Furniture

Jennifer picked up these chairs last year when she began planning for a dining room makeover. She knew she wanted two armchairs to anchor her dining room set, but wasn’t 100% certain how to finish them. As her vision for the space evolved, so too did her vision for these wonderful chairs.Jennifer stripped the chairs down to the wood frames then spray painted them with Rustoleum Metallic Gold with a top coat of spray poly.

Handmade holiday gifts are almost always more meaningful, and the best part is that you can tailor your gifts perfectly to the recipient. Rebecca from Simple as That created a special Christmas gift for her two girls by turning this plain bookcase into a dollhouse.Rebecca notes: We took an ordinary bookshelf and converted it into a dollhouse which can just as easily be used as a bookshelf for an older child.

A sad, old crib sat at a thrift store — not useful as a baby bed for safety reasons, this piece seemed destined for the scrap pile! Until Cristin came along, that is… she saw some untapped potential in its pretty spindles and simple shape, and came up with a clever way to breathe new life into an old piece.She found some cabinet doors in a garbage pile that were the perfect size for shelves, and removed a few brackets and braces from the crib to help reinforce the new legs.

If you live in an older home, you’re familiar with Adrienne’s struggle with storage — namely, that there isn’t any! Her 1930’s home is lacking in the closet department, so it was up to her to come up with some creative storage solutions for her four-year-old’s room.She found this old slightly warped and musty armoire at an antique store, and for less than $100 (including the armoire!) she created this fun, playful piece.

This chair has been in Stephanie’s family for generations — she was rocked to sleep in it as a baby, and so was her granddad! She wanted to keep it around as a treasured piece of family history, but she also wanted to give it a little update — the result? A lovely chair with a fabulous new look, ready to rock the next generation… Stephanie’s new baby!

This little Ikea bed frame is cute and very economical, but it lacked a certain joie de vivre. With some MDF, batting, stylish fabric, and lots of clever planning, this little frame went from dull to delightful!Lisa from All Things Campbell had a design in mind when it was time to move her daughter to a toddler bed… she carefully sketched out her idea, and was able to complete the project in under two days.

Jolene kept some old nail boxes in her garage for some time, waiting for a way to repurpose them into something useful. Can you guess what she made for her kids? Click to see what she and her husband did with one crate in an hour’s time, with a few tools and additional supplies. I’ll give you a hint: it involves eyebolts.Jolene cut some holes for legs and her husband secured the rope before hanging it from a tree in their front yard.

The ubiquitous pallet — just when you think you’ve seen every pallet project under the sun, one comes along and surprises you! This clever little toddler sofa is the perfect height for playing, reading, or resting — and it’s super cute, to boot!Griffin Carrick says this about her pallet sofa project: I stumbled upon some abandoned wood pallets (once used to transport sod) in my neighborhood and jumped on the pallet bandwagon.

How do you add some personality to a plain Jane chair? If you’re like Ainhoa and can’t sew, try painting a pattern on it! The after has us practically buzzing:From Ainhoa: My aunt gave us an old accent chair she no longer had room for. My initial idea was to make a new cover out of a fun patterned fabric. The problem? I don’t really know how to sew, so I’d either have to learn, or ask someone for help. My next idea was to dye it.

Brooke, from the home décor blog Inside-Out Design, started with this run-of-the-mill old coffee table, and with some ingenuity and a lot of handiwork, she and her husband transformed it into a one-of-a-kind hand-tufted ottoman.Brooke used West Elm’s Ikat Print by the Yard fabric as inspiration for completely transforming the coffee table.

There are so many good IKEA Rast hacks out there that it can be hard to finally choose one. I’ve spent five years with a plain, unpainted set as a pair of bedside tables because I just couldn’t make up my mind about what to do with them. Should I age them? Add campaign hardware? Paint them to look like Transformers (my husband’s suggestion)? I never did make up my mind.

Collecting chairs is a little bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I could spend whole weekends searching for them in flea markets and antique stores, or trolling the internet for rare ones. I’m that girl who will get giddy more giddy over a chair in someone’s home than over their shoe collection, and I have the Pinterest board to prove it! Thanks to a lucky Craigslist find, I scored this antique armless chair that was made in Italy over 60 years ago.

