DIY Home Projects

Honestly, we’re shocked Kyle was able to pick anything out of this muddy furniture pile. Not only does he have the greatest eye in the history of curbside finds, he made an absolutely stunning piece of upcycled vintage furniture. From Kyle: I found this literally in the trash on the side of the road. It looked like someone had cleared out their back shed and threw this, along with many other old pieces of furniture, into the mud. This project took me many months to finally commit to.

Alfredo and Ken found this boho dream of a couch on the street (what luck!) and after letting it sit around for a bit, gave it a major vacation vibes makeover. From Alfredo and Ken: We found this vintage rattan couch on the street, it had no cushions but it was in great shape! We carried it to our house and it was sitting in our backyard for a few months before we knew what to do with it.

Sunny found this mega outdated but well made dresser on Craigslist and knew it would be an excellent fit in her nursery. Some sanding, painting, and drilling resulted in a muted yet gorgeous piece of furniture. Oh, and she did it all while very pregnant. We’re tired for her. From Sunny: This $50 Craigslist wood dresser was just the perfect size for our nursery — but boy, was it ever hideous.

Becky’s kitchen had been previously renovated by a house flipper who may not have been thinking things through. There weren’t any drawers. In a kitchen. Becky tried to make do with that temporary storage cart you can see above, but she knew it was time for a better solution. From Becky: Our kitchen was done by a house flipper in which zero drawer units were included. I had purchased a cart as a temporary solution and immediately discovered it didn’t fit our needs.

Robyn’s backyard was suffering from a lack of both greenery and privacy. She decided to spruce the space up with some plant boxes and a very charming lattice, perfect for dining al fresco! From Robyn: We have lived in our home for almost three years now and I have been on a mission to add character to our home, including outside.

There was a lot to take in with this Spanish home tour. Like an amazing kitchen, stunning stairs, dreamy furniture and more. If you didn’t notice each incredible design detail of the home’s 7000 square feet, I wouldn’t blame you. So much to soak up! But while inspiration can be gathered from every room, there was one particular design idea I spotted in the nursery and loved…and it’s something I’ve never seen before.

Kevin struck Craigslist gold with this buffet. It had all of the proportions and details he was looking for and it was $Free$. He turned the buffet into a striking piece that brings out the best of the original features while adding some extra style. From Kevin: I found this buffet for free off Craigslist. The landlord of a building in Chicago had posted it, saying his previous tenants had left it when they moved out. The buffet was worn and pretty beat up when I got it.

We’ve seen plenty of knock out paint upgrades on the site, but Diane’s dresser makeover adds an extra special element. Paint, glaze, wax and one stunning transfer lead to one heck of a statement piece. From Diane: This was a stunning piece of furniture ‘before’. Beautiful lines, solid construction. One of those ‘hard-to-come-by’ pieces. And, honestly, I could have loved it as-is. I wanted to give this piece a makeover because lacked something.

Claire from Pillar Box Blue generously made over her friend’s worn table in a single afternoon. Adding bright color and vivid patterns to a wood table not only upgraded the piece, it changed the vibe of the entire space. From Claire: My friend Wendy’s dining room table was in a sorry state. It was a well-used table that had become full of scrapes, scratches and even a dirty big iron burn. The table was in her main living/dining room and a bit of an eyesore.

Whether you have a separate dining room or not, finding the perfect chairs to enjoy a meal on is not an easy feat for the budget minded design lover. When you’re on the hunt to find two to eight (or more!) comfortable and attractive seats, that quickly adds up. That’s why we were excited when we came across this chic bargain that’s almost too good to be true.

John spotted this coffee table at a flea market, and knew that even though it had seen better days, it was still a solid piece of furniture. Without a particular plan in mind, he decided to sand down the top and was handsomely rewarded for his curiousity! From John: I purchased this coffee table at a flea market about a year ago for $100. It came in this rustic, dry-brushed grey color. The hardware was outdated and dull. But the piece itself was solid and the drawers were pristine.

Kayla and Kyle’s porch felt like a missed opportunity. Dark, outdated and very much not their style, they weren’t spending a ton of time out there. Kayla finally had enough and set out to punch up the porch, turning it into a perfect spot for relaxing or hosting. From Kayla: My husband, Kyle, and I moved into his childhood home almost three years ago when his parents moved to the country.

There's even one trick that gives you a whole new look for free.

Oversized knit blankets crafted from chunky yarn and PVC-pipe needles have been floating around Pinterest for a few years now. And while the finished projects looked amazing, I couldn’t bring myself to buy supplies that would take up any more space in my apartment. But now that needle-free arm knitting has hit the DIY scene, I’m 100% on board with giant knit everything.

