Before After

Six months after moving into their home, Jill and her husband were ready to tackle the kitchen remodel. The plan: IKEA cabinets and appliances, moving the cooktop, and adding bold tile. The result perfectly embodies the “cozy modern” style they love. As with all remodels there were a few bumps in the road—namely the project took about twice as long as they’d anticipated—but they got their dream kitchen when all was said and done.

It takes a healthy dose of vision to look at this peeling cabinet and picture the chic, modern piece it would eventually become. But Reeves seems to be just that visionary. Take a look at her masterpiece. From Reeves: This piece took a lot of prep work up front before I was ever able to get to painting. The mustard paint it had was so easy to scratch off so just putting more paint over it would do no good. I sanded almost all of the paint off, cleaned the piece, and spray primed it.

Sometimes when faced with a very outdated room, say like a kitchen, your first instinct could be to pour a lot of money into it to try to bring it back into the present day. But as Sabrina proves with this simple and subtle redesign, you can make a big impact on the look of a space with very small but potent changes (and only a bit of money). From Sabrina: Believe it or not, I bought this home at an estate auction, and these people were looking at it as well.

We LOVE when folks take something pretty forgotten and with a little work, turn it into something unforgettable. That’s what Susan did with this beat-up and battered old bar cart. Twenty dollars and a makeover later, and she now has a pretty, golden bar cart! From Susan: This battered old cart was hanging out in my basement. After emptying its contents at a garage sale, I decided to give it new life, since I loved the style of the wire side pieces.

This spring I won all new Moen fixtures for our bathroom. When it came time to install them, I realized they were too nice for our outdated bathroom, so the makeover began. We didn’t have the budget for a remodel, so all the major parts of the bathroom stayed intact. Sometimes a makeover has just as big of an impact as a remodel — for much less money! Everything in the room was DIY’d from top to bottom!

Nicole found this frumpy side table on craigslist for “almost free” and wanted to use it in her bedroom. But first it needed a spruce up and boy did it get one. From Nicole: Since the entire piece was made from plywood, the drawer front was replaced with 1/4 wood veneer for a nice wood accent that would match the new legs that were attached. Both the new drawer front and legs were stained with danish oil.

Jessica bought this dresser four years ago, as a college student. At the time, the entire dresser was painted green and naturally distressed (or “beat to death,” according to her mother) and worked with the shabby chic trend of the moment. After tons of elbow grease, it’s still chic but not so shabby. From Jessica: A couple months ago I finally decided to tackle the refinishing project. (The before picture is actually more of an in process picture, oops!

David told us this project was six months in the making, even through “most of it was procrastination.” We’re glad he finally got around to it because this is one unexpectedly cool stair upgrade. From David: We started with plain, light wood stairs. We wanted a dark, near black color to match our cast iron, gas fireplace on the other side of the room.

Anna’s craigslist chair makeover comes with a warning: “This was my first time ever reupholstering a piece of furniture, and BOY was it a lot more time consuming than I realized!” But worth it, Anna. So so worth it. From Anna: I don’t even know how many hours I put into this chair–not to mention the definite blood, sweat, and even a few tears.

Having a whole closet right by your front door is amazing for storage if you’re a family with kids, but not if that closet comes with big outdated mirrored doors that don’t work well and don’t allow you to see what’s actually in the closet. Jen got to work, transforming this old closet into a very stylish — but most importantly functional — welcoming storage spot for her family. From Jen: This all started because this closet was not working for us.

How do you take a plain, bulky cabinet and turn it into a complete show-stopper? If you’re Miruna, you go the opposite of subtle. A few bold materials, an interesting pattern and this dresser gets quite the makeover! From Miruna: I’ve been wanting to use black chalk paint for a while, but could not find the right piece of furniture to stand up to the challenge. When I found this dresser online I was not very sure what to do with it, but I knew I loved it. So I bought it.

Melissa’s living room wasn’t bad looking — it had perfectly functional, traditional-styled furniture and a lot of natural light. But it didn’t fit her or her husband’s style. So they worked together to come up with a look that would! From Melissa: My husband (lover of mid-century modern) and myself (a lover of modern, chic style) met in the middle and co-designed our space together.

Jordan and her growing family were looking for a home, but knew with San Francisco’s high prices they would probably have to settle for a home that didn’t quite match their dreams. Even though friends warned her of the high prices of renovating, discounts were searched for and they did a lot of work themselves. From Jordan: My husband and I recently bought our first home together in San Francisco. We wanted a large home that had space for our growing family.

