Renovating & Remodeling Skills & How Tos

Popular Mechanics first launched on January 11th in 1902. Over the past century they’ve written about just about everything that involves home projects: tools, how-tos, and advice. They recently took a look back at some of their household handyman tips, and let’s just say that there were a few rather unorthodox ideas. When it comes to the world of DIY and home repair, people try a lot of stuff out: some stick and become useful and some are just plain clunky and weird.

For all our obsession with cooking shows, Americans appear more likely to find inspiration for their new kitchen from a Container Store catalog than a celebrity chef or Bon Appetit. When asked about functional priorities for their recent or current kitchen remodels, American homeowners surveyed by Houzz talked about better organization, the ability to entertain, and the ease of cleaning or disinfecting surfaces, among other concerns.

We featured Medina’s closet makeover the other day, and now we are back to show you the rest of her bedroom, which she recently redid to take full advantage of every inch of the space. It’s a small room, so she had to get very creative…. This isn’t true before photo, but you can picture a standard rental bedroom with bland cream-colored walls, beige carpet and that ugly melamine wardrobe that Medina and her husband weren’t allowed to get rid of.

This kitchen has quite a bit of vintage charm, and all that white certainly does a great job reflecting the sunlight pouring in from the window. And there’s nothing better than a window over the dishwashing sink, but the room could definitely use a little something. Fortunately, that certain something was do-able in a single week.

Let us give your tiny home a makeover! We’re looking for a reader whose tiny home has good bones but needs a little sparkle and personality. If you’ve been wanting to give your tiny home a more defined and stylish look, you might be just the person we’re looking for. We’re working with an advertiser to help our readers explore bold, exciting paint upgrades in their tiny homes and to document it in a before-and-after video.

This particular kitchen project was a major undertaking: new appliances, new flooring, new cabinetry, new countertops, new backsplashes, and a host of other major adjustments. Despite the dramatic changes, the new kitchen fits into the home perfectly and makes the most of the available space and light. Interiors Addict has done such a lovely job with this room.

Think a new kitchen is currently out of reach? If yours is bringing you down, but you don’t have the means to do a full renovation, don’t give up too soon. These budget renovations all cost under $1,000 (and some well, well under that) and prove beyond a shadow of doubt that you don’t need a wad of money to give your kitchen a brand new look. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of paint, a little bit of elbow grease, and some good ideas. Use these five as inspiration.

This renovation is very near and dear to my heart, having lived in many studio apartments, including one that was nearly identical to this one in size, configuration, and location. Watch this 300-square-foot studio go from dingy and cramped to bright and seemingly spacious. Laurie Jones, of Laurie Jones Home & Lifestyle, designed and executed this remodel for her daughter: The before is what every apartment looks like in Wrigleyville.

Sometimes, when people describe a room as “a nightmare,” they’re talking about shag carpeting or hideous laminate or cheesy ’80s style. Today’s kitchen sounds like the stuff of actual nightmares—read on lest you think I’m talking about the blue-mustard color combo you see here. (But don’t worry—the space now is totally dreamy.) What a difference a new everything makes!

When three friends — Amanda, Kate and Carina — decided to chase their dreams and buy a cabin in the Catskills together, they were ready to start having fun and enjoying their mountain retreat right away. But the home was built in the 1980s, and though the architectural bones were extraordinary, there were still a lot of elements from the era (like bizarre wallpaper, carpeted stairs, funky electrical work, and a mustard yellow shower).

Morgan and her husband recently bought a home and, little by little, are updating each room. First up, the laundry room. One of the things that sold them on the house was having a mud room off the garage, complete with a washer and dryer. As handy as that is, the room was very dark with brown walls, brown cabinets and was desperately in need of an update. More than anything Morgan wanted a light, bright and fun space to work in.

When it comes to big ticket kitchen appliances, saving even 5% on one item means holding onto a pretty tidy sum. So it pays to shop around and make sure you’re getting the best bargain out there. Retail giants Costco and Amazon regularly go head to head in the war of prices, battling it out for your business, and that includes fridges, stoves, and microwaves. So, we wanted to know: which is cheaper?

If you’ve ever priced custom closets, you know that they cost a lot. Like, a whole whole lot. But the good news is that you don’t have to spend a million bucks (or even a thousand) to get a closet that looks like a million bucks. Your secret weapon for custom-ish closets? IKEA.

Samantha’s little apartment is only about 500 square feet and it’s a rental. She wanted to make some minor changes, without putting a bunch of money into the makeover. Then she got the best news that an ambitious renter can possible get in their lifetime: when Samantha moves out, the apartment is getting renovated by the owners. Which meant it was carte blanche time! Samantha’s 1925 original kitchen had so much potential, but was a little on the lackluster side.

