Renovating & Remodeling Skills & How Tos

When Tiffany Napper bought this New Orleans shotgun in 2010, she had major work cut out for her. The house – previously owned by a 93-year-old woman who had been born in the house and lived there until she died – had drop ceilings, faux wood paneling, and dirty wall-to-wall carpeting. The narrow 1400-square-foot structure had a small dark kitchen, one tiny bathroom, and four small bedrooms sandwiched together without a hallway.

When Megan and Ryan moved into their new place on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, they decided that renovating the bathroom had to be their first priority. Although, at a glance, their bathroom might not seem so bad, up close it was a bit of a disaster: a crumbling vanity cabinet, discolored and mismatched tile that had been painted (yes, painted) over, and a bathroom window that had been painted and tiled shut.

When Kelly and Dave purchased their home, its layout was in its original, chopped-up form, but what the young family needed was an open plan that would allow views through the living spaces. So when they embarked on extensive renovations, their first plan of action was to get rid of that wall you see in the Before photo above… With the wall gone and two columns in its place, one can see from living room to dining room and kitchen.

Saving money on a remodel is easier said than done. There’s a delicate balance between time, money, and quality, and you rarely get all three. But over the years, my husband and I have developed a few tried and true methods for reducing the budget while not sacrificing on quality. Here are seven money-saving strategies to implement on your next remodel. 1. Update existing materials instead of replacing them.

Kate’s 1950s home had great bones, but the bathroom needed some help. The shower had a full-sized window that leaked, which meant this wasn’t going to just be a little redecorating. But with some help from her dad and YouTube, she did it herself: From Kate: I ripped off the moldy trim and knocked the window (frame and all) out of the wall into the backyard flowerbed.

The guest bathroom in Melissa’s mid-century modern home was out of place with its rustic touches. She and her husband renovated it to have a more classic style, which fit with the rest of their home. From Melissa: All the work was done by us in a timely manner — we worked on it around our work and family schedules.

This condo hadn’t been renovated in 20-plus years. The owners called in Jessica Nicolls of Bungalow 56 to give it a fresh and open feel, worthy of its San Diego Bay views. From Jessica: We took down the obtrusive walls that enclosed the kitchen, updated the flooring and created custom built ins to maximize storage. Now this condo takes your breath away as you enter! See more after photos at Bungalow 56. Thank you Jessica!

Lisa’s kitchen was in need of an update. Realizing the faux terracotta tile wasn’t working, but not wanting to commit to a full retiling of the whole space just yet, she came up with this graphic Greek solution. From Lisa: We changed out the damaged bullnose laminate bench tops for Caesarstone Frosty Carinna with square edge, and changed the overhang of the breakfast bar so that it was no longer in a walk way and can seat four now.

Cedrick and Sunny are both from an apparel design background, and they have always been fascinated by modern architecture and industrial design. They really wanted to give the bathroom in their 1938 bungalow their 1938 bungalow “a vintage, industrial feel while still keeping it looking modern.” From Cedrick and Sunny : We pulled out and replaced the old harvest gold toilet, and the cracked floor tiles were replaced with a graphic, black and white hexagon mosaic tiles.

When interior designer Melissa Miranda moved into the bachelor pad of her now-husband, builder-by-trade Ulises Serret, she wasted no time adding her own signature touch to the space. The open layout kitchen was the first project she undertook, and while the original renovation that Ulises completed prior to Melissa living in the space functioned, it wasn’t the right fit aesthetically for the couple, and so the kitchen underwent a third facelift.

This cottage kitchen had a lot to overcome: a less-than-functional layout, old cabinets, dated floors, and popcorn ceilings. Sarah from The Estate of Things gave it a whole new look (and usefulness, too): From Sarah: As is customary for this historic renovation and interior design blog, readers of The Estate of Things joined along in the design process throughout. The designer gathered input on a banquette build, readers weighed in on lighting choices, paint colors and appliances.

Erin and her husband were taking steps to lighten up their Colorado home. Their kitchen had good bones, so smaller projects done over time helped transform it from lovely and not their style, to the light and bright space they now love. From Erin: The kitchen was a place that we did small projects over a few years to bring a lighter feel to the space.

