The “The Quick Yet Powerful 1k Kitchen Style Transformation” Makeover
Project by: Karen We just moved into a 1929 Tudor bungalow. The kitchen is small and has only one window. The upper cabinets made the room seem darker. In addition, they were hard for me to reach (I’m 5’2″). So I took them out and replaced them with open shelving in gloss white. The room was instantly brighter. I added storage in the pantry to make up for the lost cabinet space. So I took out the upper cabinets and replaced them with open shelving in gloss white.
Dec 19, 2019
The “Modern Chalet” Townhouse Makeover
Project by: Negar of Space Harmony Location: Vancouver, Canada This is an interior design and renovation we did for a client, a professional and avid skier who wanted his 1600 three-level town house to feel like a chalet. Because of the space limitation and ceiling height, we couldn’t use the real bold and robust materials used in chalets so we created an “modern chalet” instead! Our goal was to create the same cozy and comfortable ambiance on a smaller scale.
Dec 19, 2019
The “Sight Unseen Space, 3k for Everything” Apartment Makeover
Project by: Samantha Location: New York, NY It was actually my boyfriend who picked out our temporary apartment in midtown Manhattan – at the time I was still living in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to fly to New York by the time he moved in, in order to help him out. Hence, I had to order most of the necessary furniture online and have it delivered to an apartment I hadn’t even seen yet which was a bit of a challenge and risk.
Dec 19, 2019
The “What To Do With This Nook the OTHER 11 Months of the Year” Makeover
Renovation by: Courtney and Brent Location: Houston, Texas When we moved into our house there was one thing about our living room that bugged us. It was the inset in the wall next to the fireplace. It was intended for the TV but we knew how we wanted the room to “flow” and found it awkward to have the TV off center and next to the fireplace. So we set up the living room how we wanted it with the TV on the long wall and left that space empty.
Dec 19, 2019
Before & After: No Excuse for a Naked Window
Makeover by: Jennifer Location: San Diego Moving into a new place means lots of little unfinished spots that need solutions, which means spending both time and money. Jennifer dressed up this window corner quickly, stylishly and for less that you would think possible. Check it out… Jennifer added triangle vinyl decals to a plain rolling shade that she picked up at Home Depot.
Dec 19, 2019
How To Make a Painted Faux Marble Table Top
Yesterday I showed you the “before” condition of this poor little table, which was used outside by its previous owner and left to rot and weather. Today I’m showing you how to paint faux marble to use as a replacement table top for any project you have in the works. This is a very easy technique that takes hardly any time or money to do. Round wooden top or decorators table Black paint White paint Sealer Regular paint brush Sea sponge Small feather 1.
Dec 19, 2019
Elisabeth’s Cure: Living Rooms & Loving Life
Nothing gives me motivation to spruce up the house like sending out invitations! In preparation for a small birthday party with a few girlfriends, I’ve nearly turned this house upside down. I rearranged the furniture in both living spaces, swapped out a coffee table and some pillows, and got new lamps. Thanks to the Cure, there is also new greenery.
Dec 19, 2019
Before & After: Katherine’s Warehouse Loft Update
Katherine sent us in photos and floorplans of the update of her West Loop loft. This is a hardworking condo — it is home to a (new) family of three and during the day also accommodates two employees as a live/work space…..and the After!Here is Katherine’s info on the update: We had to overcome a dated warehouse conversion of a beautiful masonry and timber loft building. Views were compromised by the fireplace and tv alcove dividing the kitchen and living area.
Dec 19, 2019
Before and After: A Genius Holiday-Ready Gallery Wall Redo for $40
You'll want to rainbow everything once you see this transformation.
Dec 15, 2019
Before & After: Worn Vintage Settee Gets a Facelift
Last year Danielle picked up a vintage settee for $50 and, with her mom as co-pilot, wanted to take it on as her first foray into upholstery. She was conflicted about the fabric to use: something modern and bold or something more traditional? Readers chimed in, many urging her to have it professionally recovered instead of trying it herself and the majority of readers advised going with a classic print and color for the fabric. Did she take either piece of advice?… No and yes!
Dec 4, 2019
Before and After: A Dreamy Fireplace Just in Time for the Holiday Season
This bright, welcoming redo is fireplace goals.
Nov 26, 2019
Before and After: A Cute IKEA Hack That Will Make You Want Dino Knobs
Jeff Goldblum would go wild for these adorable little made-over nightstands.