This bathroom was overwhelmed by giant tiles, beige, and cats, but a 4-day renovation completely transformed it. It’s a small room and a big makeover . . . The after is so elegant. Project Palermo did an incredible job on this powder room, fitting a lot of style into a tiny space. The dark vanity adds drama—the Before was literally wall-to-wall beige—and the play of the petite hexagonal tiles against the beadboard is so much more interesting than the squares+squares look was.

There are so many beautiful flooring options out there. One that I’m particularly excited about is wood-look tiles. While still achieving the warm tone that real wood brings to a space, wood-look tiles are made from porcelain that can stand up to moisture in any room in the house. From kitchens to living rooms, bathrooms and beyond, these trendy tiles are a hardy option that will not only look fantastic, but will be able to withstand daily wear and tear for years to come.

The owners of this home, an architect and an interior designer, were faced with the dilemma that eventually confronts most parents in New York: whether to leave the city for a home with more space somewhere else. With two growing children, their two-bedroom, 1,000 square foot rowhouse was starting to feel a little cramped. But they loved their Brooklyn neighborhood and hated the idea of leaving, so they decided to remodel instead of looking for a home elsewhere.

This kitchen had so much going for it—high, wainscoted ceilings, gorgeous black countertops, tons of cabinet space—but it needed a little something. Does that something involve pineapples? Perhaps… This renovation by change & co is one of the few Before & After projects we’ve seen recently in which so many of the original elements have been retained. The countertops, faucet, and fridge are all the same, and the cabinetry and island were simply repainted.

A kitchen that’s crammed with things is not efficient. If your cabinets are stuffed to the gills with items that you have to dig through to unearth the mixing bowl — and then, ugh, you have to put it all back before you’re even able to cook, you probably dread cooking. This weekend, edit what’s in your kitchen so you can chop, saute, and bake all week (and beyond!) with everything you need, from carrots to the pepper shaker, right at your fingertips.

The galley kitchen of this Brooklyn apartment wasn’t in terrible shape, especially compared to some kitchens we’ve seen. But the builder-blah ’90s color scheme made the space seem dark and dated, and the wide-set floor tiles left lots of room for grout, which means lots of room for collecting dirt.

About $100 can make a huge difference.

When Puno Puno (yes, you read that right, her name is Puno Lauren Puno!) and Daniel Chin Yee moved into their Downtown Los Angeles loft earlier this year, they knew they’d found their dream home. First, because of all the added space (their previous apartment was a modest 600 square feet to this loft’s 1,500). And secondly, because of the huge amount of light pouring in from the wall-to wall, industrial-height windows that line their corner unit.

A small investment that will make a big impact.

Painting is one of the least expensive ways to give your space a facelift. But it’s not exactly fun. It’s messy and time consuming especially if you have to do multiple coats — say goodbye to your weekend. Enter this $25 buy, which helps you tackle painting like the pros and shave significant time off the job.

Can this outdated, off-white relic of a stove be transformed into a sleek stainless steel beauty? When I learned about a product designed to replicate the look of stainless steel appliances, I was itching to see if it worked — it just seemed a little too good to be true. Could this paint make appliances blend in a little bit more, or maybe look a little less decrepit? Less almond at least? For this test, I bought Rust-Oleum’s Stainless Steel from Amazon which retails for about $30.

There’s nothing worse than those builder grade vanity strips in bathrooms, the ones that absolutely scream “HI, I’M CHROME AND WAS SENT FROM THE ’80s TO DATE YOU!!” As a renter your options are limited, but I came up with a smart way to deal with these common eyesores. Instead of swapping it out with a new light fixture, I decided to instead embrace the challenge and work with what I had. I couldn’t paint it, because that was permanent.

As kitchens go, this one isn’t too shabby. There are really nice white countertops, classic subway tile on the backsplash, and basic wood cabinets that look perfectly sound and in good condition. There’s no horribly dated light fixtures, no crappy peeling wallpaper, or any odd woodwork that needs to be ripped out. Even the walls are white and ready to go. Not much you can do to improve this space, right? So very, very wrong.

The holidays are just beyond the horizon, and chances are you’ll have at least a guest or two in your dining room. If your current dining area is old, outdated, or just unattractive, you may feel like there’s nothing (affordable) that can be done…or that you’re running out of time. That’s just not true! And these daring and delightful dining room makeovers prove it. Lisa’s dining room before wasn’t terrible, but it lacked pizzazz.

