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Yes, they are so luxurious, but there's a catch.

This “room” was described by its new owner as “a dungeon of a space underneath the garage that was large and dirt-filled,” but being a designer and, some would say, visionary, she saw a dreamy home gym-to-be. This really is a dream gym. Seriously, that floor! It’s the visual equivalent of an ultimate workout jam, and it practically makes one want to start jumping around.

Bathroom renovations take time and come with a hefty price tag. The national average for a restroom remodel is $9,724, according to Home Advisor’s 2018 True Cost report. And in the upcoming year, homeowners plan on shelling out an average of $2,406 on upgrading their baths, according to the cost analysis. You don’t need to break the bank to upgrade the look of your bathroom.

This kitchen had a lot of problems—the ubiquitous over-sink scallop is just the beginning—so its intrepid but inexperienced new owner decided to DIY an entirely new kitchen by herself, including electrical work.

Hannah Wilson and her husband own a home remodeling/design company called Blank Slate Renovations, and the home they currently live in is a 1,300-square-foot condo in Dallas, Texas. They had to remodel the whole space and they had to stick to a pretty low budget. Now finished, it’s got a minimal/modern/organic/Scandi/boho style.

Laundry is the most avoided chore in our home. We don’t have a good spot to keep dirty clothes, which leads to chasing down little piles on laundry day, then scrambling to find a place to put the clean batches as each load comes out. Some very organized people have figured this out though. With their DIY sorting systems, household worths of laundry are neatly sorted before, during, and after each cycle.

These classic ’90s honey cabinets are about to get a major makeover, and those tiny backsplash tiles are not long for this world. And while there might be subway tiles involved, this is definitely not one of those wall-to-wall white remodels. Here’s the backstory on this renovation and what the homeowner was going for: Our ’90s kitchen had good bones but dark, dated features and oak cabinets that were begging for some color.

Many makeovers involve transforming dark rooms with white paint and paring things down, but this one is completely the opposite. This room is about to get a lot darker, significantly fuller, and exponentially more fabulous—with one special surprise. This is absolutely stunning. The room has the feel of a 200-year-old study, a magical place to stumble upon in an ancient home. One would never guess it was totally put together from scratch.

This laundry room was pretty nice—lovely daylight, pleasant neutrals, plenty of storage, and a few beautiful accessories. But after a dozen years of basically ignoring it, the room’s owners were more than ready for a makeover. Here’s the scoop on the issues with the laundry room: Our laundry room is central to our house, situated off of our living room and right next to our bedroom.

This “stuck in 1989” bathroom needed a lot more than just aesthetic improvements, as its tile, vanity, and toilet all had issues. Not unexpected after 30 years, but it was time for a makeover. Graphic designer Malcolm Simmons of Mas Means More gave this guest bathroom a fresh, modern look that looks clean and welcoming for guests, and embraces one of the year’s biggest trends.

Although this guest bathroom had a lot going for it—spaciousness, tons of natural light, lots of counter space—it was also, in the words of its owner, “truly a flashback to 1993 in all its bathroom glory.” The scalloped sink and peeled wallpaper had to go, so the entire bathroom got a 21st-century makeover.

While we’re not suggesting you hoard all of your glass liquor bottles—please, recycle that mountain of two buck Chuck empties—sometimes a glass bottle comes along that’s too pretty to toss. And when that happens, there are several ways you can choose to repurpose it. Here are some of our favorites: For serving water: If it’s good enough for some of my favorite restaurants, it’s good enough for me.

Unless you are an alien who is fascinated by the fact that humans secrete unsavory odors and deposit them onto their clothing, you probably don’t enjoy doing laundry. If you need motivation to get through all those whites and darks, we’ve got nine very affordable ways to spruce up your laundry room and make it an inspiring place you actually want to be in. Laundry rooms rival doctors offices in terms of sterility.