June’s fireplace had some dated features like fake wood and weird Victorian-esque floral tiles. She would have loved to replace the whole thing with her dream of a wood burning fireplace, but she didn’t have the budget for it right now. So she got creative and made the fireplace over with some paint, stencils and style! From June: I was fed up with my dated fireplace…the fake wood surround and the horrid quasi-Victorian tiles from the 80s made me cringe!

Chelsey found this old card catalogue in the dumpster. She could see how much stripping and sanding work there was to do, so she kept putting off the project. Now that we’ve seen the results, we can’t believe she waited so long. From Chelsey: There were layers of chipping black paint over high gloss stained oak and missing drawer pulls. I scraped, sanded, and added legs.

Sone found this vintage Basset dresser at a magical-sounding place called the Mid-Century Furniture Warehouse. It needed some TLC but she was up for the challenge. From Sone: The original veneer on the top and sides needed a little TLC, but it was the perfect size and the exact statement piece we were looking for. Once we got it home I knew immediately that it needed to be brightened up. However, I didn’t want to cover up all of the walnut, just mask the imperfections.

Chyann calls herself, “the ultimate garbage lover” so when she found this little gem in the trash she took it home for a little dose of love. From Chyann: Upon closer inspection I saw that it needed a good sanding and a paint job, but otherwise, it had great potential. A few coats of spray paint, a new shelf, and a couple of wine racks later, it was almost unrecognizable! Cheers to finding garbage gems! Thank you Chyann!

Diana and her husband love their recently updated kitchen but it made their living room pale in comparison. So these self-proclaimed DIY-ers got to work sprucing up this space on a budget that was based on what the old on-their-way-out items could be sold for… From Diana: My living room is constantly changing but I don’t buy out of my budget. I sell what needs to be gone and with that money I buy the new things I need.

There are a select few of lucky folks out there who get to live in authentic converted lofts full of character— and then there’s everyone else. Even if you live in a suburban home, you can still infuse your space with the feeling of wood beams, cement floors and exposed brick walls. It’s true! This amazing transformation by Shannon from AKA Design + Life is proof. She turned this simple space into a brick wall full of character that could pass for any cool downtown coffee shop.

Alicia and her husband are always looking for ways to spruce up their apartment without painting or damaging the walls. This quick solution cost them just 10 bucks and zero wall holes to spackle later. Lovely! We’re making mental notes about this temporary decor. From Alicia: We came up with the idea of adding a vinyl wall above our mantle and love how it turned out! Ten dollars later and zero damage done to the apartment, we love the difference this made to our living room!

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.

You know we’re big fans of furniture transformations that look totally different after getting a DIY makeover. This old dresser turned modern media stand is a great example of how a few small changes can make a big impact on the way a furniture piece looks! From Kala: My parents bought me this dresser as part of a bedroom set when I was 15 and I’ve held onto it because of its solid make (its gone through eight+ moves with me!).

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.

This sofa has seen better days. Honestly, it takes a lot of vision to think it’s got any potential! Tinca took this sofa home and changed it for the better — plus made it ultra functional for a home that happens to house pretty cute pets. From Tinca: Maybe we found this old sofa on a curb and then dragged it inside or maybe we didn’t. 🙂 But we did decide to give it a complete overhaul. Originally this was a sofa bed you could stretch out.

Tom and Alison had “grungy greige dust-mite-infested allergy-inducing wall-to-wall carpet” in their 90-year-old rental so they took a big risk and pulled it up (with landlord permission of course). The beautiful wood was in great condition except for this one spot, so they found a unique (not to mention genius) way to enjoy their new floors, rot-free.

Miriam found this beat up dresser on Craigslist for free (she says, “I love free!”) and without any spending guilt she was able to get really creative and take a risk on this one. She gave this dresser some Colorado pride! From Miriam: I decided to paint the Colorado state flag on this four drawer dresser. Here in Colorado EVERYONE sports the flag in some way: clothing, bumper stickers, hats. I thought a dresser would be cool to do.

After looking at hundreds of different properties over the course of ten months (and losing bids on eight other places), Allison and Jovito finally found their dream home: a 100-year-old brick row house in Brooklyn’s Ocean Parkway neighborhood. They loved the house’s character and classic feel, but going into the purchase, they knew the home was in need of some serious TLC.

When your tiny power room, closet, bedroom whatever starts to feel too boring and you want a change, you’ll want to come back to this easy before and after project for inspiration on how to do dramatic right. And how to do it all without spending a lot of money with a simple secret.

Are you a renter looking for something to add uniqueness, personality and texture to a wall without damaging your home (so you can get your security deposit back)? We love the idea Alicia and her husband tried out in their bedroom — and it’s something any renter could do in a few hours on the weekend! From Alicia: We bought pre-painted white wood, made a few cuts with the miter saw and actually used hot glue to make the diamonds!