Growing up, I remember hitting up small-town hardware stores for quick needs like electrical tape or a pack of screws. If we wanted something fancier, we would head to the local mall and peruse Sears’ bigger selection of pretty tools and yard machines. Despite my mother’s grumbling comments about the cost of lawn mower parts, the tools still all felt so glamorous under those retail lights.

Chantel’s bathroom had a dark dungeon of an enclosed shower, dated vanity that lacked storage, and an odd medicine cabinet behind the toilet that protruded from the wall. With 35 years of use into this bathroom, it suffered from a grunge she just couldn’t get rid of — not to mention a slight odor and an odd color scheme that she just couldn’t live with. As you can see above, the 1980s was in full effect. The bathroom was originally one large 16′ x 7′ bathroom.

We showed off Timothy’s remodel of his inherited childhood home in a tour recently — it’s beautiful, modern and it perfectly illustrates what can be done with a limited budget. Timothy was kind enough to contribute family photos from the early ’90s showing the front room — or parlor — in its original state, complete with drab carpet and lackluster furniture.

IKEA kitchen sales are legendary. 3-4 times a year, for about a month, the store has a department-wide sale for up to 20% off — a huge savings off big ticket purchases for a renovation. IKEA’s current sale goes until Sunday, April 8, so we hit them up for all their juiciest bits of insider intel, all to help you get the most out of the opportunity. Read on, then head to your local IKEA, or plan ahead and get all your ducks in a row for the next one.

From the brilliant and clever minds at IKEA.

This kitchen has a few issues that my own kitchen has—mismatched countertops, cottage-style details, cabinets stained a color I don’t care for—so I was so curious to see how it was improved. Perhaps there would be a few ideas I could steal! Alas, the makeover is so total, so incredible, that it’s a level of transformation to which I can’t currently aspire. But perhaps you can? Read on for a gorgeous transformation!

I’ll confess: I got a bit confused when I first saw this bathroom photo. Marble(ish) tiles, white wainscoting, seaglass green walls, elegant sink/vanity, and cute little Jacuzzi? That’s the “after”, right? Nope! Of course, once I got to the real after photos, everything became clear. It’s a totally new look! One of the biggest changes in See & Savor’s bathroom is how all of the elements are arranged.

Musician and producer Tim Ouyang knows that just living in the Bay area is a financial feat, let alone owning a home there. When he moved into his new place, Tim was determined not to overspend on a renovation, despite his kitchen’s need for some TLC. He made some smart, safe decisions that completely overhauled the space, without blowing his budget. The biggest visual improvement is the painted cabinets and new hardware.

People spend a ton of money on Halloween decorations and haunted houses every year, but there’s nothing creepier than the real world in which we live. Join the bravest HVAC worker in the world on a tour that has freaked this writer the hell out. Spoiler alert: there’s a secret room!!! This video is just over four minutes, and as someone who usually doesn’t like to watch anything longer than a GIF, I can say that it’s totally worth the watch. Join me!

Melanie’s rowhome had a surplus of bedrooms and a deficit of bathrooms so the math was easy to do. The actual renovation, however, was not so easy. After an extended timeline and a few plumbing snafus, they now have one newly remodeled bath and one entirely new one.

The kitchen in Carrie’s 1950s Chicago bungalow was in desperate need of some updates. By going back to basics and doing most of the shopping at big box stores, she was able to keep the budget to around $15k and save herself the hassle of hiring a contractor. From Carrie: The dark kitchen in our new little home had not been touched in probably 30-40 years. It was horribly outdated, there were soffits galore, and there were a few poorly placed appliances throughout.

Did you catch a peek at Jes and Caleb’s vintage-inspired home that featured this dreamy DIY headboard and wood wall combo in the guest room? The couple says they’ve always been inspired by the ’70s, so they opted for adding wood paneling to create an over-sized headboard. It pays homage to the mid-century decor element, yet looks modern at the same time.

Chelsea’s master bath was in need of a little love, but funds for a full renovation just weren’t in the cards. Rather than wallow in the depths of an ugly bathroom, Chelsea and her husband decided to make some smart, inexpensive upgrades to give the bathroom a new look without breaking the bank. From Chelsea: When we moved into our fixer upper, I knew we would someday need to tackle master bathroom. It was small, awkward and really hideous.

