Ideas Inspiration

Project by: Roger + Chris Location: Sharon Springs, New York The drab downstairs bathroom in our 160-old Italianate Victorian was in desperate need of a style infusion. Likely installed in the 1940s or 50s, the bath hadn’t received much attention in the ensuing years. A cute but well-used pedestal sink with separate taps, a tiled (and tiny) shower, fairly gross floor, and square tile running halfway up the walls. On the plus side, the large window brought plenty of sunlight into the space.

Project by: Heather Location: Denver Our third bedroom is used as a home office/guest room and was in desperate need of a face-lift. It had beige walls, an IKEA desk, a leftover kitchen chair and a butchers rack—a seriously uninspiring space for a home-based creative professional. As with most decorating projects, there were some design challenges to overcome: • This room has two functions—office and guest room.

Makeover by: Stella Location: New York After months of looking for a new place, I came across this semi-attic space covered in wood paneling. I knew I couldn’t sign a lease without thinking first of what my makeover would consist of. After all the makeovers I’ve done in the past, I had to came to terms with the fact that this one would be a whole new deal. It was going to take more than just hanging art or getting new bed linens.

Project from: Joy Location: Boston When I moved in with my husband two years ago, our condo was a blank slate of cream colored paint, bare walls, and uncovered windows. We set to work infusing the space with personality, working first on our main kitchen/dining/living space, then the home office, and finally the bathrooms. But we dragged our feet getting around to the master bedroom, since we’re really the only ones who spend any time in there.

Renovation by: Mike (you may remember his bathroom renovation) Location: Chicago We live in a typical Chicago apartment with a really long skinny layout. When you enter our apartment the foyer and hallway are the first things you see so they really needed some TLC. When we first moved in to the apartment the foyer and hallway were painted in a yellow glaze and the only light fixtures were flush mounted glass domes from the 80’s.

If you are an Apartment Therapist, you most likely love a “before and after” (who doesn’t?) and nothing (nothing!) beats the reveal of a full top-to-toe room decorating redo. Paint, fabrics, lighting, artwork, furniture…these three rooms are out with the old, and in with the new, new, new! To create the accent wall, Katja first painted it a light turquoise. Then, strips of painter’s tape were placed vertically every 14 inches.

Kimberly of Swoonworthy and her partner Wayne did a great job renovating their old kitchen, but Kimberly wasn’t entirely happy with the results. She is a girl who requires more drama from her interiors. A couple of simple DIY projects later, she’s added some glitz and glamor to this space. And here it is, in all its sparkling glory.

I’ve come a little late to the pennant and bunting bandwagon, but I’m here now, and I cannot get enough of adorable banners! They’re perfect for parties or weddings, but I also love to see them jazzing up a bookcase or lending a sassy wink to a traditional picture frame. This miniature banner is a birthday gift for my crafty sister-in-law, so I chose a toned down palette of warm yellows and a pretty mauve in order to make the banner suit her home décor.

Annie’s Sydney townhouse had a seriously circa-1980 kitchen when she and her husband moved in three years ago. But, it was their first home purchase and didn’t have a budget to completely redo the kitchen, so they decided to give it a minor update that would freshen up the space but stay in keeping with the feel of the place. This kitchen is a great example of small changes making a large impact. A few cosmetic tweaks later, it feels instantly updated.

Emily of Chez V joined in the One Room Challenge this year, a semi-annual event where 20 design-oriented bloggers transform a room of their own, from start to finish. Emily threw herself into renovating her master bedroom and, over the course of six weeks, sanded the walls, painted, printed fabric, and shopped for the perfect pieces. See the finished product next… Yes, yes, before you say anything — no, there is nothing wrong the before, it’s lovely, blah, blah, blah.

Sometimes “before” pictures aren’t disgusting nightmares that leave you horrified. Sometimes they are perfectly nice, but the owner was just sick and tired of looking at the same layout or piece of furniture. We’ve all been there and so was Bethany, who’d grown weary of seeing this dark brown trellis pattern first thing after walking in the door. She made a few crucial tweaks without spending a dime — including a mini IKEA hack — and wound up refreshed.