Everything about Aysu Sener‘s Dutch home is lovely. The color palette is warm and welcoming. A mix of textures adds an atmosphere of coziness. And of course, there’s Aysu’s beautiful macramé work. Upon closer reflection, though, the genius of Aysu’s interior design skills reveals itself. Her organic modern living room holds a secret: The statement wall behind the couch is show-stopping, unique and deceptively simple to recreate.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Finding affordable art that you actually like is one of the hardest parts of furnishing a home. And once you finally find the pieces, you realize that frames cost even more than the art itself (yikes!). As per usual, IKEA (combined with brilliant bloggers around the web) saves the day with wall decor DIYs and art-hanging hacks that are totally within budget. You can kiss those blank walls buh-bye.

Tyler and his family were about to make the move into a house built in the 1950s when they realized that it would need some upgrades in order to be suitable for their young daughter. Two weeks of intense DIY fixes later, they’re home was not only livable, but totally adorable! From Tyler: Our boss’s father recently passed away.

There are plenty of changes you can make to your bathroom that will have a big impact — even if you're a renter not an owner.

Kids rooms can be a tough nut to crack. They have to combine storage and function with style that can be adaptable to the changing and developing tastes of the young one. Jane decided that they could do more to maximize the space of their daughter’s room and give her a space that was more reflective of who she is. Enter, the IKEA hack! From Jane: Our youngest daughter’s bedroom was relatively small and lacked space for additional furniture for storage.

It’s no secret that we are huge fans of tile. It’s also not a secret that we are huge fans of do-it-yourself projects. So when our two great loves converge, we do a tile-loving-DIY-fan happy dance. Germarie added some oomph to her standard shower by creating her own black and white patchwork tiles. From Germarie: Patchwork tiles are very trendy this year, but retiling a bathroom can be an expensive and messy exercise.

This once grande dame of a sofa had good bones, she just needed a little refresh. In swoops Ashley’s mom, Janie, newly(ish) minted upholsterer and true tuffet champion. After three weeks and, like, a million buttons, this beauty was ready for her second act. From Ashley: This 1970s pea green sofa was certainly lovely in its time, but the velvet was worn and stained and its skirt wasn’t doing it any favors.

Vinyl aside, these chairs had a certain je nais se quoi. Stephanie snatched them up from the salvage yard and gave them a loving and era-appropriate upgrade. From Stephanie: These Australian-made mid-century chairs came from the salvage yard at our local landfill. The colors and finishes are different, but I noticed their matching frames under the worn vinyl and busted lacquer finish. Both also had a pivoting metal under frame – so they weren’t just regular armchairs, but recliners!

Nick found himself with the familiar small space dilemma of moving to a new spot and needing more storage. He decided to give his plain IKEA bookshelf an EPIC makeover, turning it into a high glam, conversation-starting storage piece. From Nick: A couple of years ago, my boyfriend and I lived in Queens, where we had enough room for a studio for my graphic design work. This bookcase used to live there and worked perfectly as is.

When your bedroom is too small to even fit a nightstand, this homemade ledge for your bedside wall is the next best alternative. Constructed from the parts of two $4 BEKVAM spice racks, this little shelf is perfectly sized for holding a glass of water, your phone and a pendant lamp—so everything you need is right within reach.

Madeleine needed both storage and a sleeping option in her small mountain bedroom. She figured that a captain’s bed would solve both dilemmas and after getting super lucky on Craigslist, set about making her find a little more visually pleasing. From Madeleine: When we bought a tiny (600-square-foot) condo in the mountains, we needed to furnish it efficiently both in terms of space and cost.

Spring has (maybe? hopefully!) sprung and now is the time to get outdoors. Natalie and her boyfriend recently moved in together and found themselves with a spare table that was a little worse for wear. Rather than toss it and buy all new deck furniture, they had the bright idea to give what they had a colorful upgrade and now they have a lovely outdoor space without breaking the bank. This old table had been in storage and was showing its age- stained, chipped and scratched.

There are a lot of things my friends make fun of me for. In my apartment alone, there’s plenty of fodder: my enormous yarn collection, stacked on a bookshelf directly across from my bed; my hand-embroidered clock, which hangs above the doorway; my small tray of rocks covered in crocheted cotton cozies, which look for all the world as if they are wearing sweaters. “You made SWEATERS for ROCKS?

