Rooms

A small investment that will make a big impact.

It’s not a problem that many people have in New York, but this Tribeca apartment was almost too big. Sans furniture, the side-by-side living rooms seemed intimidating and cavernous. Plus, the unusual proportions of the space, with windows sitting almost on the floor, made furnishing it tricky. So the homeowners called in Homepolish designer Alec Holland, who transformed the space into a cozy family home, using tricks that anybody can utilitze in a room that feels just a little too large.

Can this outdated, off-white relic of a stove be transformed into a sleek stainless steel beauty?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.

See? Wow! Some of the changes in Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth’s living room are ambitious and intimidating—the wainscoting, the (SPOILER ALERT) fireplace—but others are more doable while still having a major effect. Swapping out the art, throw pillows, and accessories made such a difference, and the new sofa and rug turned a cozy living room into a dreamy, airy space.

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 If your current dining area is old, outdated, or just unattractive, you may feel like there’s nothing (affordable) that can be done…or that you’re running out of time.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.

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.

Are your dorm room days behind you? You can still find a ton of inspiration with this tiny, 180-square-foot, concrete-brick room's stunning transformation.

A sanctuary in the city for a young man.

Ciao wall to wall carpet!

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.

Mike and Kate’s home office had slowly morphed into a home office slash dumping ground for stuff. They both work from home and felt that they had enough space for a functional office, but they just weren’t making the most of it. They called in their good friend Christina, and she helped the space do a total 180. From Christina: My friends Mike and Kate had a great space for a home office, but the dark paint and cluttered walls made the room feel tiny, especially for two people!

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.

Never underestimate the power of well placed chalk paint. Iuliana’s kitchen was in need of a new look and a full-blown kitchen renovation wasn’t really do-able — but she would not be deterred. A couple of coats of sunshine yellow later, her kitchen is brighter, cheerier, and her budget remains intact (which we imagine made her feel bright and cheery, too).

From kids' room to master bedroom.

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.

Despite the fact that every room in this house was dark and the living room was a deep, almost-brown maroon color, Andrea (a fashion blogger over at Blonde Bedhead) could see this home’s potential. A bold move, considering this is her first house! “I was your typical millennial, avoiding home ownership for years, choosing the mobile life of apartment rentals.

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.

Project by: Leslie Murchie Cascino of Bonnie Wu Design, LLC Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan Leslie’s client downsized into a home that was mostly perfect, save for the cramped and outdated kitchen. After doing some major switching around of cabinets and appliances and making some smart aesthetic upgrades, she was able to create a space with a much better flow that matched the rest of the home.

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.

Project by: Amy Jameson of Jameson Interiors Location: St. Johns – Austin, Texas Amy Jameson’s client was ready to pass their childhood home on to their daughter, but knew it needed some serious upgrading. They called in Amy to modernize the kitchen and expand the footprint of the home. The addition of an island, as well as a thorough upgrade of almost everything in the space, resulted in a bright and modern new kitchen that is sure to please generations to come.

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.

"It's amazing how much decorating you can do simply by shifting around items you already own."

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.

Becky’s bathroom was not only super dated, it wasn’t really meeting their needs, so she set about changing it, slowly but surely. Aside from some plumbing work, Becky tackled most of the updates herself, keeping the cost low (but, occasionally, the stress high). The new bathroom is a moody, glam goth space, the likes of which we haven’t really seen on the site before. From Becky: The before, to us, was, well …. pretty awful, to be generous with my word choice.

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.

This gray is anything but bland.

Project by: Michelle Gage Location: Jersey City, New Jersey Michelle’s work with her client Natalie was done entirely over the internet, which makes this already impressive project kind of unbelievable. Thanks to Instagram and the One Room Challenge, Michelle and Natalie decided to collaborate on her living room from different cities, bonded together by a love of color, pattern and bold choices.

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.

Angelica’s kitchen was functionally fine, it just felt a little cramped and generic for her tastes. With some smart DIY projects, a few cosmetic upgrades and the help of the always reliable white paint, her kitchen looks like an entirely new space without the headache of a full remodel. From Angelica: The kitchen in our new Houston, Texas home was in good condition overall, nicely sized with newer appliances, plenty of windows and decent light fixtures.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is what my boring bathroom looked like up until the other day. I’ve lived in my rental for just over two years, and this place looked the same as it did the day I moved in (with the addition of some hand soap, my toothbrush and a toilet paper roll) for far too long. Is it completely offensive? Nah, it’s pretty passable, but boy was it dull.

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!