Before After

Julie’s basement needed some work to become a cozier spot for her kids to play and she also wanted it to be a relaxing, attractive spot for the whole family. The new room has big changes: new floor, new ceiling and painted walls as well as furniture and storage.Julie shares: When we moved into our new home, the basement was unfinished. I had dreams of making it into a world-class chaos wrangler, I mean playroom.

When Liz and her husband completed their kitchen renovation, they still couldn’t agree on whether or not to add an island. Liza was a fan of the idea, but her husband was concerned about overwhelming their space. After months of debate, and recent entertaining experiences, Liz decided to take the bull by the horns.Once Liz started searching for an island with the proper measurements for her kitchen, she realized that such a specific size might require a custom solution.

A big, open space in a home is a nice thing, but sometimes it can be hard to divide the space into useful areas. That’s exactly the problem Bob and Cortney tackled with their clients on Saturday’s Home By Novogratz, and the best part is that we get to see it in Before and After format!I’ve loved before and after transformations ever since Brady Bunch episode 71 where Marcia gave her friend, Molly, a makeover. This Novogratz design was similar.

When Terry’s neighbor offered her this piece to redo, she knew she had a challenge on her hands. This sturdy little cabinet had already been altered by a previous owner who removed doors and the bottom to create a mini-desk, adding odd triangular trim pieces for support. Terry knew those pieces had to go if this cabinet was going to get a new lease on life.Terry removed the V-shaped trim and lined the inside of the cabinet with painted bead board.

When Jamie found this lovely mid-century modern dresser at a Salvation Army store fo only $50, she knew she’d hit the jackpot. Though she didn’t love the yellowing tone of the piece, and the finish was in bad shape (especially on the top), the lines and solid construction made it a great choice for an update.Jamie used Citristrip to remove the old finish, coating the entire dresser then leaving it to sit overnight.

Tricia from Simplicity in the South loved the vintage industrial look of Restoration Hardware’s steel cabinets, though their prices were not in the budget. She had an idea that with a little paint and some upholstery tacks, she could transform an old IKEA PS cabinet into something a little less schoolyard and a little more industrial chic.

When Jill found this sad little side table, it was in desperate need of some TLC to help bring it back to life. Jill was able to see past the missing trim, the broken foot and the badly damaged finish on this table to the strong bones and solid wood underneath. With a little hard work and creativity, she was able to transform this table into a showpiece for any room.After taking the table apart, Jill used Citristrip to remove all the old damaged finish.

Korrie has a passion for furniture, a passion she happily shares with her friends and community of blog readers. Though she usually find pieces to refinish herself, sometimes she benefits from what she herself calls their shared furniture addiction. This chest started out as a friend’s project, one that she passed along to Korrie when she found herself overwhelmed.

This earthy room was in need of a bit of energy. Interior designer Kirsten Krason came in and saved the space. Follow me after the jump to what she stirred up…Kirsten had a little pattern party with primary colors and brightened up this room in a big way. She kept a good amount of the furniture and added some new pieces along the journey. She splurged on a few big items like the rug, coffee table and window treatments, but then bargain hunted for other great but inexpensive finds.

My kids’ art easel is one of those things I could trash instantly when my kids are done using it. It’s covered in doodles and smudged with so much paint that it’s an eye sore. Then when they actually use it, I’m the happiest person on Earth, watching them create their soon-to-be-sold-by-Sotheby’s works of art.

Board games. Where do you keep yours? In our house, they teeter unsteadily in a big pile on the top shelf of our coat closet. Admittedly, this is not really a great place for them, especially when the time comes for the kids to grab one. A nice game cabinet would be ideal. A nice, colorful, unique and all-out fun game cabinet. Like this one.Lori at Bleak 2 Unique certainly wasn’t going for a subtle makeover when she came across this cabinet.

When Heather found this tea cart, it was hiding in the back corner of a garage, cobwebby, dirty, and even a little water damaged. Despite the dilapidated appearance, the structure was solid, and Heather knew just how to reinvigorate this piece of history to make it work in her home.Yup — Heather transformed her tea cart into a bar cart, a lovely marriage of past function and present need in her home.

Many of us complain about our sub-par, bad taste bathrooms and wish for something updated and modern. But let’s be honest, how many of us have started out with this degree of bad? Follow me after the jump to see how April left the 1800’s behind…Photographer April Cochran-Smith chose to go with a clean, bright, and cheery look for her bathroom, using a white palette and bold, unexpected primaries.

