DIY Home Projects

In October of 2014, my boyfriend, Sean and I purchased the tiny row house I had been living in for the past six years. When I moved to Philly to be closer to family I hadn’t expected our little residential spot off of (a then desolate and rather gritty) Frankford Avenue to all-of-a-sudden become Philadelphia’s hippest/hipsteriest hood.

Who couldn’t use a little glam in their life, right? Okay, so maybe it takes a certain type of person to pull off a really glam look at home, but Tim from Design Maze and the resident of this apartment were the perfect team to pull off this eye-popping den with a modern take on Hollywood glamour. I think it will make even the most minimalist design lover feel a little glam-envy. The best part? This is a rental apartment so everything is temporary.

Bradley and I had been house shopping for over a year, but in the Denver market, it was nearly impossibly to nail something down in our budget with all of the crazy investor offers constantly swooping in with full-cash offers. We had just lost another bid on a house and the next day, I got a call from our realtor that he had just gotten a listing and that we should come take a look.

Cintia’s beloved saucer chair needed some major TLC after battling the elements. She not only resurrected this chair with a ton of style, she did it in a low cost, totally green way. Once in pristine condition, my vintage saucer chair was left out in the weather for many years and slowly disintegrated. I had quite a sentimental attachment to it so was reluctant to throw it away. It took me about a year, working on it intermittently to complete this project.

When we bought this tired little cottage, we didn’t really know what we’d gotten into. Sitting empty for 3 years, the pipes had burst, the furnace had died and there was a small lake in the basement. Oh – and it was truly the homeliest house on the block. We had just started our ‘encore career’ to buy and renovate homes in a little town in Maine. But this project was a bit daunting for newbies! It took 5 months of work to transform it from top to bottom.

Hidden among many other obscure objects at a garage sale in Princeton, New Jersey, this bentwood rocking chair sat dressed in black paint and heavy black leather upholstery attached with large tacks. At the time, I couldn’t place where this piece had come from. It wasn’t a Thonet chair, but it had the similar features and was certainly older. As I continued to look at it, the colors and materials looked so heavy on such a small, slender frame. It begged to be refinished.

Ashley’s took her guest bedroom from all-purpose-catch-all to swoon worthy oasis. Just look at that gorgeous green! That fabulous rug! When can we visit? From Ashley: When we first moved in, we had a pretty standard guest bedroom. It was outdated, had dingy walls and a wallpaper border. It sat like this for quite some time and eventually just became a dumping ground for random decor pieces, clothes, etc. My husband and I had finally just had enough.

While not in terrible shape, Lesley’s bathroom felt a little dated. Instead of committing to a major bathroom remodel, she made some smart design moves to make the most of her small space. From Lesley: The bathroom in my condo is tiny, and badly needed updating when I moved in. It was straight out of the 80s with dingy beige paint, and a terribly outdated medicine cabinet/light fixture situation.

Lizeth’s medicine cabinet makeover is a perfect weekend project. If you’re feeling the need to organize and spice up your bathroom, take a look at her super easy cabinet makeover for inspiration. From Lizeth: One Saturday I decided to makeover our medicine cabinet. There was an accumulation of items we don’t use on a daily basis in the cabinet plus I was keeping some items I used a lot under the sink; hence the need for some purging and reorganizing.

Home is a sanctuary. You should love the place you come home to every night. And if you’re planning to move on or move up in a few years, investing in your home’s curb appeal is a wise investment, too. Plus it’s just crazy fun to see how a few simple tweaks can add up and completely change the way a house looks. Here are 7 home exterior renovations that really blow us away. Click through to each source to learn more about these impressive makeovers.

When we moved into this rental house last year, we had the luxury of not only having a powder room but also a newly-painted, all-white space with a beautiful grey wood floor throughout. Although the rest of the house has large windows and skylights and is very bright, this powder room has no windows and is tucked into the end of a short hallway.

