DIY Home Projects

Interior designer and stylist Brett and her husband Brandon bought a 1900s Craftsman house in Oakland, California in March of last year, but they couldn’t move in right away. The architectural charm was immediately obvious, but it also needed a lot of work. A renovation was definitely in the cards.

Being a DIY weekend warrior is a bit easier when you have fresh ventilation, room to spread out, and a place to put all that sawdust. But if you don’t have a garage, workshop, backyard, or driveway at home, don’t say goodbye to DIY. It’s possible to get crafty, even if you’re a renter living in a multi-unit building. Need proof? Jess Goodwin filled her stylish small apartment in the middle of Chicago with hand-made projects — no garage, no problem.

Clashing patterns, chipping paint, and mismatched furniture is far from unusual in Beijing’s rental market. But Becky Lane’s apartment in an older neighborhood near the city’s fashionable Sanlitun district was another ordeal entirely. Despite this apartment being at the higher end of her budget and in a state that would make most expats go running for the nearest renovated home, Becky said yes to renting.

Certain tools and equipment are expensive. Like, really expensive. I think it’s safe to say that absolutely no one on the planet wants to actually buy an industrial carpet cleaner for thousands of dollars, for example, let alone find a place to store it when they’re done. Unless you use these types of things all the time, it doesn’t make any sense to own them outright, which is why we’re thankful for temporary rentals.

One of the most difficult (not to mention, most expensive) decorating tasks you have to face when designing a new apartment is how to fill those big, blank walls. While store-bought statement pieces can work room-altering magic, they also come at a cost. To decorate that spot over the couch or dining room table on the cheap, turn to supplies you may already have lying around: fabric, wrapping paper and wallpaper.

This past fall, I went on a quest for a simple frame for a long 14-by-50-inch map. After quickly realizing there was no way a store-bought frame would fit these odd dimensions, I emailed a local NYC framing company for a quote. A couple days later, there it was in my inbox: a whopping $782.09 cost estimate. As much as I value supporting local businesses, there was no way I could do it. So then how do you make a big statement without completely destroying your budget?

These small-space projects really pop.

... And turn jars into glassware, with hot water and baking soda.

If you have an old basement or other unused space in your home, you might dream about remodeling that space into something beautiful and useful. For Suzanne and Peter, that dreaming started the moment they bought their San Francisco home three years ago. The dark and dank basement room that came with the house no longer exists and has been replaced with a bright, open and welcoming space.

If you’ve never seen a kokedama—a Japanese moss ball—let me introduce you to the ultimate small-space garden. Floating in midair, these plants don’t take up surface space, or even wall space. Plus, you don’t have to shell out money for a pretty container, as each plant is contained in its own moss-covered pod and is suspended from the ceiling using inexpensive twine.

Meet Liz Corkery, a Sacramento-based artist who founded and runs Print Club Ltd., an online source for fine art silkscreen prints. Through Print Club, Liz works with other artists to create and sell limited edition works on paper, but she also has a deep love for cooking and entertaining so has combined those interests in this beautiful set of hand-printed napkins.

Sasha Duerr has been dyeing her textiles with compost for over 20 years. The author of two books on natural dyeing and an instructor at the California College of the Arts, Duerr fell in love with natural colors while searching for alternatives to the art school oils and acrylics that made her sick.

There are remodels…and then there are total transformations. Julia and Kurt bought a run-down studio apartment nine years ago. The layout was weird and it was on the teeny side. But instead of just improving the look of the current home’s foot print, they thought outside of the box! They decided to take over the home’s huge rooftop terrace to convert their studio apartment into a two-level, two-bedroom modern home. Originally all the living spaces were on one level.

Recently, we shared our expert tips on how to style a coffee table. The table we used specifically, though, was rectangular, and some readers chimed in to request help with how to arrange a round coffee table. Though most of the same principles apply no matter what shape you’re working with, I’ve rounded up takeaways and inspiration for round tables. This tabletop shows off the power of divide and conquer (that is, dividing the table in two, and conquering each side!).

Considering the amount of spectacularly hideous light fixtures in rental kitchens around the country, it’s almost as if installing the ugliest, most unflattering light fixture was at one time the law. That’s of course not true, but for anyone who’s ever walked into their rental kitchen, looked up at their light fixture and wondered “why that?,” this post’s for you.