Julie was lucky enough to find this matching pair of settees for her sun room on sale for a mere $10! Though she didn’t love the dark wood and dated fabric, she did love the lines and function of these pieces, which she knew could be updated to work in her room.A couple of coats of white paint later, and the bases are lighter and brighter. Julie selected a new floral fabric and redid the upholstery to give these settees a new lease on life.

Though I’ve been doing this a long time, the power of paint to transform things still astonishes me. Take this lamp (or lamps, since it’s part of a pair) for instance. They’ve been moving from room to room as I’ve tried to work their weird green base into my home’s neutral color scheme. But it wasn’t working.

When Melody found this white painted dresser on her local Craigslist, she knew that it could be transformed by a little TLC. Despite the peeling paint and damaged top, the dresser had great lines and was solidly built, making it an excellent candidate for a makeover. Best of all, Melody had a spot and a purpose all picked out for this piece once the transformation was complete.Melody’s first step was stripping and sanding the top to see if she would be able to restain it vs. painting.

Carrie obviously has better yard sale luck than most of us, as she was able to pick up this darling vintage typewriter table at a local sale for only $4 — an astonishing deal by any standard. When she bought it, Carrie already knew this table was getting a cartographic makeover.Carrie’s first step was priming the table, before covering it with white spray paint. After selecting three different maps, she modge-podged them to the three sections of the table top.

I am fairly certain that if I drove by this dresser on trash day in my neighborhood, I would have kept on going. Sure it is an interesting size and has nice lines, but the utterly awful painted finish would have had me imagining all types of other things that would undoubtedly be wrong with it, not to mention the hours of labor involved in stripping it.

Janel had an old round table that was just crying out for a makeover. After some careful thought and consideration, she decided to cover the entire table with Rub’n’Buff. At that point the table took on a beautiful burnished gold tone, but Janel wasn’t finished.Janel decided to cover the top of the table with a compass rose, and she decided to create that pattern herself rather than using a stencil!

Sheila was never a fan of the console that held her TV and other media equipment, especially given its size in relation to the awkward corner that housed the installation. Months ago she found the ideal solution to her dilemma and ordered an artist’s easel to convert into a TV/media stand. With just a little modification, she was able to transform the easel and therefore her living room.

DIY desks are becoming a more common sight these days, but desks like rrim’s beautifully executed bi-level birch and pine desk designed for three displays and a water-cooled PC is far from the norm. Hours upon hours of “sanding and staining and clear-coating” resulted in a space efficient and cable-hiding piece worth showcasing… rrim’s Spec’s List: CPU: Intel i7 980x @ 4.

What started off as a worn down circa 1960’s stereo cabinet was converted into an impressive yesterday-meets-tomorrow media PC capable of storing their 50,000 song library.

This dresser is a telling reminder that DIY efforts to improve older furniture are nothing new — though viewing this wallpaper application as an improvement may be a stretch! Despite the poor finish, the waterfall dresser itself is a solid piece, one Sarah knew deserved a makeover.Sarah stripped off the green patterned wallpaper only to discover thick layers of paint underneath.

Titia was out running errands when she decided to swing by one of her favorite junk stores. While wending her way through back streets, she came upon a treasure trove of furniture just being discarded, and hopped out to look. Her luck held when she found two pieces she knew she could work with — and when a passerby offered to help her load them into her car!Even before she began stripping off that terrible brown paint, Titia was certain she had found a very special piece.

It is obvious that Karen must a dedicated DIYer with an artist’s eye if she could find the beauty in this dilapidated dresser. Her father-in-law rescued this dresser from the dumpster knowing that Karen would be able bring this piece back to life.After waiting for inspiration to strike, Karen got to work scraping and stripping and sanding to remove the layers of peeling paint. She then painted the dresser in a slate grey and created a pattern to help celebrate her 19th wedding anniversary.

Vanessa spotted this dresser in Portland and fell in love with the shape and style, but not the dried-up, cracked surface. So instead of the typical paint over we so ofter see, she went the wood purist way. See what some hard work and dedication will uncover after the jump…She began with a good clean and strip. The natural soy based stripper she began with didn’t do the trick, so she had to call in the big guns to get rid of the old varnish.

Michelle had been searching for a media console since she moved into her condo, something to replace the modern IKEA piece that came with her home. When she saw the above piece listed on Craigslist for only $40, she immediately headed out to purchase it. She knew that after a little TLC, it would be the perfect addition to her home.

