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Living Rooms

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Furniture

4 In miscellaneous

Banister Banishment

The first thing anyone saw when they walked into Anna Rose’s home was this angry maroon wall glaring out at them from behind the banister’s grimace.

 

Banister makeover, from thin and outdated to chunky and classic.  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

Do you see it too?

 stair_banister_makeoverb

Yikesicles!  Not the most welcoming of welcomes.  Anna Rose couldn’t wait to change it up, and started with a light gray paint for the wall, and finished by ditching the honey-oak completely for a custom built banister that wants to wrap you in a loving embrace with its strong and sturdy arms.  I … could possibly be reading a bit too much into this.

Banister makeover, from thin and outdated to chunky and classic.  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

 

Quite a change for the better!  See more on her blog The How-To Gal, and check out her stained kitchen cabinet makeover if you missed that earlier this week too!

18 In kitchen/dining/ outdoors

Old House Love

Once upon a time, about 60 years ago,  lovely little ranch home was built on the top of a hill.  A happy couple raised a family and lived there for many years until they died in 2005.  One of their sons bought the home from the estate, with big plans to make it a two-story.  Sadly, halfway through the job, he got injured.  He went past the construction loan period and the bank shut him down.  The house sat, untouched and unfinished for several years.

Then Kristy came along!  She saw the home’s potential and offered to buy it.  But the family was still holding on to their dreams of finishing it.  Finally, the day came when they realized they would have to let it go into foreclosure.  Luckily they remembered Kristy and her offer, and she was quick to snatch it up.

So, seven years of emptiness and decay later, this was where Kristy picked up.  Good thing she has vision and bravery and a high tolerance for floor rot!

 Amazing '50s ranchhome makeover!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

 Amazing '50s ranchhome makeover!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

The original owners had planned to tear out the kitchen and put a garage in it’s place, but Kristy kept it where it was.  Yep, that’s the SAME ROOM!

The exterior received a dramatic makeover as well …

Amazing '50s ranchhome makeover!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~  Amazing '50s ranchhome makeover!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

Can a house smile?  Because I feel like this one totally does!

Amazing '50s ranchhome makeover!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

Amazing '50s ranchhome makeover!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

Amazing work Kristy!

 

4 In desks/hutches/buffets

Ever been hit by … The URGE?

Laura from Top This Top That didn’t particularly love this chest, so she gave it a makeover from aged yellow to fresh and white.  Done.  Then months later, she’s going along with her life, la-di-da, just vacuuming the room before some visitors arrived, and it hit her. The URGE.

I … MUST … PAINT … THIS. 

MUST … PAINT … IT NOW!!  

So she unplugged the vacuum, picked up a paintbrush, and added the gray paint you see below. Plugged the vacuum back in and went on her merry way!

Have you ever been hit by The URGE?  I have.  I decided to makeover a bunch of big picture frames right in the middle of moving a few months ago. Just abandoned my moving boxes like I had all the time in the world.  My makeover didn’t turn out nearly as awesome as Laura’s though. I guess that’s the trouble with The URGE.

 

Fresh chest makeover, from drab yellow to a beautiful two-tone.  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

  Fresh chest makeover, from drab yellow to a beautiful two-tone.  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

6 In tables/dressers

To chip or to strip?

Got a couple of  table makeovers up my sleeve for you today!  Not literally. The only thing up my sleeve is my arm.  But you know what I mean.

This little desk was kind of cute in it’s own red and chippy way, but when Julie got a closer look, she realized that the red paint extended sloppily into every nook and cranny.  Inside, outside, front, back, drawer, keyhole — and was flaking off with reckless abandon too.  Hours of endless stripping, scraping, and swearing ensued, but now she has a beautiful two-tone desk to show for it. Great knobs too.  Heh heh.

 Check it out on her new facebook page  Reclaimed and Lovely and give her a thumbs-up while you’re at it!

 

 

Aqua side table makeUNDER, so cute!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

Aqua side table makeUNDER, so cute!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

And Better After reader Amy wanted to bring the look of chippy paint into her life, but without all the hassle of, you know, chipping paint.  Is that too much to ask?  I think not.  That fabulous paint finish you see before you is actually decoupaged paper!  All of the style, none of the fuss of trying to keep your furniture from shedding, and your cat from eating it.

Looks fantastic Amy!

Old record player into beautiful nightstand with decoupage!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

 

Old record player into beautiful nightstand with decoupage!  ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

Hey readers! Do YOU have any makeover submissions to share?  Send them my way!  Betterafter(at)live(dot)com

Don’t be discouraged by a common misconception: that you need to have a blog to submit a project.  Not at all.  A few photos and a quick description of your project is all I need if you aren’t a blogger but would still like to share. I LOVE to see what my readers are up to!

7 In kitchen/dining

Pained with paint? Gain with stain!

Hate your kitchen cabinets?  Join the club.  Scared to paint them? Yeah, we have a club for that too.  But … *clouds part, trumpets sound, choirs of angels with jazz-hands siiiing* … there is another solution.  Re-stain them!  Did you ever think of that?

If not, then you need to check out Anna Rose’s kitchen over at The How-To Gal. She gives you the entire run-down on how she refinished her cabinets with stain. Beautiful!  Such a great look without all the drama of painting.

 

Makeover your kitchen cabinets with stain! ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

Makeover your kitchen cabinets with stain! ~ from BetterAfter.net ~

3 In desks/hutches/buffets

Purple Prophecy

Here’s a dash of color for you in case you are having a humdrum afternoon.  Nothing humdrum about purple, is there?  It’s such a fun color; we really don’t see enough of it.  Thus I’m predicting it will probably be the hottest color of 2014.  Purple, plum, puce, whatever you call it, it’s going to be HOT.  Mark my words!!

Better After reader Kim is either a soothsayer or way ahead of the trend, because she thought purple would be the perfect choice for this little desk makeover.  She was right!

 

 

purple_white_desk_makeoverb

purple_white_desk_makeover

 

Do YOU have any makeover submissions to share?  Send them my way!  Betterafter(at)live(dot)com.  Don’t be discouraged by a common misconception: that you need to have a blog to submit a project.  Not at all.  A few photos and a quick description of your project is all I need if you aren’t a blogger but would still like to share. I LOVE to see what my readers are up to!

 

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