While this kitchen was quite tasteful and full of quality finishes, it didn’t fit in at all in the rest of the colorful, relaxed, free-spirited home. With just $80—and plenty of hard work—its owner gave it a fresh, fun new look. Here’s a little more information about the kitchen and the home, and what led to this undertaking: My kitchen was very dark and traditional before. Our cabinets were a dark cherry wood.

This totally ’80s bathroom was “a beige nightmare” with a few issues beyond the aesthetic, but two stalwart DIYers managed to remedy all that and create a fabulously inviting space, all with just two weekends’ of work and $2,000.

This kitchen was very cramped, what with all the intense wood paneling, small size, and free-range dishwasher. Over eight years, this 40-year-old kitchen in a 140-year-old home has been updated, and the fabulous results suit the house much better then all this ever could. Reader Chrissie Brackett is here to share a bit more about this kitchen and its challenges: Our kitchen and porch in our 1870s Victorian hadn’t been updated in about 40 years.

While you’re thinking about resolutions, your mind may wander to your home: how will you make your house a better place this year? While a big project isn’t always feasible, you can still work within the existing framework of your space to transform your home into a better, more functional place. How? We asked the pros—from realtors, to contractors, to interior designers—to dish on the easiest and cheapest home upgrades.

This little shed was lurking in its new owners’ backyard, too large for their storage needs and far too large and unsightly to ignore. After a year of sneaking in DIY work in the evenings and on weekends after their day jobs, the couple now has a charming tiny house for beloved—and paying—guests.

There are a lot of fabulous tiny houses out there, but very few of them started life as a car dealership office before serving as a beloved taco stand for two decades. This is no ordinary tiny house, and after 50 busy, bustling years, it now provides a peaceful retreat for visitors in rural Texas.

This kitchen had a lovely window, but thanks to dark, abundant cabinetry and a peekaboo wall, not much daylight flowed through the space. After living with the less-than-ideal arrangement, its owner was finally able to renovate—and the results are sunny and fun. The kitchen is now so nice and open, awash in natural light reflected off the white, yellow, green, and silvery finishes.

When you picture a bathroom, what do you see? I envision a fairly standard space—lots of white tile and a vanity with a few drawers and a cabinet. If it’s clean, modern, and functional, I’m largely satisfied. But according to the pros, the bathrooms of the future have much more to offer. Here, the biggest, most surprising bathroom trends you’ll see in 2019. “Color, color, color,” says Nancy Epstein, founder and CEO of Artistic Tile.

This home on Chicago’s Gold Coast was originally built in 1892, but was transformed into condominiums in 1978. This particularl unit—a two-bedroom space with one and a half baths—hadn’t been touched since. Covered in old carpet (even in the kitchen, shudder) and in need of a lot of work, Kira Cole wasn’t deterred by the design task at hand when she purchased the space.

Welcome to one of the most mysterious kitchens in Before & After history: A kitchen trapped in an octagonal pen, with a built-in fryer and an oppressively low ceiling that spits in the face of the home’s gloriously high ceilings. After a major investment of time, money, and effort, this kitchen is less… unique, but still full of personality. This full-length shot reveals how incredibly high the ceiling is and showcases the odd, church-like feel of this kitchen nook.

This tall, vintage, secondhand dresser needed a little wood filler and a lot of love, so its new owner gave it all that and a gorgeous coat of paint that totally transformed its look. The new owner of this dresser, who bought it on Craigslist for $75, described it as “a glossy cherry wood… ick!” It did, however, have nice lines, antique charm, and plenty of refined details without too much old-fashioned folderol.

In my many years of living in apartments and houses that tend to include windows (ok, they have all had windows), I’ve long found myself underwhelmed by curtain rods. If I do what’s practical and just buy something affordable, the materials yield an almost hilariously flimsy product.

One of the best things about tile is its sheer variety: You can find an option to suit any taste, including the taste that doesn’t like tile much at all (in that case, go for those ceramic planks that look like wood, complete with graining). And in the past few years, tile companies have been seriously upping their game, expanding beyond the rectangles we know and love to unexpected shapes, colors, and finishes.

