Project Ideas

As much as we love schoolhouse-style lighting, it isn’t always the best idea to buy something truly vintage and hope it works. There are stores — such as Schoolhouse Electric or Barn Light Electric — who sell absolutely beautiful fixtures in this style, but they are often out of financial reach. To help you stay on budget, and get the look you want, we’ve rounded up some of the best lighting options out there, all well under $100.

Every little bit helps.

Warm, earthy wood is such a beautiful material to have in your home…until it’s not. There are no rules about how much wood a home can handle, but you know it when you see it. When Carina Romano bought this cabin in the Catskills with two friends, Amanda Jaffe and Kate McCann, the location won them over, but the amount of ’80s-era wood-paneled walls was overwhelming.

We don’t often see hallway/stairway renovations—especially ones as fun as this one. These dingy, mustard stairs — and the dark landing spot at the stairs’ base — are about to get the makeover of a lifetime… WOW! That is so incredibly fun and unique! Natalie Jacob of Arsenic Lace has turned a stairway from a functional necessity to a stunning part of her home.

Barn doors reached peak popularity in 2017, thanks to HGTV’s Fixer Upper — mainly for their rustic good looks that work well in modern farmhouse homes. But no matter what your style, sliding doors are nice detail that add interest, and sometimes saves space as well. See ALL the places you can use barn door-style hardware around your house. Featured above is a barn door kit from Jeff Lewis Designs, which is available from Home Depot.

When interior stylist Jaimy and her husband Marcel wanted a quieter place to live, they decided to move to her hometown…where they were able to buy her childhood home. To truly make it their own, the new home needed quite a few updates. One of the most striking transformations has been the attic. The idea was to let daughter Dalí have the master bedroom, so Marcel and Jaimy could inhabit the top floor. It sure is spacious enough, but a lot work needed to be done.

Bland rental kitchens and bathrooms are about as common as noisy upstairs neighbors, but at least you can make small temporary fixes to transform your space. Take some serious inspiration from these clever renters, who invested a little bit of time and very little money to make changes they could live with, then reverse when they moved out. This awkward bathroom — with a seashell-shaped sink — got a weekend facelift that only cost $350 (also lead image above).

It’s the beginning of the year, when self-reproach runs rampant, and shame oozes from the pores of everyone around us. Either we spent too much money last year, ate too much, or didn’t get around to joining the gym. But, really, nobody’s got time for that kind of guilt. Here are a handful of folks who unapologetically altered their rentals to meet their needs, and filled their apartments with things they love.

We often update our homes to make ourselves more comfortable or happy. We switch up paint, change out hardware and maybe even tear down a wall or two. But, when it comes to resale value, not all of those things are worth it. So, before you retile the bathroom or paint your kitchen cabinets, there’s one thing that you should consider doing first. It’s one of the only projects that will actually pay you more than what you put in. Each year Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs.

This project is a great example of how a few dollars and a few minutes can make a dramatic change in your home—and your mood. As Anne described her situation, “Cooking and baking make me happy, but seeing my workspace sulking in the shadows was putting a damper on my spirit.” Let’s see her cheap, quick, renter-friendly, and reversible solution to the baking blues! So much better!

Sage looked long and hard for the perfect piece for her entryway. It needed to fit the spot, and be deep and flexible enough to fit a variety of footwear. Most importantly, she didn’t want the visual mess of open shelving. Sage didn’t want to spend too much so she first went the IKEA route, and ruled out a classic “fauxdenza” (made from stock cabinets mounted on the wall), before finally hitting up Craigslist in a long and patient search for something to work with.

The interior of a 16-year-old camper is as outdated as you might imagine. Even in the best of conditions, green carpet, over-sized (not trendy) floral patterns and some questionable wood veneer can leave a small space feeling even smaller. That’s what makes this stylish — and affordable! — RV remodel so great. It now looks good and feels much larger than just 188 square feet.

Jennifer had this plain, never-been-painted, oddball-sized slab door underneath the stairs in her living room. Since it’s located directly across from the couch, she saw that uninspired door every time she looked up. It was so boring, she even forgot to take a “before” photo, but you can imagine what it looked like from her Photoshop job up above. She decided to take that basic door and turn it into something utterly charming.

What’s this, a blank wall? What could possibly be done with it—a coat of paint? Some sassy wallpaper? A coat of paint with a sassy wallpaper border? Be prepared for something so much more dramatic and intriguing than all that… Even though the title of this submitted project was “Pegboard Cross Stitch Mural,” I still wasn’t prepared for this. It’s incredible, it’s dramatic — yet perfectly scaled, and totally unexpected.

