsay has a food blog so a clunky kitchen just wouldn’t do. They gutted the entire thing and started from scratch, and the results are a fun and functional space that’s perfect for family life and blog life. From Lindsay: The biggest change we made was to the location of the sink and the removal of the existing island.

It’s hard to describe the color of the kitchen in this historic Craftsman in Oakland, pre-renovation. Turquoise blue? Sea-foam green? Whatever the exact hue, it wasn’t quite the right shade for homeowners Brett and her husband Brandon when they purchased this house in March of 2016.

This little kitchen was in need of a lot of spiffing up and a little bit more space. Christina gave the space a fresh new look with a smart layout, some classic tile and a coat of paint in a lovely light color. From Christina: We recently finished up our project in Redondo Beach. This was a smaller house that was in serious need of a face lift. It had so many colors happening as well as some issues in the kitchen.

Michelle stepped in to help a grad student create a stylish and functional space that she could love for all of her harried, paper writing years. She added color and fun without creating a room full of distractions. From Michelle: This grad student was moving into an apartment that she would live in for the next five years. Mina had a small budget, but a lot of style. Her space was a blank canvas, as she was starting from scratch.

This master bath had plenty of space but not a lot of function. Kendra set out to not only upgrade and maximize the utility of the space, but to create a calm and serene atmosphere. From Kendra: This master suite had taken on minor renovations before, but nothing that allowed it to shine and become a truly functional and relaxing oasis. This space had an outdated standing shower, no access to the walk-in-closet and overall lack of functionally.

Sure, we might all want to freshen our living room or bedroom, but no room can get dated, dingy, and even dangerous as quickly as a kitchen can. These 10 amazing makeovers, ranging from $200 DIYs to splashy professional jobs, show the power of paint, paring down, and—for crying out loud—new cabinets.

Warning: If winter has you stuck inside, growing increasingly sick of your same four walls (while grateful to have walls, of course), these 10 incredible redesigns might push you into a repainting, redecorating, cabin-fevered frenzy. Whether you’re considering slapping on a coat of paint or are ready to gut the place, there’s at least one project here that’s sure to inspire.

Who among us hasn’t dragged home a $5 garage sale chair or a battered bookshelf left on the curb, convinced that we could make something out of it? Whether by painstakingly restoring it to its former glory or by giving it a major makeover, we just know something special is lurking beneath the cobwebs, scratches, or worse.

Ashley wanted a bathroom update that was stylish, full of storage and helped maximize the space of her small bathroom. By pulling in a surprising piece of furniture and painting the space a calming color, she created a bathroom that blends form and function. From Ashley: The tiny half bathroom connected to the master bedroom was original to the 1972 house and in desperate need of an update.

A dreary bathroom seems dirty no matter how clean it actually is, so giving it a fresh coat of white paint, additional lighting, and sparkling tiles can completely transform the look and feel of the room, all while making the weekly cleaning feel less Sisyphean.

Right before Thanksgiving we posed a question to readers — “If you had $200 to surprise someone with a gift, what would that gift be, and to whom would you give it?” Brigid Barjaktarevic’s response — some supplies to spruce up her non-profit workplace — caught our eye. We thought we could do more than just provide paint as the gift; we wanted to go all in on an Apartment Therapy makeover.

IKEA Pax wardrobes can be a godsend for creating closet space out of nothing and here is an exquisite example of how they can not only provide a massive amount of storage but appear like they were built just for your space.

The size and scale of this fireplace is striking which means that changing its look has a big impact on this space. The homeowners also opted for a new wall paint color. Together, these changes give off a whole new vibe. Take a look: From Christina: I am not a big DIY person so I spoke to the amazing contractor Adrian at Craftsman Construction that we worked with on this project, about how they were able to change the multi-colored stone fireplace into the clean white look that we finished with.

We’ve seen Natalie’s 19th century home before and this time she’s tackling her dining room. Not happy to just strip the floors and replace the chandelier, she put her artistic talents to good use and painted something gorgeous on the walls. From Natalie: My husband and I bought a circa 1870s house in Pittsburgh nearly three years ago. The house has a wonderful lived-in feeling and great bones, but it needed an infusion of style.