After scoring these sweet cane back chairs from a Craigslist seller, Maria wondered what to do with them. Well, inspiration struck, and she shared her chic transformation with us.I’m a sucker for a DwellStudio fabric, so I must applaud Maria’s good taste (and cute styling)!From Maria: Way back in June, I found two great cane back chairs on Craigslist for a great price. The seller was so anxious to get them out of his basement that he even delivered them right to my door.

Not only does this IKEA Hacker project by Huib von Essen reuse and refresh three discontinued IKEA BOALT CD racks, but the solution even incorporates 15 clear empty CD cases as transparent shelves for displaying small items (on a related note, CD racks installed horizontally also work great as toy shelving/display) …and you know you’ve got at least a few of those empty cases laying around somewhere.

Katja gives full instructions, along with photos of the process, over at her blog, Shift Ctrl ART Thanks so much Katja — both projects look great!

Every time I think I’ve seen the most creative hack of an IKEA product, someone comes around with something new that completely blows my mind. Normally a table turns into another kind of table, or a dresser becomes a bar, but I never thought I’d see the day someone managed to turn a series of IKEA beds into a stylish iron fence. Meike at IKEA Hackers said she had wanted to get a new iron fence, but iron fences can get really expensive.

I’ve been trying to hack an IKEA chandelier into a serviceable, modern, Sputnik-style chandelier for over a year now. Successful IKEA chandelier hack tutorials abound on the Internet, but mine has been been pretty slow going between the spray paint, origami, and the fact that I ordered completely the wrong size chandelier. But apparently a really good IKEA Sputnik is easier than I ever thought. Over at IKEA Hackers, Caissie St.

When Emma’s local Goodwill held a competition for upcycling, she knew it was the perfect opportunity to make her two-year-old son the bookshelf he’d been needing. I found the broken down old dresser for fifteen dollars, and the legs came from another end table that I got for only two. After a ton of sanding (through a coat of white, yellow, and even blue!! paint), I began to see what pretty wood there was underneath!

We’ve seen IKEA coffee tables customized dozens of different ways. They can be retextured, studded, and even given heavy marble tops. But this hack takes it in a different direction and turns one coffee table into an upholstered ottoman. Over at IKEA Hackers, Marynell from Amusing MJ showed how she turned an IKEA Lack coffee table into an upholstered ottoman like the ones she liked from West Elm with some 5” foam batting from JoAnn’s and some upholstery fabric.

Back in 2009, FLOR launched this Lincoln Park location as their first foray into brick and mortar retail. Since then, FLOR has launched stores in a number of other cities across the country. Now they’re turning their attention back to home base and giving their Chicago store a new look. The new layout feels more modern while also giving the store a homier vibe.  Gone are the old white concrete floors and walls lined with tiny samples.

Old schools chairs like this are kind of inherently cool. But not many have survived that are in good enough condition, without rust and wear, to use as is, especially around kids. Kate found a few of these chairs in her Grandfather’s garage and decided to give one a makeover as a gift for her niece. Check it out… This was a slightly time consuming project but, other than that it was really simple!

Some IKEA hacks go so far beyond a simple IKEA transformation that they should be considered custom furniture with IKEA elements. In some of those cases (like this one!) the results are exceptional. IKEA Hackers user colsey blew my fragile little mind with this custom writing desk inspired by the Cavour desk by Carlo Mollino. It took some work, but considering that the original desk would cost $14,000, the work was well worth it.

One of the (many) nice things about living in Paris is that people often put their old furniture out on the pavement for opportunistic treasure hunters like myself to scavenge. I found this old chair one evening and I suspect that, as I took it home on the metro, the other passengers thought I was an eccentric expat who brought her own seating.However when I got it home it looked a bit drab so I decided to perk it up with a lick of paint and a bit of decoupage.

Bargain shopper Erin haggled this chair from an estate sale down to $10. It sat in her home, patiently waiting for a refresh, until she found the perfect fabric. See how she made over this chair for under $50 total:From Erin: I am an Architect Technologist by day and sewer/DIYer/furniture upcycler by night. I am a thrifty shopper, and limit most purchases to no more than $20.00. If it’s in the trash, even better!

