Better After

16 In bedroom

Bunch o’ Boy Bedrooms

Did you come here today looking for some boy-bedroom inspiration? Then you are in luck! And also, psychic! Do you want to know a secret? I actually think I’m a little bit psychic. I don’t like, see dead people, but sometimes I just know things, that I shouldn’t know. Or my dreams sometimes come true. Like one time I dreamed that I went to a certain thrift store (that I hardly ever, ever went to), and I found this specific chair there, and guess what? When I woke up, I decided I’d better go to that store or else I’d be probably haunted or cursed or something, and the chair was there! Weeeeird, huh?

Ok, but back to boy bedrooms. You don’t need to be a psychic to see that these are better! Sorry for the lame segue. But there’s nothing lame about this dresser that got a paint job as part of an entire red, white and blue bedroom makeover for a lucky little boy named Grady. See much more on Kathleen’s blog The Tough Times Make You Stronger.

Linda’s son was ready to graduate from his primary-color schemed room since he was a teenager and all, so she gave it an orange and gray update with some stripes for dynamism. Is that a real word? The white stripes are actually moulding, and I love how they pop out from the wall for extra interest. Tons of details and a custom-curtain how-to on her blog It All Started with Paint.

And finally, you are going to want to set aside a block of time to go check out the final reveal of Ronda’s pirate-room. Do you remember the pirate closet-doors makeover she started with? Well, here is the finished product, and it is so fantastic, you might cry. And convince your husband/roomate/partner/parents that you are turning your bedroom into a pirate lair too.

As you can see, they started with a blank slate, so pretty much everything in here was DIYed or thrifted, they even built the beds! Get an up close look on her blog Batchelors Way. Arg! I’m jealous, matey!

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March 30, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

17 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Chairfully Cheerful!

When Jennifer emailed me her Cosco stool makeover, I mistakenly read it as “Costcos tool makeover,” and I was like … huh? Costco tools? Is this like, a set of knives? Or one of those mega-blenders that can turn strawberry hulls and potato peels into a deliciously healthy shake? I want one of those blenders. Holy smokes, they cost like $500 though! Anyway.

Then I opened up the email and realized it was Cosco, not Costco, and a stool, obviously, not a tool. Then it took me way back, because my grandma had one of these. Then I reminded myself that I actually have one of these in the garage too. Then I resolved to make it look awesome like hers. Then I made a strawberry-hull shake. In my dreams. See more right HERE.

What’s that? You want some more chair makeovery yumminess? Then feast your eyeballs on this colorful office chair from Kendra at My Insanity. It’s so sweet and cheerful it almost makes you feel like you are running down a flower-covered hill in the springtime, instead of what you are actually doing: sitting in an office chair.

March 29, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In miscellaneous/ other rooms

Checkmate!

This is what your floors might look like if you pulled up some indoor/outdoor carpet and sanded and scraped the gluey reside until your hands bled and you were certifiably crazy. Olivia thought she had met her match once she realized there was no way her floor would ever be perfectly smooth, no matter how many sanding disks she burned through. So she threw in the towel. And when I say towel, I actually mean sheets of MDF that she primed and painted and sealed and checkered! HA! Who’s the boss now, gluey gross floor?! See the whole darn process on her blog He Hunts, I Create.

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March 29, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

9 In living room

Oar’nt you glad?

Sometimes it feels like cheating when the before is nothing but an empty room, stripped down, all ready to be painted and decorated. No crusty carpet to pull up. No weird wood paneling to pry off the walls. No strange stains and smells making you wonder if perhaps your home was previously used as a meth-lab.

But Helen’s new family room is so lovely with the built in bookcases and nautical-but-not-SO-nautical-that-it’s-hitting-you-over-the-head-with-an-oar theme, that I will totally give her a pass. Lovely job Helen! See more on her blog A Brit of Happiness.

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March 28, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

1 In desks/hutches/buffets

Double Desk Duty

When is a raven like a writing desk? Who is John Galt? How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie-roll center of a tootsie-pop? These are the mysteries that the world may never know. (But if you slogged through all five million pages of Atlas Shrugged, you might know the answer to one of those questions. Hint: it’s not the tootsie-pop one.)

But! Here is a raven ON a writing desk, and there’s no question that it’s waaay better looking that the ivy-stickered mess it was before. From Emily at Youth Hostile.

And here’s another desk from Rita at This (sorta) Old Life, who repaired this $35 thrift store find into a desk that her 14-year-old son “likes.” That’s actually high praise. If you don’t hang out with 14-year-old boys much, let me translate: “Holy snot Mom, this desk is AWESOME!! Thank you so much, seriously thank you, I love it! I’m hugging you in my mind!)

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March 28, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

13 In kitchen/dining

Expired Ketchup

I can see that there was an attempt to update this kitchen in the past. The counters were nice, the cabinets had received a distressed paint job at some point and the backslash was newish. However, the only explanation I have for the adjoining dining room is this: ketchup-fight.

Luckily J. has a condition known as Design OCD and wasn’t happy until the whole things was gutted and streamlined and gorgeous. And now I reeeeeeally want to paint all my window frames black.