Home Projects by Room

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.

For almost ten years, John lived in his Hell’s Kitchen co-op while it slowly crumbled around him. The apartment, built in 1923, was definitely showing signs of its age: plaster was falling off the walls, moldings were caked with years of paint, and the kitchen cabinets, which had been replaced sometime in the 90s, were starting to fall apart. Faced with all this, and with the prospect of his partner, Katherine, moving in with him soon, John decided it was time for some big changes.

If you love the look of an apron front (or farmhouse) sink, look no further than this handy guide, where we’ve rounded up 22 different sinks, in all kinds of different materials and price points. No matter your budget, you’re sure to find a sink that will be a complete showstopper in your kitchen. Before you shop, here’s something you should know about apron front sinks right off the bat: they’re not cheap.

If you’ve ever found yourself a bit dismayed by a remodel where the homeowners took a perfectly serviceable kitchen and subjected it a complete gut renovation, then this project is for you. Instead of starting from scratch, Lindsay and Matt made just a few small changes to their Brooklyn kitchen, creating a fresh, modern space with a minimum of hassle (and a minimal budget).

Lindsay and Matt, the Brooklyn homeowners who brought a light touch to the renovation of their less than exciting kitchen, took the same approach toward their apartment’s somewhat generic bathroom. It had been recently renovated, and they were on a pretty serious budget, so a complete overhaul wasn’t in the cards. Instead, they made a few small changes that made this little bathroom much more fresh — and much more functional.

Mosaic tile floors are having a renaissance. Of course, as many of you will point out, they never really left — lots of bathrooms, including the one in my New York studio, have floors like this that have been there for years. So these floors are not so much a trend as a classic that’s getting a (well deserved) moment in the spotlight. The bona fides of this particular kind of floor are many: they’re classic, they’re beautiful, they work with almost any style of bathroom.

My friend Joseph has a beige bathroom and asked me to come over and help him do something — anything — to make it better and I jumped at the chance. Because one less beige bathroom in the world is no bad thing. He’s a renter, so it couldn’t cost a lot, and everything needed to be 100% temporary. (You know those pesky security deposits and how they don’t get returned when you make permanent changes.

Joseph's bathroom had some decent bones, but needed a light and renter-friendly makeover. See what we did...

If you love the modern look but are starting to tire of all-white kitchens, then this kitchen, from blogger Molly at Almost Makes Perfect, will be a breath of fresh air. It mixes together white and wood cabinets for a look that’s fresh yet timeless — and there are plenty of other ideas worth stealing, too. Mismatched upper and lower cabinets are gaining a lot of traction lately, and in this kitchen, it’s the perfect choice.

Eric and Joel’s new apartment in Prospect Heights had a lot going for it: generously sized rooms, lots of light, proximity to dog parks. What it didn’t have going for it: an incredibly awkward floorplan where a closed-off kitchen adjoined a mostly useless ‘dining foyer’ — an orphaned bit of space that was too wide to be called a hallway and too narrow for anything else.

If you’re one of those people who hates words like ‘moist’, Joel’s description of his former bathroom is going to make you shudder. Besides the dark, dated tile and fixtures, the bathroom “always smelled damp and musty because the floor and walls were finished with absorbent limestone tiles.” Ew. To add a little extra space to the bathroom, Joel and his partner Eric chose to incorporate part of an adjacent hallway.

When Danielle and her family moved into their home, they knew which room they wanted for their daughters nursery but felt it needed some major restyling. After switching up the color scheme with paint and wallpaper, replacing the chandelier with something a little more kid friendly and adding all of the cute touches that make a nursery, they have an adorable space for their daughter that is a fry cry from the original room.

Name: Ana and Patrick Kamin Type of Project: Kitchen Update Location: San Francisco, California When we moved to San Francisco and started looking for apartments, 85% of the kitchens we saw were not acceptable by my terms. On the one side, you have the ones that are newly updated, but the landlord chose the countertop and cabinets straight from the ’70s. Or you have the kitchens that are totally rundown — and the renovation will cost a fortune.

