Before After

Not in love with a dated, brown dresser? Why not make it more brown? That’s the tack Ama Ryllis took to liven up this piece for her daughter’s bedroom. Ama Ryllis picked up this piece for $50 at a garage sale and gave it two coats of paint (and one of primer). She kept the original handles, but spiced them up with neon pink spray paint. These few small changes really make it fresh and chic, don’t you agree?You can see a few more photos on Ohoh Blog.Thanks Ama Ryllis!

Everybody has at least one piece of old furniture in their attic, but how often do you actually do something with it? Lacker was rooting around in his and found this vintage chair from the 1970s. It was in decent shape, with a metal base and plywood seat. See how he gave it a second life, after the jump.Lacker says: I was on vacation and looking for something to do. When I saw this chair, I immediately thought of creating a new seat and chair back with pieces of veneer.

Project by: Kevin Young of PMK+designersLocation: Kaohsiung, Taiwan   The Story behind my renovation project began sitting in the living room at our previous owned home, with only 66 sq meter of interior space (711 Sq feet), 2 bedroom, one study, living, kitchen and 1 bathroom. We would come home from work each day to find ourselves sit in front of the TV with no room to move and breath.

When Cristin and her husband found this dresser on the curb in their neighborhood, it quickly became apparent why no one had grabbed it first: it’s huge, heavy, and covered in dated white veneer. But with a little vision and a ton of Mod Podge, this beast became a buffet. From Cristin: Last summer, while hosting a garage sale at my house, my husband came home from work and told me there was a buffet table out to the road in our neighborhood.

When Stephanie Gerber of Henry Happened was planning a nursery redesign to make room for baby number three, she wanted to make use of a dresser that had formerly belonged to her husband as a child. The problem was that it had definitely seen better days. That’s when designer Melissa Ballard stepped in with a little bit of elbow grease and a gold paint pen to create something truly special… Melissa refinished the dresser and used a gold paint pen to create the herringbone pattern.

For most apartment and home owners, the idea of a dedicated media room is wishful thinking. Usually a basement, spare bedroom, or in this case, the living room has to be designated for home entertainment purposes. But that doesn’t necessarily mean having to settle for “as-is”.

To my mind there are two basic types of ‘Before and Afters’: the jaw droppers that leave you amazed at the utter transformation of a thing or place and the less dramatic, but no less inspiring ones that show a vast improvement to something with minimal expense of time and money. The latter is the case with this dated dresser repainted in springy colors as an appealing addition to Lynne and Darren’s guest bedroom where they host their 2-year-old grandson, Nicholas.

Recently I helped a lovely couple redesign their bedroom. They already loved the wall color and the abundance of natural light, but the placement of the windows left something to be desired.  They also wanted to upgrade from a queen size bed to a king, while enhancing the airy feel that they liked best about their bedroom.

Design Love FestEmily Henderson Color and light were important elements of this makeover, and it couldn’t be cheerier. Bri and Emily went with a mix of vintage, eclectic, mid-century and new pieces to create this lively and delicious space. The turquoise, fuchsia, gold and natural palette melds beautifully. The ample foliage brings the room together, softens the palette and creates such a calm and peaceful environment.To see more of the makeover, check out Design Love Fest.

Though this staircase to the basement got daily use, it wasn’t until the basement turned into a workout room that the stairs got a freshening up. See what just a little bit of paint did for Jae’s steps:From Jae: Even though I used the stairwell from the main living space to the basement and garage every day to get to my car, it was more utilitarian than decorative for the entire time we’ve lived here (8 years!).

Katherine Hammond, an interior designer, had a very specific vision for the desk she wanted in the behind-the-bed nook in her Brooklyn Brownstone. For her project, she turned to Nick Dillon of Nick Knacks Creative Interiors, a New York-area contractor who was able to build the desk exactly as she envisioned it.  The finished product is a desk that spans the entire length of the wall.

Karyn, an interior designer, found the perfect island bungalow in Coronado, California. Of course, it needed a little sprucing up before it would be the entertaining and living space she dreamed of. Check out how she transformed this studio into a chic, multipurpose space: How gorgeous is this? We love the navy and white against the dark bamboo floors. From Karyn: I had just moved to the island of Coronado and had the perfect bungalow apartment in mind.

