Furniture

We’ve seen the topic of painting upholstery come up from time to time to time, but this Before & After made my jaw drop. While I may have been on the fence before — one look at the After photo and I’m a believer.the After!Given the option of spending hundreds of dollars to reupholster her Craigslist chair or experimenting with painting the fabric, Kristy Swain of Hyphen Interiors broke out the brushes.

Architectural salvage shops are increasingly popular destinations for designers, collectors, and remodelers, and for the home decorator looking for unique furnishings, there’s no better place to start a search. In part, salvage stores hold such wide appeal because the items there carry the forgotten tales of the past, and invite collectors to imagine creative reuse ideas.

Your apartment. It’s not quite a dream home. The floors are terrible and the kitchen is in need of an overhaul. Your rental might not be Mr. Right, but it is Mr. Right Now. If the place you call home feels a little dated, here are some easy ways to modernize your apartment.

We like to reserve for our very last Before & After roundup the projects that really wow you. As in, these ‘after’ photos will leave you shocked. Amazed. Inspired. Take a look at some of this year’s most dramatic transformations. Click on the slideshow to see the projects. To learn more about each project (and see more pictures), click the links in the captions.

Some of my favorite before & afters are the ones where some intrepid DIYer sees the potential in a piece that everyone else would’ve left on the curb. From a side table turned pet bed to a humble crate turned into a swing, this year’s projects featured plenty of impressive repurposings. Check out some of our favorites. To view the ‘after’ photos, click the links for each project.

These wooden tables are the perfect natural refresh for your home design.

They may be some of the smallest details in a kitchen, but a change (or addition) of cabinet hardware can totally update a room’s entire look. Available in a disorienting array of finishes, shapes, sizes and materials, the sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing what to adorn your cabinet doors and drawers with. But perhaps you’re not entirely convinced that a few knobs can make a big visual difference in a kitchen? Check out the Photoshopped images below.

When Tiffany over at Taste{full} Life found this antique dry sink, the wheels started turning and she realized she had the potential for a unique changing table for her imminent new baby. Although she was wary of a “country” aesthetic, a new coat of paint and a few other touches updated this piece into modern farmhouse chic.Tiffany learned some important lessons about painting antiques that she shares in her tutorial at Taste{full} Life.

I am quite envious of skilled thrifters; I’m unable to see the potential in a yard sale find or figure out what’s quality and just needs a little repair or TLC. That’s why I love seeing yard sale transformations. I have some hope that if I look at enough, the skills will magically transfer to me. So I’ve been staring at this beautiful kids’ table and chair makeover for a few days. Check out what Lolly Jane did with this well-loved table and chairs.Amazing, right?

You have to love a project that not only makes over a sad old chair but also reuses old coffee sacks. This creative re-use project not only features repurposed fabric but also looks great too! Check out the fantastic results after the jump.Many of you have seen similar chairs using grain sacks selling for a pretty penny, this step by step tutorial by Doesn’t Cost the Earth shows you how you can get the look for much less using organic coffee sacks.

Here at Apartment Therapy, we can’t get enough of Before & Afters… it’s always exciting to see something salvaged from the garbage become something lovely and shiny and useful. We salute all you DIYers out there, but we have to say we’re especially impressed with the people who are able to see special potential in a piece — and turn it into something totally different and totally useful.

Just because I’ve come to terms with my home’s imperfections doesn’t mean I don’t obsess over my inspiration boards. The latest addition is this incredible makeover of an Austin bungalow. The owners, Britt and Dan, waited five years to tackle their remodel, and the result is a beautifully modern and calm home awash in white. And yes, I’m jealous much.

Here at Apartment Therapy, we love a good IKEA hack as much as you do. It’s a comforting reminder that there are still places where ingenuity plus elbow grease with a side of using-what-you-got to #makeitwork equals a recipe for success over and over. Check out some of our favorite IKEA hacks and get inspired to find your own new possibilities… 1. Above, Before & After: Molly’s IKEA Rast Turned Campaign Chest 2. Before & After: IKEA Granas Table Gets a Rustic Makeover 3.

It’s funny to remember how large, bulky, yet sometimes stylish televisions were before the era of HDTVs took displays from the floor onto our walls. We still remember our childhood 80’s RCA floor console TV taking up about the same amount of room as 40″ HDTV flat panels all lined up. Sometimes you’ll still find one of these wonderful relics of TV’s past in basements, garages or thrift stores, many not in working order.