The ‘before’ kitchen in this Upper West Side two-bedroom wasn’t in terrible condition, but it was plagued by a few issues common to small kitchens — teeny tiny appliances, and a serious lack of cabinet and counter space. The dark finishes and awkward, chopped-up blocks of cabinets made the small space seem even smaller.

After living in New York for 11 years, Diana Marsh was ready to move back to her home state of Michigan and design a beautiful nest. As the proprietor of the downtown Ann Arbor store Thistle and Bess, Diana stocks up and offers one-of-a-kind treasures for those seeking a luxurious lifestyle. And not surprisingly, she was looking to create a luxurious lifestyle in the 1890s house she bought.

Every square inch of this kitchen was ripped out and lovingly put back together — this time in a much more functional and stylish way — by the homeowners themselves. As designer Michelle Gage writes on her blog: “The floors were dirty and sticky. The appliances appeared to be original to the house. The counter tops were held together with tape.” It took two years to save enough money to finally tackle this outdated kitchen’s remodel.

A small bathroom is bad enough to live with. But when your small bathroom is windowless and boring? Well that’s just sad. Designer Mary Lee wasn’t going to stand for a tiny, depressing bathroom. So she worked her DIY remodel magic on this part of her Seattle studio apartment, and the result is inspiring! I just loved Mary’s advice for decorating that she shared in her house tour: “More isn’t always better when it comes to stuff and space.

As bathrooms go, the bathroom in Lauren’s Brooklyn Heights studio wasn’t in the worst shape. Aesthetically, it wasn’t much to write home about (and the odd, alien sink seemed ready for takeoff), but we’ve seen much worse. The real problem in this small space was storage. As in, there wasn’t any.

Shaila’s kitchen came with both a fun connection to DC history and a pretty funky layout. Aesthetics aside, it was time for a reno; the kitchen had begun to fall apart. Taking a cue from the age of the building and her personal love of art-deco, Shaila gave her new-to-her old kitchen a stylish updated vintage-inspired look. Take it away, Shaila… After serving as a diplomat around the world, it was time for me to come back to Washington.

Considering the amazing renovation work done on the living room, dining room and kitchen of Nicole and Dan Lucey’s Brooklyn brownstone, it’s not exactly a surprise that they also showed the same care, intention and design savvy with the family’s upstairs bedrooms. What is surprising are the bold design choices in two of the rooms, and the serene space the master bedroom turned out to be. Nicole and Dan’s sophisticated son originally wanted ALL black walls.

Structurally, there was nothing wrong with the bathroom in Nikki and Chris’ Astoria condo. Aesthetically, it looked a bit like an upscale gas station bathroom from the early 90s. The ‘after’, I think you’ll agree, is a huge improvement. The couple’s vision for their new bathroom was a modern twist on a classic NYC bath.

House-hunting in New York is a notoriously harrowing process. After months of searching, Nikki and Chris thought they had found the perfect apartment in Astoria. It was beautiful, had all the features they wanted, and was within their budget. But after a few weeks, the deal fell through. Incredibly discouraged, Nikki and Chris wondered if they would ever be able to find a place that felt like home. Two days later, they were putting in an offer on another place.

Lately, new designs for the kitchen look more and more like old designs for the kitchen. There’s a certain style of British kitchen — vintage-style appliances, Shaker-style cabinets, a bit austere but with very traditional accents — that’s becoming very popular. Looking at these kitchens, I am struck by the fact that they look remarkably similar to some of the 1920s kitchens I came across while researching this series about the history of kitchen design.