Nov 24, 2019
Before and After: 5 Inspiring Chair Redos, and One Clever IKEA Hack
You'll barely recognize the befores.
Nov 14, 2019
Before & After: The “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Real Marble” Makeover
One great way to get the look, without the high price tag.
Nov 8, 2019
Before and After: A Stylish Home Office We'd Actually WANT to Work in
It's the stuff of Scandi-modern dreams.
Oct 30, 2019
Before and After: A Genius Hack to Make Thrifted Pots Look Way Pricier
These planters only look $$$.
Oct 28, 2019
Before and After: A Mid-Century-Approved Redo for This Damaged Dresser
Tired: Scuffed wood veneer. Wired: This geometric makeover.
Oct 25, 2019
Before and After: This Plain Gray Bathroom Went Bright and Bold
One UK couple DIYed the meh away, and might make you want to paint your tub orange.
Oct 17, 2019
Before and After: The Happiest, Most Colorful Closet You've Ever Seen
See ya, '70s-style mirrored doors. Wallpaper and paint pair up to make this closet way more fun.
Oct 9, 2019
Best of Before and After: These Redos Show the Power of Dark Paint
If you're going to do a makeover, you might as well make it big, bold, and super dark.
Oct 8, 2019
Before and After: Black Paint Made This Powder Room Feel So Much Warmer
Like many half baths, Jo Char's powder room is tiny and windowless. Logically, she initially went with a light wall color, but all that did was make the room feel "sterile and anemic," she writes.
Sep 27, 2019
Before and After: This Upgraded Kitchen Looks About 100 Times Brighter
Myra McKeon's kitchen was, well, totally fine. "The before was functional and by all means great," she writes. "The style of the kitchen would be liked by most, but it just wasn't my particular style."
Sep 27, 2019
Before and After: This Stair Paint Job Will Make You Never Want to Climb a Plain Staircase Again
Meghan Clemons had a standard wood staircase in her Pennsylvania house, but she wanted something a little different.
Sep 23, 2019
Before and After: The Ceiling Mural in This New Entryway Might Make You Gasp
Andrea Latham's entryway had fabulous bones, but it wasn't living up to its potential, and it wasn't very functional either.
Sep 20, 2019
The 10 Best Before and Afters We’ve Seen So Far This Year
Y’all have been sharing some really fantastic before and afters with us this year, so we wanted to take a sec to highlight a few that stood out as especially brilliant and inspiring.
Sep 19, 2019
Before and After: An Interior Design Student Upgraded Her Family’s Kitchen from Builder Grade to Beautiful
Suchada Eickemeyer and her husband bought their house in 2016, just as she was beginning interior design school. She knew that she would be able to put her newly-acquired skills to good use in the home's kitchen.
Sep 18, 2019
Before and After: We Dare You to Guess How Inexpensive This UK Kitchen Reno Was
"I wanted a kitchen with an open aspect that I could love, enjoy, and utilize," writes Vicky Flynn of Liverpool. Instead, she had a "dark, gloomy, decrepit space" with a leaky tap and "some interesting shades of brown."
Sep 18, 2019
Before and After: A Plain White Bathroom Gets a Greenery-Filled Upgrade
Get ready to see a lot of plant action.
Sep 18, 2019
Before and After: A Couple Gave Their SoCal Fixer-Upper a Light-Filled New Look
When Andrea Jensen and her husband were house hunting, they narrowed in on a Southern California area they loved. However, "the neighborhood came with a steep price tag," Andrea writes, "so we knew whatever we bought in our price range would require a lot of work."
Sep 15, 2019
Before and After: This Wasted Space Got a Super Functional Makeover (and a Herringbone Feature Wall)
Allison Schaeffer and her husband Noel had a large loft space at the top of their stairs that wasn't serving much purpose—but had serious potential.
Sep 14, 2019
Before and After: A Plain, Boring Desk Transforms Into a Creative Space—For Just $32
It even includes a plant propagation station!
Sep 12, 2019
Before and After: A Carpeted (!!) Bathroom Gets a Pretty Pink Makeover
Joanne Gultig's UK bathroom had green carpet, and that really says it all.
Sep 6, 2019
Before and After: An Uninspired Sitting Room Gets Some Neon Personality
When Lucy and her husband bought their UK home four years ago, their sitting room and its Victorian fireplace were every shade of neutral.