Though this bathroom functioned just fine on paper, it was clearly a bit cramped—that’s the shower stall on the right just inside the door—and, according to its owners, “old, cheap, mismatched, and just plain ugly.” While all the finishes and fixtures look nice enough in the photo, and the palette is cool and understated, photos never tell the whole story. This tiny bathroom is about to get a big upgrade.

This open-plan living and dining room had tons of charm: A graceful chandelier, attractive and comfortable furniture, lush plants, and lots of natural light. Its owner, however, wanted to added a little something extra—that je ne sais quoi that would elevate the space. Reader Kari Hailey looked for ways to add architectural interest and warmth to the room, and finally found something they could do themselves, without spending a ton of money. Kari cleverly added beams!

Margaret lives in a condo in Atlanta’s Garden Hills neighborhood, in a 12-unit building that dates back to 1919. Old buildings sometimes come with unpleasant surprises, like when Margaret learned that the outside wall of her breakfast nook would have to be completely replaced due to water damage. But instead of seeing inconvenience, Margaret saw an opportunity to make her charming old home even more charming. Here’s a closer look at the breakfast nook alone.

One of the biggest hurdles in my own fitness journey is just making it to the gym. Then, when I’m there, there’s waiting around for equipment to open up. And did I mention the high membership fees? I’ve tried a few at-home workout apps, but many of those require some kind of equipment, which can get pretty pricey pretty fast. Thankfully, some handy bloggers have found their own solutions to creating their home gyms.

Embracing the tiny house lifestyle inevitably means forgoing some comfort and convenience. Compromise comes with the territory. In exchange for a small mortgage and freedom of movement, you give up space and material possessions. Some would argue that’s no hardship, but others might miss certain benefits of a traditional home—say, a washer and dryer?

This little ’70s bathroom had some serious space limitations, poor ventilation, and failing plumbing. Though its owner admired some of its best features—that teak vanity!—it was time for a functional overhaul and a major makeover.

The fixtures and finishes in this bathroom were, perhaps, a bit builder standard, and its owners were less charmed. They set out to create a bathroom that fit into their 107-year-old home—and one that had a shower, please.

This bathroom was quite cool, but had a lot going on: dark marble, metal scrollwork, a sculpted sink bowl, a divider wall, and lots of tile. Now it’s lighter, brighter, more serene, and far more spa-like. Christina and Robert of New Darlings—@newdarlings on Instagram—have created such a fresh new look. Removing the partial wall truly opened up the space, letting the light flow through beautifully.

This 2008 Dodge Sprinter is like the TARDIS from Doctor Who and the tents from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; it’s unassuming on the outside, but surprisingly livable and functional inside. The van’s adventurous owners have somehow found enough space to sleep, cook, store outdoor gear, and drive, allowing them to travel to some of the country’s most gorgeous natural locales. Welcome to a wonderland on wheels!

In 1976 Julia Child wrote an essay for Architectural Digest about her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In it she called her kitchen “the beating heart and social center of the household … both practical and beautiful, a working laboratory as well as a living and dining room.” Sounds so lovely, right? We—as her humble servants, now and forever—can’t get enough of her kitchen either.

An interior designer helped update this San Diego kitchen for her parents, who requested “a fresh, modern yet classic style” with a generally black-and-white palette. To keep the budget under control, the family turned to inexpensive IKEA cabinets, then gave them a boost with Semihandmade doors. Beth of 1111 Light Lane did a fantastic job giving the kitchen an update that definitely feels fresh and classic. The Shaker cabinetry is a great balance between modern and traditional.

This kitchen had a ton of pros—stainless steel appliances, wood flooring, tasteful paint colors, granite countertops, a window—but its cons were difficult to work with. The owner called it, “poorly lit, claustrophobic, and tight.” With the help of some professionals and the removal of a wall, the kitchen is now light, bright, and feels much more roomy. Jenn Hair of Jenn Hair Photography is the proud owner of this jewel of a kitchen.