We’ve seen parents transform all manner of furniture into play kitchens for their kids. Griffin lucked out when she found this piece at a thrift store. To transform it into a play kitchen for her daughter, Frances, she didn’t need to do any structural work – just add bits and bobs, you know, the fun stuff.Like in any kitchen, the white paint gives this piece new life and makes it look fresh and new.

Margaux inherited this table, solidly built but in bad condition, from a friend. She began by sanding the top of the table, but when she discovered just how many times the top had been repainted, Margaux came up with an alternate idea:From Margaux: A friend of mine gave this table to me when she moved. It was really solid but looked pretty bad. I started by sanding the top, only to find there was about 10 coats of paint and wax.

Marty and her husband found a unique way to upgrade their backslash using reused materials, and it didn’t cost them a dime. You’ll never guess what they did. Marty says, “My husband took some castoff wood from a neighbor’s curb and turned it into a beautiful backsplash worthy of a beach cottage.” They sanded each piece to eliminate splinters and then sprayed the wood with an aerosol primer.

There are so many ways to bring color into a child’s room, we hardly need more. But this before and after dresser uses color so uniquely I couldn’t help myself. See what happened to this thrift store find… Mike of Making of a Parent made a hobby out of turning thrift shop finds into modern, color blocked beauties. He shows how he gets it done on his blog, where you can also see some other finds that he’s turned into colorful gems.

Krys saw potential in Ikea’s popular Expedit shelf, and not just as vertical storage. When flipped horizontally, the unit fit perfectly in an awkward space in Krys’ dining room. Now, if she could only make it look like it belonged there and had a purpose… By modifying other simple upholstery projects she’d seen online (including a headboard and seat cushion), Krys custom created a restaurant-style dining banquette that’s cute, cozy, and packs extra storage.

Ick. Even for the most intrepid DIY folks, this old metal cabinet is daunting. It is rusty, peeling, and no doubt has some sharp edges on it somewhere. Along came Graham who saw potential in the project, and set to work transforming it. Many thanks to Krista Winters for sharing Graham’s success! Re-edited from a post originally published 2.13.

It’s rare when the words IKEA and Dubai appear in one sentence. Dubai, with its reputation for luxury and modern excess, hardly calls to mind budget furniture. However, UAE resident Jacqui wanted to insert a least a hint of glamour into this old Blue Hemnes dresser, and bring a little glitz to her master bedroom. Here’s her hack… She started by painting the dresser a dramatic jet black, then added a nailhead trim around all the edges. Spray painted gold knobs complete the look.

Kaylei McGaw, Associate Editor at Lonny, inherited this ripped vinyl saucer chair from her Great Grandmother. Not wanting to get rid of it, she decided to hand it over to the talented folks at Chairloom. She picked fabric, they reupholstered it, and now the chair’s got another fifty years of life. See the transformation next…. Not only did baby get a new pair of shoes, she got a whole new wardrobe!

IKEA’s KURA bed is meant to be flexible — the structure is reversible and the mattress can either be put on the bottom or on top as a loft bed. But even IKEA couldn’t have anticipated the changes that Gisela made to it, in this really nice hack… Gisela built up the structure of the bed (which she calls “The Little Forest House) then wrapped it entirely in a sheath of wood veneered MDF, making it both sleek and sturdy.

She saw the late 1960’s couch sitting there at the local thrift shop, covered in a yellow satin paisley flower patterned fabric which she immediately deemed “very not cool”. Yet something about the style spoke to her as “hella fabulous” (her words, not mine).

Upholstery is one of the those projects you start with really good intentions, but they often peter out before the piece is totally done. Sibylle knew that recovering her newfound loveseat would be a pain in the ass, and decided to go a totally different route. Behold! A painted upholstered sofa! Yep, Sibylle went to town on both the wood AND the fabric parts. Using textile medium, and matte black paint, she transformed this vintage loveseat into a more modern piece of furniture.

Tiffany loves thrift shopping and regularly brings home furniture that’s seen better days. This $5 table looked a little worse for wear, but nothing that a couple of coats of white paint couldn’t fix. When disaster struck, the tabletop veneer got ruined, and Tiffany was forced to find a new solution…. Since the top wasn’t salvageable, Tiffany made an entirely new one!