When they decided to start a family, interior designer Meredith and her husband realized that their one-bedroom duplex (with the bedroom accessed by a dizzying spiral staircase) was just not going to cut it anymore. After being outbid on four different houses, they finally found their perfect place: a charming Tudor townhouse in Brooklyn’s Kensington neighborhood, with an apricot tree in the front yard and even — an amenity almost unheard of in New York — a garage.

The kitchen in this Brooklyn brownstone — before its reinvigorating renovation and revival — was dismal. Dark, dated. Grimy and greasy. Peeling paint, cracked walls and a floor you wouldn’t want to walk barefoot on. The whole home needed a lot of work, but the kitchen perhaps most so. After all, for many families the kitchen is the heart of the home. The hub of action. The hangout space of party guests.

When Maria and Eric bought their two-bedroom apartment in Queens, they knew the bathroom would need an overhaul. Moldering tile and aging, mismatched features meant the bathroom’s aesthetics weren’t great, but the real issue in this small space was a serious lack of storage. So they set about turning a decrepit space that had seen better days into a bright, modern bathroom — and added a few clever storage solutions along the way.

Project by: Louise Bradberry of Cait’s Room Interiors Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Transformations aren’t always about knocking down walls or elaborate IKEA hacks. Sometimes they’re about looking at your space with new eyes and giving it a new purpose. Louise did just that for her clients. Wanting to supplement limited outdoor play space for their child, they tasked Louise with creating a play nook for their daughter in a corner of their living room.

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.

Spoilers for “Best Room Wins.”While we’ve been in a golden age of TV for awhile now, but only in the past few seasons have we seen more variety in new home and design programming. If you want something besides another flipper taking over their hometown or another pair of questionably employed folks complaining about paint colors, there are actually other options out there.

Meera knew she was going to have to get extremely crafty with her son’s new room. The previous owners had made some questionable (and potentially dangerous) choices that needed to be fixed immediately, and Meera was able to do so with some very cool DIYs and brilliant money-saving fixes. From Meera: The walls and ceilings were covered in poorly-hung textured wallpaper and the room was a DIY mess.

Allison stepped in to help her sister-in-law set up her baby nursery after the passing of her mother. Her act of love and kindness led to one adorable space for the new baby, with a beautifully bittersweet story. From Allison: After my mother-in-law passed away, I decided to step in to help my sister-in-law with her nursery for her baby girl on the way.

It's just as cheap and available as subway tile, and you're not tired of it yet.

One of my favorite trends recently is the re-introduction of color to the bathroom. After so many years of white and beige, it’s about time. If you’d like to take baby steps, you can introduce color to your bathroom with art, or with paint, or maybe even with some nice towels — but if you’re ready to really commit, consider one of these unexpected (and unexpectedly delightful) ways to add color to your bathroom.

There are few words whispered with more veneration than ‘the kitchen work triangle’ — a decades-old term that still dominates kitchen design today. But does it still hold true in the modern world? Before you start your next remodel, get the latest thinking on layouts and decide what’s best for you. As Nancy recently wrote in her series on 100 Years in the Kitchen, the concept came about in the 1940s, based on industrial motion studies aimed at increased efficiency.

Life comes at you fast. Lisa had been considering this room for a makeover when she found out she was pregnant and suddenly on a whole new unexpected timeline. After gutting the room they got to work adding classic elements to the structure of the room so it was more in line with the rest of the house as well as, you know, getting it ready for a baby.

Noticed one or two Shaker cabinets on Apartment Therapy or Pinterest lately? You are not the only one. The traditional style adds clean architectural interest while still blending in nicely with whatever else is going on. And it’s absolutely everywhere right now. But is it the only option if you want something timeless?

Buying an apartment in New York often involves a level of compromise. When Deeksha and Joe moved from D.C. to New York, along with their three-month-old son, their dream was to find a three-bedroom apartment. Reality was a spacious apartment in Washington Heights, with gorgeous views of the river — and only two bedrooms. But in the apartment’s L-shaped living room, they saw an opportunity.

Here's a fresh new way to add a little fun to your bathroom.