Looking for inspiration on how a simple step — a tiny application of a surprising material, for instance — can dramatically upgrade the look of a tired piece of furniture you might already have? Then you’ll appreciate the do-this-in-a-weekend amount of work that Elly put into this old wooden piano stool. From Elly: When I moved out at the start of the year, I inherited this unwanted piano stool.

Chelsea had already made one enhancement to her Ektorp Jennylund chairs from IKEA (the cute pom-pom fringe she added to the bottom), but what she really wanted was chairs with a more Mid Century Modern vibe. She looked for super cheap steals on Cragislist…and struck out. She researched new slipcovers to buy…but they, too, were out of her budget. Finally, she resigned herself to tackling them as a DIY makeover.

Brittany loves vintage furnitures so much that she says, “I’m pretty sure it could be classified as hoarding.” She held on to this chair for five whole years, but it was definitely worth the wait. From Brittany: After moving from Alabama to LA, I had to pare down and decide which pieces I could fit into my tiny apartment and this chair made the cut. I absolutely love the shape of the chair and even the old paint job but the fabric had to go.

Rachel loved the “clean lines” of these chairs. Clean lines indeed! She took these super pared-down frames and added just enough to make them sing once again. From Rachel: After taking the chairs and cushions down to their raw materials, I started from the beginning. I had the metal powder-coated in a bright red and completely rebuilt the cushions in a neutral grey textured fabric. I added black accent feet and brass hardware for a finishing touch.

Shehzeen tells us, “I love a home with personality. If I had all the time in the world, I’d probably even make all the furniture for my house (I could be in need of therapy).” We feel you, Shehzeen. Just look at what this crafty lady did with these blank walls.

The refresh of this little shelf shows off the power of small changes. Odile recently moved to a new home and while searching for new furniture came across this piece at a local thrift shop for 40 bucks. 40 minutes (and one long journey with a borrowed cart) later, Odile had it safely home. Subtle yet powerful changes just makes this whole project a win in our book.

Emily called it “love at first sight” when she found this upholstered chair at a flea market. She’d been in the market for a new desk chair that she could fix up. Just what did she do with it? (Hint: those tools seem to be Emily’s favorite color). So fun! Emily needed to add some color to her all-white office so she really went all out. And that is one professional-looking reupholstery job.

We love a good rescue and that’s exactly what John gave this Heywood Wakefield Gateleg table. His journey included Craigslist, ebay, lots of research and even more elbow grease but his results will blow you away. From John: I had been wanting one of these tables for a long time. They’re not so rare that you can’t find them, but in nice condition, they can be over $800. I found this one on Craigslist listed at $250.

The paint on Jen’s house was peeling in patches, and even non-existent in certain spots. Jen definitely felt her house looked dilapidated and unloved, and wanted to increase its curb appeal. Although she was daunted by the prospect, she and her parents stepped up one weekend, and used a little elbow grease. See what they were able to do for only $125…. In addition to the new paint job, Jen swapped out the door handle, and changed the mailbox.

Ashley experienced a happy situation we all find ourselves in from time to time: she made one change to her small, three bedroom home and she was so inspired that the improvements just spiraled from there. From Ashley: We needed to make the space feel bigger and allow for us all to feel at home. We decided the best way to convert the space on a tight budget was paint. We used Dulux Natural White Wash and Wear, it’s a soft and warm white which keeps the space bright but peaceful.

This kitchen was almost a deal breaker for Lauren when she was searching for a new rental, but her landlord gave her permission to make a few updates so she signed that lease and did this. Wow! And we especially love how much change Lauren accomplished on such a tight budget. Talk about bang for your buck.

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!

When you’re faced with a bland, beige rental kitchen in an apartment you otherwise love, what do you do? If you’re Kerry, who has a gorgeous New Orleans apartment, you infuse your rental kitchen with some color! From Kerry: I’ve lived in my 800 square foot French Quarter apartment in New Orleans for five years now. I have the perfect combination of low rent and a hands-off landlord. This summer I decided to make some big changes.

Renovation by: Mike (you may remember his bathroom renovation) Location: Chicago We live in a typical Chicago apartment with a really long skinny layout. When you enter our apartment the foyer and hallway are the first things you see so they really needed some TLC. When we first moved in to the apartment the foyer and hallway were painted in a yellow glaze and the only light fixtures were flush mounted glass domes from the 80’s.