Ashley describes her lake house’s kitchen as a “Knotty Pine Convention” fit only for lumberjacks. The ’70s yellow counters weren’t helping the cause. What she really wanted was an open farmhouse vibe, without replacing the existing cabinets entirely. Here’s what it looks like now: The upper cabinets and island came out, and the walls got the beadboard treatment, customized open shelving, and a few coats of Behr Snow Fall to brighten it up.

Kim’s double wide mobile home was from 1991 and showing its age. Deciding to do a full renovation was a big decision (especially starting during the holidays!), but the results are spectacular. Wow! We especially love the more budget-friendly choices Kim made, like cork flooring throughout, and the IKEA kitchen.

This is the story of how one Clinton Hill co-op got a complete, top-to-bottom refresh. The apartment had a problem common to lots of older homes: a small, cramped kitchen, cut off from the rest of the living areas. The homeowners, who love to entertain, envisioned a new, modern kitchen, and an open, uninterrupted living area that would take full advantage of the apartment’s incredible light and views.

A lot of the kitchen Before & Afters we share here on Apartment Therapy feature dramatic changes: new cabinets, new countertops, new appliances, walls torn down. But in this Fort Greene kitchen, the changes are much more subtle. They’re so subtle, in fact, that flipping back and forth between the before and after photos is a little bit like one of those puzzles where you try to spot the differences between the two pictures. Can you spot the changes?

The second bathroom in Michelle and Brad’s condo was in a strange state of flux. The home’s previous owners had removed the bathtub with the hope of installing a washer and dryer, but since the addition of the washer and dryer was rejected by the co-op board, the bathtub was instead replaced with a couple of awkwardly placed IKEA cabinets.

When Brian and Greg purchased a 1,500 sq. ft., 1960’s-era ranch house that had been on the market for over 500 days, they knew they could turn it into something special. A first priority was turning an 11 x 12 kitchen that comfortably fit one person into a bright, open space that met their needs as a growing family and frequent hosts. I would say they achieved their goal…a thousand times over.

Run–don’t walk–to your nearest contractor, cabinet maker or handy family member and ask–nay, beg–to have one of these seriously smart solutions built into the storage around your home.

Shopping for real estate in New York can be a bit heartbreaking. Corey found this out the hard way when he and his partner put in an offer on their dream apartment, only to be completely outbid. They wound up instead with a perfectly decent Williamsburg two-bedroom, with lots of space and beautiful views. But the good-enough apartment lacked character, and they couldn’t stop thinking about the one that got away.

Marina and her husband Sebastiano bought a 100-year-old home in Houston about a year ago. The overall condition of the house was near-perfect, but Marina wanted to transform the traditional home into a more modern, open space. After knocking down the walls between the living room, dining room, and kitchen, Marina and Sebastiano now have a full view of the major rooms of their home from the front door. The openness and the new white paint work together to create a bright, open space.

You may remember Ellen and Ben, the first-time Brooklyn homeowners who, instead of remodeling their kitchen, decided to tackle their master bath as their very first renovating project. Feeling more than satisfied with the results of that remodel, they decided to go with the same contractor for their second bathroom, although they elected to take the design in a slightly different direction.

You do you.

We purchased our townhouse about 4 years ago. We wanted to purchase a home that needed a kitchen remodel because we didn’t like what we saw when we toured houses with remodeled kitchens. Also, we wanted to get used to our place before we embarked on a remodel so we knew what we wanted as far as layout, finishes, and appliances. We were glad we waited because we made many decisions that were different from our initial thoughts on what we wanted.

Some people like to live in their homes a little while before renovating them, to get a feel for the space and figure out what they want. Before embarking on his kitchen renovation, Barrin took plenty of time; he’s lived in his Carroll Gardens condo for 18 years. The appliances had been slowly replaced over the years, but the almost 30-year-old cabinets had definitely seen better days.

