Furniture

Thinking about the new year might be the time for home improvement resolutions, or at least some serious list-making. From a formerly dingy little caravan, to kitchens, gardens, dining rooms and a few entire homes, we have run the entire gamut of before and after projects this year. The following selections represent the most dramatic and inspiring of 2011 to help ring in any 2012 renovation plans.

Brooklyn to West‘s Ariele has done it again. In my opinion, she’s the junkyard, dumpster diving, demo-ed house DIY Queen. This gal finds discarded household materials throughout Brooklyn and transforms them into artistic, thoughtful, and beautiful everyday objects. Most recently, she’s taken floorboards and changed them into cheese boards. Genius? YES!Ariele never ceases to amaze me.

I’ve seen play kitchens made from everything under the sun and it’s become almost hard to impress me. But a play kitchen made from a chair? Okay, I’ll bite.After!This is one of the most clever handmade play kitchens I’ve seen and is an awesome display of ingenuity. Kata started with an IVAR chair from Ikea ($20), added a counter, a bowl sink, top of a walking cane for a faucet and hung a curtain for an oven.

Before and afters are some of our most popular posts. And for good reason! Who doesn’t love to see the evidence of a makeover, often performed on a tight budget? Gathered together for your weekend viewing pleasure, here are 20 of September’s best makeovers …• Before & After: Connie’s Ugly to Unbelievable Dresser• Before & After: An Eames Lounge Knockoff, Transformed• Before & After: Free Vanity Mirror Totally Transformed!

Closet envy usually involves admiring another woman’s shoe collection, but I’ve never been into shoes. I am, however, into clever uses for small spaces and it’s been on my mind lately as I look to create a spot at home for my my bedroom-less, playroom-less son to call his own.

If you live in a tiny apartment where a single space serves multiple purposes (your bedroom is your living room is your dining room, right?), the best thing you can do for your furniture is to make it mobile. Adding a fresh set of wheels to tables, bar carts and kitchen islands lets them slide from one side of the apartment to another, filling in wherever they’re needed most. Here’s how to turn those pinch-hitting pieces into veritable MVPs.

You won't recognize the after.

This IKEA hack has the look of custom woodwork—but costs a lot less.

The hodgepodge craft space got a major glow up that made it way more functional, too.

Brb, bookmarking.

The faux daybed is VERY smart.

It's pretty convincing.

The "after" is bringing max coziness.

You'll never buy an off-the-shelf desk again.

You won't even recognize this space in the after.

This project has seriously impressive results.

If you read the January Cure diaries, you probably saw my window seats, both bare and then with cushions. If you’re interested, here’s how I made the cushions in about an hour. FoamUpholstery fabricPlywood SheetsThin Batting (Optional) Measuring TapeScissorsHammer or Rubber MalletStaple Gun (with staples of course)Foam CutterKnife, electric or otherwise1. Measure your space and cut foam to the same dimensions.

If Joanna Gaines is on board, it's probably the next big thing.

The after has color and charm to spare.

There's always hope!

The "after" is a whole lot brighter, but still exactly right for this 140-year-old house.

These furniture makeovers let natural wood have the spotlight.

These types of IKEA "hacks" are the perfect combo of affordable and fast to do.

It's all about the doorway bookcase.

Ring in the new decade with some IKEA hacks that will take your home organization to the next level.

Makeover by: Jennifer Location: San Diego Moving into a new place means lots of little unfinished spots that need solutions, which means spending both time and money. Jennifer dressed up this window corner quickly, stylishly and for less that you would think possible. Check it out… Jennifer added triangle vinyl decals to a plain rolling shade that she picked up at Home Depot.

This DIY project is a great use for older box springs, and an affordable way to have a “brand new” bed. It only requires about four yards of upholstery fabric, and can be done in just a couple of hours… Katy from The Clever Bunny had a hand-me-down mattress which was relegated to her guest room. In lieu of a bed frame she chose to cover the box spring with fabric and add legs.

In Brittany & Jordan’s newly renovated camper, a lot of DIY went a long way. To take the living space from floral to fabulous, Brittany proudly designed and built this storage futon herself. When she couldn’t find the right futon/couch/storage solution for the camper, she used her knowledge from years of working in her dad’s shop to come up with the design, cut all the pieces, assemble, rework and reassemble the structure.

Are those chevron print seat cushions just not doing it for you anymore? Before purchasing a new set and forking over a large wad of cash (seriously, even cushions at the big box stores are pricey!), check out this handy DIY for drawstring seat covers. They’re easy to remove and wash, and can be changed out as many times as you like throughout the seasons. Now, there is a bit of sewing involved but it’s nothing fancy so don’t be intimidated.

Project by: Julie and Laura Location: New York State Without further ado, another inspiring camper transformation! Take it away, Julie and Laura: We are identical twin sisters, are both registered nurses, both married, and we are mothers to three little boys collectively. Ever since we were teenagers and we watched the cult classic The Long Long Trailer with Lucille Ball, we have dreamed of having a little camper turned glamper to call and make our own.