When Jessica and her husband moved into their home they knew that they would need to do some serious updating. They took off the Beetlejuice wallpaper in their guest room and when it came time to turn it into a nursery they decided to go full fun. A little bit of Memphis, a sprinkling of Facts of Life, a dash of FAO Schwartz and you have a super cute, very unique nursery.

After living with the cramped, unremarkable bathroom in his Manhattan apartment for almost a decade, Charlie had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted out of his renovation: “I wanted it to look bigger.” Which was a bit of a challenge in a 40-square-foot space with no windows — but I think you’ll agree that this renovation rises to the occasion. The biggest change was replacing the old tub with a glass shower stall, which significantly opens up the space.

Project by: Jessica Davis of Nest Studio Location: South Orange, New Jersey Jessica wanted to give her daughter’s room a new look, something age-appropriate but not overly precious or childish. A large room with good light, the possibilities were endless, but she settled on a rich color for the walls and timeless furniture that her daughter can grow with.

Although this Greenpoint kitchen, at 100 square feet, is much larger than many NYC apartment kitchens, it was suffering a bit from dark, heavy finishes. The black countertop sucked light out of the space, and glass-front cabinets left nowhere to hide clutter, making the kitchen feel chaotic and cramped. Plus, two of the cabinets were blocking a window — never a good look. The new kitchen embraces lightness and brightness, but, refreshingly, doesn’t go all the way white.

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This kitchen above designed by Laura Butler-Madden, is very pretty, with deep blue cabinets, brass accents, and open shelving. It sits on one end of a huge, open concept great room with soaring ceilings and beautiful herringbone floors. But this room’s highest achievement may be achieving “peak kitchen island”. Let’s zoom in on it and discuss, shall we? First off, it’s freaking huge.

This unremarkable “cherry wood cave with black plastic counter tops” in the suburbs of Chicago was transformed into a dreamy kitchen, full of personality and luxurious finishes. The homeowner spent months searching for the perfect interior designer, someone who would bring authenticity to the project, and the wait was clearly well worth it.

There’s no denying the appeal of vintage bathrooms — but Rachel and Michael’s vintage bathroom had seen better days. The tilework, though charming, was badly chipped, and the tight, walled-in enclosure made showering a bit of a claustrophobic experience. The original vanity, mirror, and lights had been replaced with ones that didn’t quite suit the style of the room, and then on top of it all, there was the color of the walls: a very bad, oppressive beige.

When Kia Designs renovated a house in London that had been previously used as a house share, they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them—especially in the kitchen, which was easily the worst part of the house. They hoped it would come to be the heart of the home, a place that people would love to gather in and hate to leave. To give you a sense of how far this room came, take a look at it in it’s original state: Clearly, mission accomplished!

Zachary Leung’s Toronto kitchen was recently declared the 2017 Remodelista Considered Design Awards Best Amateur Kitchen, and it’s not hard to see why. He lovingly converted this 130-year-old dark and awkward room into a space that’s somehow both timeless and of-the-moment, with room for entertaining, laundry, and cleverly concealed storage. It’s hard to believe this was designed by someone who doesn’t do interior design full-time for a living.

To share a mere 478-square-feet with another human has its challenges. But to share and successfully use only 38 square feet of kitchen space is even more impressive! There were many design dilemmas facing Ali and Chip when they purchased this small Brooklyn apartment three years ago, but none so mammoth as the task of making a teeny tiny kitchen work for two people who enjoy cooking.

There are so many reasons to remodel your kitchen. You just bought a house and you hate what’s there now. Perhaps you finally saved up some money and can afford the change. Or, you plan to sell the home in a couple of years and think new cabinets will appeal to buyers. All good reasons, but do you want to know the most common thing that pushed people to finally take the plunge and redo their kitchens? #1 Reason: Because homeowners just can’t stand their current one anymore.