Here’s a kitchen transformation where I think we can confidently say that no one will like the ‘before’ better. When Robyn and Alejandro bought their two-bedroom condo in Brooklyn’s Columbia Waterfront District, the kitchen was in distinctly sad shape (and had, apparently, a basketball in place of a refrigerator). I’m sure it was tough to imagine this space as anything near livable, but Robyn and Alejandro had a vision for what their apartment could be.

Remember Robyn and Alejandro, whose sad sad kitchen was transformed into a bright, super-modern space? Well, their condo also had a bathroom which, although not in quite as dire a state as the kitchen, was still in need of a little TLC. It’s kind of hard to believe it’s the same space, isn’t it? The defining feature of the new bathroom is the three kinds of tile that Robyn chose.

You may remember Lee, whose Midtown East kitchen got a serious upgrade, transforming from a dark, cramped, dated space into a bright and minimal galley kitchen. At the same time Lee undertook his kitchen remodel, he also chose to renovate his utterly unremarkable late-70s bathroom, which had definitely seen better days. Thanks to smart choices in fixtures and finishes, the new bathroom feels much cleaner, bigger, and brighter than the old one — hardly like the same space at all.

When Lee Hoffman, the CEO and founder of photo-sharing app Memoir, bought his co-op in Midtown East last year, he immediately knew that the kitchen had to go. The small, cramped space was cut off by a wall from the rest of the apartment, and to make things worse, the apartment’s previous tenant was a smoker, which meant that everything in the kitchen was covered in a thin layer of smoky residue. After months of research, Lee was finally ready to embark on the project.

Kind of hard to believe this is the same house, right? When Kezia and Jonathan bought their home, they were seemingly stuck with a material they hated that couldn’t be removed. Instead of throwing up their hands in despair and settling, they got creative and gave the facade of their home some major curb appeal. From Kezia: We bought a cookie cutter house and redid the kitchen and facade ourselves – we call it the Kimono Project (because our house is on Kimono Ridge Drive).

Greg and I are in our third plus year of bringing back the charm of a Dutch colonial foreclosure. It’s taken so long because it’s mostly been just the two of us. I obsessively plotted and planned while Greg, the perfectionist, made it all happen. After the second year or so, if our friends and family asked when we’d be moving in, I would always answer, “never” — but we did!

Park Slope homeowners Elinor and Joel were charmed with the details of their 1920s bathroom, like the original tub and tile. Less than charming were the 90-year-old fixtures: the towel bars that fell out of the wall, the showerhead that sprayed water all over the place, the toilet that threatened a flood with every flush. After six years in their co-op they decided it was time for a renovation, not to change the look of their bathroom but to restore it to its former glory.

Lest you think that Megha’s ‘before’ bathroom was merely ugly, you should know what the pictures don’t show, which is that up close, finishes were peeling and the whole thing was starting to fall apart. After living with this space for nine years, Megha knew that it was time for a change. The overhauled space feels much bigger and brighter, thanks to a few smart design decisions.

The kitchen in Megha’s Midtown West condo had a problem common to lots of older kitchens: it was tiny, and awkwardly walled off from the rest of the living spaces in her apartment. After living with a less than ideal floorplan (and a falling-apartment bathroom) for nine years, Megha decided it was time for a change — and embarked on a renovation that would dramatically change the look and feel of her apartment.

I can not get enough of this transformation! Popcorn ceilings, Miami Vice blue walls, Julie certainly had her work cut out for her. almost So, inspired by the challenge of small space design and well-resourced by Apartment Therapy and Houzz , I rolled up my sleeves and called my contractor. And, while he saw uninsulated 2×4 stick framing, funky wiring, and a complete absence of something called “square” — I saw modern cottage. Thank you, Julie!

I purchased this Condo on August 31, 2015. At the time it was renter occupied, which happened to be three (maybe four) college kids. I saw potential in the unit and wanted to make it my own. I fully designed the new space and worked with two contractors to get it fully to my design. In six weeks time, it went from dumpy to modern! It also has a porch and an amazing view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains. Thank you, Matt! Re-edited from a post originally published 12.11.