After moving into her new home, Sara realized her design non-negotiable was living with her old, stained, formica countertops. With a little research she was able to find a fast and affordable fix to tide her over till it’s time for a renovation. From Sara: My husband and I moved into my grandparent’s old house a year ago and we’ve been making slow progress in each room, but I’ve really been focused on the kitchen lately, specifically on appliances and the counter.

As a young married couple (and now toddler parents!), we’ve relocated 3 times in five years with Justin’s company. Our last move brought us home to Greenville, South Carolina, where the real estate market in our dream neighborhood was insanely competitive. Since we were relocating from Northern Maine, we couldn’t be on site when a potential home would go on the market so we ended up in multiple bidding wars on properties that we had only seen via FaceTime.

I had promised not to remodel anything else, since the house is getting a bit packed, but this guy caught my eye. This little sad cabinet had belonged to a 1960s bookshelf that was long gone and was laying about in the quietness of a my grandparents garage. Legless, scratched and with some water stains, it needed some TLC. After some deep sanding, it was time to give it a new structure. So, as a totally inept carpenter, I did what any girl would do: call her father.

Maria made some kitchen magic happen in her rental. Her new floor is classic, cute and matches the most vital of household accessories, her cat. From Maria: I made an AMAZING kitchen floor makeover a month ago. The floor really looked like S when I moved in to my rental apartment in Gothenburg. SO I decided to get the floor in black/white that I always dreamed about. I was really SHOCKED how different, more bright and even bigger my kitchen became.

Jacob’s DIY project features a few more steps than most of the projects we feature, but just look at the super cool result!

I am a sucker for Before and Afters. Whether it be home remodels or weight losses or What Not to Wear, I get all giddy about transformations. And SO, why NOT buy a really ugly house?? Where’s the fun in buying an already-beautiful home? Nowhere. A couple of years ago, my husband and I bought a fixer-upper. About 11 months later, we (and by we, I mean my dad. Thanks Pops.) finally got enough done to show some of the progress we’ve made so far. Only took a year ..

When I first walked into Thomas’ home, I was struck by the amazing number of creative and personal touches that filled every room. As I got to know Thomas, I quickly learned that most, if not all, of my very favorite parts were designed and/or handmade by him! Against the living room wall, on the far end of a long room, sat an elegant buffet.

Kris’ impressive powder room makeover is a master class in the art of the well chosen splurge. Impressive DIY updates compliment some truly spectacular wallpaper. Check it out! From Kris: We moved into a new house last summer, and have recently started tackling some small-ish DIY projects. My most recent project was updating our first floor powder room.

A year ago my husband, our two sons and I bought the house I grew up in and my parents had owned for over 30 years. Not only did the house need quite a few renovations but, for us, it also needed to not look like the house I grew up in. Because the house is small and we don’t have a playroom the open concept living room is the busiest room in our home. It is where our kids play, where we read and watch TV and dance.

I’m in love. I’m talking about my new (super old) refrigerator. This fridge, whom we lovingly call Mr. Heckles, was made in 1949 by General Electric. I’d always wanted an old fridge, just like the one Monica had on Friends. Gender aside, I am Monica. Really. A month ago, we finally signed a new lease at an apartment complex that did not provide a fridge. I seized this opportunity to find my dream fridge. I scoured eBay, Craigslist, Etsy, antiqueappliance.com. You name it.

Our 1925 Craftsman had a number of unique features, some of which we preserved, and some which had to go. The Master Bathroom was one that had to be completely renovated, down to the studs. It was such an odd space before. It was essentially a Jack-and-Jill bathroom, but the pass-through from one side to the other was the shower! I’ve never seen anything like it, nor had our contractor.

About six years ago, my boyfriend and I bought a severely neglected 1970s ranch house. It was basically a grimy, character-free tract home with critters living in the garage and AC return duct. We had a lot of issues to deal with after we bought the house, so the limestone fireplace was pretty far from the top of the list, and we ended up ignoring it for years while we worked on other parts of the house. Eventually, it became harder to ignore.