Danielle and her family just finished six months of renovations (phew!) and moved into their new, old 1942 home. This is what their kitchen used to look like. Wanna see it now? From Danielle: My favorite room, by far, is the kitchen. We refinished the original hardwood floors, chose natural cherry wood cabinets with a brown glaze, bright white Corian solid surface countertops, a farmhouse sink, and subway tile with charcoal grout.

Kirsten tells us that her fiancé thought she was slightly crazy when she brought this hideous chair home one drizzly afternoon. He thought it was even crazier that she’d paid $25 for this eyesore. Guess what? He loves it now. And this from a reupholstery newbie! Amazing job. From Kirsten: The first thing I did was strip the chair down to its stuff, which was in surprisingly good shape. Next, I painted it with two generous coats of Annie Sloan’s chalk paint in Graphite.

You know we love a good IKEA hack, but Kristi really blew our minds with this one. She started with this black and white IKEA throw, and transformed it into something we were not expecting. Kristi says, “I transformed an IKEA throw into a chic maxi skirt. It’s super simple, and this lil’ piece has become my new favorite thing in my closet.” See more (including instructions for this DIY) at Kristi Murphy. Thank you Kristi! Re-edited from a post originally published 9.3.

These tables had lived at Anam’s house since before she was born, so it was about time they got an upgrade. She says, “I’m surprised no one threw these tables away and I’m glad they didn’t.” We think paint was great choice for the what-looks-like-laminate tabletops and Aman gave these babies a bunch of inventive flair. Super cute save! From Anam: I painted the entire table — one side gold and the other with pink.

We’ve all seen them before: those sort of faux-wood furniture pieces that aren’t exactly screaming style but could still function in your space if you need it. Instead of letting this piece stay dark and sad, Cassie gave it the Midas touch for a cabinet that now exudes sophistication. From Cassie: These faux wood cabinets were in need of a makeover that would take them out of the realm of 1970 office furniture.

We’ve all seen them before: the sort of boring, beige bathrooms that don’t inspire anyone. How do you take a small space and turn it into something stylish without spending a lot of money? Tasha transformed this bathroom space with DIY ideas and fun design details. From Tasha: Our powder room BEFORE was beige, boring, and messy. We didn’t even have anywhere to hang a hand towel. In fact, we didn’t even have a hand towel!

How do you take a bland spare room with builder’s beige carpet and turn it into a sleek, modern, black and white home office and craft room combo…without spending a lot of money? Well it took a lot of patience and some awesome used furniture finds but Melissa turned this boring blank room into a sleek home office for her and her husband. From Melissa: Our home office doubles as a work space for my both my husband and me.

Kathy got this leather-top table for free from her employer and we can see why! The leather top was stained and discolored like crazy. Kathy almost didn’t take it home, then she thought of one last-ditch DIY thing to try and that made all the difference. Turns out, it was the brilliant magic of leather dye that helped this table look so good. Great save! From Kathy: Thanks to the internet I learned that you can re-dye leather. It went really well!

We all need a friend like Bethany. She recently took on this DIY project for a friend and her family. This damaged heirloom was almost beyond restoration, but Bethany found a way to make it sail once more. Ahoy! We love the crisp, nautical look that Bethany coaxed out of this nearly-dead piece. Great job! It took me a while to really be confident with how I wanted to paint it.

Nadia loved everything about her new rental except for the very…err.. loud wallpaper in the bedroom so she came up with a temporary DIY way to style it to her taste. Heads up, renters, you can so copy this one. From Nadia: I loved practically everything about our new home, except one thing: this seizure-inducing wallpaper in my bedroom! Unfortunately, this beautiful, wonderful place I’m so glad to call home is also a rental which means, I can’t replace (or rip and burn!

Valerie fell in love with the Mid-Century details on this solid oak 1960’s Thomasville dresser but 50 years in front of a window had given the stain a yellow tinge and the wood a greenish glow. That wasn’t going to stop her. From Valerie: As soon as I saw this sun-stained dresser I knew she deserved some TLC. I fell in love with her beveled drawers and dainty legs and decided to make it my first restoration project.

Rebecca was drawn to the simple lines of this dresser and the unexpectedly awesome brass pulls, but the finish was just wasn’t worthy of her baby’s room. Well, it is now. From Rebecca: Sometimes it’s painful to paint beautiful vintage furniture, and sometime it’s just so right. In the case of this amazing vintage dresser, the original finish was just too far gone to refinish. So we decided to turn this gem of a find into a sparkling emerald dresser.

What do you do when you move into your boyfriend’s house full of his stylish things? You work on carving out a space for you. That’s what Chris did with this tiny spare bedroom that had been rented out to a tenant before. He wanted to turn the dark room into a more welcoming guest bedroom but also create a spot he could get work done while at home, too. From Chris: Moving in with a significant other is never an easy task.