When Emily went looking for an apartment in New York, she wanted a place with vintage charm, like the beautifully detailed old buildings she had seen while living and studying in Normandy. Instead, she found the next best thing, a fixer-upper apartment in a 1940s building, whose tiny kitchen and bathroom were badly in need of updating (and a little classic character). The kitchen, only six feet wide, suffered years of neglect during the time the apartment served as a rental.

It’s surprising what a difference a nice bathroom makes. Unfortunately, many renters (like myself), have to work with whatever setup our leased homes offer. Usually this is a very standard, neutral, easy-to-clean but very boring space, with minimal function — certainly nothing special. Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to make a bathroom slightly more useful for your needs, and even slightly more stylish.

Carleen’s kitchen didn’t offer much in the way of counter space but it did provide her with lots of poorly laid green tile, which, shockingly enough, wasn’t much consolation. She decided that she’d had enough and set about renovating her kitchen. A mix of professional help, a handy husband and some smart IKEA finds help her put together a chic new kitchen with plenty more counter space to boot.

Christopher took one look at this beige, laminate loving kitchen and thought to himself, “it’s perfect!” His enthusiasm was rewarded as after basically overhauling the entire kitchen, he found himself with crisp white cabinets and counters and a gorgeous wood island that warms up the space with rustic style. From Christopher: We knew that navigating the Denver market would be a tough one. But once we walked into this kitchen we knew this was it.

Did you catch the gorgeous, renovated bathroom in this Philadelphia house? On a tight budget for the whole home, Melissa and John’s bathroom is filled with affordable materials used in fresh ways. And the room’s success is due in large part to the fact that the couple stuck to two strong, simple and complementary design styles: modern and rustic. Below, four elements that make this bathroom so beautiful and affordable to emulate.

Project by: Jessica Nicolls of Bungalow 56 Interiors Location: Coronado, California There’s something so calming about well done neutral spaces isn’t there? Rather than boring or bland, they’re rooms that relax you just by looking at them. Jessica was able to turn her client’s outdated brown kitchen and bathroom into neutral yet visually pleasing rooms.

Bridgett’s old kitchen sure was something. Which makes her 100% DIY transformation of the space even more mind boggling. Updating the space not just for looks, she added an office nook to the kitchen to maximize the usability of the space. The kitchen is modern and clean, miles away from the blue and beige kitchen they started with. From Bridgett: Our house is old (1963) and the blue stained wood paneling that was floor to ceiling throughout the house totally dated it.

We spotted Stacey and Adam’s kitchen on Instagram and just had to know more about it. While everything was ok functionality wise, it was kind of bland and not particularly toddler proof. They decided that by adding some darker colors and new flooring, they could solve both of those problems, creating an eye-catchingly stylish (and smudge friendly) space. From Stacey and Adam: When we moved into our house the kitchen was completely magnolia.

As a connoisseur of all things vintage, I am certainly not immune to the appeal of an old-school peach-tiled bathroom, but this one had seen better days. The tiles were cracked and patched in mismatched colors, the toilet was one of those tankless numbers where you always feel like you’re going to fall over backwards, and the flooring (almost definitely not original) was more gas station bathroom than mid-century dream.

Spenser saw this mid century property and new that even though it needed some updates, it would be well worth the time, money and effort. Working on a tight timeline, they laid out their vision for a versatile yet stylish kitchen that honored the homes roots and got to work creating an open and breezy space out of a cramped ’80s kitchen. From Spenser: We bought a 1964 mid-century modern home in foreclosure. It was pretty rough, but that didn’t scare me.

After making some smaller, manageable repairs and updates upon first moving in, Allie and her husband decided to tackle as full of a kitchen reno as their budget would allow. By mixing in DIY projects along with hiring out a contractor and prioritizing major functional and cosmetic fixes over new appliances, they were able to keep to their budget and walk away with a bright new kitchen.

Last week, we looked at the transformation of a teeny-tiny kitchen in a New York City apartment. But the kitchen wasn’t the only change made to this Gramercy Park-area studio. Sleeping four people in a studio apartment might seem like an impossible task — but homeowners Frans and Dalal, who wanted a little privacy for their sleeping space, as well as a little room for overnight guests, made it happen. Previously, the studio was a single space, with a wall of windows on one side.

When Frans and Dalal purchased their studio apartment in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park neighborhood, they knew it would need a little work. The studio, while spacious and bright, had a few downsides, one of them being the tiny, cramped kitchen. Tucked into a little alcove and separated from the unit’s main living space, the kitchen was drab and dark.

I don’t think anyone would use the words ‘glamorous’ or ‘exciting’ to describe toilet paper. Toilet paper is deeply utilitarian, and its intended use is never far from anyone’s mind. But the toilet paper holder — well, that’s a different story.