When Sophia and Leon bought their 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom Manhattan apartment, there wasn’t a lot going on in the petite second bathroom — but what was going on looked a little like a gas station bathroom: fine for a gas station, but not for a home. The yellowing wall tile was distinctly uninspiring, and dingy grout made the floor tiles look dirty no matter how many times they were cleaned.

Heather’s kitchen was outdated, but not unlivable, so she and her husband opted for a few smart and thrifty updates to add some style to the space before a big kitchen remodel. From Heather: My husband and I recently purchased a 1960s home. It’s in great condition, but most everything is original to the house.

Natalie’s home was originally divided into apartments, so she had the not-so-small challenge of turning it back into a cohesive space. After experimenting with new paint colors, and switching up the floor, she finally found herself with a moody library full of quirky, personal charm. From Natalie: This room has changed over time as my husband and I have lived in the house. We bought our circa 1870s Pittsburgh home nearly three years ago.

When Marti set out to revamp her bathroom, she knew that a full tile update wasn’t in the cards. She didn’t let that deter her, however, and went ahead and made some really smart and stylish changes that created a less dated, more classic space. From Marti: My goal was to replace the glaring features that made the bathroom look really dated/cheap: most notably, the paint, mirror, and sink.

When the Apartment Therapy team decided to give designer Akhira Ismail’s 288-square-foot Brooklyn apartment (see her previous house tour here) a holiday makeover, we knew we had a charming space to start with. So to transform the already well-designed home into a Scandi-style winter oasis, we focused on subtle, minimalist changes that would add up to one super-cozy retreat. Grab some pinecones and a strand of twinkle lights, because these ideas are too easy not to try in your home.

Sarah found herself in an all-too-familiar predicament: she had a bland bathroom and a strict landlord. Not wanting to force her bathroom to live a colorless life, she got creative and found a stylish and temporary solution. From Sarah: Last spring we moved from Manhattan to Northern Virginia, where we’ve been living in a beautiful rental house.

When Kate and Emilio purchased their Spanish Revival house, the kitchen was small and broken up into two separate rooms — an awkwardly long mudroom/pantry and an inefficiently small and dated kitchen. The cabinets and countertops were installed right in front of the windows, and there was little workspace between the range and sink.

When Amanda moved into her boyfriend’s home, she brought the furniture from her college apartment along with her: a bunch of mismatched hand-me-downs that didn’t fit the new house. After a year of making no progress, Amanda came up with a new plan and transformed their random living room into a dreamy escape that feels like home.

Debra’s home had gorgeous mid-century bones, and her renovations made the most of them. With some stunning tile and beautiful pictures, she turned her bathroom into a breathtaking beauty. From Debra: We recently finished renovating two of our mid-century home’s bathrooms. Since they are adjacent to one another, my first inclination was to combine them into one large space.

Courtney found her ideal furniture at a thrift store, but it needed a little work. Combine DIY skills and a very generous birthday present, and you get a very cool dream come true. From Courtney: I’ve always loved and coveted two kinds of tables: a formica table and a pedestal table. As luck would have it, I found both on the same day at a thrift store.

Rebecca saved this totally unassuming display from the trash and turned it into an unrecognizably stylish addition to her living room. With a little cash, and some ingenuity, she helped this piece make a total 180. From Rebecca: We were throwing away an old gift wrap display at the stationery shop where I work. I took a good look at it and flipped it over, I thought it would make a great addition in my living room.

Karyn and Jessica’s beach bungalow is an ever-evolving small space. This is what Karyn had to say in 2013: I had just moved to the island of Coronado and had the perfect bungalow apartment in mind. I envisioned something small but homey with a comfortable outdoor area. The universe must have been on my side because not two minutes after making my wish list I found the perfect studio apartment. Being a designer has its perks, especially after walking into this place.

Sarah’s dorm room is fun, bright and youthful. By mixing bright colorful DIY projects with bright white minimalism, she made her space look larger — all without sacrificing personality. From Sarah: As a junior in college, I had the opportunity to live in a single dorm room, and I couldn’t wait to start decorating. The goal was to make the dark 12′ X 8.5′ room more colorful and fun, but also feel open and inviting.

Courtney and John’s guest bathroom was outdated and had a funky layout, so they set out to open up and update the space. From Courtney & John: To complement our recently renovated guest room, we decided to tackle the attached guest bath as well. Overall, the bathroom was functional with a stock vanity and prefabricated shower/tub combo. But the space lacked style and was not utilizing the square footage to its maximum capacity.