I’m sure this fireplace makeover is going to be great, but in the meantime, I’m in love with that little sidecar of a fireplace on the left there. It’s so cute! Beyond that adorableness, it’s easy to see why this fireplace got an update. I think this style of stone is beautiful, but it can be hard to fit into many types of decor.

Today, Mel (a designer) and Mario (a filmmaker) live in a stunning Spanish apartment they own, having spent the last few years slowly decorating the space to be an open, airy and warm home for themselves and their baby daughter Mia (as well as pups Coco and Marni). But it didn’t always look this good. In fact, this 1950s apartment had NEVER been renovated before.

When I saw the title of this reader submission, I braced myself for some The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe action, but it turned out to be less Narnia, more Lane Kim. Don’t let your teen see this makeover unless you’re prepared to build them a secret hideout — and you’ll probably be tempted to build one for yourself. Here we see Laura Medicus of The Colorado Nest‘s daughter stepping into a fairly magical vintage wardrobe . . .

Spring is right around the corner and it’s arguably the most beautiful season of all. And with spring comes flowers. Adding flowers, or other organic material, to a space is an instant way to make it feel fresh and alive. The best part? Many can be found right outside your door, or down the street. Take meandering walks and find the hopeful harbingers of spring — like little violets, coltsfoot, chickweed, and buttercups.

We're here for it.

This is a Very Serious Dresser, and while it is certainly beautiful and worthy of preservation, how does one incorporate a dark, gravitas-filled antique into a home that’s decidedly not all stained glass windows, turrets, and gargoyles? Don’t worry—the answer is not “paint it white.

If you want to add just one thing to a room to fancy it up, to really take the space to the next level, you can’t do better than crown molding. Crown molding draws the eye up and gives a room instant architectural character. And depending on the profile you choose, it can be a very inexpensive upgrade — and even one you can install yourself. Choosing the right crown molding for your space depends not just on style, but on scale.

Peggy Wang, Buzzfeed’s founding editor, decided one day a few years ago she was ready to move out of tiny apartment living. “It was like a weird sudden existential outburst in my usual lazy put-everything-off-forever mindset,” she writes. When she purchased this 1100-square-foot home in Queens, it felt like the right fit. But boy it needed a face lift. She worked closely with White Arrow—Keren Richter and her husband Thomas Richter—to remodel this home.

There’s a big difference between jamming a bunch of flowers in a vase, and creating a gorgeous arrangement that looks like it was done by a pro. Thankfully that difference isn’t necessarily measured in dollars, effort, or even skill. All it takes is something you probably have sitting in your kitchen drawer: clear cellophane tape. Here’s the secret. Use basic clear tape to create a grid over the top of your vase.

This $15 IKEA kitchen product is powering this ultra luxe lighting DIY.

Kids rooms are always so much fun, perhaps because parents use their children’s spaces to fulfill inner fantasies. But, parents are still parents after all, and can’t entirely forget they also have to keep their kids both busy, and on an even keel. So, when you see great decor ideas that aren’t just creative, but also fun and functional, jump on them. Here are seven favorites that don’t just look good.

Designer Michelle Gage has an amazing ability to design homes, which was on full display in her and her husband’s first home that they renovated themselves. After transforming every single room in the 2000-square-foot Philadelphia home, the couple sold that house last November and moved into what they consider to be their forever home. “We fixed up everything we possibly could, while not pricing ourselves out of the neighborhood we were in.

Want more kitchen storage, without breaking the bank? Do you dream of organized shelving and a perfectly posh pantry? Well, you’re in luck. Gone are the days when having a dreamy pantry means forking over big bucks to a contractor for from-scratch shelving. Homeowners and renters alike are getting super creative with IKEA basics, transforming everything from bookshelves to cubbies into pantries big and small. Here are five we love—all created without a single kitchen cabinet!

Flowers instantly brighten any room and, are a welcome breath of air, especially in a culture dominated by computers and phone screens. Some of us regularly buy fresh ones, but for others, flowers are a periodic splurge, only indulged every once in awhile. There’s a new spin on flowers we’ve noticed on Instagram, and it’s making us pretty happy: The delicate art of creating incredibly realistic looking flowers using crafty handiwork, crepe paper, and a lot of patience.

Oh, goody, you’re about to start a paint project! There’s nothing more dramatic than an amazing color change in a room, so of course it’s well worth the work and cash money. That doesn’t mean we all enjoy the actual work, however, and while it’s still on the low end of budget spectrum, any redo costs can still mount quickly—especially if you splurge on the good paint. After painting many (many!

“When we bought our first condo, our immediate focus was to try our hand at a wallpaper project,” Andréa writes about the home she shares with her husband Stefan. “Rental properties had never afforded us the luxury of doing something so dramatic and custom. We knew we wanted a statement wall somewhere in our home, but given that the main area is one large room (like many open-concept condos), it didn’t quite fit there.