I wanted to change up the look of my bookshelves as well as add a third shelf. With the help of a friend and a trip to the hardware store, this project took an afternoon to pull off and can be accomplished by someone with minimal experience. And, to help you out, I documented the process to walk you through each step. In my head, this project was super elementary. I’m not afraid of using a saw, so I wasn’t worried in the last bit.

The number of chairs that I have in my apartment has reached an embarrassing level, but I’m honestly not even that ashamed. I’m just constantly drawn to so many different styles, from funky peacock chairs to classic cane designs. I’m always arranging and rearranging to make room for new finds, like this on-trend Windsor chair I picked up at Target.

I spy with my little eye another IKEA hack done right. If you scored high on the Spot the IKEA Quiz, I have no doubt you’ll be able to spot this IKEA piece turned high-end Scandinavian home decor. This project, along with many like it, further proves how a simple change in perspective can dramatically alter the success of a space.

When Fernando and Maximiliano bought a classic house in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Boca, the building had been abandoned for years and every room was begging to be renovated. With a very minimal budget they decided to redo every room themselves. When we bought the house the living and dining room were two separate rooms, and every wall had a different color or wallpaper. The wooden floors were buried in dirt.

Amy fell in love with this sofa’s good bones and excellent cushions, even though the fabric was a little drab. After inspecting the piece to make sure it wasn’t too good to be true, she took it home and got to work and giving it a super easy and affordable refresh. From Amy: This is one of those sofas built with an incredibly sound construction, it’s something that is hard to find these days for an affordable price.

Stephen and Amy bought their first home together in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood in 2013. Their home is adorable inside and out, with many of the elements crafted by the couple. There is one small element that I think has a big impact on their home’s curb appeal — and it’s an easy and affordable DIY! “When we bought the house, there were ugly numbers nailed to the door.

I have a confession: Sometimes using power tools scares me. I know – that’s embarrassing for a DIY-er to admit. But I also know, deep down, I can’t be the only one who feels this way. So, what if I told you that you could make this bench with minimal tools and minimal upholstery skills? Seriously, there is no sewing involved.

These days, I prefer weekdays to weekends when it comes to my IKEA trips. Why, you ask? Well, as if it isn’t obvious, it means less crowds and more leisurely wandering the aisles, sans pressure. What am I looking for exactly? Maybe I have a simple list of items I need for a closet makeover, but then I spot a serving bowl that would make a perfect pendant light. Or I go in for some picture frames then can’t help but notice a kitchen cart that would be the perfect bar cart.

We’ve shown you some stylish DIYs for your pooch, but let’s not forget about the cat lovers. Sure our cats may not give us their undivided attention, or the tail-wagging welcome of a dog, but it’s important to give them a home that feels like home. Whether it’s a cozy crochet cat cave, a handmade toy, or a realistic climbing tree in the living room, our kitties need (and deserve) to be spoiled.

This little cutie pie garage sale dresser has been hankering for a makeover for a decade—and the results are well worth the wait. Perhaps inspired by the fantastic results, the rest of this corner got itself a spruce too! Before we gaze lovingly at the dresser as it looks today, let’s hear a little bit about what it was before: The side tables were a garage sale find for $10 which we had bought at the start of our marriage 10 years ago.

Pilling on fabric is no good. It makes clothing and furniture look worn and tired, like it needs to be replaced. I certainly felt that way about this yellow chair before the most epic fabric de-fuzzer showed up on my doorstep. Friends, here me when I say this: This is the most satisfying $12.99 you’ll ever spend on a home-care appliance. I knew this type of tool existed, but I didn’t know how amazing the results would be when used on upholstery fabric.

Bland rental kitchens and bathrooms are about as common as noisy upstairs neighbors, but at least you can make small temporary fixes to transform your space. Take some serious inspiration from these clever renters, who invested a little bit of time and very little money to make changes they could live with, then reverse when they moved out. This awkward bathroom — with a seashell-shaped sink — got a weekend facelift that only cost $350 (also lead image above).

Sheena and Jason’s vintage Airstream is a soothing, lovely, bohemian dream on wheels. They travel the States in it with their beautiful dog Riley. Now the interior is all-white, with natural textures and bold patterns, but it sure didn’t look that way when they bought it. “Our entire trailer was one giant DIY project. We bought Mavis in original 1975 condition.