You should always call someone for help with a repair that feels too dangerous for your set of tools and knowledge. However, there are a lot of repairs that can be done around the home that don’t need a professional. This year, resolve to try one of these easier-than-you-realize repairs around the house. You might surprise yourself!

Upper West Side homeowner Christine had a unique problem: her two-bedroom co-op was lovely, but the limited storage options there were no match for her extensive collection of art and books (including a full-size terra cotta warrior!). After living there for seven years, she decided it was time for a change: a renovation that, besides updating the apartment, would provide all of her treasures with a proper place.

A job opportunity brought us to Milwaukee from San Francisco and we fell in love with the older homes along the northern shore of Lake Michigan. Our 1927 Tudor has a wonderful layout and beautiful details, but was in need of updating for modern living. The master bedroom gets lots of natural light from the original lead pane windows and the size was exceptionally large (especially compared with our prior homes in San Francisco and Manhattan).

When Henry purchased his one-bedroom co-op in a former tenement building in Manhattan’s East Village, it was in bad shape. Really, really, really bad shape. The entire apartment was falling apart, and the kitchen was, in a word, ‘destroyed’. Never had a space been more ripe for a makeover. Luckily, Sweeten was there to help Henry revitalize his space, and he didn’t just stop at the kitchen.

This ‘before’ bathroom might be the ugliest befores I’ve ever seen — and it’s certainly one of the strangest. Years ago, the person responsible for retrofitting a bathroom into this one-bedroom apartment in a former tenement building made a very unusual choice: in order to fit a bathtub into a very narrow space, they shoehorned it in lengthwise, so that you had to climb in from the short end. It was awkward, to say the least.

We recently purchased our first home, a 1950s ranch in Clifton, New Jersey, that needed updating to the main bath and kitchen. The existing bathroom was, quite frankly, hideous and couldn’t be salvaged. We used a contractor for all of the work and I based my design off an inspiration photo I had seen on the Internet. The black tiles (made by Lungaro) were purchased at Standard Tile in Totowa, NJ (who are fantastic to deal with!

Common wisdom says that when it comes to bathroom suites, newer, more streamlined, and whiter is better. The bathroom is often the first room homeowners want to gut, but this isn’t the only option. If you’re lucky enough to have a suite of retro bathware in good nick, whether it be pink, mint green, or even avocado, maybe think twice about ripping it out. Read on for some swoon-worthy retro bathrooms.

Cabinet hardware is a little detail that can have a big impact on the look of your kitchen or bathroom. The good news is that these days there are quite a few retailers offering modern, minimally styled pieces in a variety of budgets. Here are seven of our favorites. Superfront makes a line of pulls and knobs designed for IKEA cabinets, but they would be equally nice on other cabinets as well. (Blogger Maiju Saw used them in her kitchen.

This is an ugly kitchen. But its ugliness might seem a bit innocuous to you, if you didn’t know the extent of the fire damage hiding behind its walls. The unit’s owners, Colin and Orli, originally intended a fairly simple renovation, before they realized the extent of the unseen damage their kitchen was hiding. Their renovation was more involved than they originally planned.

We tend to think of tiled countertops as a cheap and imperfect solution, when marble or quartz just isn’t in your remodeling budget. Instead of approaching the update with mixed feelings, look to these surfaces as reassurance that your kitchen or bath will still fresh and clean — they just won’t break the bank. Using longer rectangular shapes automatically makes this surface seem more special and unlike most square tile countertops.

If you want to know about glitter and fitness, ask Richard Simmons. For answers about small spaces and storage, go straight to the owners of trailers, RVs, and campers. They wrote — and regularly revise — the book on compact living, and we reap the benefits of their knowledge, ideas and inspiration. Take a look at these, and learn… Like the idea of this post?

In their Clinton Hill co-op, Mario and Joe were struggling with a problem common to many apartment dwellers — a cramped, tiny bathroom with hardly any storage space. So they decided it was time for a renovation and, working completely within the room’s existing footprint, made a few changes that completely transformed this cramped space. The biggest change: converting the old tub into a walk-in shower with a frameless glass door, which opens up the room considerably.

