Decor & Accessories

Meet Katherine Freeman Hocke, a Texas-based artist who specializes in mixed media, layering textures and colors to get her signature look. While she primarily practices her art on canvas and paper (check out her shop here), with her recent purchase of a 1930s home she has begun translating her painterly visions and passion for interiors into DIY-able projects in and around her home.

Christine’s pepto-pink guest room had a lot of potential but needed a ton of work. Wanting to create a space for out-of-towners that is as interesting as it is welcoming, she set off restoring as many original historic features of the room as she could, while making updates to the space to ensure comfort. From Christine: Even before moving into our Edwardian house in Manchester we knew that we had a lot of home improvement work ahead of us.

Melissa was looking to add some farmhouse style to her home but didn’t want to break the bank doing so. Enter shiplap! An intrepid DIYer, Melissa added a shiplap accent wall without professional help, keeping it well within budget (but not without a few headaches). From Melissa: Shiplap – It’s timeless and classic. It goes hand in hand with farmhouse style and I’ve been patiently (big fat lie – no patience here my friends!

Don't let them harsh your design mellow.

As with so many romances these days, this one began online. Julie spotted this handsome dresser on Craigslist and knew she could truly make something of it. A mix of the original veneer, a new coat of paint and some gorgeous stenciling turned this tired looking piece into a true showstopper. From Julie: I saw this piece on Craigslist and felt like he was winking at me! I knew I had to go and visit him.

It’s easy to forget about all the little things in our home that are broken or just not working. Don’t get me wrong — it’s good to focus on the big picture — we all have priorities after all —but, when we bump against the same tiny, irksome problems again and again, they start to wear on us mentally. Your goal for the weekend: feel a little bit better about your space.

Leanna’s office desk had a gorgeous shape, but the dark wood wasn’t right for her new space. Since she had made the decision to stick with a lighter and brighter color scheme for her new office, she thought a touch of pink would set off the delicate aspects of the piece to great effect. From Leanna: Our previous home was decorated in soft earth tones, lots of greens and browns. At the time it really suited are long, low bungalow.

Not fully ready to commit to a reupholstery project, Emma opted to spray paint her chair and go jewel tone.

Got some outdoor space — a teeny balcony, deluxe patio, humble patch of grass, or minimalist concrete pad? Congratulations! Now that you’re part of the landed gentry, you’ll want some privacy. Block prying eyes, wind, and sun with these DIYs, ranging from projects requiring power tools I’ve never heard of to tutorials that amount to basically, “zip a zip tie” and “dig a hole.

We absolutely love our apartment; it has so much character and light, but when we moved in, one thing in particular I knew I wanted to upgrade were the bookshelves. At first glance they seemed fine, but once we started putting our books on them we realized that the positioning of the shelves — with 20″ height between shelves — was not only an inefficient use of space but just looked odd with so much extra height above the books.

Flexible and fun inspiration for your upcoming DIY projects.

Amy was on the hunt for a dresser but it had to fit both her budget and her new space. As luck would have it, her neighbors were selling this long and lean lady and Amy scooped her right up for a first class DIY treatment. From Amy: I found this dresser at a garage sale last month and immediately knew I had to have it!

Numerous studies support the fact that being surrounded by nature is good for your health, but who knew that getting out into the wild and foraging about could also up your home decor game? In a Chicago home brought to life by two artists, we saw homeowner Caroline Robe design this genius foraged-turned-functional floor lamp out of an untouched tree branch, causing us to wonder, “why didn’t I think of that?”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.