Project by: Meg Location: Colorado If this project doesn’t convince you that just about any sow’s ear can be turned into a silk purse than I don’t know what will. This funky old, water damaged, faux woodgrain and formica-filled caravan is now a super sweet spot to hang out in. To top it off, he transformation was quick and the budget was lowlowlow. The perfect makeover!

Beautiful wood tones in no time.

Bring a slice of coveted MCM home decor right to your desktop with these miniature bullet planters. Made from upcycled plastic Easter eggs and a few pieces of wire, this simple DIY will make your cute cubicle the envy of the office. 20 gauge jewelry wire Plastic easter eggs Tape Scissors or wire cutters Needle nose pliers Nylon jaw pliers (optional) 1. Cut three 6″ pieces of wire. Straighten as much as you can with needle nose and nylon pliers. 2.

Project by: Karen We just moved into a 1929 Tudor bungalow. The kitchen is small and has only one window. The upper cabinets made the room seem darker. In addition, they were hard for me to reach (I’m 5’2″). So I took them out and replaced them with open shelving in gloss white. The room was instantly brighter. I added storage in the pantry to make up for the lost cabinet space. So I took out the upper cabinets and replaced them with open shelving in gloss white.

Project by: Negar of Space Harmony Location: Vancouver, Canada This is an interior design and renovation we did for a client, a professional and avid skier who wanted his 1600 three-level town house to feel like a chalet. Because of the space limitation and ceiling height, we couldn’t use the real bold and robust materials used in chalets so we created an “modern chalet” instead! Our goal was to create the same cozy and comfortable ambiance on a smaller scale.

Project by: Samantha Location: New York, NY It was actually my boyfriend who picked out our temporary apartment in midtown Manhattan – at the time I was still living in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to fly to New York by the time he moved in, in order to help him out. Hence, I had to order most of the necessary furniture online and have it delivered to an apartment I hadn’t even seen yet which was a bit of a challenge and risk.

Renovation by: Courtney and Brent Location: Houston, Texas When we moved into our house there was one thing about our living room that bugged us. It was the inset in the wall next to the fireplace. It was intended for the TV but we knew how we wanted the room to “flow” and found it awkward to have the TV off center and next to the fireplace. So we set up the living room how we wanted it with the TV on the long wall and left that space empty.

Yesterday I showed you the “before” condition of this poor little table, which was used outside by its previous owner and left to rot and weather. Today I’m showing you how to paint faux marble to use as a replacement table top for any project you have in the works. This is a very easy technique that takes hardly any time or money to do. Round wooden top or decorators table Black paint White paint Sealer Regular paint brush Sea sponge Small feather 1.

I get obsessed with things I see on Pinterest, and this padded headboard (okay, the whole place) is one of my recent fixations. I like the modern, streamlined look of it— but that it’s also more relaxed than a lot of the tufted, nailhead DIY headboards I see all the time.

You’d never know it, but this Mid-Century Modern credenza was once disguised in flat white paint. For twenty bucks, it was really hard to resist buying it and testing my skills at striping off paint. Learn how after the jump… 2 quarts paint stripper Mineral spirit Miniwax Wood Finish Stain (I used English Chestnut) Rags Rubber gloves Goggles Mouse Sander 150 grit mouse sander refill Paint brush Plastic putty knife Toothpick Screw driver Respirator 1.

Nothing gives me motivation to spruce up the house like sending out invitations! In preparation for a small birthday party with a few girlfriends, I’ve nearly turned this house upside down. I rearranged the furniture in both living spaces, swapped out a coffee table and some pillows, and got new lamps. Thanks to the Cure, there is also new greenery.

Katherine sent us in photos and floorplans of the update of her West Loop loft. This is a hardworking condo — it is home to a (new) family of three and during the day also accommodates two employees as a live/work space…..and the After!Here is Katherine’s info on the update: We had to overcome a dated warehouse conversion of a beautiful masonry and timber loft building. Views were compromised by the fireplace and tv alcove dividing the kitchen and living area.

Painted accent pieces can add charming touches for your home but can be less than charming if painted incorrectly. The process might not seem difficult at all- apply paint, dry, repeat- but if you want a clean, professional finish, there are a few more considerations and steps involved. When painting a really nice piece, you need to put in just as much effort in the prep and sanding stages as you do in the painting stages.

You'll want to rainbow everything once you see this transformation.

Last year Danielle picked up a vintage settee for $50 and, with her mom as co-pilot, wanted to take it on as her first foray into upholstery. She was conflicted about the fabric to use: something modern and bold or something more traditional? Readers chimed in, many urging her to have it professionally recovered instead of trying it herself and the majority of readers advised going with a classic print and color for the fabric. Did she take either piece of advice?… No and yes!

This bright, welcoming redo is fireplace goals.

Frustrated by to-the-trade fabrics? Then this one's for you.