Home Projects

These Instagram accounts sell vintage or refurbished furniture and many ship to buyers across the United States.

The enclosed porch on Ashley‘s 1905 home did not live up to expectations: a low ceiling and burgundy walls and floors turned the space into a “sad little box,” she says. “It felt disconnected from the rest of the house,” especially after doing extensive renovations. “I know how much some updates would transform this room,” she says. So over the course of six weeks, she transformed this dark and dreary porch into a pastel, botanical laundry room.

The blinds in my room? Sure, I hung them. The shelves in the kitchen? Of course I put those up. The gallery wall in the hallway? Yes, that was definitely my doing.(Lies!)My dad thinks I did all of this handiwork with the power drill he bought me, but I can’t bear to tell him that I actually have no idea how to use the thing. I’ve been hiring people for years to hang things in my apartment while the power drill collects dust somewhere under my bed.

We have looked into framing many an odd sized image, and more often than not a custom framing job really breaks the bank. Here is a little tutorial on “custom” framing your own images for far less than a professional framer. standard frame, larger than your image paint (if desired) custom cut mat acid-free artist’s tape acid-free paper 1. Select and paint your frame. We chose a frame in raw wood (saved a few bucks there) and opted to paint it matte green with acrylic paint.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We’re sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today’s helpful hint, and links to tons more… Use a WALNUT! Just rub a shelled walnut on the damaged area, and watch in amazement as the dings, scrapes and scratches all begin to darken and disappear.

See this "coffin of a kitchen" open up.

There’s nothing better than cooking with something you’ve grown and harvested with your own hands. But not everyone is blessed with the space for a vegetable garden or even a vertical garden on a balcony or terrace. That’s okay! You can still pretend to be Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated and harvest the heck out of a window full of herbs in your kitchen.  Here’s how.Some herbs thrive indoors, and some don’t.

On their own, the colors beige and gray aren’t especially groundbreaking. But combine them and bam—you’ve got a color that’s as versatile as your basic neutral, but miles more nuanced. Greige, a warmed-up gray, adds serious depth to a room and makes a great backdrop, no matter whether your style is traditional, modern, or somewhere in-between.

Even if you're dealing with a very small laundry space, there are ways you can fit in all the functionality of a much larger room. All it takes is a little ingenuity.

It’s a simple truth: The eye tires of seeing the same thing over and over. That’s why trends come and go—first, a detail, color, shape, or form feels fresh and new because you’ve never seen it before. Then you’re seeing it at the mall and your aunt’s house, and finally, like with skinny jeans, you’re just… done. It’s a natural evolution, sure.

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.

What’s cooler than an exposed brick wall? An exposed, weathered, white brick wall!If you’ve been pining for that distressed, vintage look, read on—and don’t fret. It’s totally DIY-able and costs next to nothing… as long as you’ve got plenty of time. When my husband and I uncovered the original brick in the apartment over the former stable behind our Victorian, I knew I wanted to go with a random, weathered white look for our newest Airbnb.

If I admire one home design advancement, it just might be the advent of soft-close. You never realize how annoying slamming toilet lids and cabinet doors are until you experience the calm relief of closing those things quietly. This invention is so ubiquitous now that you can even get refrigerators with soft-close drawers—which, frankly, is a little gimmicky… but I still like mine.What if you have cabinets that date back to the time before this common upgrade?

Maybe you need a power snake to clear your drains after a heavy rain. Or a weed whacker in early spring. There’s always that one tool you need desperately for one job, but it isn’t anything you’d really want to buy—or worse, store. If you’re lucky, you know someone who knows someone who might lend you a tool for a weekend. But in our wondrous sharing economy, there’s another solution: tool libraries.

It’s hard to resist the siren call of exposing hidden brick. When you know it’s tucked away under drywall or plaster, just begging to make a big statement, you’ve just got to do it… right?It sounds so easy when you tell friends your plans: “Yeah, we’ll just tear out the plaster and expose the brick. It’ll be amazing.” And if it were a TV show and you could fast forward to the finished product, it would totally be amazing.

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.