We’ve seen Malcolm work his dark magic on a room before, and his living room transformation is just as impressive. After adding in enviable features like a new fireplace and (IKEA hack) built-ins on a budget, Malcolm mixed in some stylish splurges, creating a high/low space that just oozes sophistication. From Malcolm: When I first viewed the house (a Victorian mid-terrace, in Aberdeen, Scotland) the living room was, to be polite, very dated.

Rosanna was about to put her condo on the market and knew she would have a much better go of it if she updated her kitchen. After a few contractor related stops and starts, she now has a kitchen that is modern, sleek and much more open. From Rosanna: This was the original kitchen for this condo built in the 1980s. It felt small, dark and cramped. It came with yellowed cabinets, linoleum floors, and tiled counters.

The 1900s through the 1920s was a time of tremendous change in the kitchen, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that the kitchen began to take on its modern shape. The kitchen configuration that we all know now, has its roots, like a lot of modern design, in the German school known as the Bauhaus. As I mentioned in my last post, on the design of the kitchen from 1900 through the 1920s, before the 1930s many kitchens had very little by way of built-in storage or workspace at all.

Last week we looked at the overhaul of Claudia’s bathroom, which got a beautiful, classic update in keeping with the character of her 1929 apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper East side. Today, we’re diving into the renovation of her kitchen, which was similarly transformed.

Imagine you’re suddenly transported back in time by 100 years, to your great-great-grandmother’s house. Most of the rooms are quite familiar: the styles are less modern, sure, but the basic setup is the same. The kitchen, however, is different. All the major players are in place — the sink, the stove, some rudimentary form of refrigeration — but they haven’t quite evolved into their modern forms.

Cameron and Chantel’s post-renovation kitchen is basically unrecognizable. Aside from sharing the common elements of a kitchen (you can cook in it! there’s a refrigerator!) the two spaces are completely different. Their new kitchen is softly colorful, light, breezy and spacious where the old kitchen was, well, very, very beige. From Cameron and Chantel: Our kitchen is straight from the 80s!

Flirting with the idea of using affordable building materials for a kitchen remodel? Smart move for your budget. But, that doesn’t mean you want your home to look like you built it out of materials from the bargain bin. So, take notes from this minimal and modern kitchen in this Spanish hand-built home. We’ve got a breakdown of why this space doesn’t look like it was done on the cheap, despite being primarily made up of very affordable materials.

Before finally deciding to renovate, Claudia had been living in her Upper East Side co-op since 2001 — so she had a pretty clear vision of what she wanted for her bathroom. The space, while still functional, hadn’t been updated in 30 years, and the mid-’80s fixtures were a poor fit for the building’s character.

Stephanie decided to open up her kitchen for both design and keep-an-eye-on-the-kiddos reasons. Wanting to add functionality, style and maximize the natural light, the reno was a mix of big projects (like knocking down walls) and quick last minute fixes that resulted in a gorgeous, classic kitchen. From Stephanie: The kitchen in our home was closed off, isolated and a mix of semi-updated and original features.

Project by: Paula Guzman of Paula E Guzman Studio Location: Midtown, Manhattan—New York Paula’s project is an excellent lesson in both balance and working with what you got. Working with and not around her bathroom’s shortcomings, she created a serene space without a major overhaul. From Paula: This is the decoration of a small, prewar bathroom in my last apartment. It was your typical boring bath with plain white subway tile and very standard fixtures.

Andrea is a stylish fashion blogger who founded the blog Blonde Bedhead. And though her expertise is in personal style, it’s clear she’s also a master at interior design, too. In fact, she’s recently been able to flex her interior design muscles thanks to her newly purchased first home. Though the house didn’t quite fit her own style when she first saw it in person, she could see the potential. Andrea says upgrading the kitchen was the most expensive project in the house.

Upon closing on their first home, Maria and Eric found themselves in a situation that will probably seem quite familiar to anyone who’s ever looked at real estate in New York: they were the proud owners of a really great apartment with a not-so-great kitchen. The 850-square-foot two-bedroom in Queens was nice and roomy, but the kitchen was small, cramped, and dark, with discolored floor tiles and old, warped cabinets that required a little effort to shut completely.

Just under six months after announcing its Solar Roof, Tesla has finally put a price tag on those eco-friendly solar tiles that look like the real thing — and they’re actually really affordable. Orders are now being taken for the Tesla Solar Roof at a price of $21.85 per square foot, which is nearly 20 percent less than the cost of a normal roof — even without factoring in the energy savings.