A few weeks ago, when I wrote about square tile being the new subway tile, the response, from a lot of you, was a hard no. Many people in the comments agreed that subway tile was classic, whereas square tile reminded them of either truck stops or icky, bland ’70s and ’80s bathrooms.

IKEA’s IVAR collection is a very versatile system, with different ways to configure storage, and made of unfinished wood that’s a virtual blank slate for paint. But, in a recent makeover project, the big question became: could it become the centerpiece of an inexpensive rental bathroom makeover? Erika’s bathroom suffered from a distinct lack of style, so I wanted to start with a great vanity in a fun color. One of my first thoughts, when on a strict budget, is usually IKEA.

IKEA’s instructions are in(famous), with their illustrated diagrams, lack of words, and the oddly bulbous “IKEA man.” For the most part, with some head scratching, you can figure them out. But, as we discovered in our recent bathroom makeover, when it comes to installing a sink, the Swedish retailer left out one major detail, which is essential to the job. Read this before you shut your water off and get to work.

For our most recent budget makeover, I was working with a double whammy on the walls: textured surfaces on the top half, and oddly-cut sections of beadboard paneling down below. Combined, everything looked bad and very slapped together, not to mention dingy and depressing. In order to inject some style, I needed an inexpensive solution that was also practical enough to work in a bathroom. My solution? I replaced the awful beadboard with crisp white sheets of pegboard!

Bohemian-style living rooms scream cozy, comfy, and “come sit awhile.” Characterized by lots of green plants, layers of color and pattern and a healthy mix of eclectic furnishings, bohemian living rooms are also budget-friendly! In fact, the more vintage, often the better. Though there are plenty of great examples of bohemian living room lounges in the States…there’s one country that seems to be knocking it out of the ballpark.

If you’ve ever lived in an apartment with an old, crumbling bathroom, you recognize Janna’s frustration with her Manhattan bathroom. “No matter how much we cleaned, it never felt clean,” she said. The small bathroom was dominated by an enormous seven foot tub, as demonstrated by the “before” pic above. In addition to the less-than-ideal layout, the walls and floors were in bad shape, the toilet leaked, and the vanity was beginning to fall apart.

IKEA kitchens—and bathrooms and wardrobes—are super-popular, but sometimes you want to kick things up a notch and move past the ubiquitous IKEA look. These six companies craft cabinet fronts, panels, and more in a wide variety of materials, colors, and styles. Some of them will even work with you to create fronts in custom colors and styles. Design your basic IKEA kitchen layout, and then head to one of these companies to make it the kitchen of your dreams.

When Giovanni purchased his Brooklyn condo, the kitchen had barely any cabinet space — and almost no workspace to speak of. His kitchen was just a drab row of appliances stacked next to each other, adjoining an alcove where a combination washer/dryer sat, visible to the rest of the apartment.

Fall has its beauty, but it can be a little too fleeting. Only too soon are we dealing with winter’s bare trees, slush, and seemingly neverending cold weather. If there’s a season where everyone deserves a little extra self-care, it’s winter. Japanese culture has an age-old way to combat the chill, which we could all learn a lot from.

Mila participated in a recent round of the One Room Challenge, but didn’t want to get overwhelmed by a major hard-core makeover. So, instead, she chose to redo the single wall just inside her entryway, which is also part of her living room. As is, the space was fine, but she was bored with the current gallery wall of photos, and wanted instead to make it as impressive as possible with just a little work and money. Her goal for the end of the project?

If you love pink faux marble Formica, do not click through because you will be heartbroken to see that this counter and backsplash have been (spoiler alert!) ripped out in favor of an impeccable slab of marble. As for the shutters, I have some further bad news… So gorgeous and graceful!