Ah, Reddit. You can always be trusted for unfiltered opinions (and a lot of snark). When Redditor tomandjerry0 posted a question about the home trends we’ll regret in 20 years in the ever-popular r/HomeImprovement subreddit, some 2,400 posts came in fast and furious. Setting aside the topic of PEX, some consistent themes and hot topics emerged. (Shiplap, for one, still had enough defenders that it didn’t quite make the list).Another DIY that should be a DIY-don’t?

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.

Humans love their cats. From their boopers to their toe beans, cats bring joy to apartment-dwellers everywhere with a gigantic personality that fits comfortably in an urban-sized (read: teeny) apartment. But cats are still animals, which means they can claw, bite, knock over, and damage your #apartmentgoals.

My mom is always happy to see me. But the last time I visited, she was also a little nervous; I was about to tear up the house and disrupt her space for several days while keeping the plan shrouded in secrecy—all for a surprise Mother’s Day room makeover. As I’ve gotten older, I find Mother’s Day feels woefully inadequate. The person who raised you and sacrificed for you, for the better part of two decades (and beyond), deserves more than a text or card.

Shopping for rugs with a tight budget can be difficult. Here are some ideas to score one that doesn't look cheap.

Got a bathroom or kitchen with an outdated colour palette? That burnt umber and avocado green tiling not floating your boat in the kitchen or bathroom any longer? Tiling around kitchen backsplash, floor tiles non-sink countertops, fireplace tiles and wall tiles all can be repainted even if they have a shiny finish (continually and regularly wet tiling require an epoxy formula). You might want to consider repainting those eyesore tiles rather than replacing them.

Attention, all you renters out there: this is an easy, affordable, and ultra-stylish way to upgrade your dingy rental floors. We have been meaning to do something like this ourselves for quite some time, and seeing this project by Orlando Soria on Design*Sponge totally got us all jazzed up to copy her.

Chances are, you’ve seen one while visiting a friend’s apartment; or maybe you even have one yourself. But either way, I’m willing to bet that no matter how familiar you are with Murphy beds, you don’t know the story behind how they got their name. And it might just might surprise you.But let’s back up for a minute, shall we?

Name: StaceyLocation: Union Square, NYC Designer Patrick J. Hamilton sent in Before & After images of his client’s bedroom — and included one of the most thorough list of resources (and links!

Yesterday, our friend Abbey posted this pic on her Facebook page along with the following text, “I need help changing this light bulb. Seriously. Anyone?” She went on to explain“It doesn’t pull out, there’s no way (that I can figure out) to get the bulb through the fixture, it’s totally attached to the ceiling…????” We can totally empathize with Abbey and her frustration with home repairs.

While renovating our bathroom, we got an annoying amount of paint on the window. The glass is textured so even though we had prepped the window with painters tape it still leaked [we were also a bit clumsy in other places]. The textured glass meant a razor blade wasn’t very effective so we got creative!Materials:Razor BladeNail Polish RemoverMicrofiber ClothCotton TipsGlass Cleaner 1. Scrape as much paint off the glass as you can with the razor blade.2.

We just moved into a new place and even though we’re renting, we wanted to swap out the pendant above the dining table for a nice upgrade we can take with us when we go. I was going to call an electrician until a friend mentioned that I ought to be able to handle it myself. So I did, and was a lot simpler than I expected!Materials:ScrewdriverWirecutters/strippers (or if you’re handy, a pair of scissors) 1. Turn off Electricity!2.

It’s rare to find two-prong outlets in homes these days. Landlords and home owners have slowly switched over to three-prong outlets as more and more devices and appliances need them to power up. Occasionally though, you move into a place that doesn’t have a three-prong outlet where you need one, so how do you remedy the situation? You switch out your two-prong for a three-prong, but there’s a lot to consider before you start rewiring your apartment.

Fresh flowers are a fleeting pleasure no matter how you slice it, but we think they bring so much life and color to a room that they’re absolutely worth the effort and expense. A few simple tricks borrowed from the pros will help you keep flowers around a good long while. So go ahead, buy yourself a Valentine bouquet!

Using a watering can instead of a hose is a good way to save water when you’re watering plants. We’ve gathered up a list of the best eco-friendly watering cans, from those made with recycled materials to Nicolas Le Moigne’s cool design for a spout that attaches to a reused water bottle. There’s also a DIY project to turn a laundry bottle into a sprinkling can. Details after the jump.Shown above, from left to right:1.