This project is a great example of how a few dollars and a few minutes can make a dramatic change in your home—and your mood. As Anne described her situation, “Cooking and baking make me happy, but seeing my workspace sulking in the shadows was putting a damper on my spirit.” Let’s see her cheap, quick, renter-friendly, and reversible solution to the baking blues! So much better!

Sage looked long and hard for the perfect piece for her entryway. It needed to fit the spot, and be deep and flexible enough to fit a variety of footwear. Most importantly, she didn’t want the visual mess of open shelving. Sage didn’t want to spend too much so she first went the IKEA route, and ruled out a classic “fauxdenza” (made from stock cabinets mounted on the wall), before finally hitting up Craigslist in a long and patient search for something to work with.

The interior of a 16-year-old camper is as outdated as you might imagine. Even in the best of conditions, green carpet, over-sized (not trendy) floral patterns and some questionable wood veneer can leave a small space feeling even smaller. That’s what makes this stylish — and affordable! — RV remodel so great. It now looks good and feels much larger than just 188 square feet.

What’s this, a blank wall? What could possibly be done with it—a coat of paint? Some sassy wallpaper? A coat of paint with a sassy wallpaper border? Be prepared for something so much more dramatic and intriguing than all that… Even though the title of this submitted project was “Pegboard Cross Stitch Mural,” I still wasn’t prepared for this. It’s incredible, it’s dramatic — yet perfectly scaled, and totally unexpected.

This is a cute little cabinet, perfect for storing all manner of things. But Melissa had an entirely different purpose in mind, and the whole project took about thirty minutes from start to finish. One member of her household is particularly happy with the end result.

This is a Very Serious Dresser, and while it is certainly beautiful and worthy of preservation, how does one incorporate a dark, gravitas-filled antique into a home that’s decidedly not all stained glass windows, turrets, and gargoyles? Don’t worry—the answer is not “paint it white.

Flower arranging is lost on me. No matter how much time I spend trying to make bouquets look good, I usually wind up just plopping the flowers in a vase and calling it a day. So I love simple, quick ways to raise my flower game, even a little bit. Learn these five basic hacks and get the best arrangements of your life. Letting leaves rot in water is one of the best ways to bring your flowers down.

There’s a big difference between jamming a bunch of flowers in a vase, and creating a gorgeous arrangement that looks like it was done by a pro. Thankfully that difference isn’t necessarily measured in dollars, effort, or even skill. All it takes is something you probably have sitting in your kitchen drawer: clear cellophane tape. Here’s the secret. Use basic clear tape to create a grid over the top of your vase.

Faced with a long weekend ahead of you, if you’ve got the itch to do a little DIY project to improve the way your rental home looks, this post’s for you. All from the same insanely stylish rental apartment in a basement, these two projects are fast, affordable and most of all… attractive enough you’d actually like to display. Hello trendy grid-patterned curtains that look like pricey versions you can buy at Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie. Well guess what?

This $15 IKEA kitchen product is powering this ultra luxe lighting DIY.

It’s impossible to believe, but at one point, these chairs were like two perfect plums. We first discovered them in NYC’s Chelsea Flea Market, one cold Sunday morning, in the early ’90s when my husband (then boyfriend) and I were recovering from a live Jane’s Addiction hangover. The flea market was a place you wandered through when you had nothing better to do and little energy to do it.

“When we bought our first condo, our immediate focus was to try our hand at a wallpaper project,” Andréa writes about the home she shares with her husband Stefan. “Rental properties had never afforded us the luxury of doing something so dramatic and custom. We knew we wanted a statement wall somewhere in our home, but given that the main area is one large room (like many open-concept condos), it didn’t quite fit there.

This Philadelphia row home came with many enviable features when Matt and Anne Thomas bought it. Stunning architecture. Tons of space. All that natural light. The one thing they didn’t love was the home’s extremely red-toned cherry wood floors. But, the floors had just been re-done and were nice in every other regard. Replacing them would have been wasteful.

I thought the simple and affordable bed hack in Erica Massey’s Dallas, Texas rental apartment was pretty brilliant. A tall bed with storage for her, and a cozy and cool spot to call his own for her dog Deacon. The fact that most of the components were sourced from IKEA for not a lot of money is the cherry on top. But that’s not the only smart IKEA hack in her home! One IKEA trip and less than $200 later and Erica was able to nearly double the storage space of her kitchen.