I’ve been having a bear of a time finding a set of side tables that fit next to my couch and don’t look terrible. I also love a good DIY project — especially one that can be finished over a weekend — so I was pretty excited to see this cool set of DIY side tables made from IKEA cutting boards and plumbing pipes.

If you’re not over the revamped bar cart trend yet (we’re definitely not), you’ll love this simple but sweet clean-up of a bar cart with a great shape but an older finish that needed freshening. From Alexandra: While on a weekend run to (finally) drop off some bags of clothes at the thrift store I came across this old metal kitchen cart, it was a little dingy and rusty — but I had been looking for a bar cart for some time, and at $12.50 I could not pass it up!

Since I was a child, I’ve loved Sesame Street; my parents even credit it with teaching me to read before I reached kindergarten. And I even had a similarly plain, white dresser in my room. Imagine my delight had my parents turned it into this beauty that features some favorite Sesame Street muppets!I would’ve flipped for this Sesame dresser (although back in the day, Elmo probably would’ve been Kermit), and when my kids were preschoolers, they would’ve loved it, too.

Just look at that Ikea Malm dresser all sitting there all plain and white. You just wait, Ikea Malm dresser. You have no idea what’s about to happen to you. (Hint: it involves O’verlays!)Told you so! We’re such big fans of furniture makeovers, especially when it’s more than just a coat of paint. This makeover, created by Amanda Carol, turned a blank canvas of a dresser into a super statement with Greek key shaped O’verlays that she painted gold.

New Orleans-based interior designer Katie Logan rents out a small apartment on the bottom floor of her house on Airbnb, and we’re awfully glad: Not only is it a relaxing place to stay in the Big Easy, it’s nice to look at! Seeing the before photos, we’re inspired by the cute space she was able to create without a lot of money or time.

We’re certainly no strangers to the versatility of the Ikea Rast around here. I even put together a post about The Endlessly Adaptable IKEA Rast Dresser last year. This $35 dresser is a DIYer’s dream and I love continuing to discover new variations. Anna took the simple little dresser and turned it into a classic nightstand…Anna recently shared her Rast customization on her blog, Take the Side Street.

While applying a new coat of paint can be a quick and easy way to make over a piece of furniture, refinishing a quality wooden piece is often worth the added time and patience. And it’s often not too hard — a little light sanding and a few simple restoring products is often all it takes to breathe new life into old pieces, and bring out the beautiful grain of wooden furniture.1. A Revamped Kitchen Table, from Door Sixteen2. An Old Dresser, Apartment Therapy3.

After moving to Saratoga Springs, NY, which is famous for its horses and horse track, Lucianna Samu became obsessed with old horse stall doors. She began collecting and refurbishing the doors for projects around the house. Below are pictures of a liquor cabinet and a kitchen pantry that Lucianna created by hanging the doors on modern sliding rails.According to Lucianna, My advice is that the lighter the door, the easier and less expensive the installation.

I just bid farewell to our last task chair review sample, noting as much as I found this and other new models comfortable in different ways, my tried and true task chair I purchased way back in 2008 keeps proving to be the most comfortable. But after years of daily use, the chair has definitely seen better days.

This redo leaves no surface untouched.

This smart upgrade is one that you can easily copy in your own home.

It might be literally impossible to see this project and not smile.

Maybe you thought you hated pink, but this sophisticated office redo will convince you otherwise.

No half-hearted gallery walls here!

It's less than $50 and a dinner time savior for kids!

Everywhere you turn there's a different element to love.

Proof that work spaces can be beautiful and practical.

For the best results, choose your hack carefully. Here's our expert guide.

It saved her TONS on upholstery costs.

That price point is hard to beat!

And it weighs less than a big umbrella!

It only took a few elements to revitalize this decade-old shelf.

Editor’s Note: Spoilers for “Queer Eye” Season 5, Episode 9.The latest season of “Queer Eye” premiered on Friday, and it’s a beautiful gift to start off Pride Month. This time, the Fab Five are taking over Philadelphia and making over a new batch of ten heroes. There are tears, tender moments, and of course, dramatic transformations. In episode 9, we meet Dr.

It's beautiful and practical.

This summery material has found its way to the kitchen.

You'll be obsessed with the upcycled art.

Some assembly required.

The after is pure joy.

Wait until you see the new lighting.

Bye, beige!

Spoiler: The pink carpet goes.

The idea was inspired by a mother-daughter trip to Scotland.