The Latest

Kirsten tells us that her fiancé thought she was slightly crazy when she brought this hideous chair home one drizzly afternoon. He thought it was even crazier that she’d paid $25 for this eyesore. Guess what? He loves it now. And this from a reupholstery newbie! Amazing job. From Kirsten: The first thing I did was strip the chair down to its stuff, which was in surprisingly good shape. Next, I painted it with two generous coats of Annie Sloan’s chalk paint in Graphite.

You know we love a good IKEA hack, but Kristi really blew our minds with this one. She started with this black and white IKEA throw, and transformed it into something we were not expecting. Kristi says, “I transformed an IKEA throw into a chic maxi skirt. It’s super simple, and this lil’ piece has become my new favorite thing in my closet.” See more (including instructions for this DIY) at Kristi Murphy. Thank you Kristi! Re-edited from a post originally published 9.3.

These tables had lived at Anam’s house since before she was born, so it was about time they got an upgrade. She says, “I’m surprised no one threw these tables away and I’m glad they didn’t.” We think paint was great choice for the what-looks-like-laminate tabletops and Aman gave these babies a bunch of inventive flair. Super cute save! From Anam: I painted the entire table — one side gold and the other with pink.

We’ve all seen them before: those sort of faux-wood furniture pieces that aren’t exactly screaming style but could still function in your space if you need it. Instead of letting this piece stay dark and sad, Cassie gave it the Midas touch for a cabinet that now exudes sophistication. From Cassie: These faux wood cabinets were in need of a makeover that would take them out of the realm of 1970 office furniture.

We’ve all seen them before: the sort of boring, beige bathrooms that don’t inspire anyone. How do you take a small space and turn it into something stylish without spending a lot of money? Tasha transformed this bathroom space with DIY ideas and fun design details. From Tasha: Our powder room BEFORE was beige, boring, and messy. We didn’t even have anywhere to hang a hand towel. In fact, we didn’t even have a hand towel!

How do you take a bland spare room with builder’s beige carpet and turn it into a sleek, modern, black and white home office and craft room combo…without spending a lot of money? Well it took a lot of patience and some awesome used furniture finds but Melissa turned this boring blank room into a sleek home office for her and her husband. From Melissa: Our home office doubles as a work space for my both my husband and me.

Kathy got this leather-top table for free from her employer and we can see why! The leather top was stained and discolored like crazy. Kathy almost didn’t take it home, then she thought of one last-ditch DIY thing to try and that made all the difference. Turns out, it was the brilliant magic of leather dye that helped this table look so good. Great save! From Kathy: Thanks to the internet I learned that you can re-dye leather. It went really well!

We all need a friend like Bethany. She recently took on this DIY project for a friend and her family. This damaged heirloom was almost beyond restoration, but Bethany found a way to make it sail once more. Ahoy! We love the crisp, nautical look that Bethany coaxed out of this nearly-dead piece. Great job! It took me a while to really be confident with how I wanted to paint it.

Nadia loved everything about her new rental except for the very…err.. loud wallpaper in the bedroom so she came up with a temporary DIY way to style it to her taste. Heads up, renters, you can so copy this one. From Nadia: I loved practically everything about our new home, except one thing: this seizure-inducing wallpaper in my bedroom! Unfortunately, this beautiful, wonderful place I’m so glad to call home is also a rental which means, I can’t replace (or rip and burn!

Valerie fell in love with the Mid-Century details on this solid oak 1960’s Thomasville dresser but 50 years in front of a window had given the stain a yellow tinge and the wood a greenish glow. That wasn’t going to stop her. From Valerie: As soon as I saw this sun-stained dresser I knew she deserved some TLC. I fell in love with her beveled drawers and dainty legs and decided to make it my first restoration project.

Rebecca was drawn to the simple lines of this dresser and the unexpectedly awesome brass pulls, but the finish was just wasn’t worthy of her baby’s room. Well, it is now. From Rebecca: Sometimes it’s painful to paint beautiful vintage furniture, and sometime it’s just so right. In the case of this amazing vintage dresser, the original finish was just too far gone to refinish. So we decided to turn this gem of a find into a sparkling emerald dresser.

What do you do when you move into your boyfriend’s house full of his stylish things? You work on carving out a space for you. That’s what Chris did with this tiny spare bedroom that had been rented out to a tenant before. He wanted to turn the dark room into a more welcoming guest bedroom but also create a spot he could get work done while at home, too. From Chris: Moving in with a significant other is never an easy task.

These office chairs were functional — but certainly not very motivating with their boring upholstery color and bland gray frame color. It’s hard to imagine how these could be made more interesting, but Vicky had plans. And the result is a much more beautiful and productive result! From Vicky: Sometimes you have to buy a used office chair for $20 so you can get working in your new home office. Eventually, the drab fabric with questionable stains on it starts to wear on you.

When you don’t have a closet, it might make sense to fill your bedroom with big furniture so you can pack away your clothes and accessories, hiding your apparel as a method to cut down on clutter. But what if those big, bulky and dark furniture pieces are doing more harm than good? Christina did away with her furniture, instead replacing it with a DIY clothes organizing solution that might be inspiration for folks with small spaces and little storage.

Many of us love the look of authentic mid-century modern sofas and furniture but not all of us can afford their sometimes steep price tags. So when Natalie got this couch for free, she loved the shape, but wanted to show off the lines with a more modern fabric. From Natalie: After recently moving into a new place, I was on the hunt for a new couch. I’ve been in love with the mid-century style for awhile now but the ones I had been looking at were $2000+. Not ideal for a 23-year-old.

As all DIYers know, sometimes the flea market is just not your friend. Yari had visions of finding a vintage library file to buy and restore for her home office, but after months of searching, she realized it just wasn’t in the cards. So she bought this new but plain Jane chest and really put her own spin on it. Yari says, “I painted the drawers in different shades of pink creating the ombre effect, spray painted the handles gold and added legs. I love how it turned out.