Just going to get this out of the way up front: this project is not a casual, pick it up when you’re bored DIY. This project is a “save yourself thousands” and “put your tools and considerable sewing skills to good use” and definitely a “can’t believe you can actually do that” type of DIY. From Karen: I wanted a new more modern sofa, but the one I loved was $2,100! My slipcovered sofa was stained and sat very low but the frame was still very solid.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever lived in a rental. Now raise your hand if you’ve ever lived in a rental with a lackluster kitchen. Underwhelming rental kitchens are about as common as noisy upstairs neighbors, but at least you can make small temporary fixes to brighten up your cooking space (if somebody makes peel-and-stick ‘quiet down and be considerate of others’ please let us know immediately).

Sarah had an idea of the perfect mid-century-style mirror in her mind. So when she spotted something like that mirror, albeit a rusty, over the top version, she snatched it up. Using the classic DIY elixir of elbow grease and spray paint she turned the whole thing around in one well-spent afternoon. I love mid-century design and wanted a vintage starburst mirror for as long as I can remember, but I also didn’t want the price tag that typically goes along with the real deal.

Ever since reading Farhad Manjoo’s ode to the high-end toilet-seat bidet in the New York Times in 2015, I’ve been curious to try one.

We’ve seen Ariel work her renter friendly design magic before, and now she’s turned her energy toward the bathroom. In one weekend she added color, texture and style without sacrificing her security deposit. Check it out! From Amber: That folks, is what it looks like when bad spaces and poor planning happen to good people. As you can see, not terrible, but nothing that I’d call “Pinterest worthy.

In truly tiny apartments, it’s not uncommon for renters to forego the traditional coffee table simply to squeeze in a little more seating. An extra chair or two means more room for friends, but once everyone’s there, where do you set down your drinks or serve the popcorn in a coffee-table-less room? To solve your insufficient surface area woes, DIY one of these ledges, c-tables or shelves that tuck into areas you didn’t even know your living room had.

Like turning geodes into air plant containers and etching glass jars.

The $35 unfinished pine dresser from IKEA is a blank slate for your creativity. To show how it can be customized to match any decor style—no matter if your signature look is understated or over-the-top—we hacked this dresser two ways. Keep it simple with some paint and a bit of patterned gift wrap, or embrace elaborate bohemian details with bone-inlay stenciling. Either way, you’re going to get extra storage with serious style.

Mary found a very handsome but somewhat worn desk outside of a thrift store. After snatching it up for less than it costs to buy Lemonade on iTunes, she took it home and restored it to its former glory. From Mary: I had been looking for a small desk for my computer for some time, and since I knew it would be in the family room I wanted it to look nice and not look like an office space.

If you know of an old POÄNG chair that’s looking a little worse for wear, you could take a page from Philippa Saul’s book and cover it top to bottom with a glorious, hand-crocheted (-knitted and -embroidered) country cottage and garden.

If you’ve never made anything out of leather before, it can be difficult to know how to get started and where to shop for supplies. Looking at the prices, it’s no wonder sticker shock can turn many would-be leather workers away from the craft.

The cube-shaped EKET cabinet has us thinking outside the box, to all the stackable, modular options this simple design presents. By adding wheels to the bottom and stacking one on top of another using Velcro, you can easily switch out the cabinets or roll them from room-to-room—proving that this little storage unit has big potential.

Lizzie’s upstairs bedroom came with a great view and some not so great cabinets. She’s a renter, so removing them was out of the question, but she found a creative way to make the space work for her. From Lizzie: We had two slightly tatty built-in cabinets either side of a Velux window. They didn’t look great, and the space in the middle was wasted. It became a catch-all for junk. Because the home is rented, though, we couldn’t make any permanent changes.

It’s always a curious thing when a piece of furniture with a pedigree that dates back centuries manages to situate itself into contemporary design (without actually looking like an antique). Such is the case with the Windsor chair. Originating in the early 1700s and taking its name from the English town of—you guessed it—Windsor, the humble wooden chair has been an anchor of English and American interiors past and present.

Our good pal Claire took an old IKEA standby, unfinished drawers, and turned them into a bright and charming accent piece. Drawing inspiration from her love of travel, she gave the piece an antique-inspired, worldly makeover. From Claire: When you buy something in unfinished wood from IKEA the idea is you finish it at home to suit your decor. Well this IKEA mini drawers set had been sitting in the back of my craft cupboard for 10 years waiting to be finished.

The last thing we tend to think of when we see furniture is an extraterrestrial entity, but this UFO-shaped rocking chair has us seriously reconsidering the way we view seating options. Despite the obvious stigma attached to it, allow us to assure you that this rocking chair doesn’t immediately conjure up images of sleeping babies and knitting grandmas.