Sep 6, 2019
Before and After: A California Cabin Becomes the Sweet Destination It Always Had the Potential to Be
As soon as Hope Mendes and her husband saw their Cobb, California, cabin, they knew it was the place they'd been searching for.
Sep 4, 2019
Before and After: A Melbourne Kitchen Gets a Big Transformation—Literally
Alanna and her husband Jesse purchased their tiny, two-bedroom Melbourne cottage when they were in their early 20s. The kitchen hadn’t been updated since the 1980s and was so small, the couple couldn’t comfortably cook in there together at the same time.
Sep 4, 2019
Before and After: See How Black Paint Made a Traditional Fireplace Wall Pop
Initially, Jessie Ecker only planned to paint her fireplace surround black, but she decided that it looked so good and modern that she would keep going and paint the paneling around it.
Aug 28, 2019
Before and After: Faux Tile and Marble Helped Give This Basic Bathroom a $200 Facelift
When we see a bathroom renovation roll in for under $200, it gets our attention because, let’s be honest, a light fixture alone can cost well over $200!
Aug 22, 2019
Before and After: See a Dark, Damp Bathroom’s Carrara Marble-Filled Transformation
At first glance, Nidia Serrano’s monochrome bathroom seemed like one we’d all love to come home to at the end of a busy day.
Aug 21, 2019
Before and After: Check Out This Chic Solution for a Living Room with an Asymmetrical Fireplace
How do you design a living room when it has an uneven fireplace sitting oddly in the corner? Kristyn Jackson was baffled.
Aug 21, 2019
Before and After: An Aging Blue Bathroom Gets a Modern Monochrome Revamp
Lucinda Mitra and her husband inherited a bathroom from their UK home's previous owners that was "completely livable, but somewhat tired and dated," she writes.
Aug 16, 2019
Before and After: A Kitchen and Dining Room Reno Honors a Home’s History
"Nice bones." That's how Alison Caporimo and her wife described their New Jersey home the first time they walked through it.
Aug 13, 2019
Before and After: This Vintage RV Makeover Is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Seen Before
This vintage RV has been torn down, fixed back up, and glittered, dangled, and frocked within an inch of its life.
Aug 13, 2019
Before and After: This Pink Powder Room Reno Cost Less Than $600
The powder room didn’t quite make it to the top of Laurel list of must-immediately-make home improvements—until she found out that a wall had to be taken out completely and rebuilt for proper support.
Aug 6, 2019
Before & After: You Won’t Believe How Fantastically This Inexpensive Dining Room Refresh Came Together
Alexandra Madison loves “taking old spaces and making them feel new and fresh,” she writes, so in a few weeks and with less than $600, she gave her dining room an entirely updated feel.
Aug 2, 2019
Before and After: A Tile-Heavy Bathroom Is Transformed from Mismatched to Classic
When Katie and ​David​ purchased their home in Memphis, the house had all of the charm of the 1940s—but the bathroom left much to be desired.
Aug 2, 2019
Before and After: Punch Needling Takes Planters from Basic to Business
Joanne Mooney​'s IKEA FLÅDIS​ planter did its job—aka, holding plants—but looked pretty bland against the backdrop of her colorful home. She decided to use punch needling to give the seagrass baskets a makeover.
Jul 31, 2019
Before & After: An Incredible and Colorful Transformation of a Dated, Drab Rental Kitchen
Color, peel-and-stick backslash tiles, and a few gorgeous light fixture splurges COMPLETELY transformed this old, dark rental kitchen.
Jul 31, 2019
Before and After: 50 Years Later, This Houston Home Is The Perfect Blend of Goop and ‘Mad Men’
If you're looking for a home that, somehow, brilliantly blends the best of Gwyneth's sensibilities with Sterling Cooper-era interior design, do I have a home for you.
Jul 11, 2019
Before and After: A $180 Feature Wall Transforms a Master Bedroom
The dark blue accent wall cost $180 total, including trim, caulk, and paint.
Jun 21, 2019
Before and After: A Whiteboard Mural Makes This Creative Office an Organized Dream
Brianna printed her custom, watercolor-inspired artwork at Society6 and covered it with three "generous" coats of clear whiteboard paint. After five days of curing, she had her end result—"a giant surface for impromptu brainstorming, writing down weekly and monthly goals, taking notes while pacing on conference calls, or sketching website wireframes."
Jun 19, 2019
Before and After: A Cluttered Pantry Gets a Streamlined Redo
This pantry goes from cluttered to clean.