Shannon needed an easy way to update a dresser she found boring, and cycled through several ideas of what to do with it. She has tons of materials stored at home, so the solution came one day when she simply opened a drawer.

This red pod chair had seen better days, and Cathy of Retro Evolution Design knew she could give it some new life. The upholstery was old, dirty, and damaged. Not to mention the base, which was a little too tall, too heavy, and maybe a little bit ugly? Cathy recovered the chair in a sturdy linen tweed blend fabric. Her son fabricated a new “cats cradle” style wire rod base with angles that complement the chair above. Now all that’s missing is a custom ottoman to match!

My parents bought this dresser over 30 years ago, but that doesn’t exactly make it an heirloom. It’s very sturdy, but the wood isn’t anything special, the drawers fronts needed patching, and the sides are veneer. The price tag sold me: free. To update the dresser, the first thing I did was use a jigsaw to cut off the scallop-y business at the bottom. (I wish I had a picture of me, eight months pregnant, wielding that tool.

We’ve see the IKEA BEKVÄM stool in every room of the house, but Kylie shares a hack that I have never seen before. With a few modifications (and nice new coat of paint), see what Kylie now uses it for in her kitchen these days, and the problem it solves… As you can see, the stool got an extra story with just a few pieces of wood and some screws. Now her daughter Matilda can get in on all the action, without asking to be held.

My mother-in-law’s house is filled with memories. It is the home that my husband grew up in and I love discovering bits and pieces of his past throughout the house when we visit. On one particular visit, my mother-in-law pointed out a shabby old dresser in a corner that she said she was going to throw out because she has had it since my husband was a baby. “Oh, no!” I yelped, and then regained my composure. “Do you think…I could have it? For Sloane?

Shannon couldn’t get this Mid-Century Modern-style desk she found at a yard sale (for “practically nothing,” she reports) in her car fast enough! It wasn’t in the best condition and the finish was a bit rough, but Shannon loved the shape and had a perfect place in her home for it — after refreshing it with cheery paint. From Shannon: I decided that a fun dose of bright color was just what it needed to really come to life!

Victoria’s bathroom needed storage— namely a perfectly sized table on which to keep frequently-used stuff handy, and off the sink counter. She got what she needed in the form of an antique medical table found in the basement of an estate sale, and priced at a whopping ten dollars. The original enamel paint was in bad shape and flaking off in big sections. Victoria took to it with a wire brush, then eventually a power grinder.

Mallory had her eye on this beaded chandelier at Lowe’s for quite awhile. However, since it wasn’t a perfect match for her home, she hesitated to pull the trigger. When she finally saw it marked down over half off to $69, she quickly bought it and vowed to give it a little makeover. It’s always amazing what a single can of spray paint can do! Mallory proves that it’s easy to customize store-bought stuff to get what you want.

This office credenza is all business. It’s gray, it’s functional, but pretty it is not. Owner Joanne took this cabinet to task, refinished it in about 4 hours in her driveway, then found a better place for it. Want to see? What was all business in the front, is now a party in the back. The formerly buttoned-up credenza fits nicely in her nook, and is now the perfect furniture host. It holds drinks, stores glasses and wine, and blends in nicely with the rest of the home.

Sometimes, while thrifting and searching about you come across something amazing, and in perfect condition. This wasn’t one of those times. Kelly found this old Eames-style Plycraft chair whose leather was nasty, grime-covered, torn and faded.

Nicole had been looking for a furniture piece for a peculiar nook in her home. So when she found this dresser on Craigslist, even though it was in really rough shape, she took it home (for “practically free”). The wood veneer was so damaged it wasn’t worth saving, and with the dark wood floors in her bedroom, she wanted something that would be a bright contrast. She took her color inspiration from her favorite jewelry box.

Jess and her husband had been on a quest to find the “perfect” media stand — one that sported both function and style — for awhile. When they found this cabinet on Craigslist for $75, they decided to ditch their IKEA coffee table they had been using for a media stand and go for it!