Reuse old dresser drawers to create a bookshelf installation like Mike and Kate’s! The couple found free dressers on Craigslist and used the drawers to transform an empty wall in their Chicago home. dresser drawers (preferably dovetailed) paint wall mounting hardware measuring tape hammer drill From Kate: I turned to Craigslist and found free dressers, took the drawers, and trashed the dressers themselves (don’t worry—they were really ugly).

Whitney of Whitney J Decor was charged with shaking up this guest bathroom and adding more storage. She was able to add a ton of character while avoiding major renovations. From Whitney: My client gave me full, creative control of her guest bathroom, but the only exception was that I couldn’t make any changes to the floor or any permanent fixtures (like sink, faucet, tub, etc.).

I think nearly anyone who buys a 1970s ranch home will likely end up with those dark wood, hollow core bi-fold doors. We ended up with them in two of our three bedrooms. Replacing them with more modern, up-to-date bi-fold doors can run over $150 per pair, so why not put in some elbow grease to bring those doors to life and save yourself about $100?

Project by: Relish Interiors Location: British Columbia, Canada Leah was asked to revamp a Boler trailer into west coast inspired tourism kiosk. The result is a charming small space that may induce some serious pillow envy. From Leah: I was commissioned by Tourism Powell River, in beautiful British Columbia, Canada to makeover a 10′ Boler trailer into a mobile Tourism Kiosk that represented our west coast influence.

I can’t believe it took us 10 years to renovate our small 1980s bathroom. With the hideous almond tub, loo, sink and the orange wood cabinetry, things should’ve changed long ago. After I took a week off of work and my husband took a few days, we got to work on demo on a Sunday. We expected to be done by Wednesday but had some buffer days just in case. We found we needed new plumbing to fix low water pressure which set us back on our timeline.

Our kitchen has really tacky fake granite particle board counters. Someone at some point in our building’s history thought it would be a good idea to cover the backsplash in this same ugly material, which not only draws attention to how absolutely fake the “granite” is, but also just generally looks horrendous.

I’m happy to share with you the DIY makeover of my compact apartment kitchen, which went from dark and red to bright and white (mostly). The only thing professionally installed was the countertop, and the rest was a lot of hard work over a few months. For cost reasons, the layout, appliances, and cabinets are all the same. The details are as follows: Cabinet molding: F.D.

Rental apartments aren’t known for crystal chandeliers and beautiful statement lighting. Instead you get (almost always) awful and (frequently) unflattering light with shadows that turn even the prettiest people into Bela Lugosi — not to mention dated fixtures desperately in need of an aesthetic upgrade. Learn how to improve your lighting situation with one of these solutions.

When we purchased our house two years ago, the only word that accurately described our bedroom was “depressing.” As you can see in the before photo, we were the proud owners of a clanking window unit, a rusty radiator, and one window shade— all contained within four drab, off-white walls. I forced a smile and tried to tell myself that it was a “blank canvas” not “utterly dreadful,” which was the phrase that really kept flitting through my mind.

Hallways are awkward spots in our homes, both overlooked and undervalued —they’re weird in-between places that we pass through multiple times daily, but we don’t actually spend a lot of time there. What they don’t have to be is a waste of space. With a little time and effort they can be storage powerhouses. Who says you can’t have built-ins in the hallway?

After buying this foreclosed one-bedroom in a trendy area of Charlotte, North Carolina, new homeowners Katie and Patrick were greeted with a less-than-encouraging scene. As they shared in their House Tour, “The day we officially moved in, this is what we found: a foreclosure notice, a bullet, an inmate identification card, and a dead pigeon.” First on the long list of much-needed home improvements was a renovation of the dated kitchen.

I just purchased my first home, a one-bedroom loft condo in DC’s Chinatown neighborhood. It’s a great location in a beautiful building, and most of the other units have very high-end finishes (and sell for $$$). Several of the units, including mine, were done with builder-grade finishes and sold at below-market prices to local artists about 13 years ago.