Just as the markets started crashing in September of 2008, Lisa Hoffman and her husband bought their first house in Oakland, California. Thankfully, they weren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves, dig in, and do most of the work themselves—all on a very tight budget. The photo above is the sad-looking living room prior to their renovation. (Check out that wallpaper!

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.

One of the easiest ways to live a green lifestyle is to simply buy only what you need. This is especially true when it comes to painting your spaces. Sure, it’s nice to have a small amount for touch-ups down the road, but that doesn’t mean you want rogue half gallons (or even whole!) sitting in your garage taking up space! Eliminate the waste and buy the correct amount to begin with. Here’s how:MaterialsToolsMeasuring TapeCalculator 1.

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.

Q: What is the best solution to stop wasting water while waiting for hot water to reach the kitchen? My kitchen sink and dishwasher are a long way from the hot water heater. What is the best solution to stop wasting water while waiting for hot water to reach the kitchen: a tankless water heater under the kitchen sink, an on-demand recirculating system, or something else?Sent by SandraEditor: Here’s what our friends at Green Home Guide have to say:Answered by Alex Georgiou, Recurve Inc.

Who among us hasn’t spent hours hunched over an IKEA instruction booklet, arguing with their partner over what goes where? It’s basically a rite of passage, whether you rent or own a home. Then again, there are those of us who are handier than others, and can not only master complicated IKEA set-ups like a pro, but also take things to the next level with creative IKEA hacks. Those people are the true heroes, who deserve to be celebrated for their achievements.

Being a huge fan of visual display in stores and galleries, I make sure to try and always come up with unique display ideas for my own home. Sometimes I have a secret competition with myself to do things for the lowest price possible — this display was no exception!I saw this post a while back and became enamored by the interesting use of pant hangers. I wanted to create the same look without building a structural platform for the hangers.

I started making these eco planters for gifts a year ago and haven’t stopped. They are simple, stylish and downright lovable. Each pot is unique and has an organic, handmade feel. It is not an instant gratification project and you will have to commit, but the results are well worth it. I like to make about six at a time.

The laundry area in my new home is much more compact than it was in my old rental, resulting in the purchase of a stackable washer/dryer unit. One thing I’ve encountered that I didn’t with the traditional side-by-side units is a persistent vibration during the spin cycle of the washer. After some research, I learned a few new things about proper care of my appliances that I thought were worth of sharing. 1.

I’ve always admired vintage makeup compacts, but found it rather sad that refills weren’t available and chalked these fancy little accessories up as a lost cause. Sure you could possibly use one as a fancy pill case or just use the built-in mirror, but it’s just not the same. Then, randomly, my friend forwards this “how to” my way!Vixen Vintage worked out the details on how to turn loose powder into a perfectly pressed cake, ready for a night on the town.

With only 75 square feet to work with these homeowners decided to go up with their renovation rather than out. Using light colors and simple lines has transformed this room incredibly. Check out the beautiful before and after here.With thoughtful design and an ability to take advantage of light incredibly well, the folks over at Design with ADD have make a dramatic impact on their tiny kitchen.Here are their thoughts on the design: Because we opted not to move the 75 sq. ft.

When it comes to sprucing up the outdoors, it can be hard to rationalize spending big bucks on designer products. After all, things will get used and abused, walked on, sat on, and beat up by the elements. That’s why I love this transformation so much. It gives a big designer look for very little cash!This entryway has been spruced up with some simple black paint. It now coats the front door and has been stenciled onto an inexpensive indoor/outdoor rug from the local hardware store.

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!

More often than not when we talk about going green renovations, we’re talking about the installation of eco-friendly items into new construction. Even when we’re talking about updating the old, the strides seem small — at least in comparison to this Ottawa residence and business. All we have to say is… wow!

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.

For some reason bedrooms seem to be left as the last room in the house to be decorated. I’ve seen it a lot in friend’s houses and House Tours. I am definitely guilty of neglecting my own bedroom, as you can see in this before photo. I am the first to admit — that room is hella ugly! But in two days I was able to take this room from a decorating disaster to delightful with a couple coats of paint (and some major purging).