Jun 7, 2019
Before & After: The Midcentury TV Console Cat Condo
I can attest to the challenge of refinishing a vintage stereo entertainment cabinet. They’re undoubtedly beautiful, but also big, heavy, packed with difficult to disassemble, pre-miniaturization era electronics, and usually require a great deal of stripping and refinishing to bring them back to glory.
Jun 7, 2019
Before and After: A Smart Design Solution for a 1920s Dining Room
If you’re following along, you may have caught us drooling over Arlyn Hernandez’s makeovers. Arlyn is Emily Henderson’s editorial director and the proud occupant of not one but two beautifully designed rooms in a 100-year-old Los Angeles Mediterranean-style apartment building.
May 28, 2019
Before and After: Black Walls Bring Serious Drama to This $6,400 Kitchen Reno
When Stasia bought her flat in 2016, she liked the kitchen—it was “big and bright and airy,” she says, and certainly on-trend. But it also “felt bland,” with “bleached white walls and cupboards that made it feel cold and clinical. I didn’t want to feel like I was cooking in a science lab.” When she decided to renovate, she was aiming for “industrial yet cozy, somewhere [she] could relax with a glass of wine.
May 16, 2019
Before and After: Bold Color Gives a Shared Girls’ Room New Life
White doesn’t have to mean trite. Paired with a joyful neon color scheme, a white room can be an honest delight. Gill gave her girls’ “small and dark” room a colorful makeover to make the space feel entirely modern—and still kid-appropriate. “It is a shared room for our two daughters, and while we were desperate to lighten and brighten the space, we also wanted to ensure it appealed to both a 6-year-old and a 6-year-old,” Gill says.
May 13, 2019
Before and After: Watch This ‘Sad Fern’ Transform Into a Thriving Plant
Every week, our resident “plant doctor” Hilton Carter, takes us behind the scenes into his own home jungle to answer questions about plant care and tips. But we thought it could be fun to, er, grow the series: sending him into real homes where the plants aren’t always quite so healthy. Today we’re launching House Calls with the Plant Doctor.First up is Aaron Nachmann, who is our director of ad operations here at Apartment Therapy.
May 12, 2019
Before & After: Boring White Closet Doors Get a Stylish Makeover
To anyone else, Adriana’s dark blue bedroom might seem complete—styled perfectly, designed for her particular taste, not a thing left to do! But the closet door was an eyesore that she just couldn’t overlook; it was tall and so bright-white and just didn’t seem to fit in with the design of the rest of the bedroom.
May 7, 2019
Before & After: Grandma’s Hutch Makeover
Hutches are weird things. They take up a great deal of space, and although they display your collectibles well, unless the vibe of the piece really fits your home, they feel monolithic and out of place. So when Brooke’s friend passed along a hutch from her Grandmother, she set out to make it her own and all we have to say is, “Wow!”Brooke over at The Crafting Chicks really did a bang up job on this transformation.
May 7, 2019
Before & After: Taking a Kitchen from Dark to Light
I love this kitchen remodel from Olives and Daisies. It’s definitely green to find ways to make do with what you have rather than buying new or throwing things away, and in this case they did a few simple things that had major payoff: painted the cabinets, took out some upper cabinets, replaced a few doors and worked on the hardware among other things. The transformation is really incredible considering the minimal investment. Well done!
May 7, 2019
Before & After: My Cheap, Green Kitchen Remodel
When I moved into my home, only one out of the three units was livable. The downstairs had been gutted and wasn’t much more than a glorified storage unit. You’ve gotten a glimpse of the bathroom via my Ace Hotel-inspired shelving post. Now I’m going to share my mostly recycled kitchen-on-a-shoestring.Diving into this project as a novice homeowner included lot of naivety and the necessity of getting a unit rented ASAP to help pay the mortgage.
May 7, 2019
Convert Storage Boxes Into No-Sew Seating
If you live in a small space that is short on closets you may find yourself surrounded by a variety of “storage solutions.” Unfortunately, the visual appeal of giant plastic boxes is pretty low, so why not convert your rubbermaids to a relaxing reading nook?It’s amazing what a quilted bedspread, a couple of throw pillows and a faux fur rug can do!
May 7, 2019
Before & After: The Great Cane Bar Stool Reuse
There aren’t many items that I can’t think of some way to transform or repurpose, but when it comes to woven or wicker furniture like these barstools, I’m often at a loss…until now. This trio of trashed items received a makeover from Fabio de Minicis that I never would have thought of!Fabio does wonderful things with items that are otherwise considered discarded, junk or trash, and this barstool makeover is no exception.