This bar cart was far from perfect, but it sported some nice mid century stylings. Sarah picked it up at a thrift shop and set out to banish the bad stain and bring back its former glory.From Sarah: I have been seeing the most adorable bar carts lately, and after spotting this one at a local thrift store, I knew there was plenty of work to be done.

A staircase in the entry was a selling point for Cassity, but the builder basic quality left much to be desired. She decided to make the steps worthy of their prime location. Check out the results:From Cassity: Having a staircase in our entry was one of the features I liked about our new house, but the builder grade finishes, worn carpet and cramped entry really bothered me.

Jenna’s living room was filled with furniture that she loved, but that wasn’t working in her new home. Here’s how she transformed the space by letting go and bringing in some new color and pieces: From Jenna: Over the past 3 years since moving into my home, this space has been forever in transition. Much of the room was filled with furniture that was meaningful to us, but just didn’t fit.

The Portus House in Istanbul was used to getting high praise from guests, except for the bathrooms. Check out the how they transformed these beige boxes into rain shower retreats:From Portus House: We own a small hotel with a total of ten rooms in Istanbul and often are inspired by projects on this site. Last year, when yet another guest praised every little detail of our venue except the bathrooms, we finally decided to empty our pockets with brand new bathrooms.

I came across this project from a comment left in my recent post Brags! What DIY Project Are You Most Proud Of? It came from Julia from the blog Chris Loves Julia. They were looking to change up their living room for a more sophisticated yet casual look and Julia fell in love with some dramatic wainscoting images and got the bug to re-create it at home.It took them just a few hours over two days to put it up and then one day to paint it.

The closet in my guest bedroom never hosted much clothing, and I decided it’d be a perfect tucked away spot for sewing and crafting.My workspace in my last apartment was a craft cabinet, so a closet was a step up. I painted the bottom portion of the wall with leftover paint and built a desk with wood and metal braces from Home Depot. I hung acrylic shelves on the left wall and added a custom corkboard, task lamp, filing cabinet, and calendar.

You might walk by this unassuming stool at a thrift shop, but Charlotte saw potential. See how she gave this flea market find a fresh facelift. From Charlotte: Back when birds were chirping and grass wasn’t buried by 24″ of snow, I grabbed this wheelie stool at the Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market in New Milford, CT. The seller clearly thought he was getting the good end of the deal charging me $10. But a simple coat of spray paint later, and it has a new lease on life.

Harry Potter isn’t the only one with a cramped cupboard under the stairs. KariAnne Wood had a similarly awkward closet off the living room in her farmhouse. Previously it was just wasted, forgotten storage for random things, so she decided to make it a more useful and special spot in the house. See more of this project on KariAnne’s blog, Thistlewood Farms Thanks for sharing KariAnne!

I was a teenager once, and I’m sure my mother would have been beside herself with joy if my room were ever as neat as this before photo. But while uncluttered, this teen bedroom lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. A teen’s room is the one place where they can express a style that is truly their own, and this room wasn’t cutting it.

Joy and Corey loved their downtown Los Angeles loft, but its small footprint made finding storage space pretty challenging. So they figured out a way to take advantage of their 13′ ceilings by going vertical.From Joy: The whole project was inspired by the need to get stuff up and off the floor; with limited square footage, every inch counts. Also, I really wanted a way to consolidate all our media elements.

It’s not often that we see a before that looks so much like, well, an after. Natty admits that the dresser was in great shape when she got it, but she was looking for something more modern and personalized. After all, a dark stained wood isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and sometimes even beautiful pieces can stand to be a new kind of beautiful.

Samna flew out to New York from her home in Seattle to help her sister set up her studio apartment. With only five days and $500, here’s how she transformed the rental into a chic hangout.From Samna: Here’s what I had to work with: My sister’s apartment in a post-war building, 248 square feet of bedroom/living area and kitchen, $500 budget and five days to get it all done. This project is for all of the people who claim “I don’t have time.

Laura spent seven years using this room, with its high ceilings and statement fireplace, as a family room. But considering its pass-through and access to the kitchen, she found a new purpose for the space that felt more natural. The process of transforming a living space into a dining space may not have been without challenges, but the results are stunning!