One of the best things about Apartment Therapy is the community of real voices weighing in on real-life design dilemmas and challenges. No matter how (relatively) easy it is for me to dish out advice to others about interior decorating and layout, I find I can get stuck in a decorating rut when it comes to some of my own spaces.Sometimes, all it takes is getting fresh, new perspectives on a room to overcome design challenges, especially when it comes to layout and furniture placement dilemmas.

I love the blank slate presented by Ikea’s Lack table — one simple design, endless possibilities. And I particularly love this creative hack from blogger Naomi Stein of Design Manifest, which reminded me of my childhood love for origami.That’s right — origami. Naomi took paper — specifically, some grasscloth wallpaper left over from another project — and used it to cover her Lack table and completely change its look.

Stripping paint often proves time-consuming, frustrating, and sometimes even dangerous — but just as often, it’s worth the effort! This dresser (seen here without its drawers) was found with layers of paint — a thick coat of white being the most recent.The Crafty Canadian (from Crafty in Canada) did some research on the manufacturer and made an educated guess that underneath the layers of paint there would be beautiful solid walnut.

David needed to replace his rotted out farmhouse shed and wanted to go for a more modern look. Instead of shelling out the big bucks for a readymade modern shed, he took a stab at building one of his own for a quarter of the price. I have to say I am in awe of his results.For $3000, David demoed, hauled and started building from the ground up. It only took him a few days and some hard work.

From the moment she saw it, Melanie loved the quirky lines of this solid wood desk. The piece had obviously been left outside to endure the seasons; the top had essentially been stripped of any protective finish. What many would see as a fault Melanie considered a benefit — less work to strip the piece down to ready for a makeover!Melanie wanted a masculine finish for her college student son, and even considered painting the entire desk black.

A client recently asked if I could paint over furniture — he was sick of the look, but the piece was functional and he didn’t want to throw it out. Why not?You could take your furniture to a shop and have it sanded and sprayed and spritzed in a dust-free environment and perhaps it would last for all time, but that sounds a lot like expensive restoration to me. Or for Plan B, try this:Give your sideboard a light sanding (220 grit), dust it off and paint over it in an oil-based paint.

It is clear from the photo above that Lesli has the kind of yard sale luck that most of us can only dream about, even on our best day. When she arrived at a local yard sale, she immediately saw the perfect bed for her daughter, a bed that had somehow been overlooked by antique hunters earlier in the day. When she saw the price tag, a whopping $25, she paid immediately and accepted the help of the seller to load up her car.

What happens when carpet isn’t an option and your hardwood flooring has been discontinued? Well, if you’re Mandi Grubler, you head to the hardware store and come home with a few cans of paint. See how she schooled this concrete floor into submission.Mandi is always willing to roll up her sleeves and test the DIY waters for the rest of us. This time around, she’s painting the concrete floor in her daughter’s room.

When Mel first saw this pair of bamboo shelving units in her Habitat for Humanity store, she passed them by without purchasing. She then spent the rest of the night worrying that someone else would have snapped them up; thankfully they were still at the store when she returned the following day. With their glass shelves and ornate lines, Mel just knew these pieces were perfect for a makeover.

Meagan, of the blog Craft Habit, recently acquired a pair of hand-me-down Ikea nightstands, but really had her heart set on the GiGi nightstand from Urban Outfitters that, at $150 a piece, was out of her price range. So, set on having more minty fresh goods in her house, she transformed the IKEA pieces into such a good match, we’d be hard-pressed to decide which version we like better.

Silver metallic furniture pieces have been on the scene for a while now and don’t seem to be heading out anytime soon. Mandi wanted to try her hand at creating one without a trusty silver spray can in hand but using a common kitchen goods instead. See what she pulled off after the jump…At first I was skeptical, but by the end of her tutorial I was thoroughly impressed. She didn’t just glue on some tin foil and call it a day (which probably wouldn’t do the trick).

Holly readily admits that organization isn’t her strong point, so she certainly sympathized with her client’s desire to find a “mommy desk” to help her get organized as her eldest started kindergarten. Holly found this vintage teacher’s desk, solidly built though marked by years of doodling and dings. With strong bones but in desperate need of a refinish, this desk was the perfect candidate for a makeover.

Karen scored this dresser when it was left behind in a friend of a friend’s garage. She took that dresser with its one green painted drawer home and painted it white and cream to match her bedroom, and there it has lived for the last seven years. She and her husband are working to update their master bedroom, and Karen decided this dresser was just asking for a makeover.