Heidi’s kitchen got a sleek and storage-minded upgrade. Taking cues from her building’s style —and her own personal aesthetic — she created a space that added a lot of functionality, without sacrificing affordability. From Heidi: The design was conceived around cues from my 1959 building’s clean aesthetic combined with a Scandinavian modern/folk influence.

When her sister-in-law was ready to update her kitchen, Cathy knew she could make an impact while keeping most of the kitchen intact by painting the cabinets and making the biggest update to the floor. From Cathy: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” I am a firm believer in trying to make the most of the existing elements in a space before considering replacing or changing them.

Chrissy’s bathroom was standard, outdated builder grade blah. She transformed the space into something warm and welcoming without any major renovations. From Chrissy: The bathroom before consisted of builder grade oak cabinets and a mirror with no frame. The cabinet over the toilet was bulky and made the bathroom feel smaller.

Minna’s gorgeous cabin is a stunning and serene oasis, but it wasn’t always that way. When they first bought the cabin it was far from what Minna had envisioned. But after some impactful changes, she transformed the space. We’re ready to move in! From Minna: I remember how lucky we felt when we bought this place four years ago. Our “dream cottage” was quite a wreck.

Remember Sophia and Leon’s Manhattan apartment? Last week we witnessed the transformation of their kitchen, and this week we’re looking at the overhaul of the unit’s main bathroom. While the old bathroom wasn’t yet completely falling apart, it had poorly installed, mismatched fixtures — and the fact that it needed to serve for three people meant extra storage space would be welcome.

Out of context it is kind of hard to tell what this is, let alone take a guess as to what it’s going to become. Surprise! It’s an old IKEA hamper! After you’ve recovered from that news, scroll down and see Dan’s impressive hamper hack. From Dan: I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I saw this a few years ago on Apartment Therapy and knew I had to repurpose an old IKEA hamper that was collecting dust.

Patience is a virtue for both Faith and these poor little ripped up chairs. After waiting a few years, they finally got their day in the sun — and boy was it worth it. From Faith: Back when I first opened my shop in the later part of 2012 I was in a real junk-hungry state. Possibly it stemmed from being overly optimistic, like that pathetic chic who still sees potential in her boyfriend even though he’s in jail, again.

Courtney and John felt that they could take a leap of design faith in their guest room. A dark and daring ceiling and some funky, textured decor helped shape the room into an interesting and inviting space. From Courtney & John: In our opinion, a guest room renovation is the best kind of renovation! Though you want the room to be cohesive with the rest of your home, you don’t have to live in it everyday, so you can afford to take some risks.

Krys has a totally understandable addiction to thrifted chairs. This lovely lady got a stunning makeover with the help of some chalk paint and a very glamorous upholstery. From Krys: Confession: I’m a little bit of a chair hoarder. If I see a vintage chair at a flea market and it’s under $20 I usually end up coming home with it.

Courtney & John’s bathroom was the height of ’80s glamour: a Jacuzzi tub AND a gold trimmed shower? Choosing not to live in a Gordon Gekko fever dream, they stripped the bathroom down and opted for a space that played up the historic interest of their new home. From Courtney & John: For basic necessity, the master bathroom was the first space that needed to be tackled FAST in order for us to move into this foreclosure property.

Liz’s bedroom was already a cozy and serene space with a sloped ceiling and white plan walls, but she wanted to add a little something special. From Liz: To get this project started, I adapted a few ideas from one of my favorite bloggers, Jenna Sue. This girl has added amazing faux wood beams in her home and recently did a bathroom makeover with lace curtains around a clawfoot tub that seriously left my jaw on the floor. It was to die for, you guys!

Are you looking to update your kitchen on a budget? This round up will provide you with the motivation and inspiration to make your dream a reality, without breaking the bank. These $1000 (or less) makeovers prove that a little can go a long way to make a space feel new.

Project by: Whitney Jones of Whitney J Decor Homeowner: Coletha Kennedy Location: New Orleans, Louisiana Coletha Kennedy’s dining room in her New Orleans home was in desperate need of reinvention. Dated wallpaper and dingy wall-to-wall carpeting just wouldn’t do for the mother of two, who owns a fashion boutique in town. Designer Whitney Jones of Whitney J Decor stepped in to help her bring her maximalist, glamorous dream to life.