For Christmas one year, the very stylish Suki gave her daughter a renovated vintage dollhouse. First off, the dollhouse itself is amazing, with what looks like real plaster walls and a brick chimney. Suki tore out some of the old materials, repainted, wallpapered and re-filled the house with tiny furniture and fixtures.The after is so charming, colorful and full of fun details. I would move in tomorrow if I could.  So amazing Suki!

Interior designer Lauren Liess had clients with a brand-new dining room looking for a stylish and personal upgrade. The family had a bold, cheerful style (and some budding Picassos!), so she came up with the perfect solution: a kids’ art wall!She added some new curtains, a new overhead fixture, and some sconces in the middle of the gallery wall — but the focus is the kids’ art, which adds a lot of color and fun to the room!

The great thing about Ikea’s Billy bookshelf is that it’s an inexpensive, versatile storage unit for any age — the downside is when you’d like it to be a bookshelf for kids but the height and reach is too much for little arms.Leave it to Lisa Campbell to fix that! She just turned it on its side, so that it not only holds books safely, it doubles as a bench! She added some decorative trim, secured the shelves, and sewed a cushion for the top.

When Charlotte and her family moved from New York to Connecticut, they fell in love with this 100 year-old house and its bay window. With so much white everywhere, it was a blank canvas. Check out how she transformed this living room with color:From Charlotte: We moved to the Connecticut suburbs from NYC into this sweet 100 year-old house. The previous owner had a love affair with all things off-white (carpet, walls, trim, window treatments).

Is this “before” image intriguing, or what? Yes, you can see the top of the old crusty side table, but what’s the point of showing it with all those paint sticks on top? This is truly a DIY project I would never have thought of on my own, and I love it!Truly, the folks over at Thistlewood Farms gave this little table an amazing facelift — with paint sticks. They cut them all down to uniform size, applied some stain, and laid them in a herringbone pattern, and the result?

Yeah, okay, this bedroom is fine. It’s got some beds, so it’s functional. It’s got walls, you know, because you need those. But it lacked pretty much everything else. Until now…What a transition! Out of nothing, Kelly created this super stylish playroom/studio for her to share with son Aston.

We’ve been showcasing a lot of Before and Afters here this month, and perhaps it’s inspired you to do a few of your own. You may, however, still have doubts, and may find that you ask yourself “can I really do that?” Well, here are some simple beginner DIY’s that you most definitely can do. Time to make your own Before & After.1. Paint a Globe.Take a globe you already have (preferably one of those 3D topographic ones), or acquire one.

A furniture redo doesn’t have to be drastic or especially time-consuming to make a big impact. This lovely chair had a lot of potential, but was a little drab — a few quick fixes made a huge difference!Lisa from All Things Campbell spotted this chair for $20. It had a few minor problems, but she was confident she could fix it up and make it work… and for only twenty bucks, she didn’t have a lot to lose!

From Celestyn: This is a pretty great “up-cycle” done by my super talented husband for the front office of our family business, Repla Prints. He broke down old pallets (FREE!!) and aged them by rubbing them with steel wool that had been soaking in apple cider vinegar before putting them onto the wall. He used the ugly existing desk and made an amazing privacy cover around it. The top is 2×6’s glued and clamped together and sanded for a smooth finish.

This bathroom had not been touched since the 70s, so we thought we’d modernize it a bit. We replaced the old vanity with a double sink IKEA vanity with ample storage. The old faux travertine flooring was removed and new tile was installed. We chose the gray because we wanted a nice, serene color so our guests can feel comfortable while they’re here. We chose the long glass kitchen cabinet doors from IKEA to give the small bathroom an airier feel.

Tori was on the hunt for a new bed for her youngest daughter — her older daughter had a cool, unique bed, and she wanted to find something just as awesome for the younger one. So she found this plain headboard on Craigslist and gave it a playful new spin.A little paint, some stenciling, and some clever upholstering gave this headboard a totally new look! Now her daughter has a great colorful new bed, customized by her own mom.Thanks, Tori!

I purchased this 1960’s folding card table and chairs from an estate sale for $20. The table top and seats were covered in avocado vinyl that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since its last party, 40 years ago. The way the table is constructed, the center of the table top is level with the outer rim, therefore I couldn’t substitute tile or mosaic for the vinyl because it wouldn’t be level. The best solution I found was laminating fabric.