Most bathrooms are small, wet places, so choosing appropriate furniture is often a challenge. Learn from Jenny, who took a flea market lucite stool and fixed it up to work in her bathroom.Jenny from Little Green Notebook spotted this scratched up stool at a flea market and decided to use it as a seat for when she’s bathing her kids.For wet or messy locales, laminated fabric is a great alternative.

When Kalie and Travis moved into their house a year ago, they knew they had a lot of things to change to make it feel like home. Thrilled to finally have an outlet for their passion for decorating, they have been gradually implementing their big plans in their self-defined little house.They changed out the light wood floors for dark, and installed new custom cabinets built by a friend.

When Sarah picked up this painted dresser for $25, she knew the bright red paint and mismatched knobs had to go. Since the red paint wasn’t quite her thing, she immediately covered the dresser with a coat of citri-strip. Once that round of stripper revealed the mahogany beneath the paint, she knew her makeover would be both more complicated and more satisfying.After stripping the entire dresser down to the underlying wood, Sarah pretreated the base and then stained with Minwax Dark Walnut.

Vintage card catalogs can be found for a pretty penny, but Kristen from The Painted Hive devised an amazing, inexpensive DIY using — you guessed it — an IKEA product.Kristine wanted an old card catalog, but didn’t want to fork over the large amount of cash that they often sell for. So she got creative, and used IKEA’s MOPPE mini chest of drawers (which replaced the ‘FIRA‘ and for some reason can only currently be found at the UK site).

Catherine’s husband Danny owned this rather orange coffee table when they first met, and she freely admits to having spent the last few years moving it around the house in an attempt to hide its rather bright hue. The flaking finish plus some penmanship practice in one corner made this piece ripe for a makeover once Catherine found her inspiration in a post by a fellow blogger.

There’s a reason basements often become cluttered dumping grounds, they’re usually dark, uninviting and an excuse to hide your mess away. If you have an underused or unappealing basement, take some cues from designer Frances Herrera who transformed this one into a bright, welcoming playroom.What was your goal for this space – what did your clients ask for?My clients needed an inspiring place for their 5-year-old daughter to play, craft, and entertain her friends.

When Susan first saw this battered buffet, it was anything but love at first sight. Water stains, peeling veneer, and missing drawer pulls — this buffet had them all. Thankfully, it also had wonderful lines, solid construction, and some beautiful carved legs peeping through the grime and abuse. With a gritty determination, Susan set out to restore this buffet to reflect its proud past.

Ashley picked this table up at a thrift store for only $10, a great deal for a piece with this much hidden storage. Despite the obvious benefits of such a table for a growing family, the look of the piece is dated and too dark for Ashley’s plan to brighten up her living room. Though this project required a lot of time and attention to detail, the end result is a great addition to Ashley’s evolving living room.

When I saw the photo of this ottoman, I had to look twice because it’s just like one I picked up at the local thrift store several months ago! Just like the one above, mine isn’t in terrible shape, but the upholstery is certainly outdated and could do with a bit of sprucing up.Jill Browning is certainly more proactive than I am and she did just that, gave her ottoman a fabulous makeover. And where, pray tell, do you think she got that lovely fabric from?

Sarah got herself a great deal on this painted dresser — or so she thought until she started sanding off the paint on the top and found not solid wood but veneer. Battered veneer patched with wood filler. Veneer she knew she would have to chip off bit by bit. Veneer that ultimately required a chisel and a heat gun to remove completely. Despite her hatred of the process, the end result was certainly worth the effort.

When Ms. Bliss found this lemon yellow dresser by the side of the road, she was certain it still had some life left in it. She was already working on redoing her 13-year-old son’s bedroom, and knew the added storage would be a great addition to that space. With only minimal damage to be fixed, this dresser was an excellent candidate for a more masculine makeover.Ms.

There was nothing wrong with the plain silk curtains in Maegan’s ultra-feminine home office (which we profiled as a Tech Tour last year). But, when she spotted the luxe tassled curtains in Carrie’s apartment while watching old episodes of Sex and the City, she knew she could recreate the look for less.All it took was a few yards of elegant black tassel trim — as well as a few hours of patient pinning and hand-stitching — to really upgrade this window treatment.