My daughter picked up this sad little dresser at a thrift store thinking I might have some fun with it. It had suffered an unfortunate paint job and was nicked and bruised and cried out for some love to bring it back to life. I began by patching any problem areas with lightweight spackle and gave it a vigorous sanding. After I was sure I had really roughed up the finish, I decided to forego primer and went straight for a glossy latex paint in a rich, deep blue-green.

It’s no secret that we are huge plant proponents and Madalyn’s clever shower planter is a super fun way to add a little green to your bathroom.

I think most of us have had the internal debate over a family hand-me-down. There’s a moment where we teeter on throwing it out because it doesn’t fit in our lives, but feel we should keep it out of a sense of loyalty or nostalgia. Trini made the best of the situation by saving her family’s chair, while updating it to suit her tastes. From Trini: This chair has been in my family for decades. It was passed down to me with blue flowered tapestry fabric.

This is my latest piece of furniture that I’ve refinished. After doing my last dining room table I was so happy with the results that I chose to forget how much sanding and time had been involved. I think that for people who see the potential in secondhand objects it can be hard to pass up a project. When I saw this dining table with queen anne legs and a pretty scalloped top I had to restore it. The shape was beautiful but the scratches on top and badly scuffed sides needed some work.

Keep things au naturale with this easy tutorial.

I love to build things and have built all kinds of shelving, but I admit I’m all for a shortcut that makes my life easier (and in this case cheaper). These $10 garage sale bookshelves I found are solid wood, well-built and side by side were the perfect size to create a credenza. There is no way I could have built them myself for $10, the wood alone would have cost at least $50, not to mention the time and labor.

If you’re looking for a non traditional holiday DIY (that you could totally leave up year round), look no further than this stunning paper reindeer. It should take you about 3 days (on and off) and come in under $30, so get cutting! Glue Stick Double-Sided Tape 100 lb Cardstock Paper Ruler (with sharp edge) X-acto Knife / Scissors Instructions Download template. Print template out on 100 lb cardstock paper (using the paper color of your choice!

Don't let the holiday countdown stress you out–we're here to help you make the most of it!

We needed some extra storage space in our new house and when I spotted this piece that was the perfect size for just 5 bucks, I purchased it with the idea of turning it into something completely different. At first I was a bit reluctant to take the legs off because they were the cutest part of the thing but couldn’t really change the style if I kept them so, off they went. I then removed the moldings and the doorknob and suddenly the piece was a blank canvas.

I have been teaching myself to reupholster furniture. When I found this sturdy vintage arm chair with cane sides on Craigslist for $15 I knew it could be a gem. The chair has a wonderful horsehair cushion and did not require any new batting. I cleaned it up, applied Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Old White, lightly distressed the edges, and put a couple coats of wax on the frame.

When I first looked over a few snapshots of Adrien and Jon’s house in anticipation of shooting their House Tour, I immediately latched onto the palm frond chair. I had been looking for the perfect palm fabric for a personal project and begged Adrien to reveal her source. I was soon on my way to downtown L.A. to scoop up some of the Tommy Bahama (yup, that’s right) Swaying Palms fabric from Michael Levine.

My husband and I recently moved into a brand new townhome in San Diego, California. We absolutely love the new place but for some reason, the builder created really awkward and unevenly sized “designer nooks” above the fireplace. We tried to think of ways to design around them but ultimately we knew we needed to cover the holes up and create a mantle.

Freshly baked cookies during the holidays are the best gifts ever. You want all your hard work to shine and for your goodies to look and feel special. However patience, talent, and time are often in short supply. Here are three of the easiest ways to package up your homemade treats! Pick a theme (like plaid!), buy some materials, and have yourself a good ‘ol time packaging up your cookies. The three packaging “recipes” from the video are below.

Shehzeen was faced with an all too familiar problem, a rental kitchen that just didn’t work. The color was off, the placement wasn’t ideal, but she made apartment lemons into very cute lemonade. From Shehzeen: I live in a rental so doing any kind of a permanent overhaul to the kitchen or its appliances is out of the question. Also, my kitchen was extremely open plan and was sitting right there in the living room.

