Bold Before and Afters
Whether your pet peeve with your present digs is a lack of light, wasted space, or a regrettable wall treatment, you can choose to live with (and lament) it, or you can creatively reimagine it to achieve your dream home. Resourceful DIYers around the country did just that in 2019, seizing the opportunity to transform their outdated or ordinary dwellings into residences that reflect their unique tastes. Click through for our picks of the most awe-inspiring before and afters of the year, and then roll up your sleeves and get started on your own.
Before: Dark and Dingy
An underutilized carport from A Beautiful Mess had “good bones” that made it promising for use as an entertaining space, but its dated red brick walls, a grease-streaked concrete floor, and dim, awkwardly positioned ceiling lights made the space distasteful to the homeowners, let alone guests.
After: Pretty in Pink
White wall paint, a cheery pink on the door, and a thorough power-washing of the floor immediately pepped up the space. But it was the addition of a slinky sectional, a picnic table with pink chairs, a geometric trellis, summery ceiling fans, and string lights that clinched the reborn carport's status as party central.
Related: 20 of the Best Pieces of Advice from Home Makeover Shows
Before: Faded Glory
While red and gold can be a regal combination, the wallpaper in this half bathroom from Home Made by Carmona had faded to a vaguely mud-and-mustard palette, which wasn't particularly brightened by the dreary cream-colored vanity.
After: French Twist
While Ursula retained the original hexagonal mirror and floral-detailed vanity sink, she ditched the old red wallpaper in favor of a half-size Peony wallpaper mural. The wallpaper was a bit of a splurge, but by papering just the top half and installing chair-rail molding and wainscoting below, she was able to minimize wallpaper costs and maximize the visual variety of the room. Luxury laminate floor tiles and smoky gray paint covering the old vanity complete the Parisian-inspired retreat.
Before: Yesteryear Yawns
A floral wallpaper border, dowdy curtains, drab wooden cabinets, and shabby linoleum floors made this kitchen in a 1920s home a little too hard to swallow for the modern-thinking duo behind A Beautiful Mess.
After: Rustic Meets Modern
Instead of completely hiding the older elements, the duo opted for a balanced modern farmhouse design by exposing and refinishing the original wooden floors, painting the walls white, and giving the cabinets and countertops a face-lift. A textured tile backsplash, a star-shaped ceiling light, and floating shelves lined with potted plants, wicker baskets, and dinnerware add dimension that makes the space pop.
Related: 10 Total Kitchen Makeovers—and What They Cost
Before: Ravages of Fire and Time
Following a fire on the rooftop, Todd and Dianna’s 1910 co-op emerged mostly unscathed, but there was just enough incidental damage to walls and floors to inspire them to finally tackle the renovations they had wanted to do since they had moved in three years earlier. Their targets for improvement included the worn floating staircase, the outdated appliances and tired cabinets in the kitchen, and a bathroom with insufficient storage and a pitted tub.
After: Contemporary Chic
Sanding and staining the floors throughout and giving the floating staircase a coat of matte black paint went a long way toward taking care of the fire damage. In the kitchen, sleek new appliances, clean white paint on the cabinets, and a terra-cotta tile backsplash transformed their kitchen into an appetizing arena for cooking and entertaining. With the addition of a glass-walled shower in the bathroom, the century-old space rocketed straight into the 21st century.
Before: Dire Straits
Clunky cabinets and appliances consumed precious space in Natalia and Daniel's dark and narrow galley kitchen, making the short walk to the dining room feel like navigating a maze.
After: Open and Connected
Slim new appliances and clean-lined cabinets create a wider walkway and ease the passage to the dining room. By moving the refrigerator further into the kitchen, the couple were able to extend an oak countertop into the dining room, connecting the two spaces and achieving an open-concept look. White paint, a subtle gray tile backsplash, and a white Corian countertop better reflect light, making the kitchen look more luminous and airy.
Before: Monochromatic Mehs
With nothing to cut the visual monotony of the pockmarked merlot-colored walls, this high-ceiling bathroom, which belongs to the blogger behind In Honor of Design, lacked proportion and light.
After: Clean and Whimsical
For less than $500, the budget-conscious homeowner applied white board-and-batten wainscoting to the lower half of the wall and whimsical gray-and-white cloud-inspired wallpaper to the upper half to boost the brightness and make the ceiling seem lower. The vertical pieces of the wainscoting had to be strategically placed to lend symmetry to the space and frame key elements of the bathroom, such as the toilet, sink, gold-trimmed oval mirror, and towel rack.
Related: 25 Tiny Bathrooms We Love
Before: Split Personality
The DIY Playbook’s fireplace, an uneasy marriage of black granite and gray-painted drywall, stuck out like a sore thumb and made the family room look smaller than it actually was.
After: Cool and Cohesive
The reimagined fireplace now sports a more cohesive look. The white-painted wooden lattice surround makes the room look brighter and larger, and marble subway tile on the hearth and in the surround adds texture and complements the gray walls.
Before: Yellow Fever
Mood-killing flax-colored walls and dated matching floor tiles cramped the style of this tiny laundry room of The Polished Habitat blogger, while a large top-loading washing machine and dryer left only enough room for a countertop, and not a sink as well.
After: Beguiling Tile
White subway tiles and white and gray paint on the walls open up the space, while diamond-inspired floor tiles put a little oomph into laundry day. By swapping out the top-loading appliances for compact front-loading models that sit beneath a new countertop, the bloggers opened up enough space near the door for a wide sink for hand-washing or everyday cleanup.
Before: One of the Same Kind
The cookie-cutter cream-colored exterior of this 1920s-era wood-framed house made it indistinguishable from any other on its block in Queens. Gary and his husband wanted something different.
After: Statement-Making Colors
With the goal of re-creating the home’s exterior as it appeared in a 1939 tax photo, the couple enlisted contractors to put in dramatic black shingles and shutters, sage green siding, black-framed windows, brown-red gables, and a radiant burgundy door to turn heads in the neighborhood.
Before: Down to Basics
Although Jen Woodhouse’s parents’ laundry room had a working washing machine and dryer, it had a lot of wasted wall space and a complete lack of storage.
After: Storage Smart
Swapping out the two old machines for elegant gray high-efficiency units and then tucking them beneath luxe quartz countertops created a work surface for stashing or sorting clothes. Shaker-style cabinets above the countertop make use of the wasted wall space and provide storage for cleaning supplies, while a chrome shelving unit along the opposite wall holds folded linens.
Related: 10 Simply Genius Ideas for Laundry Room Storage
Before: Cold and Uninviting
This functional but dreary side-by-side refrigerator from A Piece of Rainbow brought down the aesthetics of this kitchen and may even have suppressed a few appetites.
After: Fresh and Fun
Starved for color, the DIYer sanded and primed the fridge, then covered it with a pastel teal latex paint in a satin sheen to invigorate the kitchen. Gold spray paint on the fridge handles and vent cover add a touch of glam, while a potted plant and a display of fruit turn the kitchen into a tropical-inspired retreat.
Related: All You Need to Know About Painting Appliances
Before: Lonely Loft
Working in this characterless attic with sloped ceilings and wasted floor space forced the Four Generations One Roof blogger to hunker down at a stark desk in the single bright spot of the room. Adding to the general lack of charm, insufficient storage led to clutter on the floor.
After: Artful Angles
By embracing the angles of the space, the DIYer was able to add a closet with French doors, instantly curing the floor clutter. A low-profile sectional defines the loft's play zone, which also features a chocolate brown console table and TV, a coffee table, and a side table. Lighting was added to brighten the cheerful space.
Related: Under the Eaves: 21 Arresting Attic Rooms
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