What’s the perfect place for microwaves in the kitchen? They are must-have appliances for many, but they sure do have large, ugly footprints. So, do you prioritize saving space over aesthetics? Put them where you can easily reach? Or, is there that one sweet spot that let’s you have it all? Installing the microwave above your cooktop is a classic space saver, freeing up your countertops to use as workspace — especially when microwave and hood-fan combos do double duty.

When Cara and Jared moved into their Chelsea apartment, they weren’t too excited about the kitchen’s inefficient layout and dated finishes. But the last straw was when the mosaic tiles (the result of a former homeowner’s DIY project) started falling off the wall.

All this week we’re talking about bathroom renovations, starting with Ashley’s recent remodel, and following up with tons of helpful posts about the process! Baseboards are a fantastic way to spruce up a room, and put the finishing touch on a newly remodeled one. Multiple layers of decorative molding brings great visual drama, or you can use a simple wood plank for a straightforward, modern look. Baseboards are relatively easy to install.

All this week we’re talking about bathroom renovations, starting with Ashley’s recent remodel, and following up with tons of helpful posts about the process! The process of drilling through ceramic tile is easy as pie — as long as you use the right tools. The hardest part? Taking the plunge wondering whether you’ve marked the right spot where you’ll soon drill into your pristine new tile. Glass & Ceramic tile bitDrillSpray bottle + waterAnchorRubber mallet 1.

When Celeste first moved into her Park Slope condo in 2008, she wasn’t super excited about the bathroom’s generic, builder-basic look. But she didn’t consider remodeling until several years later, when dark spots on the floor’s limestone tiles alerted her to the fact that the floor had never been properly sealed. Limestone is extremely porous, and despite her best efforts at cleaning the tiles just got more and more discolored.

When Lisa moved into her Upper East Side one-bedroom, she loved everything about it but the kitchen. Besides not being very pretty, Lisa’s kitchen had a lot of problems. The upper cabinets were too shallow for dishes, and the lower cabinets were too narrow for pretty much anything, meaning Lisa had to store her pots and pans in the coat closet. The whole kitchen had only one outlet, and there was a large and suspicious stain on the laminate countertop.

Ah, the tubber combo. It’s ubiquitous in bathrooms all over the world. And because it’s so common, it can very easily fall into the boring side of washroom architecture. If you have one and you hate it, you don’t have to demo the whole thing and start anew. You can just make some smart, sleek modifications and enjoy a fresh-feeling, semi-renovated spa-like space.

I can’t even look at a picture of this kitchen without feeling claustrophobic, so I can’t imagine how Anne lived with it (and cooked in it, even) for almost a decade. I think it goes without saying that after cooking for ten years in a kitchen that measured only 27 square feet (no, really) she was ready for a change. The biggest change, by far, was the removal of the wall separating the (previously teeny tiny) kitchen from the living room.

All this week we’re talking about bathroom renovations, starting with Ashley’s recent remodel, and following up with tons of helpful posts about the process! Lighting is one of the best things about a bathroom renovation. Since the bathroom is where we get ready for the day ahead, the lighting can make or break our look. Here’s how you can marry beauty and function when choosing what you need for your newly renovated bathroom.

The kitchen in John and Kaija’s Brooklyn co-op began life as a narrow galley kitchen, but a previous owner had the smart idea to tear down the separating wall to half-height, and top the remaining wall with a countertop. This made the kitchen a lot more spacious, but the new countertop, inconveniently located at bar height, wasn’t particularly useful for prep work, and storage was still an issue.

Few things in decor are more polarizing than the retro pink bathroom. Some people hate them with a passion, and some people really, really love them. Unfortunately, when Chase and Lauren bought their more than 50-year-old house in Austin, they didn’t have a choice. Lurking behind all that pink tile was something even more unappealing: extensive water and termite damage. The pink bathroom had to go.