Terrazzo floors and walls have been around for hundreds of years, and this lazy Susan is a good way to get the look on a smaller scale. We’ve traded traditional marble chunks with a confetti mix of colorful glass that feels both modern and timeless. It’s a great project that’s also a fun, festive and unexpected gift.

Did any of you make it through all seven seasons of Mad Men without thinking, “I should really get a bar cart?” I certainly didn’t. Erin turned her dreams into reality and DIY-d her way to a Joan Holloway worthy bar! From Erin: Mad Men I found this old bar cart on Offerup for $20 and with a little paint, it turned out amazing!!! Thank you, Erin!

My wife and I bought our house last year and there was a back house that was part of the property. At the time of the sale there was someone living in the back house so we weren’t able to see it (other than peering through the windows). In short, we had no idea what state the house was in but, from what we could could gather, it was a dump. Once we closed on the house, we finally got to tour the back house and we were in shock.

A beautiful and natural take on classic homemade dough recipes, these salt dough ornaments give off a more subtle, organic vibe than the ones you made as a kid. They’re also made with kitchen staples, so reach into your snack stash, grab some colorful seeds, and let your creativity run wild. We’re giving you two recipes: classic salt dough and a cornstarch version. While we love salt dough, we decided to test out a variation using corn starch and baking soda.

I recently remodeled my kitchen and had leftover subway tiles. I decided to use the remaining tiles to redo my fireplace which I had been wanting to refinish completely since I moved in four years ago. I also wanted to remove the tiles on the floor, but we didn’t think the hardwood carried through since other units who had redone their fireplace told us that theirs did not.

This is one of my favorite furniture flip stories. I found this chrome mid-century modern chair left for dead on the roadside. It was covered with rust, mildew and grime. For a long time, it sat in my garage and just lingered. It took me a long while for inspiration to strike. I live in the country, and happen to have kind of a thing for cowhide. I had wanted a sleek, modern looking cowhide and chrome chairs for years. You know those kind of chairs?

Jess and Ryan moved into their apartment six years ago, drawn to the multi-floor layout that allowed them to create two defined areas: one for entertaining and lounging, the other for sleeping and working. While they were in love with the apartment itself, the floors throughout the kitchen, dining, and living rooms left a bit to be desired. The old, yellowed, scratched linoleum caused the downstairs to feel cold and uninviting.

I was “gifted” this really simple, but classic desk from my boyfriend to use as a makeup table/vanity. While I loved the character, the desk was pretty beat up. There were imprints and scratches on the top and the knobs mismatched. I decided to take on my first larger project in my new apartment and paint the desk an awesome shade of teal gray.

Today’s topicSee all the lessons! Pattern and texture (along with color) are the life and spark of a room. Without them, spaces feel flat and lifeless and, really, what’s the point of that? You can banish blah with different fabric, rugs, curtains and wallpaper that all work together in interesting ways and become part of a space that you love to look at — and more importantly, love to live in.

Today’s topicSee all the lessons! Every room is different, and comes with its own particular shape and features. Some are long and narrow, some have funky nooks, and others are perfect squares. A successful layout allows you to move easily through that space, and will look and feel right too. Once you’ve got a plan in place, you’ll be able to narrow down your purchases, since you’ll know how much furniture you need, and what elements will fit in the space.

We at Apartment Therapy use these eight design styles to sum up different looks and attitudes towards interiors. Here’s what each represent. And then when you’re ready, click back to the original post, and see what it all means! Update: Here’s the link to a Pinterest board with all the sources for the items, if anyone wants product information. A. New Traditional: You gravitate towards classic formal design, but are relaxed and updated given how we actually live today.