You know you’re staying in a luxury five-star hotel when your wash cloth or hand towel is folded into some sort of flower or zoo animal. It’s one of the little touches that signifies the level of care that’s been put into every aspect of your stay, so how cool would it be if—without a lot of extra effort—you could surprise your house guests with the same experience?

The MELLTORP is one of IKEA’s ubiquitous and affordable tables. It’s minimal and modern, but it also makes a great blank canvas for a DIY. Here’s how Tiphaine of Kraft & Carat transformed it. This is extremely cool, and the way the table now matches the chairs is uncanny; choosing colors that close to each other often leads to awkward almost-matching, but this looks perfect.

Hugh Molten, a South Carolina-based real estate agent, didn’t plan for such a big project when he bought this falling-down old church. “I originally had the vision to simply clean it out and live in it basically as-is; create a small shower in the corner, stainless prep tables for the kitchen and call it done.” Today, this 1600-square-foot former house of worship is an incredible industrial modern home, and how it ended up that way was a long and interesting journey.

You are currently gazing upon a floor that is not only old linoleum—it is the old linoleum floor of a fish-gutting room. Is there any hope for this room, or is it doomed to be forever haunted by dearly departed stinky fishies? The old, fishy floor has been replaced with a watery blue dream; it’s like a river you can walk on. This stained plywood floor was created by Tanya of Dans le Lakehouse, and I’m in awe of her vision.

If, like me, you were hoping that this art hack involved adding enormous sea monsters to this idyllic beach scene, you might be the teensiest bit disappointed, but if you want to see these discount pieces transformed into lovely original abstract paintings, read on! Let’s start with a little backstory: When I came across these pre-framed mass reproduction art pieces at HomeGoods, they were the perfect size for our space but lacked the modern minimal look I was going for.

A reader found this old dresser in an alley and knew right away that she’d hit the jackpot. And after hours of scrubbing and sprucing, this dresser is even more beautiful than the day it was built. Here’s how reader Krissy Gilhooly tells the story of this exciting discovery: I found this piece abandoned in the alley behind our house. When I first saw it, I was expecting it to be rickety and have sticky drawers, as most furniture is when it’s thrown away.

This little stairway landing is so pretty. It’s got hardwood floors, a gracefully placed window worthy of Vermeer, a dramatic work of art, and an intriguing vintage table. Its owner did not feel so positive about the space, however, and saw potential for so much more. Seriously, wow! I love the notion of a stairway accent wall; as you’ll see below, it’s incredibly inviting from below.

Ah, the ever-reliable IKEA KALLAX: a timeless, affordable shelving unit that’s available in a variety of sizes and colors and is useful for holding books, records, storage bins, objets d’art, snakes, and so much more. Yes, of course, snakes… I have to say, the wood of the KALLAX looks pretty beautiful with all the organic matter, and the plants and rocks inside are all well chosen and arranged.

Here’s a story from an intrepid Redditor, who kept getting packages stolen off their porch. Many people can relate: one third of Americans have reported having a package stolen outside their home. So this crafty person turned to a DIY fix. Here’s what this project involved, according to this Redditor: My solution was a lot cheaper and went up in less than an hour! Not permanent, but will do for now.

A reader moved into this trailer without realizing how much work it needed, and it’s always so much more difficult to renovate a space when you’re already living in it—especially when your home is essentially one room. It took some serious determination and a bit of boldness, but this trailer is now home sweet home.

No staple guns required.

This backyard is a great size and appears to have excellent views, but it must be admitted: There’s a bit more rubble than one might hope. And a few more rats than is ideal, too, apparently. That’s right, rats: Our yard was a high-maintenance relic of an avid gardener. Looking for a way to hide an ugly garden shed, the previous owner thought it wise to build a six-foot concrete wall directly down the middle of the small yard.

No matter who you are and where you come from, we can all agree that assembling IKEA furniture is a journey. On Wednesday night, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leapt into her own DIY adventure—and we all got to experience it live from her apartment in Washington, D.C. AOC got sworn in on January 3 of this year, but she admitted to the public that her apartment has yet to be furnished. As of yesterday, she just got her first shipment of IKEA furniture delivered to her apartment.

We love watching home improvement shows, because within one magical hour a “list it” property easily becomes one you would say “love it” to—or even buy or rent for a vacation. But as anyone who’s even undertaken a “small” DIY project can attest, the reality is hardly ever as seamless As Seen on TV.