Kim found this lovely, albeit ‘beat-up’ secretary desk at a secondhand store, and got right to work fixing it up. Of course, she added a little twist…. Here’s what Kim did, in her own words: First I cleaned it up, then I lightly sanded and painted it sort of an antique cream. I sanded it again then went over the cream with a rubbed on coat of very dilute brown. When the final coat dried I applied a hand-rubbed wax finish.

It takes talent to spot an old rusted lamp in a dumpster and see it for what it really is: an opportunity for a DIY project that could light up a room! Paula only took a few steps to make over this lamp she found in the trash, but definitely turned it into a simple and sophisticated treasure for her family room. From Paula: Last summer while I was at the beach, I found a lamp in a dumpster. I liked its shape and size and knew that with a little effort I could give it a new life.

Why only tackle one DIY project at a time, when you can tackle two that combine to create one sweet sitting vignette to spice up a corner of a room in your house? Pascale challenged himself to fix up this chair and stool, and the results are a complementary pair of stylish seats he can enjoy using and looking at. From Pascale: I finally had some free time, so I challenged myself to give these two a new look.

A long weekend to Amanda and her husband usually involves some sort of DIY project. Recently, they had an empty wall in their living room that was in desperate need of some attention, and more storage. Their project is pretty remarkable… In need of a solution that took up minimal space, but added more functionality to our living room, Amanda and her husband figured out how to build a wall mounted shelf and combined desk. Shelves can be moved around as needed.

This chair was spotted in the free section on Craigslist, and listed as the “Attack Cat Chair.” Apparently, the owner couldn’t bear junking it, and Cat (yep, that’s her name too) was happy to take it on as a project. Cat used discounted remnants to reupholster the 1961 chair. It was more complicated to work on than she expected (especially when it came to the tufted back and buttons) but she made it through!

Sabrina is usually in the Mid-Century modern furniture purist camp. But what she dislikes even more than painted furniture is a bad patch job. And boy did this desk need a lot of patching: scratches, tons of stickers, stains, gum embedded in the grain and even “gaudy plates” covering original hardware holes. Sabrina was able to see past all the surface damage though, loving its lines, legs and sturdy frame.

This heavy dresser found on Craigslist was sturdy, and Allison loved the clean lines and large, square drawer pulls. But she was not a fan of the yellow-ish finish (which she claims looked even worse in person). She hatched a plan to give this dresser a more modern, stylish look. From Allison: I was looking for a new (to me) dresser with clean lines when I came across this promising one on Craigslist. I love the simple design of the body and am especially drawn to the square wooden drawer pulls.

Tanya swiped this chair from a trash heap, shoved it in the back of her car, and and drove away without looking back. Over time, she grew sentimental about this “garbage chair,” and finally made the leap to reupholster it: The labor was $630 (which included repairs), new foam cost $50, and the velvet fabric was $250.

We bet plenty of folks would have passed up this heavy laminate dresser, even if found in the “free” section of Craigslist. But not Breanna. She saw some creative potential for this forgotten furniture piece, instead transforming it into attractive and useful storage for a friend’s kitchen! From Breanna: This laminate dresser came from the FREE category on Craigslist and got a well deserved makeover for my friend, Abby.

IKEA’s Ektorp sofa is a safe choice, and about as basic as you can get in the living room. Aga of Patchwork and Co. decided to kick it up a notch and deal with her bland, beige cover. Want to see what she did? Aga decided to dye it, and chose black for a more dramatic statement. With the added eclectic assortment of pillows, her living room now has a Bohemian vibe that is far from boring. Many thanks to Aga for sharing the project!

We’ve certainly seen our share of entertainment centers turned into play kitchens. But what if your child doesn’t want to play domestic goddess? What if she just wants to be a goddess? Then you might want to follow Mandi’s lead and turn an old entertainment center into a dress up station. I love all the amazing details, like the jelly jar lights, that Mandi installed to make this the ultimate vanity.

Our favorite before and after projects are the ones that are downright unrecognizable after being transformed, and this project certainly fits the bill! Diane and her husband came across this dresser for cheap at a thrift store and decided to make it look like a type of furniture Diane had always wanted — only more practical! From Diane: First, we removed the top two drawers and built a base for the bookcase. Then we used lattice to create the fronts of each card drawer.