Finding the perfect apartment in New York, for a reasonable price, is no easy task. When soon-to-be parents Fabio and Melina decided to upgrade from their one-bedroom rental, finding an acceptable two-bedroom place within their budget turned out to be quite a challenge. Finally they found a place that fit the bill: two bedrooms, great location, and at a price they could afford. The apartment, which hadn’t been updated in 40 years, was less than perfect. But this couple saw potential.

After a long search, Melina and Fabio finally found a two-bedroom place in their desired New York neighborhood — and at a price they could actually afford. The only problem? The bathroom, which hadn’t been renovated in the apartment’s 40-year lifespan, had seen better days. With its dated vanity, off-color tile, and always-dirty grout, it was definitely in need of an update. The new bathroom looks fresh yet classic, in shades of black and white, with a touch of gold.

When Dana and David bought their home, it had wonky oak builder-grade cabinets in the kitchen, dingy wall paint, and — perhaps most importantly — a lot of shades of yellow. The previous owners were going for “hacienda” and the pseudo-Spanish style just wasn’t working for its new residents. All the other rooms in the house were updated first, and the kitchen was the last one standing — mainly because Dana and David knew it was a BIG job.

You might have already seen my recent bathroom makeover, which I did in the span of a frenzied weekend and shared earlier this week. After all was said and done, I was very happy with how it all turned out. Then, I made one last-minute addition, which was about ten minutes worth of work, and cost less than $10. It made a small, but significant difference nonetheless. And here’s the good news. You can do it too, even if you’re a renter. Can you see the difference?

Chase and her husband bought a 1937 Key West-style house in Palm Grove, Miami and it came with a serious bathroom disaster. In a DIY job gone horribly wrong, the bath had serious structural issues, not to mention some very interesting (ahem) design decisions — neither of which did the home any favors. Chase was also itching to fulfill her dream of designing a room from start to finish, then actually enjoying it as her own. Then Hurricane Irma came.

There are basically three different ways to get cabinets into your kitchen. You can have them custom-built to fit the space. This is very expensive. You can get pre-made cabinets delivered, already assembled, and install them yourself (or have a contractor do it for you). This is less expensive. Or you can order ready-to-assemble (RTA) kitchen cabinets, and assemble them yourself. This is the most budget-friendly option of all.

Eighties design is a fascinating subject of study because of the peculiar arc it’s taken recently: from despised and reviled to avant-garde cool, all within the space of a very short period of time. But with all the love for Memphis and weird ’80s graphics, there’s one particular aspect of this design era I haven’t heard much about: the ’80s kitchen. Is it as terrible as we remember? Has the time for a renaissance finally come? Let’s take a look.

I love tile. I might even be a little obsessed with tile. So the fact that tile, even very bold tile, is making a comeback in the bathroom has me very excited. Lately I’ve been noticing an interesting trend in tiled bathrooms: bathrooms with tile on the ceiling. That, my friends, is commitment. Is this something you would do? Or is it all just a little too much?

When Emma bought her current home, she inherited one weird hallway. It was, in her words, “a giant monstrosity.” Along with four different types of scruffy, threadbare carpet on the stairs, it featured chipped white vinyl tiles downstairs, and yellow and orange “woodchip” wallpaper on all the walls on all three floors — even on the ceiling! When the 1970s called and wanted its decor back, Emma was more than happy to oblige.

This “Before & After” involves a beautiful Brooklyn brownstone with a bathroom that had seen better days. While certainly not as dire as some “before” bathrooms we’ve seen it had an uninspired design, a clunky sliding metal door that broke up the space, and a distinct lack of storage — especially for a bathroom of this size. Before we focus in on the other charming aspects of this bright new bathroom, let me just say: I love that floor.

This kitchen had issues, to say the least. We’ll gloss over the linoleum floor (not horrible, but not great) and the counter top, which sagged where it shouldn’t (never a good thing when you need a functional surface). Instead, we’re going to jump right on over to the stove, which had to be plugged in with an extension cord! Combine that with a fridge that was eating up floor space, and you know it’s time to rethink the kitchen layout.