i know a lot of people out there hate ikea and all it stands for. however, i think it would be unwise to discount the amazing role ikea has played in the diy design universe. in fact i think ikea should be hip to the trend and start selling products that support the hacking of…
i get a little nervous when it comes to purchasing large, heavy pieces of furniture, especially when they need a lot of work. my anxiety stems from the memory of a 15′ long solid wood table that i purchased on whim at a local bookstore’s closing sale. with no plan for where it would go,…
i have to confess: i go absolutely cuckoo bananas for built in bookcases, or any shelving that spans an entire wall. one of my favorite games when i was little, which my friend meredith and i would play constantly, was…can you guess? library! trust me, it was cool. the game basically involved organizing my parents…
our last b&a today comes from alissa and leela at portland based bright designlab, and i’m really glad they decided to send these upcycled designs our way. working together with professional re-modelers at hammer & hand, bright designlab creates upcycled furniture out of found industrial carbon and steel, disassembled barns, vintage locker baskets and old…
i always love seeing behind the scenes of a magazine photoshoot, and this before & after gives us a little peek into a shoot for nonpareil magazine. bethany of b*spoke and maddy of inspired bride bought this hutch on craigslist for $75 specifically for the nonpareil shoot. they thought that red/pink color was a little…
good morning! i thought it would be fun to start today off bright and early with some makeovers to inspire a little summer cleaning. first up are valerie and roger from cabin + cub design. to make room for their soon-to-arrive baby (due this week!) valerie and roger had to convert their 2nd bedroom (which…
we’ve got a whole slew of great before & afters lined up for today. i’ve got so many that i had to save some for next week and save studio choo’s “we like it wild” for tomorrow. so let’s get going! first up is lauren liess from pure style. she recently redid her son justin’s…
we’ve got a PACKED before & after day today so i wanted to kick things off bright and early with emily’s credenza makeover. emily, an art teacher and designer in denver, received this old credenza from her parents’ house and decided to give it a “lighter, cleaner” feel with some new paint, a bold purple…
today is before & after day so i thought i’d start us out nice and easy with some fun and simple paint + fabric makeovers. first up is ana’s bookcase makeover. orange is probably my favorite accent color for almost anything, so i loved seeing this simple makeover on a piece of furniture that just…
i thought it would be fun to kick off before & after day with a bit of a twist: a clothing makeover! clothes aren’t really my thing, but i couldn’t resist this great save from blogger jeannie of make it. jeannie’s loving boyfriend bought her this wool dress but sadly, it wasn’t quite her style….
today’s final before & afters belong to d*s readers max and erin. first up is max from wallter‘s desk transformation. max explained that, “i found the desk and chair a few houses from me on the street with a “free” sign. i repaired the drawers, re-assembled them, sanded down the original paint and metal frames,…
today’s first before & after comes from d*s reader jen eckert. jen saved a beautiful wooden chair from the landfill and decided to update it with a coat of soft yellow paint and two different fabrics. i love the combination of yellow and grey (always) and the way that different seat and back fabrics really…
kelly at high street market sent over this faux bamboo dresser makeover. she found her green dresser at a thrift shop and decided to upgrade it with new white paint, hardware and a little elbow grease. the final result? a fresh, clean start. thanks for sharing, kelly! [have a before & after you’d like to…
this second nursery makeover comes from d*s reader jennifer flores. jennifer’s daughter chloe mainly sleeps in a crib in the master bedroom, but also has her own room. this is a space where jennifer and her husband spend time playing, rocking, and reading to chloe, so they decided to update it to reflect their current…
when i saw the “after” shot for this armoire project i was hooked. i know a lot of people hate anything painted, but i think this is such a great example of the power of a coat of inexpensive paint. that seriously sad veneer front on the “before” became something chic and stylish (reminds me…
today’s second before & after post is all about the hard work of three talented women who changed great found and secondhand finds into fresh pieces of furniture. up first is designer kristen f. davis, whose home was on d*s this past june. kristen bought this heaven wooden piece second hand and used leftover paint…
today’s before & after posts are starting off with 3 very distinct stories- a chair makeover, a bar overhaul, and a little puppy love. first up? a colorful chair project from d*s reader amanda farrell. amanda created a custom upholstery job for her desk chair and gave it a face lift with some gorgeous green…
today’s second before & after post is a tale of two different cabinet makeovers. first up? kristin and jacob anderson of atlanta georgia. jacob got this dresser/cabinet from a friend for $35 (!) and spruced it up with a coat of paint and by cleaning the handles with vinegar and salt. i love seeing how…
there are a lot of forlorn-looking cabinets sitting around fleamarkets and goodwill these days. and sometimes all they need is a little bit of love (and a coat of paint or wood stain) to perk back up. these two before & after projects are all about those sad cabinets- and finally finding an owner who’s…
this before and after comes from julie of bangs, a beard & ballyhoo (i love that blog name). julie and her fiance inherited a dilapidated linen cabinet when they moved to san francisco, but it was a horrible hodge-podge of brown, blue and red chipped paint. after sanding the heck out of it and cleaning…