Suzanne saw potential in IKEA’s popular BESTA shelf, and not just as vertical storage. When flipped and tweaked, she was able to make it into something else entirely. Keep on reading to see the pretty remarkable transformation… This might just qualify for a hack and a half. Using the IKEA BESTA as a base, Suzanne custom created a DIY tufted banquette that’s sophisticated and stylish (and offers extra hidden storage as a bonus).

Designer Jenny Sanchez and I connected through Instagram recently, where I found her most recent client project, a room makeover she did for her friend Maria Ortiz. Jenny’s main goal was to create a French Glam Vintage look, which was inspired by a simple Chanel bag. This 120 square foot spare bedroom was once a storage catch-all for Maria’s stuff, but her dream was to turn it into a dressing room, a sophisticated spot to apply makeup, prepare for the day, and relax.

Nicole found this in a pile of furniture left for free, and immediately noticed its great shape. But, a banged up and scratched finish meant it would need refreshing. When she brought it home, she discovered that mismatching materials — light wood legs and a walnut veneer top — meant her original plan of staining wouldn’t work. So she came up with a better idea that still preserved some of the great wood and lightened the whole piece up.

Christina loves stumbling on old furniture gems and breathing new life into them. She found this chair with lots of potential on Craigslist, and knew its great shape was worthy of a makeover. She chose a punchy and patterned fabric to give it some personality! From Christina: Once I took it apart, I realized it had to be from the ‘30s or ‘40s based on the straw and horse hair stuffing.

I was at an estate sale a couple of years ago and spotted this Saarinen tulip table in the driveway, marked for 5 bucks. The base is in really good shape, but the once beautiful top had met its match in the form of rain, and is weathered, splintered, warped and unsalvageable. (The original Knoll label underneath, however, is still intact.) I’ve kept an eye out for replacement tops but, as of yet, none have crossed my path.

This bamboo rocker was in pretty good shape, but wasn’t particular inspiring with its original brown hues. Rachel decided that for it to really work in a nook in her boy’s room, it needed a color boost! From Rachel: I bought this vintage bamboo rocker on the last day of an estate sale for $10, hoping it wold work in our son’s room. This was a super simple project; requiring only primer, paint and a faux shearling throw.

For anyone who sews, a good table for cutting fabric is the Holy Grail of craft supplies. But it often seems basically impossible to find something tall enough to stand at and cut fabric that is not wildly expensive and fits in an apartment or sewing room. Ikea’s Norden dining table is almost a perfect sewing table right out of the box. The table is 31.

For $40, this dresser was hard for Sarah Dorsey to pass up, even though the laminate was chipping and it looked worse for wear. So she snagged it and put in practice all the painting tips she’s learned over the years. See how it turned out… After carefully prying off all the hardware, and repainting the entire thing, Sarah’s dresser is now a far cry from cheap; it looks professional, high-end and totally bedroom-worthy.

As a rule, I am fully in favor of designing one’s living space around the pets, especially if they’re cats. That’s why I loved this ridiculously easy IKEA hack that turns a neat corner table into a comfortable, two-tiered cat bed. The IKEA Trendig tray table has two convenient, cat-sized baskets. Just by adding some comfortable cushions, Pinterest user Hanna transformed the baskets into perfect little cat beds.

Joseph picked this dresser up for $10 at a local thrift store, but wanted to do something special before it found a permanent home in his bedroom. After a lot of sanding, here’s what he came up with… Honk your horn if you like the final result! Joseph went to great lengths to complete the look: the four tail lights are from a 1958 Impala and the drawer hardware is actually old Buick door handles he cut down to fit. He found them all on eBay.

“Myrtle” is Capri’s 1964 Travco Motorhome, which she drives all over the country while on vacation. Over the years she’s also put a fair amount of work into this labor of love, slowly returning Myrtle to its Beatles-era glory. See what it looks like today! From Capri: Myrtle is 27 feet long and is powered by a 318 poly engine. She is equipped with a full bathroom, kitchen, couch, bench, closet, ample storage, rear double bed and two entrance doors.