These Lyon steel drafting stools are straight from the architecture school where I was an undergrad over a decade ago. Rusted and layered with spray paint, they were pretty well-worn even when I was in school. Recently, when the department underwent renovations, a friend picked these up for free when they were discarded during construction. We paid him $5 each for the trouble of scavenging them and then started looking into refinishing.

Fluffy white Mongolian lamb stools pop up like dandelions in tony dressing rooms and decor magazine spreads, but the prices can be a bit overwhelming for the rest of us. But Nadia, the Paris-dwelling blogger behind Preciously Me, came up with a way to get the look on her own with just an IKEA stool and a fluffy pillow.That’s quite the upgrade, no? Nadia started with an IKEA Marius stool (which seems to be available in black, white, and blue on the U.S.

I check in with Craig (and his list) on a daily basis, and when I came across a pair of matching wooden arm chairs, I pounced. I talked the seller down to $75 each and brought them home for a facelift. We have a bright red coffee table I had sprayed at an auto detail shop, and I thought these could be a nice complement. A million hours later, all the nail heads and staples were out and I was ready to spray.

Some DIYers have a real knack for spotting products at IKEA that were just meant to be something else. In the case of this Before & After, a standard shelving unit gets an entirely new purpose and becomes a beautiful light fixture.The Ikea EKBY Shelf Unit contains two simple brackets and a shelf, but when taken apart, suddenly the brackets have all kinds of new uses. You could make a set of new sconces with one shelving unit with this simple hack.

The second bedroom of our house is only 8 feet wide and 13 feet long. In spite of its size, we still needed it to function as an office/craft room and a guest room that would sleep 2 people. The major projects here were pulling up the carpet and painting the walls light gray and the ceiling blue. Then we found the perfect sofa bed for small spaces and built a wall shelf behind it since there wasn’t room for end tables. The whole transformation cost about $800.

LACK hackFrom Noelle: I decided to tackle my own project with my ages old white Ikea Lack coffee table using Cece Caldwell’s paint in Destin Gulf Green. I figured the worst that could happen is that I’d have to head out to Ikea and buy another Lack coffee table if it was a total bust.

 Anything blah can be turned into something wowing, including those ugly upholstered folding chairs. All you need is some nice fabric and spray paint. I used home deco fabric so it will hold up longer. I removed the seat cushions and back rest. The chairs I have were quite old so the screws were worn out and refused to come out, so I had to cut them off. Once the seat cushion and back rest were removed, the fabric was easily removed by pulling out the staples.

After researching relatively simple and inexpensive ways to update my bathroom’s hideous ‘butterscotch’ tiles, my partner and I thought we’d give adhesive linoleum tiles a go because they’re cheap, impactful (in classic black and white squares), relatively simple to install yourself, and super quick (versus not being able to use the facilities for a few days!).

We have had this coffee table for 12 years. It was the first piece of “grown up” furniture we bought as a couple, so it is quite sentimental to us. It has inlay detail on the top, and we had glass custom made to fit it so that we wouldn’t scratch it (I always referred to the glass as the giant coaster). In recent years, the table was looking increasingly orange (I think because the rest of our decor is slowly leaning towards 50 shades of gray).

A couple of years ago, a friend and I decided to invest in a home that we could fix up, and flip in a year or two. I also needed a place to live. I took on the role of general contractor, landlord and designer. I also took over one of the units on the second floor of this 4-plex. We found the perfect house in Roncesvalles, near shops, waterfront, highway and crown jewel, High Park. My unit was in a pretty rough state but I could see the potential.

Inspired by the striped light fixtures at Schoolhouse Electric, I wondered if there was a way to dress up my basic sconce with a few fun stripes. I wanted the process to be inexpensive and easy, and I wanted it to create razor sharp paint lines. After a bit of experimentation, I think I got it.I painted 2 coats of green acrylic paint onto a strip of electrical tape and then stretched it around the fixture. For the black stripes, I cut thinner pieces down the length of the tape.

I had the great fortune of moving into my grandparents house on our family farm a couple of years ago. It hadn’t been touched much since it was built in 1971, so we saw it as an opportunity to make it exactly what we wanted… starting with the removal of the mostly original carpet. It covered the entire house from kitchen to bathroom!  Since it’s a working farm, our house projects are limited to winter time.