When tasked with updating a kitchen for a family with six kids, Syd and Shay of Studio McGee wanted to create a “next level” monochromatic kitchen, that could still house a large brood. From Studio McGee: When it comes to a bright, monochromatic kitchen, it’s all in the details. All-white kitchens are the number one request we receive. You might see a lot of people churning out white kitchens, but it’s the subtle design decisions that can take a kitchen to the next level.

Katie’s RV kitchen was functional but cookie-cutter. She wanted something that was unique and warm, and she took a chance on black paint in a small space and it totally paid off! From Katie: When we first purchased our RV the interior was in good condition, it just wasn’t our style. Not to mention every single person that owns the same model has this exact kitchen. We needed a space that felt like ours, ya know?

Sarah and Nick purchased their 1924 traditional island cottage in 2013, and spent the next five months renovating much of their new home. They were working with a very tight budget and a very real deadline; baby number two was on the way and the couple had made a pact that the kitchen be completed before his birth. Naturally, this made tackling the project a particular challenge.

Carrie, a serious Disney fan, has always fancied living Disney’s Haunted Mansion After trying to fix up her small bathroom she finally decided to let it go and follow her dream (which is a wish your heart makes) of a Disneyland-inspired bathroom. With a lucky wallpaper find (definitely not a poor unfortunate soul) and some smart internet shopping that let her remain one jump ahead of the design, even the bare necessities were on brand.

Prior to their renovation, Laura and Matthew’s kitchen had a few problems common to lots of NYC apartments: a tiny footprint, not enough storage space, and cabinets caked with years’ and years’ worth of paint. As you can see, the cabinets in their galley kitchen had taken on an unusual texture, and the oven was positioned about 18 inches from the opposite countertop. Definitely time for a change.

Kylie’s kitchen is also her office, so while the original was livable, it wasn’t really blog-worthy. After about six months of hard DIY work, she got a gorgeous, open and photo-worthy space. From Kylie: Our house is 1,500 square feet and was built in the 1950s. We love our location and want to stay here for a while, but the kitchen had to go.

Brady was blessed with a beauty of a blank canvas, and he did not fail to make it special. By mixing a variety of styles, from Boho to classic Hollywood glam, he was able to create a space unique to his personal style and needs. From Brady: I spent months and months looking for the “perfect place” and saw over 20 apartments before I finally landed on this one.

Kate (from Centsational Girl) recently saw her friend’s kitchen remodel for the first time. Although this family originally had grand visions for a new kitchen, they ultimately pulled back, skipped the architect, and decided to save money instead. They kept the current layout and put their time and budget towards making their kitchen reflect their own tastes and lifestyle. From Kate: Over the weekend I popped in to visit some good friends, Dino and Heidi.

Looking at this photo, this space could become a lot of things. A retro inspired kitchen? A dreamy den? A nursery? The homeowner went an unexpected route and turned the space into a warm, relaxing and wholly unique space. From E: This project has been a long, long time in the planning and execution, but we’ve finally got the payoff of being able to use our beautiful wooden soaking tub.

This attic bedroom was super dark and dated. Catherine and Brian wanted to create a warm & welcoming master bedroom in the space, and boy did they have their work cut out for them. From Catherine & Bryan: We designed this space as a master bedroom. Aside from making it feel less dated, we wanted it to feel cozy, open, and full of character. We had talked about adding built-ins and cubbies, taking out the walls and widening the room, adding reading nooks – you name it, we thought of it.

A dreamy bedroom on a budget

Tiffany hit the rental jackpot with a gorgeous old fireplace. The only catch is that it came with not-awful-but-not-great yellow tile. Well, all praises be to contact paper because Tiffany was able to totally change the look of the tile and remain on her landlord’s good side. From Tiffany: One of the things that I knew I wanted to change in my rental was the yellow tile surrounding my fireplace. I’ll admit that once I moved in, the yellow tiles grew on me.

An incredible, temporary floor makeover.

Eek! Nadya’s bathroom not only had some structural issues, but it was also lined with asbestos. In the midst of another renovation, Nadya had to tackle the issue on a budget. From Nadya: Our small post-war house in Brisbane, Australia was built in 1959, and like many similar houses of the era, had an asbestos-lined bathroom. As you can see, it was dingy and awful, and water from the shower was seeping into the wall. The nasty stuff had to go!