Today’s topicSee all the lessons! By now you’ve gone out into the world and gained a fresh look. The next step to creating a room you’re happy with is to identify what types of things you love, and and which style(s) speak to you most. Like a horoscope, you can take this with a grain of salt — it’s simply a way to start thinking in general terms and there are ABSOLUTELY NO WRONG ANSWERS here.

There are so many ways to customize your IKEA furniture, but here’s one that’s really, really easy: contact paper. And lest you were convinced that contact paper is weird and tacky and always looks terrible, these ten projects are here to prove you wrong. Above: Blogger Jonathan Lo, of Happy Mundane, bought his IKEA desk in a birch finish, but wanted something a little darker that would match his vintage midcentury furniture.

Jess’ rental had a beat up fireplace that was a bit of an eyesore in the middle of her living room. She found the perfect low-cost way to give it some glamour, with a classic renter’s trick that we love: Contact paper!! From Jess: The main materials are contact paper and an exacto (or utility) knife. Prior to doing anything to your fireplace make sure you give it a good wipe down so that the contact paper will stick to the fireplace surround.

Robyn snagged this thrift store table for $50, and with some elbow grease, it became the farmhouse table of her dreams: From Robyn: When I walked into a thrift store and saw a two pedestals and the table top leaning nearby I knew that this was what I had been looking for and bought the table without even assembling it. I was motivated to finish this table and use it right away so refinishing a table this size could be a weekend project for someone who wanted to work long hours.

Rachel’s home hadn’t been updated since it was built in 1975, and it was evident in the dark fieldstone fireplace. Not having the funds for a full renovation, she got creative with paint—and boy, does it look great. From Rachel: We painted the 1970’s field stone fireplace. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and watered it down quite a bit which allows the texture and various colors to still come through.

Jenny’s ambitious first-ever woodworking project was transforming this scrap wood into a live edge coffee table. Want to see how she did? We’re living for it: That little air plant looks right at home! From Jenny: One of my favorite parts about this table is the amount of detail in every inch of the board: you can see the black epoxy inlay, the knots and natural curve of the wood, and the beautiful grain details.

With a blank wall and no storage, Jane decided her living room needed a long credenza on a budget. Perennial favorite, IKEA’s BESTA, to the rescue. From Jane: For $290 of IKEA material cost, 6 hours of labor, and some problem solving, we’ve installed a 5 unit IKEA Besta cabinet that doubles as a wine and coffee bar! See step-by-step instructions over on A Taste of Koko. Thank you Jane!

Though this old radio is showing its age, it was a bargain at $25, especially given its quality (and that it still worked!). Now, to make it beautiful again… From Anna: The speakers were covered in an old and stained fabric which was really an eye sore. We tore those out and decided to replace them with custom laser cut wood panels, which I designed and cut using the awesome laser cutter at my office.

Have you ever seen a closet with steps? This weird feature made it less useful as a storage space, but Aimee’s toddlers were enthralled. So she decided to turn it into playroom, for just a little over $100: From Aimee: Plastic rain gutters on the back wall serve as book shelves. Homemade cushions soften the giant steps. Cheap Ikea frames with free printables were an affordable wall art solution.

If my freshman year dorm is any indication, at 18, I probably would’ve decorated this poolhouse in Beatles posters. But Kevin, an Atlanta student, went for a more sophisticated look. From Kevin: For more about this project, check out Thou Swell. Thank you Kevin!

This half-moon curio cabinet was missing veneer and generally showing wear and tear. Lisa saw something in it, and decided it would be perfect to add some color to her dining room. From Lisa: The parts where the veneer was missing were very rough and needed sanding down. The detail across the top was removed because of significant damage — and I liked the clean line better.

This plastic thrift store cactus was covered in sawdust and broken Southwestern dreams. When Naomi and Sage were tasked to turn it into something amazing, weaker competitors would’ve folded under this nearly impossible challenge. The after might just send you on a hunt for horrible Goodwill cacti: Mind. BLOWN. From Naomi: We painstakingly cleaned off the sawdust and glue, and then cut off the base and drilled a hole through the top through which we ran a metal pipe.