Fani’s Brooklyn kitchen looked like many a New York rental kitchen, small and kind of generic. One day she had enough of her brown kitchen and decided to take matters into her own hands, bringing color, texture and life to her Park Slope space. From Fani: My small Brooklyn kitchen had outdated old cabinets with lots of wear and tear. The style and color of the cabinets didn’t match the mid-century modern style of the apartment.

Crafting trends ebb and flow just like decor trends come and go, and at the moment, embroidery is enjoying its time in the spotlight—and showing up on everything from jean jackets to tennis rackets. Whether you choose to pick up a needle and thread, or prefer to admire these beauties from afar, we’ve pulled together a sampler of Instagram accounts offering endless stitch-spiration.

Activated charcoal—an ingredient perhaps best-known as those black specks in our Brita water filters—has recently been showing up in everything from trendy ice cream to skincare products. Beloved for its detoxing abilities, this it-ingredient is credited with cleansing skin, whitening teeth and treating acne. To get in on the skin-clearing natural wonder, we picked up some food-grade activated coconut charcoal and put it to work in marbled soap bars and bath bombs that mean business.

While essential oils have been used for aromatherapy for hundreds of years, these all-natural scents are seeing a spike in popularity as more people are learning about their de-stressing and energizing abilities. Derived from plants or flowers, most often through steam distillation, essential oils can be used to make scented candles, oil diffusers, even pest repellants.

The paradox of learning how to cook is that the more competent you become, the less competent you feel, because you end up with a jumble of spices cluttering up your kitchen cabinets. Every new, exciting, unfamiliar spice you acquire — sumac, amchoor powder, fenugreek — translates into less space in your designated spice shelf, which then makes any given spice harder to find.

Tricia was faced with a herculean (ok not really, but pretty difficult) task of maximizing a small space with sloped ceilings and outdated features. The result is cozy, crisp and stylish. Tricia: Before we got started on giving our smallest bedroom in the house a makeover, the walls were an odd shade of pistachio green and the flat part of the ceiling was covered in popcorn texture. The biggest obstacle in making the 100 square foot room livable was the awkward floor plan.

Dana became the proud owner of a very large, worn down dresser because she knew with a little love and guidance, it could really be something. Who knew that sanding, painting and hand crafting some leather straps really turned this situation around (Dana knew). From Dana: I bought this dresser for $40 from a man who likely picked it up off a curb. It was really heavy and I could tell that it had good bones but had no idea what was under the several layers of stubborn brown paint.

When Addison spotted a piece she’d been lusting after at a thrift store, she knew she had to have it. After snatching up the large ottoman of her dreams, she decided to put her extra cash towards spiffing it up a bit. I got this square ottoman for $20 from a thrift store. This ottoman was still structurally sound but need new fabric. Other ottomans this size can go for upwards of $500 so I was super happy to find this for so cheap at a thrift store! The ottoman is 37 inches by 37 inches.

Ilsa spotted this mid-century modern beauty in a charity shop and knew she could make it sing. After some initial fear that she couldn’t push through all of the wear and tear that poor Bruno the desk had suffered through over the years, she was able to sand and strip away the grime and stains and reveal a glowing and beautiful piece of furniture. Three cheers for Ilsa for her good eye and all of her hard work!

Adie’s office space in her new house was in a room with great light and of a good size, but something just wasn’t right. After some big fixes before moving in, Adie and her husband focused on giving the room a DIY makeover. From Adie: When we purchased our home, one of the bedrooms was being used as an office. It had green walls and shelves everywhere. The floors were in rough shape, but the room has great natural light and is quite spacious.

Deirdre’s entryway makeover packs in all of our favorite things: DIY, IKEA, wallpaper, space maximization and creativity. But you know what, since it’s not all about us, the best thing about Deirdre’s new entryway is how much she loves it. From Deirdre Sullivan: My apartment didn’t have a real entryway.

Sug-what? Pronounced seew-grew, this sticky substance is like moldable glue that’s clay-like out of the package, then hardens to rubber after 24 hours. People have found all sorts of ways to fix and create things with this flexible, interesting stuff. But perhaps most intriguing is its potential for renters.

Ariel found herself in a situation familiar to many an Apartment Therapy reader; a great idea, great taste and the limits of being in a rental. With a little millwork, paint and a weekend Ariel was able to make her living room dreams a reality. From Ariel: We live in a rental (Military Housing here in Canada) so we’re not allowed to do anything that can’t be un-done when we move out.

