The Latest

Once you’ve groaned at the title of this post (go ahead, I know you want to), click on over to see Gemma’s DIY fix for the back steps down to her basement. An IKEA rug just happened to be the exact width of Gemma’s stairs, which made it an irresistible choice for a quick DIY runner. Finished off with some nailhead trim, it’s now a chic little entrance. (Plus, Gemma hopes the dark rug helps hide tracked in dirt.

June’s mom needed a bathroom makeover. As you can see, it was a little dated and — like most showers over time — needed refreshing. On a recent visit, June and her dad got to work and totally renovated the small bathroom over the course of a week. See what it looks like now…. June and her father did the work themselves, including tiling the walls and floors, for the 90 square foot space. They even built a custom tiled shower pan.

Alexa may one day completely renovate this bathroom and add a great tile floor, but she wasn’t quite ready to make that leap. But this old gray sad vinyl floor covering sure wasn’t doing this room any favors. So she grabbed a cheery color of paint, a stencil and completely redid the look of this small bathroom without spending a lot of time or money! From Alexa: For this project I wanted to update the old gray rolled vinyl flooring in my bathroom.

This heavy dresser found on Craigslist was sturdy, and Allison loved the clean lines and large, square drawer pulls. But she was not a fan of the yellow-ish finish (which she claims looked even worse in person). She hatched a plan to give this dresser a more modern, stylish look. From Allison: I was looking for a new (to me) dresser with clean lines when I came across this promising one on Craigslist. I love the simple design of the body and am especially drawn to the square wooden drawer pulls.

Tanya swiped this chair from a trash heap, shoved it in the back of her car, and and drove away without looking back. Over time, she grew sentimental about this “garbage chair,” and finally made the leap to reupholster it: The labor was $630 (which included repairs), new foam cost $50, and the velvet fabric was $250.

Julie remodeled her dark, out-dated half bath right after moving in, but it took awhile to finish the room completely. She moved on to other projects until she found the perfect chandelier to cap off the space. That motivated her to finally put the last finishing touches in place. And we’re so glad she did! Julie’s renovation shows what you can do to brighten even the most cramped of small spaces.

We bet plenty of folks would have passed up this heavy laminate dresser, even if found in the “free” section of Craigslist. But not Breanna. She saw some creative potential for this forgotten furniture piece, instead transforming it into attractive and useful storage for a friend’s kitchen! From Breanna: This laminate dresser came from the FREE category on Craigslist and got a well deserved makeover for my friend, Abby.

Like a lot of homeowners, Colleen and Pete dreamed of transforming their underused attic into a space that they would use everyday. Their aim was to turn it into a bright, sunny, master bedroom suite where they would have enough room for their king-sized bed, clothing, and a bathroom, as well as for a cozy nook to read nighttime stories to their two children, Mac and Quin.

IKEA’s Ektorp sofa is a safe choice, and about as basic as you can get in the living room. Aga of Patchwork and Co. decided to kick it up a notch and deal with her bland, beige cover. Want to see what she did? Aga decided to dye it, and chose black for a more dramatic statement. With the added eclectic assortment of pillows, her living room now has a Bohemian vibe that is far from boring. Many thanks to Aga for sharing the project!

When Gretchen finally got down to finishing her bedroom space, she added wall color, fresh art and affordable flea market finds to fill out what has now become a very calm and sophisticated space. From Gretchen: The before picture shows the room how it looked when we moved in, with all our furniture from our old house just sort of plopped down in the room.

We’ve certainly seen our share of entertainment centers turned into play kitchens. But what if your child doesn’t want to play domestic goddess? What if she just wants to be a goddess? Then you might want to follow Mandi’s lead and turn an old entertainment center into a dress up station. I love all the amazing details, like the jelly jar lights, that Mandi installed to make this the ultimate vanity.

Our favorite before and after projects are the ones that are downright unrecognizable after being transformed, and this project certainly fits the bill! Diane and her husband came across this dresser for cheap at a thrift store and decided to make it look like a type of furniture Diane had always wanted — only more practical! From Diane: First, we removed the top two drawers and built a base for the bookcase. Then we used lattice to create the fronts of each card drawer.

Want to see what just a few coats of paint can do to a room? Rafaela’s dining room wasn’t bad-looking before — great furniture and fun art made for a stylish space. But as a renter, she hated the beige walls that seemed to cast a dull look on the entire room. It was time for a wall paint change as well as a new coat of color on a pair of shelves she had had for years. From Rafaela: I rent this place and all walls were beige-yellowish (urgh!

When Sara’s family moved into this house, they had a long series of DIY and renovation projects to tackle and the closet you see above became their “chaos cupboard” – toys, tools, spare pillows, old curtains, and a de facto staging area for their next project. Sara described it as “an embarrassing vortex of stuff.

I think AgaP. would admit that this wasn’t her “best” project in terms of ease and fun. But the finished result is pretty spectacular and inspiration to those of us with entryways whose doors have seen better days. Take a look and see how it turned out: AgaP. had a “bad craft day” and encountered every DIY problem in the book. But, armed with her list of dos and don’ts, you’ll learn from her mistakes, and it’ll be all smooth sailing from there.

Kevin rounded up some old wooden pallets by driving around to various warehouses, and through Craigslist. He had a project in mind, and just needed a bunch that were roughly equal sized. Want to see what he did with them? This impressive reclaimed wood backyard deck is the result! After measuring the space, he laid the pallets where he wanted the deck to be. Starting with the first row, Kevin lined up all gaps and used pavers to level and support the pallets.

