Growing up in New Hampshire, I experienced the joy of curling up by the fire at an early age, and it’s stuck with me to this day. With its amazing houndstooth-painted walls, this living room makeover from Leslie Hickey would be wonderful even without the fireplace, but the strong lines of the stove add a…
These glass lanterns have been popping up a lot lately. I’ve seen them mostly repurposed as terrariums, which I love, but I don’t see many people taking them apart and tinkering with the individual pieces. Sarah Dorsey decided to disassemble her lantern and use the glass panes to create this beautiful faceted mirror; it’s easier…
When Grace visited California briefly over the summer, I took her to a new compact shopping area in my neighborhood that has been garnering lots of local attention. Temescal Alley, as it is known, is a tiny alcove off a side street in Oakland that is filled with a series of miniature boutiques built into…
I’ll admit it: If I saw a refinishing project like this in front of me, with every inch covered in thick, glossy paint, I’d probably turn and run the other way. Refinishing furniture has never been my favorite thing to do, even though time and again I see Before & After projects where the patience…
In all our years of posting Before & Afters, I don’t think I’ve ever come across this many flowers in one room. The bathtub has flowers on it!! Yikes. Luckily, the owner of this late 1800s Victorian farmhouse, April Cochran-Smith, is a photographer and designer with a great eye for contrasts, color and drama. She’s made a…
I’m sure a lot of us go through favorite color phases. Right now, Grace is loving olive green, and I can’t disagree — it’s a rich, warm, earthy color that’s perfect for fall. Even though we’re interested in dark tones right now, I can still appreciate a pale palette, like in Kristine’s kitchen makeover. I…
I used to gravitate toward mid-century furniture, and would have happily filled my home with all those smooth, sleek curves and rounded corners. Now my tastes have changed, and while I still fancy a good mid-century shape here and there, lately I just want to fill my home with raw, natural pieces taken straight from…
Our apartment was built in the twenties, and we’re constantly reminded of this fact when we uncover quirky little details, big and small: a phone niche, a crazy looking (and terrifying) old fuse box, antique glass knobs and a hidden opening in our living room wall where a murphy bed once lived. I boarded up…
Anyone who has rented a place by a lake or in a ski town knows that the mountain-lodge style can be kind of, well, terrible. Somewhere along the line, many a charming country cabin fell victim to the worst of country style: thick, dark carpets; ruffled curtains; chintzy furniture and more. I think it’s partially…
The creator of this beautiful kitchen makeover, Kate Priestman, has some excellent advice: Design for the way you live. I couldn’t agree more, and yet I know how easy it is to suffer passively in your home environment. It’s easy to fall into patterns, and our lives at home are no exception. But I love…
I am in full agreement with Peta Mazey, the owner responsible for this wonderful home transformation: Sometimes, as she says, you just have to “throw white at it.” White may not be the most novel color, but as this home proves, white can do wonders for brightening a space and making it modern, fresh, spacious…
I know the downsides of a tiny kitchen, but in some ways a small space can be a blessing; little spaces can allow for very dramatic design decisions that would be overwhelming in a larger room. This kitchen makeover from Kristin of The Hunted Interior has so many lovely drama points — like the gilded drawer…
There are many rooms in the home where I tolerate, and even encourage, artful clutter: collections of knickknacks, walls covered with art, neat piles of magazines and books. But not so in the kitchen. For whatever reason, I love maximalist decorating in other rooms, but I’ve always dreamed of having a simple, clean, bare bones,…
This is the second camper/trailer renovation we’ve received that features boldly patterned walls. I don’t think it would ever have occurred to me to use a busy pattern in such a small space, but it’s an awesome idea. I like it not only because it packs a serious style punch, but also because it’s a…
This one-bedroom apartment renovation from Claire Leger proves one thing: good paint colors can go a LONG way toward transforming the feel of a space. I’ve always been kind of terrible at choosing paint colors — no matter how many test swatches I try, I always make the wrong choice, which causes me to suffer…
Using pegboard as wall art is just a really cool idea. I’m surprised it hadn’t occurred to me before, although admittedly, I could see many ways in which it could go wrong and look overly industrial or officey. Not so with this version from Ashley of Sugar & Cloth. Ashley and her husband wisely kept…
I think this bathroom renovation from Omar De Pablo will appeal to many people, not only because of the beautiful peacock blue he’s chosen, but also because he’s managed to totally transform the look of this bathroom (including hardwood flooring!) on a remarkably low budget. Part of his secret was doing the bulk of the…
I tend to stay away from yellow — in clothing, home decor and life in general. It’s a shame, really, because I do think yellow is an extremely energetic and joyous color. Bright, bold yellows can be really hard to work with, which is why I doubly admire this kitchen makeover from Christine Soccio. You…
It’s been a while since we’ve shared a chair project, mostly because we haven’t seen anything particularly novel or noteworthy come across our desks. But the richly embroidered fabric on this chair makeover — a collaboration between Niamh of Urban Threads and Jessica of Antique White — caught my eye, and I felt compelled to share…
In many ways, “makeunders” are much more difficult than makeovers. I’ve passed up many a promising chair or table simply because I cowered at the thought of all the stripping and sanding required to bring the piece back to life. I admire those determined individuals who follow through on a refinishing project, and I love…
