Having grown up in a household filled with preservationists, I was raised to believe that there is no house or building too far gone for a little TLC. Because of this, it always warms my heart when I hear stories of people who have taken it upon themselves to refurbish a home that would otherwise…
Celebrity gossip blogs have all but eclipsed the standard supermarket tabloid these days, so it’s pretty infrequently that you will find me flipping through the pages of Us Weekly or In Touch in the checkout line. There is, however, one headline that is sure to get me to pick up a magazine (and it has…
I love a good studio makeover. So often the most promising spaces start out a little rough, but all they really need to shine is a little love, elbow grease and a lot of cleaning supplies. Catherine and her team at Printerette Press recently moved across the river from St. Paul to Minneapolis to a…
Despite the New York Times’ claim that bar carts are purely a piece of hipster furniture du jour, I think they’re classic. Whether you’re a nightly cocktail drinker or just want to be able to entertain when others come over, a good bar cart is equal parts form and function. And for some reason, they…
Some before & afters are all about adding to a piece of furniture and some- often my favorite- are about stripping away layers of paint to reveal the original design. This dresser make-under comes from Kelly at The Ridiculous Redhead. After stripping down through layers and layers of paint, Kelly found the original piece used…
Today’s second makeover comes from Sarah Sandidge. Three years ago Sarah and her husband Jay bought a 1930s home that was, in her words, “tragically outdated”. The layout felt crowded and awkward, but they saw potential in the spaces so Jay worked weekends and week nights (while Sarah was pregnant and caring for their two…
As color month comes to a close, I’ve been trying to find some great before & afters that feature paint as their primary makeover material. This cute guest room makeover comes from Andi Teague of Quiet Home Paints, so she knows a thing or two about using organic paints to transform spaces. Andi’s attic guest…
Now that the busiest part of our year is over (see you next year, trade shows!), I can dive back into Before & Afters! I’ve been swamped with travel and work lately so it’s been exciting to get back into submission emails and check out the great makeovers you guys have sent and to hear…
While I’ve become something of a minimalist lately when it comes to patterns, I love seeing other people embrace bold patterns in their homes. This makeover come from Aunt Peaches, who used removable wallpaper from Chasing Paper to give her fridge a serious face lift. As a renter, I love this project. Mainly because you…
Today’s second Before & After comes from Rachel Gant and Andrew Deming of Yield Design Co in San Francisco, CA (you might recognize their picnic series with a convertible picnic bag/blanket). Rachel and Andrew made over their studio space in downtown San Francisco using only $500, their own two hands and one week’s time. The…
Today’s first before & after comes from Sarah of Trevi Vintage Design. After picking up a sad little white dresser at Goodwill and decided to save it from its chipped-paint and missing-knob existence. After sanding down the entire piece (using an orbital sander) to expose the natural wood, Sarah stained the drawer fronts with Minwax…
This before & after is a dresser makeover with a little surprise. On the surface it’s a simple paint and hardware switch (which looks nice and clean), but the part that I love the most is waiting inside. Sheena from Modern Missus was originally going to paint the inside of her dresser drawers with leftover…
Today’s second Before & After comes from Lucy Heenan Ewins who lives in a beautiful Victorian home built in 1910. Lucy wanted to improve the flow of her original kitchen, while adding more countertop space and brightening it up to make the rest of the home. She was up against peach cabinets, sponge-painted walls (my…
Today’s first before & after is all about home offices. Despite working from home for eight years, I never set up a proper office and I regret it to this day. I think I probably would have been a lot more productive. But thankfully Jacqueline is smarter than I am and decided to change over…
If I had to choose an absolute favorite paint color it would be, without a doubt, grey. I prefer Benjamin Moore’s Chelsea Gray to all others (it’s got such a rich green base), but I tend to love most rooms when they’re made over in a predominantly grey color palette. It always feels like such…
Sometimes a quick and easy paint makeover is all I need to remind me that it doesn’t take much work to give a piece of furniture (and a part of your home) a new look. I get into ruts with corners of my home and give up on trying to figure them out too often….
I am an experienced horror movie watcher. I was hit with a wave of both pride and embarrassment when I logged onto my Netflix account and every single “suggestion” for me was a gory or creepy sci-fi horror film. I’m too scared to investigate why I like those movies so much, but for today, I…
We’ve been feeling the color blue in a BIG way lately. From my Current Obsession with indigo to Amy’s Past & Present on the history of the color, blue has definitely been our color of the moment. So when I saw this makeover from David Ledger in Long Beach, I was hooked. David just redid…
One of the toughest things about city living is finding extra rooms for storage, guests and children. I’ve seen large closets turned into beautiful offices, nurseries and everything in between. When it comes to working with small spaces, New Yorkers have some serious experience. This book-inspired Before & After comes from Brooklynite Stefanie of Brooklyn…
I never thought I’d see the day when I looked at vertical blinds and thought, “Man those look cool.” Jessica Hill of Mad in Craft created this awesome headboard using her parents’ old vertical blinds. After they decided to upgrade their patio doors from blinds to curtains, Jessica’s mom and dad donated the old blinds (and…