May 7, 2019
Before & After: A Beautiful Bergere Makeover
Perfect timing for project month! We were happy when an email from Maja, a regular Apartment Therapy reader, hit the inbox. She sent us in these before and after photos of an eBay chair makeover project — from a traditional floral to a bright and bold modern graphic pattern, we love the transformation……and the After!Maja writes: I’m moving to a new apartment in a couple of weeks and have been buying some furniture.
May 7, 2019
Before & After: Bringing New Life to Old Drawers
Reusing old drawers as shelving is something we’ve discussed here a few times before. In fact, you may recognize one of these drawers from a post on the subject. While I’ve been using drawers as shelving for a couple of years, I wanted to take the concept to the next level.I had already been using one of these drawers as a wall shelf in my bedroom and when I gave the bedroom a makeover, I wasn’t sure whether I would use the drawers again.
May 7, 2019
Before & After: Turning a Laundry Closet into a Laundry Center
The washer/dryer hookup in our apartment is perfectly located right off the kitchen and close to the dining room, where we do all the laundry folding. Since this is our first apartment with laundry inside the unit, we’re quite happy to have it so centrally located. Although the location of our little laundry closet may be nearly perfect, the presentation leaves a lot to be desired. Those louvered bi-fold doors have got to go!
May 7, 2019
Before and After: Cane Chair Makeover
This thrift store find has great lines, but the rest of the piece needed a bit of work. Kate from Centsational Girl put a little bit of love and a whole lot of elbow grease into fixing this piece up. Check out her cane chair transformation into a timeless piece for her living room.First things first, she took apart the chair until only the frame was left. Then she gave that a good coat of glossy white paint. For the fabric, she went with a soft yet durable fabric in a taupe color.
May 7, 2019
Before & After: Laura’s “Simple & Cheap” Ottoman Redo
Laura, a regular Apartment Therapy reader was on the hunt for an affordable ottoman. When nothing suitable turned up, she took matters into her own hands and went the DIY route. Here is her story…and the great looking finished results……and the After!Laura writes: I wanted to share my simple and cheap ottoman makeover.
May 7, 2019
Before & After: Garage to Media Room Transformation
Arren Williams’ home in Toronto is also his ongoing project . With his long list of design skills, each room is an opportunity for some wow-level end results, which he, luckily for us, shares on his blog. A basement room, especially one that was converted from a drive-down garage can be a challenging space to decorate; dark, with low ceilings and a lack of windows. But that didn’t deter Arren……and the After!
May 7, 2019
Before and After: 1960 Split-Level Green Makeover
Used as a rental for years, Gregg Olsen, the owner of this 1960 split-level in Boulder, CO had a vision to add a second story to his home. When that plan promised to cost $100,000 – $150,000 more than he had budgeted, a change of plans was in order. The new concept included energy efficiency and modern design elements.Mr. Olsen hired VaST Architecture to realize the extensive renovation on his home.
May 6, 2019
Before & After: An Upcycled File Box
When I saw this little file box at a Salvation Army, it practically called to me from across the store. “Jason,” it called out to me, “please take me home and give me new life. I’m only five dollars!” How could I possibly pass it up?The original gray finish on the file box had definitely seen better days. Even after a thorough scrubbing, the finish was marred with years of tape and dings and scrapes. Nothing a little spray paint won’t fix!
May 6, 2019
Before & After: An Old Settee Turned Into A Family Heirloom
Using a $20 garage sale settee as a base, Suesan over at Frou-FruGal wanted to create a family heirloom map furniture piece. Using a drop cloth, some incredible hand painting skills and some elbow grease she has created an unexpected decor element.Whether you like the look or not, this is so much more than just your typical piece of furniture. As Suesan describes, It’s unique to our family and I’m happy with the look. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t fast.
May 6, 2019
Before & After: IKEA LACK Side Table Ottoman
At $7.99 the LACK table from IKEA is a popular purchase. Supremely simple in design, this piece looks great in the living room or even as a minimalist beside table. Alas, like all things, the surface inevitably shows signs of wear—and there is only so many times you’ll want to reposition a potted plant or stack of books to strategically cover up scuffs or stains. It’s good to know that there is light at the end of tunnel when its life as a table begins to look LACK luster!
May 6, 2019