These office chairs were functional — but certainly not very motivating with their boring upholstery color and bland gray frame color. It’s hard to imagine how these could be made more interesting, but Vicky had plans. And the result is a much more beautiful and productive result! From Vicky: Sometimes you have to buy a used office chair for $20 so you can get working in your new home office. Eventually, the drab fabric with questionable stains on it starts to wear on you.

When you don’t have a closet, it might make sense to fill your bedroom with big furniture so you can pack away your clothes and accessories, hiding your apparel as a method to cut down on clutter. But what if those big, bulky and dark furniture pieces are doing more harm than good? Christina did away with her furniture, instead replacing it with a DIY clothes organizing solution that might be inspiration for folks with small spaces and little storage.

Many of us love the look of authentic mid-century modern sofas and furniture but not all of us can afford their sometimes steep price tags. So when Natalie got this couch for free, she loved the shape, but wanted to show off the lines with a more modern fabric. From Natalie: After recently moving into a new place, I was on the hunt for a new couch. I’ve been in love with the mid-century style for awhile now but the ones I had been looking at were $2000+. Not ideal for a 23-year-old.

As all DIYers know, sometimes the flea market is just not your friend. Yari had visions of finding a vintage library file to buy and restore for her home office, but after months of searching, she realized it just wasn’t in the cards. So she bought this new but plain Jane chest and really put her own spin on it. Yari says, “I painted the drawers in different shades of pink creating the ombre effect, spray painted the handles gold and added legs. I love how it turned out.

Christine and her husband found this interesting table at a flea market for only $40. They loved its unique shape and Mid-Century Modern feel, but knew it could get even better. That is impressive. They really brought this little table back to life. From Christine: When we bought it, it had a shabby chic distressed white paint finish which really didn’t work with the overall form of the table.

Maggie’s 880 square foot Hudson River home only has one bathroom and this was it. The layout was outdated and cramped, there was no storage and the pink tile drew attention to how small the room was. Wait until you see this bath today. Even though she ditched the pink tile, Maggie still managed to pack lots of sleek personality into this room, from the beadboard to the art to a repuposed DIY vanity. Great job!

Micaela went out on a limb and bought a blue couch and then became “confused about color” as she tried to make this new purchase work in her living room. She wrote in to Apartment Therapy for help and readers were not shy about sharing their suggestions. Flash forward a year and Micaela is ready to share her revamped space: → First, one more “before” shot: Here’s Micaela: I did SO MUCH in a year!

Ashley loved the details on this dresser but didn’t love the dark and “gloomy” finish. She imagined something a little lighter that kept the same antique style. We love how Ashley didn’t rush to make this dresser look too new. Even after the update, it still has a stylish patina that really works with the old-world feel of the original piece.

Breanna’s parents pickedup this trunk for her at an antique show for only $10. What a great deal for such a multi-purpose, handsome piece! She added one simple element and is now using this antique in a whole new way. We can never get enough of coffee tables with storage — they’re so perfect for small spaces — and the addition of a sturdy top really takes the classic trunk table up a notch.

Anna and her fiancé were like many couples who are just starting out: their first home was full of mismatched hand-me-downs. Even though there’s a big front window, the room never felt like it got a lot of natural light. And it was just small and cramped. Their goal: Make their living room lighter, brighter and look bigger! Here’s how they did it.

Dark and old, this TV tray was less than inspiring, but DeaAnna saw potential in it, and bought it for only $8. It was a small afternoon project with only a few materials, but the result is impressive and affordable! From DeaAnna: Who doesn’t love a great garage sale? It’s one of my guilty pleasures, so when I came across this TV tray at my neighbor’s house for $8, I snatched it up with visions of greatness (lofty, I know).

Alyssa needed a console table, but the one she had her eye on to buy was too big and too expensive So when she came across this simple, dark IKEA laptop table, she realized for a little bit of money and only a few steps she could transform it into a cute, compact console perfect for her home. From Alyssa: A few years ago I stupidly sold a killer acrylic console table in a fit of re-decorating mania and I’ve regretted it ever since. So, I was on the hunt for a replacement.

When Barbara found this beat-up but beautiful chair in a thrift store, she already had two peacock chairs, but something about this one was different. It wasn’t very exciting to look at, but the chair was so sturdy and strong that she couldn’t help but bring it home. We just love Barbara’s thoughtful take on preowned furniture. Every DIYer can relate to these sentiments. Barbara says: Secondhand furniture can sometimes be like people.