When Nicole Goodreau and her fiancé spotted this mid-century Lane cedar chest at their local Goodwill for $30, they knew they had to have it. While the existing army green color and retro knobs didn’t fit their home’s modern aesthetic, they were confident that, with a little elbow grease, they could transform it into the perfect storage piece for their petite city apartment.

When Bonnie Christine found this 55-year-old travel trailer for sale, it was already in pretty damn good shape, but it got majorly upgraded into a gorgeous glamper that’s more elegant and luxurious than many stationary homes. She had been looking for one for a decade when they finally found the perfect specimen: A 1962 26-foot Airstream Overlander.

Get a brand new-to-you sofa or chair for college-kid prices.

As the House Tour editor here at Apartment Therapy, looking at a wide range of homes is a requirement (and a delight!). And while many of those spaces I see online, I still have a penchant for flipping through the pages of a good coffee table design book for inspiration.

The window in this bedroom is absolutely dreamy, but the space below it was a bit of a waste—until inspiration struck, and one room became two. Here’s the scoop on the under-window situation: Before we had two slightly tatty built-in cabinets either side of a Velux window. They didn’t look great, and the space in the middle was wasted. It became a catch-all for junk. Because the home is rented, though, we couldn’t make any permanent changes.

It’s that time of year, when days get shorter and shorter, and sunlight noticeably diminishes. Soon, many of us will be trudging to and from school and work in near darkness, and—I’ll venture a guess here—we will not be happy about it. Once we’re home, we’ll also have to turn our indoor lamps and overheads on sooner in the evening. These IKEA hacks help us do it in style, and on the cheap.

The influx of guests this time of year always kickstarts my home to-do list. Install curtain rods, update the showerhead, and oh yeah, finally dress that naked wall. Instead of spending time searching for that perfect piece of artwork, make one instead. Painting your own art not only saves money, but lets you coordinate colors throughout your home and truly make the space unique and yours. Plus, it’s a lot easier to hang one to three statement pieces versus a full-blown gallery wall.

“If you want to try something like painting your walls a zesty color—just go for it—it’s only paint,” advises blogger and DIY master Pati Robins. She’s been living in this rental home for 13 years, and as seen with these before photos, it’s had quite the transformation. “If you don’t like it you can always repaint it—and if you don’t try it, you will always wonder ‘what if?

It looked and worked better than anyone thought.

A reader felt that this “dark, old, manly faux leather ottoman” didn’t suit their apartment’s bright, new, laid-back vibe. So all it took was a staple gun and a colorful blanket to give it a fun, sunny new look.

Anyone can do this.

When Oriane and her husband Christopher moved into their large Chicago home, a lot of things needed updating (as these before photos prove). On a pretty tight budget, they ended up tackling many of the DIY projects of the remodel themselves. Everything from fresh paint to a new kitchen makes their condo beautiful. Though every room is lovely today, the formal dining room is one of the most impressive spaces.

Laundry is the most avoided chore in our home. We don’t have a good spot to keep dirty clothes, which leads to chasing down little piles on laundry day, then scrambling to find a place to put the clean batches as each load comes out. Some very organized people have figured this out though. With their DIY sorting systems, household worths of laundry are neatly sorted before, during, and after each cycle.

While we’re not suggesting you hoard all of your glass liquor bottles—please, recycle that mountain of two buck Chuck empties—sometimes a glass bottle comes along that’s too pretty to toss. And when that happens, there are several ways you can choose to repurpose it. Here are some of our favorites: For serving water: If it’s good enough for some of my favorite restaurants, it’s good enough for me.

This home on Chicago’s Gold Coast was originally built in 1892, but was transformed into condominiums in 1978. This particularl unit—a two-bedroom space with one and a half baths—hadn’t been touched since. Covered in old carpet (even in the kitchen, shudder) and in need of a lot of work, Kira Cole wasn’t deterred by the design task at hand when she purchased the space.

This tall, vintage, secondhand dresser needed a little wood filler and a lot of love, so its new owner gave it all that and a gorgeous coat of paint that totally transformed its look. The new owner of this dresser, who bought it on Craigslist for $75, described it as “a glossy cherry wood… ick!” It did, however, have nice lines, antique charm, and plenty of refined details without too much old-fashioned folderol.