Design*Sponge

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before and after

Thursday October 4th, 2012

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Before & After: Recycled Lamp Mirror

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…

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Thursday September 27th, 2012

Thursday September 20th, 2012

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Before & After: Bathroom Makeover

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…

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Thursday September 13th, 2012

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Before & After: Kitchen Makeover

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…

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Thursday September 6th, 2012

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Before & After: Guest Studio Renovation

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…

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Thursday August 23rd, 2012

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before & after: oregon home renovation

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…

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Thursday August 16th, 2012

Thursday August 9th, 2012

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before & after: small home redo

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…

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before & after: tiny kitchen makeover

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…

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Thursday August 2nd, 2012

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before & after: clean + simple kitchen redo

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,…

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Thursday July 26th, 2012

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before & after: apartment transformation

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…

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before & after: pegboard bedroom wall

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…

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before & after: bathroom renovation

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…

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Thursday July 19th, 2012

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before & after: sunny kitchen makeover

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…

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before & after: upholstered chair redo

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…

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before & after: refinished dresser

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…

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