Better After

7 In tables/dressers

Getting enough RAST?

Raise your hand if you have this Ikea RAST dresser somewhere in your house. And if you don’t, why not? It’s a roomy yet slender little dresser that’s the perfect size for a nightstand or a nook, solid wood, only $39, and the makeover options are endless. Ikea is not paying me to say any of this. But if they are looking for an official RAST spokesgirl, well, I wouldn’t turn it down.

Check out what Hannah at Champagne Lifestyle on a Beer Budget did with hers recently. You can buy presswood or fiberglass overlays that specifically fit the RAST, but Hannah just painted hers on with a stencil she made herself. So glam!

January 16, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

13 In bathroom/ bedroom

Room Rehab

Poor Dina. I think the previous owners of her home were addicts. Wallpaper addicts. There was proof of it everywhere. On the walls, around the walls, three different kinds in the bathroom alone – I mean, did these people have no shame?

But Dina wasn’t afraid to give it some tough love, so she dug in deep and didn’t stop until every last scrap had been steamed away. Now she’s got a gorgeous guest suite to show for it, with one sweet little flower on the pillow, rather than seventy billion flowers on the walls.

See it on her blog There’s No Place Like Home.

And you can check out more of the adjoining bathroom makeover HERE. Oh, if only the ex-owners could see it now, perhaps they would turn from their wild wallpapering ways and get clean!

January 16, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Churning Out Chairs

Are you a fan of mustard yellow and dried out wicker? Who isn’t right? Well, not me particularly. But if you are, you might want to avert your eyes, because Better After reader Kim just laid waste to some condiment-colored cloth in favor of a cool gray fabric for this sleek chair makeover. It receives a hearty high-five from me! I like that she kept the wood untouched; it’s in great shape and has such a pretty tone.

But this wicker chair, however, was not so cute in its natural state. It looked a bit thirsty. And possibly flammable. So Linda at Burlap and Blue revived it with a quick dip in some bright paint and had a vividly vibrant chair in no time. Great job ladies!

January 15, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

23 In decor/ desks/hutches/buffets

World Piece

For some reason, I’ve had this one in my To-Do pile for WAY too long. I don’t know why, because it obviously needs to be shared with the world.

See, Jenn took this old buffet and removed the legs, painted it white, and replaced the handles. But then, fun surprise time, she mounted it on the wall! How cool and modern and European it looks, oui? BUT, there’s even more. She used parts she had removed at the base to make a frame, and with that frame, she made a canvas, and on that canvas she painted the world map art that you see before you. WOW! So stunning and inspiring. And economical! Check out the process on her blog heim-elich.

January 15, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

16 In tables/dressers

Hank Transfer

Hank, or as I like to call him, the Wood Whisperer, is at it again. He simply couldn’t allow this beaten-up and sloppily painted piece furniture pass him by untouched. (And what was up with that color combo anyway? Blue and … muted plum? Blarf.) He figured there was incredible potential lurking beneath. And, he was right. As ushe.

See more from Hank at Toshmahal.

January 14, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

12 In laundry rooms

Clean out your softener oftener.

Do you remember the saga of my stinky washer? You were all so kind to share a bunch of really great tips and tricks to defunkify it, so armed with your advice and a new sense of bravery, I stormed into my laundry room and started pulling my washer apart. Bleach dispenser? Looked fine. Agitator? Wouldn’t come off. Fabric softener dispenser? Holy gruesome discovery of gagginess.

I can’t even describe it. But I’ll try. It was years of soggy build-up that had blackened with age, the texture of pureed cottage cheese weaved throughout with strands of hair. It smelled like fresh sewage on a hot day, though with gentle undertones of fabric softener. My kids came running to see what was wrong, because I was dry heaving to the point of tears. I could NOT believe I had been washing our clothes in proximity to such grossness. (I hope you weren’t eating breakfast right now. I probably should have warned you).

Anyway, much bleach and literally, an HOUR of scrubbing later, my washer is all better and smelling so fresh and so clean, clean. It’s all thanks to you. And that concludes the saga of my stinky washer. Don’t let it happen to you. Check your dispensers today!

And look, another fabulous laundry room makeover to get your mind off of mine and my terrible story. From Bette at Somerset Lane, who ditched her hardly used utility sink in favor of custom cabinetry and storage. Lovely! Check out her blog to see how her built-in seat was actually a store-bought kit!