The ubiquitous IKEA LACK coffee table has a lot going for it. It’s just the right size for a small apartment, it has nice, modern lines, and at $19.99 the price is pretty much unbeatable. The only problem is that it can look a bit blah. But Catherine McNelly of domesticitie. figured out how to banish the genericness of the original with the help of a staple gun and some unconventional upholstery fabric.

I found this little piece at the Salvation Army for $7.50. I was looking for a nightstand and knew this would be perfect. The top had water stains where cups and glasses were placed, but other than that it was in good shape. Because I feel that I am drowning in brown furniture sometimes, I decided to paint the drawer fronts white. After sanding and patching the holes from the hardware, I used a high gloss lacquer spray paint on the drawers and stained the rest of the piece.

It’s one of those things that nobody wants, but everybody needs in their home office. A utilitarian fireproof file cabinet is a must to keep your important documents safe and in order. But you don’t have to settle for the metallic beige eyesores of your parents’ den circa 1970.You can take an old cabinet (or a new-to-you one from a flea market or thrift store) and tailor it to suit your home office with a fresh coat of paint, wallpaper or patterned vinyl.

This townhouse only had two bedrooms, and desperately needed a dedicated workspace and playspace. Angie was struck with inspiration when she thought about all the unused space in their 2-story foyer — why not build a loft? Join Us on Pinterest: Apartment Therapy She had her husband and father-in-law build this clever, creative loft and made it into a little nook for working and playing.

IKEA hacks aren’t always for the faint of crafting. But if you’ve got the time and the skill, this hack isn’t just clever – it’s downright stunning. Just get an unfinished Ingo Table for $69 and you’re on your way.The Ingo is a simple pine table, which you’ll find in the kitchen section. It’s small, measuring only 47 1/4 ” long by 29 1/2 ” wide, so it is more than suitable for a larger workspace.

Sharon and her husband have had these beech shelves from IKEA for almost 20 years, and had no desire to replace these perfectly functional (if outdated) units while they still have life in them. Luckily Sharon had a vision of how she might update these cabinets — a vision she was able to implement for only $10, thanks to a well-stocked DIY supply cabinet.After a light sanding, Sharon primed the piece with an oil-base primer and then covered it with a latex paint.

While Anna’s mid-century house has a fair share of closets, they weren’t exactly outfitted to store much stuff. Faced with the predicament of storing two young boys’ clothes and other belongings, Anna decided to build out the closet herself.A lot of us have faced a similar problem with our own closets — one measly shelf and a long hanging clothes bar do not exactly make the base for an organized closet.

Upgrading an old CRT television to a modern flat screen is a costly endeavor in itself, and it gets even more expensive when you consider some of the hidden costs of upgrading. For instance, if your old tube TV fit snug in a TV cabinet, you’ll need to find a new furniture home for the likely larger new screen. Or, you could take a cue from this no-cost DIY project and transform an old TV armoire into something new.

Reeves was privileged enough to have this dresser fall into her lap when her uncle decided it no longer fit his lifestyle. He in turn had been given the dresser by her dad many years before, so Reeves now has a piece of family history in her home.Sadly, this dresser had seen some heavy use over the years, use that left its mark. Reeves sanded the entire dresser, then restained the piece with Rustoleum Dark Walnut.

It was a hot pink curtain that started the ball rolling on Jae’s guest room makeover. She kept the furniture, painted the walls and tackled a DIY headboard to give this room a fresh, mature update.Jae tells us: I really wanted to add fuchsia curtains somewhere in our home. I decided on the guest room and that sparked a domino effect of other changes. I like the idea of letting the fabrics and accessories shine with color so I painted the walls white.

Would you click on this Craigslist ad: “very old & ugly high chair w/potty chair both for $15”? Yeah, me neither. But Jennifer did (and with enthusiasm I might add) and she set to work cleaning it up and giving it new look.The silver paint makes a huge difference and the vinyl cover will surely be easier to clean than the previous fabric. Jennifer shares the steps she took: I had been looking everywhere for a high chair and when I found it I jumped on it.

Ever since my husband and I moved into our 1997 split level, we’ve been slowly working at removing the builder grade finishes to really make it reflect our taste. A couple of weeks ago I finally finished making over the entryway.I smashed the old green ceramic tiles, pulled the stained carpet off the stairs, and painted what felt like miles and miles of honey oak trim. The front door got a coat of yellow paint and the walls got a pale gray.