Suzanne saw potential in IKEA’s popular BESTA shelf, and not just as vertical storage. When flipped and tweaked, she was able to make it into something else entirely. Keep on reading to see the pretty remarkable transformation… This might just qualify for a hack and a half. Using the IKEA BESTA as a base, Suzanne custom created a DIY tufted banquette that’s sophisticated and stylish (and offers extra hidden storage as a bonus).

Designer Jenny Sanchez and I connected through Instagram recently, where I found her most recent client project, a room makeover she did for her friend Maria Ortiz. Jenny’s main goal was to create a French Glam Vintage look, which was inspired by a simple Chanel bag. This 120 square foot spare bedroom was once a storage catch-all for Maria’s stuff, but her dream was to turn it into a dressing room, a sophisticated spot to apply makeup, prepare for the day, and relax.

Nicole found this in a pile of furniture left for free, and immediately noticed its great shape. But, a banged up and scratched finish meant it would need refreshing. When she brought it home, she discovered that mismatching materials — light wood legs and a walnut veneer top — meant her original plan of staining wouldn’t work. So she came up with a better idea that still preserved some of the great wood and lightened the whole piece up.

Christina loves stumbling on old furniture gems and breathing new life into them. She found this chair with lots of potential on Craigslist, and knew its great shape was worthy of a makeover. She chose a punchy and patterned fabric to give it some personality! From Christina: Once I took it apart, I realized it had to be from the ‘30s or ‘40s based on the straw and horse hair stuffing.

Yellow tile on the floors and counters. Brown grout that always looked dirty. Too dark, patchy maroon walls. Amanda’s master bathroom was dated, but it had potential. A remodel has turned it to a peaceful modern retreat. From Amanda: Our 1970s house had an outdated, leaky but large and potential-filled master bathroom. Knowing the tiled shower pan was leaking, we knew it was time for a full tear out and remodel. blog Thank you Amanda!

I was at an estate sale a couple of years ago and spotted this Saarinen tulip table in the driveway, marked for 5 bucks. The base is in really good shape, but the once beautiful top had met its match in the form of rain, and is weathered, splintered, warped and unsalvageable. (The original Knoll label underneath, however, is still intact.) I’ve kept an eye out for replacement tops but, as of yet, none have crossed my path.

When Meghann bought her first house last year, she didn’t have enough money to do a complete remodel of her kitchen, but the home’s original “orange-y” wood cabinets just weren’t working for her. With dark appliances and only one window, her main goal was to brighten her space up, as affordably as she could. She didn’t do a lot, but the $90 she did spend over a weekend made a surprising impact!

How many of you have moved into a new house that had a bathroom just like this? Although owner Mera tried to put a few bandaids on the style situation as long as she could (with new wall color and a rug), it was a hole in the ceiling and peeling paint that finally prompted a full renovation. See how it turned out… Not every room can carry off red and purple, but Mera managed to add just enough color to create a cheerful and happy bathroom.

The Sniglar crib mostly owes its popularity to its $69.99 price tag, but it works for so many families because the plain and simple design is versatile enough for any style of room. If you think the Sniglar is perhaps too plain and simple, check out how the folks at bedding company Little Auggie customized one with paint… Painting the spindles of the crib completely ups the style factor and gives the crib a fresh, modern feel.

This bamboo rocker was in pretty good shape, but wasn’t particular inspiring with its original brown hues. Rachel decided that for it to really work in a nook in her boy’s room, it needed a color boost! From Rachel: I bought this vintage bamboo rocker on the last day of an estate sale for $10, hoping it wold work in our son’s room. This was a super simple project; requiring only primer, paint and a faux shearling throw.

A lot of people remodel their homes right after (or right before) moving in, but by the time Kyle and Angela decided to take the plunge and redo their kitchen, they had been living in their Clinton Hill apartment for 11 years. They had a lot of time to save, and scheme, and they knew exactly what they wanted: more counter space, a more open floor plan, and a kitchen with a little bit of midcentury style.

For anyone who sews, a good table for cutting fabric is the Holy Grail of craft supplies. But it often seems basically impossible to find something tall enough to stand at and cut fabric that is not wildly expensive and fits in an apartment or sewing room. Ikea’s Norden dining table is almost a perfect sewing table right out of the box. The table is 31.

For $40, this dresser was hard for Sarah Dorsey to pass up, even though the laminate was chipping and it looked worse for wear. So she snagged it and put in practice all the painting tips she’s learned over the years. See how it turned out… After carefully prying off all the hardware, and repainting the entire thing, Sarah’s dresser is now a far cry from cheap; it looks professional, high-end and totally bedroom-worthy.

As a rule, I am fully in favor of designing one’s living space around the pets, especially if they’re cats. That’s why I loved this ridiculously easy IKEA hack that turns a neat corner table into a comfortable, two-tiered cat bed. The IKEA Trendig tray table has two convenient, cat-sized baskets. Just by adding some comfortable cushions, Pinterest user Hanna transformed the baskets into perfect little cat beds.

Katherine and Conan are slowly remodeling their 1917 home in Wichita, Kansas, one room at a time. Most recently, this powder room got the DIY treatment, with good reason. Even if you looked beyond the cracked walls and crumbling ceiling, the door wouldn’t shut behind you. Which I imagine made — ahem, privacy – an issue with guests. Before you get all confused, you are in fact looking at the same space.