Ajda’s sideboard find had fantastic mid-century lines and solid sturdiness, but it needed a little more style. She opted to go the soothing Scandinavian inspired route, tossing in a little pattern to give it some extra pizzaz. From Ajda: My boyfriend and I got this 60’s sideboard a while ago and couldn’t figure out how to bring it to 2016.

We featured Christina’s master bedroom makeover last week, and now we get to see what magic she’s worked in another room in the house. She switched up the purpose of her guest bedroom, revamped the whole aesthetic of the space by adding storage and serious chic finds. Without any further ado…the dressing room of your dreams!

So often we find ourselves engaged in the classic home design battle of style versus storage. Tamera found herself in such a conundrum with her hallway. Too many doors led to a guest bathroom guessing game and made the space feel cramped and cut off. Her solution was simple, inexpensive and totally changed the vibe of the hallway. From Tamera: When we first moved into our apartment, the hallway to the guest bathroom was covered in doors.

Ah yes, the forgotten room aka “out-of-sight-out-of-mind room” aka the junk drawer room, we’ve all had one some of us may still have one (guilty). Molly took it upon herself to help her forgotten room find its purpose as an adorable work and lounge room, a tall order for a small space. Check it out! From Molly: Hopefully, everyone can understand the out-of-sight-out-of-mind room. The neglected, ignored, sad space that falters while other spaces get more attention.

After you shell out cash for furniture, rugs, sconces and duvet covers, the thought of paying even more for artwork is overwhelming. We hear you! But if you aren’t artistic enough to draw or paint your own art, adorn those empty walls with free photos, illustrations and patterns that are up for grab online. Here are seven of our favorite, less-than-well-known sources to score free images. The only cost is the frame.

Who among us hasn’t spotted a piece with a ton of potential, took it home to gussy it up and then totally forgot about it? After letting this guy get a little too aquainted with his attic storage, Malcolm pulled him out and give him a timeless and stylish upgrade. From Malcolm: I spotted this sorry little fellow a few years ago, lying abandoned in the back of a reclamation yard. I could just see his little leg, as the long grass had grown up through him.

If you assume you can’t afford to deck the walls in your apartment, you may just need to think outside the art gallery. Craft supply stores, thrift shops and your own closet seem like unlikely places to find wall decor, but all it takes to transform common objects into art is a fresh frame of mind—and some inexpensive frames. A handmade textile is a work of art whether you hang it on the wall or not, so go ahead and put a favorite fabric in a frame.

Floating frames are having a moment. There’s something so eye-catching about seeing a photograph, feather or message suspended in midair—and the fact that it’s one of the simplest framing techniques (no matting necessary) makes it even more popular. If you want to add more art to your home, but don’t have time for yet another project to procrastinate on completing, turn to these three ideas that take less than 5 minutes to make.

Any way you slice it, committing to a design upgrade can be hard and more than a little bit scary. After living a few years with a kitchen she did not particularly love, Havalah finally decided to pull the trigger on a kitchen makeover. After committing to doing the whole upgrade on their own, she had to settle on a look and feel for the space as well as the best way to accomplish it. The final result is clean and sophisticated while remaining kid friendly and welcoming.

Let’s just say that Emily overlooked a lot of flaws to see the true beauty in this MCM desk. Heavy, stinky and in a pile of snow, she was nevertheless determined to salvage her find and turn it into a welcome new addition to her home. From Emily: A few weeks ago I was heading to pick up my daughter from school in -16 temperatures, when I saw this beauty sitting on the sidewalk.

Many renters hope to add some color to their place, but Mery’s dreams were even more modest — white paint. So before she moved in, she negotiated with her landlord and got permission to paint and update her kitchen. Playing with white paint and how it works with the textures in her kitchen, she made a huge change. From Mery: I moved in six months ago and I am a renter. The first thing I told the owner was that I would rent it only if i could paint the kitchen tiles.

Think you don’t have frame-worthy wall art? Time to pull out that box of memorabilia and travel souvenirs stashed in the back of your closet. Even menus, paper coasters and postcards you’ve collected over the years can be turned into eye-catching art with the help of colorful paper matting, foam dots and some magical shadowbox frames. By lifting up paper items and giving them depth, shadowboxes turn the most ordinary mementos into masterpieces.

After snatching up a thrift store console table, Claire decided to give it a shabby-chic, Pineapple focused makeover. Without going overboard, she peppered the table with Pineapple and the result is a charming and whimsical accent table. From Claire: I have a thing about Pineapples, I think they are beautiful, the king of fruits. I hate to admit it but I’m seduced by lovely packaging and as fruit goes, pineapples come in their own fantastic packaging.