This Philadelphia row home came with many enviable features when Matt and Anne Thomas bought it. Stunning architecture. Tons of space. All that natural light. The one thing they didn’t love was the home’s extremely red-toned cherry wood floors. But, the floors had just been re-done and were nice in every other regard. Replacing them would have been wasteful.

I thought the simple and affordable bed hack in Erica Massey’s Dallas, Texas rental apartment was pretty brilliant. A tall bed with storage for her, and a cozy and cool spot to call his own for her dog Deacon. The fact that most of the components were sourced from IKEA for not a lot of money is the cherry on top. But that’s not the only smart IKEA hack in her home! One IKEA trip and less than $200 later and Erica was able to nearly double the storage space of her kitchen.

You know you’re staying in a luxury five-star hotel when your wash cloth or hand towel is folded into some sort of flower or zoo animal. It’s one of the little touches that signifies the level of care that’s been put into every aspect of your stay, so how cool would it be if—without a lot of extra effort—you could surprise your house guests with the same experience?

Who among us hasn’t entertained visions of buying a distressed house, fixing it up, and selling it for a handsome profit? HGTV shows make it look downright easy—and fun, too. But even veterans of these shows and big-pocketed pros sometimes struggle to make money flipping houses—or, at least, enough to make it worth the stress and hassle. Not convinced?

The MELLTORP is one of IKEA’s ubiquitous and affordable tables. It’s minimal and modern, but it also makes a great blank canvas for a DIY. Here’s how Tiphaine of Kraft & Carat transformed it. This is extremely cool, and the way the table now matches the chairs is uncanny; choosing colors that close to each other often leads to awkward almost-matching, but this looks perfect.

While it’s fun to shop for planters on Etsy and West Elm (there are sooooo many good ones out there), those suckers can really add up, especially if you’ve got an entire jungle growing in your living room. Here’s an idea: Supplement your pricier buys with cheaper items from dollar stores, which are chock full of items that can be transformed into nontraditional, but great-looking, homes for your plant friends.

Like Melissa McCarthy, I love me a good 99-cent store, and there are some things I don’t like buying anywhere else. It’s a great source for basic supplies you want to keep on hand for little projects around the house, but don’t want to pay a ton for. Here are 10 that I wouldn’t dream of buying anywhere else.

Hugh Molten, a South Carolina-based real estate agent, didn’t plan for such a big project when he bought this falling-down old church. “I originally had the vision to simply clean it out and live in it basically as-is; create a small shower in the corner, stainless prep tables for the kitchen and call it done.” Today, this 1600-square-foot former house of worship is an incredible industrial modern home, and how it ended up that way was a long and interesting journey.

These are all a two-for-one kinda deal.

You are currently gazing upon a floor that is not only old linoleum—it is the old linoleum floor of a fish-gutting room. Is there any hope for this room, or is it doomed to be forever haunted by dearly departed stinky fishies? The old, fishy floor has been replaced with a watery blue dream; it’s like a river you can walk on. This stained plywood floor was created by Tanya of Dans le Lakehouse, and I’m in awe of her vision.

Instagram is overflowing with renovated vintage trailers: they’re all adorable, and they all have adorable names. Check out the amazing work that’s been done on Sprite, Scamp, Rosie, Rubie Jane, Lula, Lorelai, Peach, and 12 others—most of these homes-on-wheels are at least 40 years old, and they all look better than ever. This minimal beauty is enormous for a trailer, but fairly small for a family of five!

I’m pretty lucky. My rental apartment has a large, cavernous pantry, which is a boon in the kitchen storage department. However, what it has in size, it lacks in efficiency. For all that space, there are only a few shelves (which tend to overflow with canned goods and foodstuffs) and the full-size refrigerator prevents me from adding in more. In an effort to boost my pantry’s usefulness, I headed straight to the dollar store.

Nothing screams ‘Sad Kitchen’ like shoddy old countertops. Okay, a bad floor or rickety old cabinets are probably right up there, but a decades-old, grungy, cracked, and damaged counter can turn an otherwise perfectly decent kitchen into something to cringe over. When my husband and I prepared to put our previous home on the market, our realtor encouraged us to replace the dated laminate counter.

If, like me, you were hoping that this art hack involved adding enormous sea monsters to this idyllic beach scene, you might be the teensiest bit disappointed, but if you want to see these discount pieces transformed into lovely original abstract paintings, read on! Let’s start with a little backstory: When I came across these pre-framed mass reproduction art pieces at HomeGoods, they were the perfect size for our space but lacked the modern minimal look I was going for.