Nathan Rittgarn doesn’t list the square footage in his professional project submission of this kitchen, located in a pre-war Brooklyn Heights one-bedroom apartment. But you can see from the before photos above, it’s not particularly expansive. Coupled with the fact that the apartment’s “entryway” dumps you right in front of this small space, and it’s clear this room needed an update not just for aesthetics, but for function, too.

Finding your dream apartment in New York can be hard. So Austin found the next best thing: a less than dreamy apartment that could be turned into his dream home. All it needed was an improved floor plan and a little tlc. The apartment, which hadn’t seen a renovation since the 70s, had beautiful tall ceilings, but was broken up into a series of awkwardly cramped small rooms. A new floor plan — and a few new finishes — was the key to realizing the apartment’s potential.

Unless you’re incredibly wealthy, finding a dream home in New York City can be a real challenge. That’s the position Holly and Christian found themselves in when they started house hunting: the apartments they could afford fell significantly short of dreamy, but they didn’t want to leave Greenwich Village, a neighborhood where they had lived for many years. So they found the next best thing to a dream home: a fixer-upper that, with a little work, could become their dream home.

Faced with an awkwardly shaped ceiling, Catherine and Bryan had to get creative and totally rethink the space of this bathroom. From Catherine: This bathroom was the only room in the house that needed some {major} love. It was the only bathroom on the second floor, and awkward was an understatement. Our biggest priorities when renovating the space were: 1. Ditch the tub and replace it with a shower that’s more comfortable to use (and prettier, of course!).

Twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott—also known as HGTV’s Property Brothers to anyone with a cable subscription—make a great team. As a realtor and a licensed contractor, respectively, they’ve been buying and flipping houses on and off camera for more than a decade. But their latest project, “Brother vs.

We moved into our house in summer 2011. The house, built in 1944, was in good shape, in a great neighborhood, and priced very competitively. However, aesthetically it was a bit lacking. The previous owners had owned the home for 50+ years, and the most recent updates to the kitchen and main living area had been made in 1974.

Almost a year ago, my husband and I moved back to our hometown of Long Beach, CA. We found a gorgeous two bedroom 1930s apartment in our favorite neighborhood. Our landlords updated the space with grey floors and fresh paint. It was almost perfect . . . except for the terribly outdated entryway. It’s the only carpeted, unpainted space in the entire home, and the first thing you see when you arrive.

This ‘before’ kitchen wasn’t nearly as dire as some we’ve featured — it was just, well, awkward. A previous renovation left the kitchen floor covered in a dreary ceramic tile, with an awkward curb that guests continually tripped over.

This is the story of a kitchen that was once so small that it could barely be photographed. Having bought a place of her very own in Manhattan, Evelyn was living the dream, but her kitchen left a little something to be desired. Besides being (a bit) on the small side, it also featured a leaky dishwasher, cracked floors, and barely-there workspaces. After living in the apartment for a few years, she knew it was time for a change.

This week Camille is sharing her real life rental challenge and how she transformed her dingy carpeted entryway stairs (with her landlord’s permission!) into something more welcoming, yet still temporary. If you want to see the first post, check out the before photos here. My husband and I decided to DIY this project ourselves, and broke it down into manageable steps, each of which could be completed in a weekend.

This week Camille is sharing her real life rental challenge and how she transformed her dingy carpeted entryway stairs (with her landlord’s permission!) into something more welcoming, yet still temporary. If you want to start by hearing all the plans, check out the before photos here. Updating an old home is filled with challenges.

When you’re lucky enough to live in a home with beautiful historic architectural features, you probably want to highlight those features with your decor. Paint can work, sure, but maybe not in this icky green color? That’s what Danny and Lyndsay faced when they moved into this Portland, Maine rental. So they used the power of paint to cover up the unpleasant green, refresh the space, brighten the home and turn the focus on one charming architectural feature in particular.

When is a staircase more than just a staircase? When standout details like these take stairs from just a convenient way to move from one floor to another and into the realm of functional sculpture. Whether there’s a remodel in your future or you’re just an architectural junkie, you’ll find plenty to love about these beautiful staircases. Above: A particularly striking staircase in a Seattle home from Archinet.