Laken is an incoming freshman at Washington University in Saint Louis and, just this Sunday, moved into her new dorm on campus. She was greeted by a very typical sight: commercial grade carpeting, conspicuous vents, and standard issue furniture. The dorms are very nice by all accounts, but it’s always a challenge to transform an impersonal space into a comfortable home for the next nine months.Laken has less than a week to get her room ready before classes begin.

It doesn’t always take expensive and dramatic changes to refresh a room. Follow me after the jump to see how Andi used small details to pack a new punch in her attic guest room.Just by adding adding a bold blue and a few new accessories, Andi took this guest room from minimal and plain to cheery Mediterranean cottage. She painted in headboards, added a table, lamp, pillows, and a window treatment, and called it a day.

Recently I helped a lovely couple redesign their bedroom. They already loved the wall color and the abundance of natural light, but the placement of the windows left something to be desired.  They also wanted to upgrade from a queen size bed to a king, while enhancing the airy feel that they liked best about their bedroom.

I came across this project from a comment left in my recent post Brags! What DIY Project Are You Most Proud Of? It came from Julia from the blog Chris Loves Julia. They were looking to change up their living room for a more sophisticated yet casual look and Julia fell in love with some dramatic wainscoting images and got the bug to re-create it at home.It took them just a few hours over two days to put it up and then one day to paint it.

Samna flew out to New York from her home in Seattle to help her sister set up her studio apartment. With only five days and $500, here’s how she transformed the rental into a chic hangout.From Samna: Here’s what I had to work with: My sister’s apartment in a post-war building, 248 square feet of bedroom/living area and kitchen, $500 budget and five days to get it all done. This project is for all of the people who claim “I don’t have time.

Interior designer Lauren Liess had clients with a brand-new dining room looking for a stylish and personal upgrade. The family had a bold, cheerful style (and some budding Picassos!), so she came up with the perfect solution: a kids’ art wall!She added some new curtains, a new overhead fixture, and some sconces in the middle of the gallery wall — but the focus is the kids’ art, which adds a lot of color and fun to the room!

Yeah, okay, this bedroom is fine. It’s got some beds, so it’s functional. It’s got walls, you know, because you need those. But it lacked pretty much everything else. Until now…What a transition! Out of nothing, Kelly created this super stylish playroom/studio for her to share with son Aston.

We’ve been showcasing a lot of Before and Afters here this month, and perhaps it’s inspired you to do a few of your own. You may, however, still have doubts, and may find that you ask yourself “can I really do that?” Well, here are some simple beginner DIY’s that you most definitely can do. Time to make your own Before & After.1. Paint a Globe.Take a globe you already have (preferably one of those 3D topographic ones), or acquire one.

Jarrett and Catherine of Bungalow Bungahigh have tackled DIY projects that make mere mortals shy away, like rehabbing an outdated basement bathroom on a super tight budget. They got creative with their choice of materials and were able to get a whole new look for under $200 – $158 to be exact……and the After!Here is what Jarrett and Catherine tell us about the project: We recently rehabbed our tired basement bathroom.

Last month I wrote about how my dog’s New Year’s resolution was to ditch the dog food and start on the ‘woodchip’ diet. After she chewed through all of our windowsills, the AT community was wonderful in helping me figure out the best way to fix it! My husband took a reader’s advice and used wood epoxy, in this case J-B Weld KwikWood Epoxy Putty. See the step-by-step results below. First, he removed any splinters and lightly sanded the damaged and surrounding area.

Whit and Rachael Gardner of Our Mid Century are savvy stylists, whether we are about talking vintage or contemporary furnishings— the post that they shared with us for Home Project month proves it. When the search for an affordable mid century sofa kept coming up dry, they did a complete makeover of an affordable IKEA basic to help it fit in smoothly with their vintage style home. The “after” looks like a totally different sofa!…and the After!

I know there are those among you for whom the classic pink-tiled bathroom is a national treasure worth saving at any cost. And while I admire your commitment to preservation and in theory agree with you, in practice I know better — six years ago I bought a pre-War apartment with two pink tiled bathrooms and that turned out to be two too many for me.