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!

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.

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.

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.

Although it’s not terribly difficult to make your own frame for a canvas, it can be more work than required. Check out this thrift store painting — not many would consider hanging it in their homes as is — but with a Bambi makeover, I’m all over it!Over at Under The Table and Dreaming, Stephanie Lynn has been hard at work revamping this red barn into something a little more modern and fresh for her space.

I’m sure in certain parts of the world people are looking forward to the start of Spring and warmer days, but here in Australia it is hot hot hot and there is never enough shade. So I’m making my own! No heavy plasticky shade sails for me… I’m opting for light white muslin to let the light in but take the edge off.MaterialsAs much fabric as you need to cover your chosen area. (As mentioned above, I used muslin.

Last spring, when my husband and I bought our first house, we hadn’t painted a full wall between the two of us. That changed within about two days of us getting our keys. We soon learned that the greenest (and most budget-friendly) trick in the book is to work with what you’ve got—so click through to see how our kitchen has progressed from dark and dated to light and lovely on a dime.

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!

Re-Nest reader Abigail recently sent us her super thrifty sofa upgrade: A hand-me-down from her parents, she’s been living with the sofa for 3 years trying to disguise it with a floral slipcover and lots of pillows.

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.

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.

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!

I love to watch the evolution of people’s spaces. As soon as you remodel or paint one thing you begin to think about what you would have done differently and what you can do next. Katy from Mom and Her Drill has documented her kitchen as she painted it, and repainted it over time. Without any major renovations she had changed up her kitchen in a sustainable way more than once. Check it out after the jump.Immediately after moving in Katy knew she needed to make a change.

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.

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!

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.

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!

When Theresa and her family first bought their home it had been unused for a long time. But with the sweat off their brows, some thoughtful budget spends, and some clever DIYs they are turning their unused house into a gorgeous home. Here’s a peek at how they handled the kitchen.

My Mum has owned her mismatched set of reproduction Georgian dining chairs for just about 35 years. Over that time the seats have been recovered in all manner of fabrics, but until recently they retained a rather traditional air. A little white paint and a bright, bold fabric turn these chairs from formal to funky!First off, you probably noticed the after shot does not feature the exact same chair, but as mentioned, the dining set in question contain chairs of the same era with slight variation.

This project requires slightly more DIY skills than I have (I’m a fan of the ‘near enough is good enough’ approach to measuring), but it shows what’s achievable with some know-how and a lot of creative thinking.The rocker is the work of Måns Salomonsen who took a one week challenge to give an old piece of furniture a new designer life.

With a little convincing, a close friend recently converted her tiny front room into a fabulous walk-in closet. Because of all the natural light it was also an ideal spot for a small vanity, but finding one the right size was nearly impossible. As luck would have it, an old side table and a little problem solving went a long way. See the perfectly pretty transformation here!The table was selected because of its diminutive scale, which was absolutely necessary in such a tight space.

There are so many bathrooms out there with colored tile that are aching for a makeover like this one. By choosing a contemporary paper pattern that complements the tile these homeowners were able to completely transform this space by only changing the walls, leaving the rest of the space untouched.I love the way that by simply adding wallpaper the tile goes from dated to intentional looking. As the homeowner describes: I love how it turned out.

So many of us have builder basic kitchens that have great bones but scream out for attention to make them more original. This makeover takes boring cabinets and personalizes them with paint. The kitchen is completely transformed with this one simple change.This kitchen required a lot of painting.

This month on Apartment Therapy we’re looking at some of the biggest projects we take on when designing our homes, kitchen and bath renovations. Deciding on all the new features can be daunting, but sometimes the choice of a single element literally makes the project click, instantly transforming the space and practically guaranteeing the success of the makeover. That was the case with Rebecca’s kitchen…After!… when she decided to install a “thin brick” wall.

I’m big on repurposing, but usually the items at hand are more obvious. (An old tea pot might become a pretty place for plants or old spaghetti jars could become your new grain storage system.) This transformation, however, is a total surprise! Who knew you could turn a dresser into a desk?What was once a rather heavy and solid dresser has been “hacked” into a truly amazing desk.