From all-purpose craft room/storage room to spectacularly organized and inspiring workspace, this craft room makeover is enough to make the best of us a little envious.I love the industrial touches with the work stool, table legs and chains that hold up the shelving. It doesn’t go over the top and retains a refined edge.The makeover was done by Real Simple so of course they focused not just on the aesthetics, but functionality and organization.

Maury (Mars for short) is slowly but surely redoing her guest room to make it an inviting place for friends and family to visit. Since she is working with a budget, she is reusing furniture from her childhood- furniture she loves but that looks well-loved in return. Using some familiar products, Mars managed to transform the look of her childhood bed for this new adult space.Oh the joy and wonder that is Howard Restor-a-Finish and Feed-n-Wax!

Most people would consider this playset good to go, as is. It’s big, in great shape, and loaded with features. Clear a space, secure that puppy to the ground and let the kids get crazy. But some folks are not satisfied with good to go — they envision great to go. And then they make it happen.Whee-ooo whee-ooo, call the fire department because this project is blazing with awesomeness. Michell from Girl in Air scored this play set used for a fraction of what it would cost new.

Fusty light fixtures are a surefire way to show that you haven’t freshened up your decor in a while. A long while, in some cases. When Kristine, the talented Aussie behind The Painted Hive, wanted to brighten up a little nook off her parents’ master bedroom (a “retreat” for her mum), she knew this fixture needed a serious makeover.It’s hard to believe it’s the same wall sconce!

After taking a break from furniture refinishing for a year to have a lovely baby, Cathy decided to get back in the game when she found these wooden nightstands listed for sale online. Solidly built but not very attractive, these nightstands were crying out for a makeover.Cathy sanded everything down to remove the old finish before using her paint sprayer to cover the bases in Benjamin Moore Moon Rise. She chose to retain the original wood tones of the top, staining it with Minwax Red Oak.

Crystal loved the price and concept of IKEA’s CIRKUSTÄLT play tent, but she wasn’t a fan of the loud primary colors especially to use in her daughter’s softer-hued bedroom. She picked out fabric she did like and got busy with her sewing machine…Voila! She used the same “bones” of the tent, but completely new fabric that is more her style.

When the folks at Fixing It Fancy bought their home in Hudson, Wisconsin, they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them. They powered through the wood-paneled home room-by-room. Here’s a look at what they dreamed up in their bedroom… They began with tearing down the wood paneled walls. They decided on keeping the panel on the ceiling and painting it white, which really gave a nice, open and airy quality to a once claustrophobic room.

When Alisha and her husband decided the time had come to rearrange all the bedrooms in their house to better suit the needs of their growing family, they were lucky enough to have some old family favorites to help set up a new room for their toddler son that could double as a guest room when necessary. Alisha knew she wanted to reuse the beds that had belonged to her husband when he was a child, but also knew they needed an update to fit with her vision.

Many of the ‘Befores’ of our Before and After posts are hopeless spaces where any bit of attention would be a marked improvement. But sometimes the room itself is fine and it is the needs of the occupant that dictate the change. In this case, a little sister was moving into her big brother’s room. To make things interesting, the makeover was a birthday surprise and had to be completed in just one day. The suspense is killing me!Voila!

When David found this drab little dresser, he immediately had a vision of a kid-friendly makeover involving chalkboard paint. That plan lasted right up until he had a conversation with his sister, a mom of three who was not a fan of the idea of chalk dust anywhere near her kids clean clothes. David immediately switched gears and came up with a wonderful backup plan involving vintage graphics he found online.

Like many of us, Weiya was searching for an affordable solution for her storage woes, searching for a piece which could work as a landing strip for her personal belongings (keys, diaper bag, etc), while also provide additional storage underneath, and surface area for her laptop.

Katie picked up this bruised and battered table from her favorite thrift store for the unbelievable price of $16.91. Despite the peeling veneer and the damaged finish, Katie knew this table was solidly built and had a lot of life left in it.With no way to fix the damaged veneer on the edge, Katie was forced to remove it using a damp cloth and a hot iron. She then used lacquer remover and sanding to take off the finish and the gold foil design on the top.

Jonathan Lo, who is no stranger to DIY, interior design, and making things beautiful, is at it again with these painted nightstands. As an addition to his handmade (of course) headboard, he wanted a sleek pair of end tables to contrast the weathered look of the bed. I think he achieved his goal…This crisp and classic navy blue adds such a handsome appeal to these nightstands. Often folks will cringe at the thought of painting any wood, whatsoever.