A reader found this old dresser in an alley and knew right away that she’d hit the jackpot. And after hours of scrubbing and sprucing, this dresser is even more beautiful than the day it was built. Here’s how reader Krissy Gilhooly tells the story of this exciting discovery: I found this piece abandoned in the alley behind our house. When I first saw it, I was expecting it to be rickety and have sticky drawers, as most furniture is when it’s thrown away.

This little stairway landing is so pretty. It’s got hardwood floors, a gracefully placed window worthy of Vermeer, a dramatic work of art, and an intriguing vintage table. Its owner did not feel so positive about the space, however, and saw potential for so much more. Seriously, wow! I love the notion of a stairway accent wall; as you’ll see below, it’s incredibly inviting from below.

Ah, the ever-reliable IKEA KALLAX: a timeless, affordable shelving unit that’s available in a variety of sizes and colors and is useful for holding books, records, storage bins, objets d’art, snakes, and so much more. Yes, of course, snakes… I have to say, the wood of the KALLAX looks pretty beautiful with all the organic matter, and the plants and rocks inside are all well chosen and arranged.

Here’s a story from an intrepid Redditor, who kept getting packages stolen off their porch. Many people can relate: one third of Americans have reported having a package stolen outside their home. So this crafty person turned to a DIY fix. Here’s what this project involved, according to this Redditor: My solution was a lot cheaper and went up in less than an hour! Not permanent, but will do for now.

No staple guns required.

Here we have two perfectly fine IKEA MALM dressers: They’re pleasingly minimal, they have a cool presence and graphic appeal, and they offer a generous amount of storage as well acting as a TV stand. Their owner, however, was ready for something lighter and brighter—and a lot more fun. Here’s how this DIY makeover came about: The two dark IKEA MALM dressers that we purchased a few years ago were right at the time, but not so much anymore.

This Airstream trailer is 33 years old, and while its exterior is apparently in fantastic shape, its interior needed a lot of love. In less than three months, one power couple was able to take this rolling home from neglected to elegant. The travel trailer’s new owner described exactly what they were up against: We acquired this neglected 1985 Airstream Sovereign (34-foot) back in May 2018. Overall, the exterior was in excellent condition, so we took a chance and brought her home.

When Lindi of Love Create Celebrate set out to redo her entryway, she knew she wanted an accent wall. After deciding against wallpaper and painted geometric shapes, she ultimately landed on wood as her medium (one-inch MDF strips, to be exact). With a few power tools and a helpful hubby, she materialized her vision in just one afternoon and the results are impressive. Lindi sketched out several different designs before this one stuck.

When Nicole Goodreau and her fiancé spotted this mid-century Lane cedar chest at their local Goodwill for $30, they knew they had to have it. While the existing army green color and retro knobs didn’t fit their home’s modern aesthetic, they were confident that, with a little elbow grease, they could transform it into the perfect storage piece for their petite city apartment.

Finding the right light fixture is tricky. It’s striking that right balance of “will the light fill up the room,” location restrictions, and, of course, style. Sometimes what you already have checks off those first two, but the third requirement is a little more elusive. Instead of looking for a replacement, check out these ideas to update your existing light fixture instead. Sarah’s wood detail addition makes her standard kitchen sconce look like a high-end dupe.

Get a brand new-to-you sofa or chair for college-kid prices.

With recent plastic bag bans and eco-conscious movements sweeping the nation, now’s the time to plan ahead so you don’t find yourself in a pinch in the checkout line. Sprinkle your life with reusable bags: Keep one in your car, purse, and office so you never leave the house without one. And while you’re at it, why fill your cabinets, drawers, storage nooks with mediocre bags you only bought last minute out of necessity at the grocery store?

The window in this bedroom is absolutely dreamy, but the space below it was a bit of a waste—until inspiration struck, and one room became two. Here’s the scoop on the under-window situation: Before 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.

Even years after my very first trip to IKEA, I still get a thrill each time I step into the store. You’d think, especially given my job, I’d be so over everything by now, but nope. I love ALL THE THINGS (except maybe, as I’ve written about before, the art department) and can wander wide-eyed around all the departments looking at what’s new.

It’s that time of year, when days get shorter and shorter, and sunlight noticeably diminishes. Soon, many of us will be trudging to and from school and work in near darkness, and—I’ll venture a guess here—we will not be happy about it. Once we’re home, we’ll also have to turn our indoor lamps and overheads on sooner in the evening. These IKEA hacks help us do it in style, and on the cheap.

Name: Russell Whitehead and Jordan Cluroe of 2LG Studio Location: Forest Hill — London, England Years Lived In: Owned 3 and a half years, but we have lived in Forest Hill together for almost 12 years. Every now and then you come across a remodel that just sings right to your soul, even surprising yourself.